Leaving a successful corporate career in 1999, John operated out of a small 80m2 workshop at Rocklea where he dedicated many a long hour to designing and building a camper trailer that, while low cost, would still offer genuine high-quality fabrication and finishes.

With the help of his brother, David and a friend from his motor racing days, John and this team worked tirelessly, combining their areas of expertise to engineer an innovative new style of camper trailer.

And it wasn’t long before the first soft-floor, side-fold camper trailer prototype (which would become known as The Explorer) was completed.

Setting out with the family to test it out, their first trip took them West where they spent the days exploring the bush and the nights sitting around huge bonfires, watching the cinders floating up and away towards the Southern Cross.

Test Trip 2.0 would see the young family heading off to Fraser Island, tackling sand dunes and rough inland tracks during daylight hours, then at dusk enjoying a well-deserved drink against a background of swaying palm trees and the rush of the waves out front.

And it was from these first trips that the now well-known logo of Lifestyle Campers was born…

 

Each test trip, John returned with an even stronger drive and passion for delivering on his dream with each new innovation or improvement bringing him closer.

Soon friends and family were all asking for him to build them one, with what started out as a hobby turning into a thriving business.

In 2001, demand began to grow and as it did, John began to outgrow the Lifestyle Campers workshop, having to relocate to a bigger site (200m2) in Darra. Over the years, demand for the Lifestyle Campers and the success of the company continued to flourish seeing the business needing to expand and relocate its workshop every few years. From Darra (200m2) Lifestyle Campers moved to Archerfield (400m2), then to Coopers Plains (800m2) and finally to Slacks Creek where the current workshop is a 2500m2 full-service facility with design, engineering, fabrication, sales, service and repairs all under one roof.

Nearly 2 decades since its inception, Lifestyle Campers is a successful, family owned and operated business in Slacks Creek QLD with 40+ Team Members on site and where the Swinglehurst clan continue to work together with the same passion and drive as John and Terri, providing families from all across Australia with an innovative and affordable camping solution.

Go through the evolution of Lifestyle Campers.