One of Australia's most experienced caravan journalist sits down with the MDC crew at the QLD Muster — and he doesn't hold back.

Max Taylor has spent 20+ years reviewing caravans, running Caravan World Magazine, and building GoRV into one of Australia's most trusted independent RV media outlets. This is one of the most honest conversations we've had on the podcast.

We get into what's really changed in the Australian caravan industry over two decades, what reviewers look for that most buyers never think to ask, and what manufacturers are still getting wrong in 2026. Plus — Max gives us his honest take on the MDC SR19 Series 2.

In this episode:

How Max went from print editor at ACP/Bauer Media to building a fully digital RV media business
The single biggest shift he's seen in how Australians approach caravanning
What a "good caravan" looked like in 2006 vs what buyers expect today
The 48-volt revolution and what's next for off-grid capability
The small details that tell Max a manufacturer has actually thought about their van
Common mistakes he still sees across the industry — and why they shouldn't still be happening
His unfiltered first impressions of the MDC SR19 Series 2
Why musters like this one are where you get the real story from owners
The cost of living squeeze and what it's doing to the caravan market

Filmed live at the MDC QLD Muster 2026.

🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode → https://www.youtube.com/@MDCCampersandCaravans

🌐 Explore the full MDC range → https://www.marketdirect.com.au 📻 MDC Podcast page → https://www.marketdirect.com.au/blog/mdc-podcast/ 🎙️ GoRV → https://gorv.com.au

Escape with Confidence

Mandy and Rolly Heath are back — and this time, they've got 13,000 kilometres of stories to share. Since their last appearance on the show, they've taken Gold Class Caravan's AC17C through some of Australia's most iconic and demanding terrain: the Bungle Bungles by helicopter, Lake Argyle by Barbie boat, three nights in Broome, and then the full length of the Gibb River Road, west to east.

In this episode, Steve sits down with Mandy, Rolly, and Wayne Chevis at the MDC Queensland Muster to get the full debrief. How did the Gold Class handle the corrugations and creek crossings? Was the Horizontal Falls seaplane worth the nine-year wait? And what made a planned two-day stop at Cape Keraudren turn into sixteen?

They cover it all — the bucket list moments, the honest road conditions, the airbag suspension revelation, and why Mandy has absolutely no intention of going back to a hybrid.

They also talk camp cooking — Rolly's recent masterclass at the Ipswich Show that became a fundraiser for the Royal Flying Doctors, and the massive cook-up he's putting on here at the Muster for 250 people: fire rice, pork tacos, and 60 whole pork loin ribs hung over the fire.

Whether you've always had the Gibb River Road on your bucket list or you're just living vicariously, this one's essential listening.

🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjsVAcWloYAYA64q9ewHGiJ5uhgEGBJYZ

📻 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & more: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2522398.rss

🌐 MDC Campers & Caravans: https://www.marketdirect.com.au
⭐️Gold Class Caravans: https://www.goldclasscaravans.com.au/
📖 Full podcast library: https://www.marketdirect.com.au/blog/mdc-podcast/

Follow Mandy & Rolly:
📱 Facebook & Instagram: Memories Not Money
🌐 memoriesnotmoney.com

Escape with Confidence

Australia is only covered by mobile phone signal across 30% of its landmass. If you're relying on Google Maps in the outback, you're relying on memory — and memory from a platform that's never physically driven those tracks.

In this episode of Off Grid Down Under, Steve sits down with Sam Hayward, Chairman of HEMA Maps, alongside MDC's Banksy and Vaughan, to dig into 40+ years of mapping Australia's most remote country. From the company's Dutch founders laminating marine charts in Queensland, to sending the entire HEMA staff into the desert in pairs to remap outback Australia, to the Map Patrol vehicles that are still out there collecting ground-truth data today — this one goes deep.

We cover why Google Maps and Apple Maps fall dangerously short in remote areas, how HEMA's maps are actually made, the difference between the Smart Navigator and the app on your phone, and what kit Sam would recommend to any family heading out on a big lap.

In this episode:

• How HEMA Maps started — founders Henry and Margaret's story
• The Great Desert Tracks expedition of 1998 that remapped outback Australia
• Why Google Maps can get you into serious trouble in remote areas
• Australia's mobile coverage problem (hint: it's not 98%)
• Map Patrol — why HEMA still physically drives every track
• The Alpha Program: 50+ volunteer travellers collecting data on the road
• Smart Navigator vs phone app — which one's right for you?
• The biggest mistakes people make planning remote trips
• Physical atlas vs digital navigation — does one replace the other?
• What's coming for HEMA: HEMA Cloud, turn-by-turn offline, and more

Explore the full MDC range at https://www.marketdirect.com.au — and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

FIND HEMA MAPS:
Website: https://hemamaps.com
App: Search "Hema Explorer" or "4WD Maps" in the App Store / Google Play

Escape with Confidence

Almost twenty years ago, Vaughan Hindley started Market Direct Group with $5,000, a laptop, and a bulk lot of 12-volt camping jugs on eBay.

Today, MDC is one of Australia's most trusted off-road caravan brands — with 40,000+ units on the road, showrooms across the country, and a footprint in the United States.

In this episode, Steve sits down with Vaughan (CEO & Founder), James Field (General Manager – Commercial & Product), and Mark Banksy (Beach2Bush Adventures) to tell the full story — the pivots, the product firsts, the things that nearly didn't work, and what's driving MDC's next chapter.

In this episode we cover:

How a bulk lot of camping jugs on eBay started it all
Building the first Australian-designed hybrid caravan in China — and holding a four-year lead on everyone else
Why Vaughan built caravans in Australia and will "never do it ever again"
The one-to-one factory relationship that's been the backbone of MDC quality for 15+ years
Launching MDC USA — and becoming the premium product in a disposable market
Gold Class Caravans, the Forte SR Series, and what's coming in 2026 and beyond

If you're an MDC owner, thinking about buying, or just love a good Australian business story — this one's for you.

🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode:
🌐 Explore the full MDC range: https://www.marketdirect.com.au
📻 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts — search Off Grid Down Under by MDC
📖 MDC Podcast page: https://www.marketdirect.com.au/blog/mdc-podcast/

Escape with Confidence | marketdirect.com.au

Escape with Confidence

What if a caravan expo wasn't just a place to buy a van — but a full festival weekend with onsite camping, motocross shows, fireworks, live music, and food trucks? That's exactly what Caravanning Queensland is bringing to Willowbank Raceway this August, and Steve sits down with the team behind it to find out how it all came together.

Joining Steve are Ben Menzies, Business Development Manager at Caravanning Queensland, and Jason Plant, CEO of Caravanning Queensland (CTIAQ) — along with MDC's Event's Coordinator, Leah Chevis. Together they unpack the thinking behind the 2026 Let's Go Ipswich Caravan & RV Expo (28–30 August, Willowbank Raceway), why the traditional expo format needed a shake-up, and what the caravanning community stands to gain from a new kind of event.

The idea has been 8–10 years in the making — conceived before COVID and finally coming to life at a venue big enough to pull it off.

They also dig into the broader industry picture — why younger buyers are entering the market, how caravanning stacks up as a genuine value-for-money alternative in a tough economic climate, and why events like this are one of the best ways to get new people into the lifestyle.

🎟️ Get tickets to the Let's Go Ipswich Caravan & RV Expo: https://www.caravanqld.com.au/show/2026-lets-go-ipswich-caravan-rv-expo/

🌐 Explore the full MDC range: https://www.marketdirect.com.au — Escape with Confidence

🎙️ Catch Jason Plant's previous episode (EP 36): https://www.marketdirect.com.au/mdc-podcast-season-2-episode-36/

📻 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2522398.rss

🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode — new episodes drop every Tuesday.

📍 MDC Showrooms nationwide: https://www.marketdirect.com.au/showroom-locations/

Escape with Confidence

What happens when the grandson of the man who built the original Land Rover starts making the hitches that go on the front of your caravan? You get Cruisemaster — and one of the most quietly impressive engineering stories in Australian off-road history.

In this episode, Sam sits down with Andrew Goddard, Managing Director of Cruisemaster and AutoPacific Group, alongside MDC Managing Director Vaughan Hindley and General Manager of Commercial & Product James Field. Together, they trace the Goddard family's engineering DNA from post-war England all the way to Brisbane — and into the front of more than 40,000 MDC caravans currently out on Australian roads.

Andrew pulls back the curtain on how the DO35 came to be, why the patented Checklock cap exists (spoiler: a caravan came off the back of a car at 100kph on a test Run), and what it actually takes to build a product tough enough for the tracks Australians are increasingly headed down. Vaughan shares why MDC made the call to switch to the DO45 for the new Gold Class AC22C — and why, across 40,000-plus units, they've never once had a DO35 failure in the field.

In this episode, we cover: the Goddard family engineering legacy and the original Series 1 Land Rover connection, the evolution of the DO35 from fabricated prototype to V3 Plus, the move to the DO45 for MDC's Gold Class range, why real-world testing beats the lab every single time, the RAT Run origin story and what's been learned in the field, and how Cruisemaster has kept its identity after joining AutoPacific Group.

Explore the full MDC range at https://www.marketdirect.com.au — and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Escape with Confidence

Escape with Confidence

From remote tracks to breathtaking campsites, they share the real stories, hard lessons, and honest tips that only come from life fully on the road. Whether you're planning your first big trip or already out there chasing the horizon, this one's for you.

In this episode, we sit down with Daniel, Steve & Rolly who share their experiences of living off grid for long periods of time and doing it with an MDC caravan built for exactly these kinds of adventures.

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts — search Off Grid Down Under by MDC
📱 Follow MDC:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marketdirectcampers
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdc_caravans_and_campers/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MDC_AU
📻 Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjsVAcWloYAYA64q9ewHGiJ5uhgEGBJYZ

Escape with Confidence

For Mandy and Rolly, the open road wasn't just a holiday, it was a turning point. In this episode of Off Grid Down Under, the couple behind Memories Not Money share the story behind their lap of Australia, how time outdoors helped Rolly through a difficult mental health journey, and what they've learned about family, simplicity, and just getting out there.

One of our most honest and heartfelt conversations yet.

Browse the full MDC range at https://www.marketdirect.com.au — and subscribe so you never miss an episode of Off Grid Down Under.
Escape with Confidence — MDC Campers & Caravans

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts — search Off Grid Down Under by MDC
📱 Follow MDC:
Facebook: / marketdirectcampers
Instagram: / mdc_caravans_and_campers
YouTube: / @mdc_au
📻 Full podcast playlist: • Off Grid Down Under Podcast

Escape with Confidence