Campervan Hire Excess and Bonds in Australia: Every Rental Company Compared
Updated 20 September 2026 · 16 min read
The short answer
- Deposit and excess
- Two different numbersA$3,500 secured can sit over A$50,000 of rollover liability
- Excess per claim, before any upgrade
- A$500–A$8,000Across the eleven companies, on a direct booking
- Held, or actually debited
- Depends on the companythl and Cruisin take the money; most others only reserve it
- Cutting the excess to nil
- A$35–A$95 a dayTop option per company — and three 4WDs stop at A$750, not nil
- Never covered, at any price
- Water, sand and boggingNo company here sells cover for a bogged vehicle
- Unsealed roads
- Off limits almost everywhereA 12 km campground allowance is the usual exception
The short version
The short version. Every Australian campervan rental includes some damage cover, and every one leaves you owing something after a claim — A$500 to A$8,000 per claim at the eleven companies compared here, before you pay to reduce it. That figure, the excess or liability, is not always the amount taken from your card, and in Australia it is often genuinely taken rather than reserved. Tourism Holdings — Apollo, Britz, Maui and Mighty — debits the deposit immediately whenever you travel on its included Low Road cover, and Cruisin Motorhomes debits its A$5,000 to a physical credit card at pickup. Travellers Autobarn, by contrast, only pre-authorises, and leaves you liable for up to A$50,000 after a single-vehicle rollover or write-off. Read all three numbers before comparing anything else.
Cutting the excess to nil costs A$35 to A$95 a day depending on the company and the vehicle, and almost every company stops charging after 50 days. Camperman sells no daily reduction at all — its A$500 excess is the lowest here and also the one you cannot buy down. Three 4WDs never reach nil on the middle tier: Apollo's, Britz's and Mighty's stop at A$750 unless you add a further A$15 a day. And nil is nil only for the damage the contract covers. Every company here excludes water and submersion at every tier, and not one of them covers a bogged vehicle — thl says so of its top Platinum Pack in as many words.
The rest is the fine print that decides whether your cover survives the trip. Unsealed roads are banned almost everywhere, usually with an exception for campground access roads under 12 kilometres; Travellers Autobarn allows 500 metres, and Camperman publishes no exception at all. Campervan Village charges up to A$2,000 if its tracking shows you went anyway, explicitly including when no damage is found. The tables below set each company's published terms side by side, as read on 20 September 2026, with worked fourteen-day examples.
Deposit, excess and liability: three different numbers
Whatever a company calls its product — insurance, liability reduction, excess reduction, damage cover, protection — what you buy at the rental desk is a limit on how much you owe that company after damage. It is part of the rental contract, not an insurance policy in your name. The vehicle is insured by the company; your contract decides how much of a repair bill comes back to you.
Three figures describe that limit, and at most companies two of them are the same. The excess, or liability, is the most you pay per claim for damage the contract covers — and the companies that say how they count it charge it per claim, not per rental. The deposit, or bond, is the money the company secures before you drive away. A third figure appears at a few companies: a higher ceiling for particular damage, such as a rollover or a write-off, which the deposit does not reflect at all.
What makes Australia different from most markets is the second of those. Several companies here do not reserve the deposit against your card — they charge it, so the money leaves your account and comes back as a refund weeks later. Tourism Holdings' Australian rental agreement puts it plainly: the deposit "will be debited to the credit or debit card immediately" where the guest travels on Low Road, and the payment column in its own table reads simply "Charge".
- Excessliability
- The most you owe per claim for damage the contract covers. Cruisin Motorhomes and Tourism Holdings both state that it applies per claim rather than per rental, so two separate incidents can cost you twice over one trip.
- Depositbond, security bond
- The money a company secures before you drive, so that it can collect the excess after damage. It is usually the same figure as the excess, but not always: Spaceships secures A$5,000 against a write-off liability of up to A$18,000, and Travellers Autobarn A$3,500 against up to A$50,000.
- Holdpre-authorisation
- The bank reserves the amount against your card and no money moves unless there is a claim. On a debit card the reserved amount is still your own money, unavailable until the hold is lifted. Travellers Autobarn's website says about 14 days; its contract gives no figure at all.
- Chargedebit
- The money leaves your account and comes back as a refund after the rental. Tourism Holdings debits it on Low Road and on an unreduced 4WD, Cruisin Motorhomes on every standard rental, and both JUCY's and Star RV's booking terms say the same — while their websites say the opposite.
- Excess reductionliability reduction, cover
- The daily add-on that lowers the excess, usually the deposit with it. Each company names its options differently — High Road, Value Pack, Platinum Pack, Comprehensive, Stress-Free, Cover Plus, Maximum Cover — and each leaves different damage out.
- Claims fee
- An administration charge per claim, on top of the excess. It runs from A$75 at Cruisin Motorhomes to A$190 at Travellers Autobarn, and at JUCY, Star RV and Cruisin it is charged even on the top tier. Tourism Holdings publishes no such fee at all.
Three 4WDs stop at A$750, not nil
Apollo's, Britz's and Mighty's 4WD models start at an A$8,000 excess, and the High Road and Value Pack tiers bring that down to A$750 rather than to zero. Reaching nil takes a further A$15 a day for the 4WD Liability Reduction, or the Platinum Pack, which bundles it. Until you add one of those, the deposit is debited rather than held — so on a 4WD the middle tier leaves you both a charge on the card and A$750 of exposure. Campervan Village's 4WD Cover Plus likewise keeps a A$2,000 deposit where the 2WD version keeps none.
What each company takes, and what you owe by default
| Company | Included cover | Excess per claim | Deposit | How the deposit is taken |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo | The Low Road | A$5,000 on the Hitop and Endeavour; A$7,500 on the Euro motorhomes; A$8,000 on the 4WD Adventure Camper | Same as the excess | Debited to the card immediately at pickup |
| Britz | The Low Road | A$5,000 on the HiTop and Voyager; A$7,500 on the Trailblazer; A$8,000 on the Maverick and Warrior | Same as the excess | Debited to the card immediately at pickup |
| Camperman | Included, and not given a name | A$500, rising to A$750 for a single-vehicle accident — which its terms define to include animal strikes, kerbs, overhangs and carpark scrapes | A$500 | Its insurance page says a credit card swipe is held; its terms say the amount is charged to a credit or debit card at collection |
| Campervan Village | Standard Liability — sold through selected travel agents only, never on a direct booking | A$7,501 on a 2WD, A$9,501 on a 4WD — a dollar more than the deposit in each case | A$3,000 on the Mystery Machine 2 and Budget Mini-Camper, A$7,500 on other 2WDs, A$9,500 on a 4WD | Its agreement calls it a security deposit and a credit pre-authorisation interchangeably |
| Cruisin Motorhomes | Standard Liability | A$3,000 on the GoCheap Hi Top; A$5,000 on every other vehicle | Same as the excess | Debited — not held — to a physical credit card at pickup, in a single transaction |
| JUCY | Risk Taker | A$3,000 on the Crib+ and Cloudbreak; A$5,000 on the Coaster, Condo and Malibu; A$7,500 on the Big Kahuna | Same as the excess | Its booking terms say debited immediately at pickup; its website says an authorisation only, with no money taken |
| Maui | The Low Road | A$7,500 on every model — Maui prices its whole fleet as one class | Same as the excess | Debited to the card immediately at pickup |
| Mighty | The Low Road | A$3,500 on MightyLITE and the vans without a shower; A$5,000 on the toilet-and-shower models; A$8,000 on the 4WD | Same as the excess | Debited to the card immediately at pickup |
| Spaceships | Basic | A$5,000, or up to A$18,000 where the vehicle is written off. One figure for the whole fleet | A$5,000 — the basic figure, not the write-off one | Held on the card and released on an undamaged return; no timeframe is published |
| Star RV | Risk Taker | A$7,500 on all three Polaris sizes | Same as the excess — its table merges the two into one row | As at JUCY: debited at pickup in its booking terms, an authorisation on its own website |
| Travellers Autobarn | Standard Protection | Up to A$3,500; up to A$50,000 for a single-vehicle rollover or write-off | A$3,500 | Pre-authorised on a Visa or Mastercard credit card, and never debited at pickup |
From each company's own terms, liability and help pages, read 20 September 2026. Apollo, Britz, Maui and Mighty share one document set: the Summary of Rental Conditions Australia version 15 of 11 August 2026 and the Australian Rental Vehicle Agreement effective 8 June 2026, both covering travel to 31 March 2027. JUCY's and Star RV's figures are from their Customer Booking Terms and Conditions valid from 1 May 2026. Cruisin's are from its Summary of Rental Conditions for 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. Campervan Village's agreement carries no version number or effective date anywhere in its 23 pages.
Three patterns stand out. The excess usually follows the vehicle: Apollo, Britz, Mighty, JUCY, Cruisin and Campervan Village all set a higher figure on their larger, better-equipped or four-wheel-drive models, while Maui, Star RV, Spaceships, Travellers Autobarn and Camperman apply one figure to the whole fleet. The deposit matches the excess almost everywhere, which is why a smaller figure usually means a smaller risk — Spaceships and Travellers Autobarn are the exceptions, because of their write-off and rollover ceilings.
And the four-wheel-drive models are a different product. An A$8,000 excess at Apollo, Britz and Mighty, and A$9,501 at Campervan Village, is not a variation on the 2WD figure so much as a separate risk the companies price separately — which is also why theirs are the tiers that do not reach nil.
Two companies change the starting point altogether. Campervan Village's no-cost tier is not sold on its own website, so a direct booking always starts with a paid option. And Camperman sells no daily reduction at all, which makes its A$500 both the lowest default excess in this market and the only one a traveller has no way to reduce.
What excess reduction costs, company by company
| Company | Cheapest paid option | Top option | Excess on the top option | Charge stops after |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo | High Road: A$55 a day on the Hitop and Endeavour, A$65 on the Euro models, A$65 on the 4WD — which it leaves at A$750 | Platinum Pack: A$80, A$90 or A$95 a day in the same order | Nil. Windscreens and tyres are covered only from Platinum, or by a A$15-a-day add-on; on the 4WD that same A$15 is what clears the last A$750 | 50 days — but Platinum carries a 10-day minimum charge |
| Britz | High Road: A$55 a day on the HiTop and Voyager, A$65 on the Trailblazer, A$65 on the 4WDs — left at A$750 | Platinum Pack: A$80, A$90 or A$95 a day | Nil, with the same windscreen, tyre and 4WD provisos as Apollo | 50 days; Platinum carries a 10-day minimum |
| Camperman | None — no daily excess reduction is sold | Tyre and Windscreen Damage Exclusion package: A$100 once, and only before or at pickup | Unchanged at A$500, or A$750 after a single-vehicle accident. The package covers the front windscreen and the four fitted tyres, and nothing else | Not a daily charge |
| Campervan Village | LR One: A$30 a day on a 2WD, A$50 on a 4WD — a A$500 or A$5,000 deposit, and A$3,000 or A$5,001 in a single-vehicle incident | Cover Plus: A$55 a day on a 2WD, A$90 on a 4WD | A$1, with no deposit on a 2WD paid for by credit card — but a 4WD keeps a A$2,000 deposit even here | 60 days on a 2WD and 90 on a 4WD; Cover One stops at 45 and 72 |
| Cruisin Motorhomes | Liability Reduction Option: A$29 a day on the GoCheap Hi Top, A$45 on every other vehicle | Maximum Cover Package: A$39 or A$55 a day, which also brings GPS, pre-purchased gas, an outdoor table and chairs and a child seat | Nil, and no deposit — and it is the only tier that covers windscreens, tyres, overhead and underbody damage or a single-vehicle rollover | A$1,450 or A$2,250 on the lower option, A$1,950 or A$2,750 on the top — 50 days either way |
| JUCY | Essentials: A$35 a day on the Crib+ and Cloudbreak, A$50 on the Coaster, Condo and Malibu, A$60 on the Big Kahuna — capping liability at A$1,500, or A$2,500 on the Big Kahuna, for body-panel damage only | Comprehensive: A$50, A$65 or A$75 a day in the same order | Nil, plus the A$125 claims fee, which applies whichever tier you hold | 50 days |
| Maui | High Road: A$65 a day on every model | Platinum Pack: A$90 a day | Nil, except windscreens and tyres, which need Platinum or the A$15-a-day add-on | 50 days; Platinum carries a 10-day minimum |
| Mighty | High Road: A$40 a day on MightyLITE, A$50 on the vans without a shower, A$55 on those with one, A$60 on the 4WD — left at A$750 | Platinum Pack: A$70 on MightyLITE and the no-shower vans, A$80 with a shower, A$90 on the 4WD | Nil, with the same windscreen, tyre and 4WD provisos as its sister brands | 50 days; Platinum carries a 10-day minimum |
| Spaceships | Partial: A$25 a day — a A$3,000 deposit and write-off liability of up to A$9,000 | Stress-Free: A$35 a day, rising to A$40 from 1 October 2026 | Nil, with no deposit — but remote recovery in the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia stays excluded even here | 50 days, so A$1,250 on Partial and A$1,750 on Stress-Free, becoming A$2,000 |
| Star RV | Essentials: A$60 a day — A$2,500, for body-panel damage only, with windscreen and tyre cover a further A$15 a day | Comprehensive: A$75 a day, which also frees the windscreen and tyre cover and adds a driver | Nil, plus the A$125 claims fee | 50 days |
| Travellers Autobarn | Protection Plus: A$35 a day on a campervan, A$30 on a station wagon — no deposit, one front windscreen and two tyres, and rollover or write-off liability capped at A$10,000 | Protection Plus Value Pack: A$45 or A$35 a day, adding an extra driver and, on campervans, a chair per person, an external table and prepaid gas | Nil, and the rollover and write-off ceiling goes with it | 50 days |
From each company's published terms, read 20 September 2026. The thl prices (Apollo, Britz, Maui, Mighty) are for pickups to 31 March 2027; the figures for pickups from 1 April 2027 are already published and rise by about A$2 a day on High Road and A$2 to A$3 on the Platinum Pack, with the 4WD Liability Reduction going to A$16 — and the A$750 4WD floor unchanged. thl's Value Pack sits between High Road and Platinum at A$50 to A$80 depending on brand and class, adding an extra driver and a camping kit rather than more cover. JUCY's and Star RV's Essentials cap applies only to a single-vehicle accident causing body-panel damage alone, or to third-party damage; their own terms name overhead and roof panel damage, windscreen damage and tyre damage as reverting to the full excess. Travellers Autobarn also sells windscreen and tyre waivers separately at A$4.50 a day each, capped at A$112.50. Spaceships sells no standalone glass or tyre cover in Australia.
The cover is a flat daily fee, so its share of the bill grows as the hire rate falls. For scale, the table below is the typical daily hire rate by camper class from our own price collection.
| Camper category | Typical (median) per day | Common range per day | Live quotes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-person campers | A$173 | A$124–A$228 | 61,470 |
| 4x4 campers | A$322 | A$254–A$381 | 13,319 |
| Family (4+ berth) | A$277 | A$203–A$325 | 49,435 |
From 125,022 recent price checks across this market's rental companies — 10-day trips departing over the next twelve months, re-collected daily. The full distributions, month by month and company by company, are on the camper rental prices page. The cover prices above are added to these rates.
What stays with you, even on the top option
Some exclusions apply everywhere, and in Australia they are the ones most likely to come up. Not one of the eleven companies covers a bogged vehicle at any price: Tourism Holdings excludes recovering or towing a bogged vehicle even on its top Platinum Pack, and says in as many words that its 4WD Liability Reduction "does not cover bogged RVs". Every company whose terms address water excludes it outright — submersion, salt water, flooded roads, creek and river crossings — with no tier buying it back. thl draws the only line anyone draws: a 4WD may cross fresh water up to 30 centimetres deep, or the height of the driveline, whichever is lower, and anything deeper is yours.
Lost keys, the wrong fuel and personal belongings are excluded almost everywhere too. Cruisin Motorhomes is the exception on keys, in that its terms do not address them at all. And no company covers damage on a road its contract bans, or after a breach of the agreement — an unlisted driver, alcohol, negligence.
The rest varies, and three kinds of damage account for most of the difference: windscreens and tyres, which every company treats as a separate purchase; the roof and underbody, the parts of a tall vehicle a driver cannot see; and awnings, which at three companies here are never covered whatever you pay.
| Company | Windscreens and tyres | Roof, overhead and underbody | Water, sand and bogging |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo, Britz, Maui, Mighty | Not covered by High Road or the Value Pack; covered by the Platinum Pack or a A$15-a-day add-on | Covered from High Road up — the terms name front, back, side, overhead, underbody and awning damage together. Interior damage is excluded at every tier including Platinum, unless another vehicle was involved | Never. Any 2WD submerged or partly immersed in any water at all; any 4WD in salt water, or in fresh water deeper than 30 cm. Bogging is excluded at every tier, Platinum included |
| Camperman | The A$100 package covers the front windscreen and four fitted tyres, but not the spare; without it, up to A$500. The company puts a chip at about A$150, a replacement at A$400 and a tyre at A$300 | Never — overhead and underbody damage are listed as full-liability exclusions with no paid option at all | Never. Immersion, flooding and salt water are excluded, and unsealed-road use voids all cover including recovery, towing and assessment costs |
| Campervan Village | Glass and tyre cover scales with the tier — front glass, then front and rear, and two then four tyres | Only where the chosen tier says so. But the agreement makes rooftop tents, awnings and accessories fully chargeable with no tier exception, which its own comparison table does not flag | Never. Water and wrong fuel are excluded "even if You have paid the Liability Charge". Towing is capped at A$1,000 and never covered from an unsealed road |
| Cruisin Motorhomes | Maximum Cover Package only | Maximum Cover only, and only there is a single-vehicle rollover covered — but awning damage is listed flatly, with none of the "except where" wording its neighbours carry, so it stays with you on every tier | Never. Part or total submersion and salt water are absolute. Lost keys are not addressed at all |
| JUCY, Star RV | Comprehensive only, or Star RV's A$15-a-day add-on. JUCY does not publish a price for its standalone version | Comprehensive only. Essentials covers body panels alone, and both companies' terms send overhead and roof damage back to the full excess | Never. Water, sand, beaches and bogging are excluded outright — the clause covers a vehicle "bogged, submerged, caught, trapped, stuck". Awnings are excluded at every tier |
| Spaceships | Stress-Free only. No standalone glass or tyre cover is sold in Australia | Stress-Free adds underbody damage, exterior panels, side mirrors, one windscreen replacement and a rollover | Never. Submersion, creek crossings and beach driving are out at every tier, and remote recovery in the Northern Territory and northern WA is excluded even on Stress-Free |
| Travellers Autobarn | One front windscreen and two tyres on either paid tier, or A$4.50-a-day waivers capped at A$112.50. Side and rear glass are never covered; uncovered chips are A$90 each, and more than three triggers a A$450 replacement | Never — roof, overhead, underbody and awning damage stay with the hirer at every tier | Never. Water, sand, beach driving and bogging are full-responsibility items at every tier, alongside lost keys, wrong fuel and personal belongings |
Summarised from each company's rental terms and cover pages, read 20 September 2026. Camperman's terms do not name awnings either way. Campervan Village also excludes damage while the vehicle is stationary or reversing, and single-vehicle accidents and animal strikes unless a product it calls SVA Cover applies — which it names in its exclusions but does not price anywhere public.
Nobody sells cover for a bogged van
Sand and mud are where an Australian campervan most often needs rescuing, and it is the one thing no company here will insure. Tourism Holdings excludes recovering or towing a bogged vehicle on every tier including Platinum, and says its 4WD Liability Reduction does not cover it either. JUCY and Star RV exclude a vehicle bogged, submerged, caught, trapped or stuck. Campervan Village caps towing at A$1,000 and never pays it from an unsealed road. Spaceships excludes remote recovery in the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia even on its top tier, and sells a separate Remote Recovery product whose price it does not publish. Budget for a recovery the way you budget for fuel.
The roads your cover does not follow you onto
| Company | Unsealed roads | Named bans and permissions | Charged for going anyway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo, Britz, Maui, Mighty | 2WD: sealed only, apart from well-maintained access roads under 12 km to recognised commercial campgrounds and major tourist attractions. The 4WD models may leave the bitumen, but must run in 2WD mode on sealed roads | Prohibited outright: any beach, Fraser and Moreton Islands, the Old Telegraph Track, Cape York from December to May, the Canning Stock Route, the Old Gunbarrel Highway, the Great Central Road, and ski-access roads from 1 June to 30 September. Written consent is required for the Simpson Desert, the Tanami Track, the Gibb River Road, the Bungle Bungles, the Oodnadatta, Strzelecki and Birdsville Tracks, all of Tasmania in a 4WD, and any island reached by ferry. MightyLITE may not enter Tasmania at all | No flat fee is published. The consequence is worse: travelling to a restricted area voids liability cover if there is damage, and a substantial breach of the agreement removes the cap altogether, "irrespective of the liability cover, reduction or option purchased" |
| Camperman | None at all. Dirt, gravel, sand tracks, beaches and dunes are all banned, and no campground-access exception is published — the only company here without one | None named: the rule is written about the surface, not the place. No model is cleared for unsealed roads | No fixed fee, but a vehicle suspected of unsealed-road use is inspected, and the cost of that inspection comes out of the deposit even when no damage is found |
| Campervan Village | 2WD: access roads under 10 km to recognised commercial camping grounds. 4WD: unsealed roads are allowed where the surface will not damage the vehicle, but never genuine off-road driving | Prohibited zones are published as a map rather than a list. Any island reached by ferry needs prior written permission, and so does any 4WD-only area | A "use in prohibited area" fee of up to A$2,000 where tracking shows a beach, salt water or a prohibited area — explicitly charged to cover cleaning and depreciation where no damage is otherwise found — plus A$300 per occasion for entering a restricted zone without permission |
| Cruisin Motorhomes | Sealed and bitumen roads only, apart from well-maintained access roads under 12 km to recognised campgrounds | None named anywhere in its conditions, and no model is cleared for unsealed roads | No flat breach fee is published |
| JUCY, Star RV | Sealed only, apart from reasonable use of access roads under 12 km to recognised commercial campgrounds | None published. Both companies' terms instead reserve the right to name restricted locations at the time of collection, so the list you are bound by is the one you are told at the depot | An unauthorised travel fee of A$250 per violation, charged whether or not there is damage, on top of voided cover and full liability for damage, recovery, towing and third-party costs |
| Spaceships | Sealed only. Beaches, streams, dams, rivers and flood-waters need written authorisation, as does any closed or restricted road | None named. Its terms keep the prohibition generic | No flat breach fee is published |
| Travellers Autobarn | Sealed and bitumen only, apart from well-maintained access roads under 500 metres to recognised campgrounds and parking areas — much the shortest allowance here | Mainland Australia only. Tasmania and Kangaroo Island are allowed only with prior permission, and unauthorised island travel voids protection and leaves all recovery costs with the hirer | A$250 if the van is found to have been driven off-road, even where no damage is found |
From each company's rental agreements and terms, read 20 September 2026. thl's named lists are far longer than the examples above — its 2WD table also prohibits a long run of Northern Territory tracks including Boggy Hole, the Ghan Heritage Road, Jim Jim Falls and the unsealed Mereenie Loop, and Western Australia's Nanutarra Road and the unsealed sections of Karijini National Park. Its rental agreement requires prior written consent for restricted-area 4WD travel, while its plain-English summary asks only that guests nominate travel plans at the branch; the agreement is the document that binds.
The unsealed road is the most expensive thing in the contract
At almost every company here, an unsealed road does not reduce your cover — it removes it. Camperman states that travelling on any unsealed road voids all damage protection cover, and Camperman has no campground allowance at all, so a gravel track to a campsite is a breach. thl's substantial-breach clause removes the cap entirely, which means a rental with nil excess can end in uncapped liability. Check the list against your route before you pay for any cover, because the cover is the first thing a wrong turn cancels.
Cards, and how the money actually moves
| Company | Debit card for the deposit | Other card rules | Card fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo, Britz, Maui, Mighty | Yes — Visa or Mastercard debit as well as credit | No pre-paid cards, no bank transfers, and no cash "in any circumstances". The cardholder must be present and sign at pickup | Visa and Mastercard debit 2.0%, credit 3.1%, Amex 2.9% in the rental agreement. The Visa and Mastercard fee is refunded with the deposit; the Amex fee never is. Refunds take up to 14 business days |
| Camperman | Its terms say a credit or debit card; its insurance page says a credit card only | Australian dollar cash is accepted for the rental itself but never for the deposit, and foreign cash is refused outright. The main hirer must be present to sign | "Surcharges may apply to some card types" — no percentage is published. Refunds take 5 to 10 business days |
| Campervan Village | Yes, but paying the hire by debit card forfeits the Cover Plus deposit waiver entirely | Visa or Mastercard only, with the name matching the licence; no pre-paid cards, cash or bank transfers. The primary cardholder must attend both pickup and return | 1.7%, or 3.5% on an international card, non-refundable, on every deposit and cover transaction. Inspection alone can take 7 to 30 days, and after an incident the deposit is held until third-party claims finalise |
| Cruisin Motorhomes | No — the deposit requires a physical credit card, and EFTPOS is accepted for rental charges only | One transaction, with no splitting across cards, and the cardholder present and able to sign. No branch accepts cash under any circumstances | Visa 2.15%, Visa Debit 1.66%, Mastercard 2.18%, Mastercard Debit 1.22%, non-refundable. Refunds take up to 14 working days |
| JUCY, Star RV | Yes — the deposit may be paid by credit or debit card | On JUCY's Comprehensive a A$300 deposit still applies on a debit card, against A$1 on a credit card. Star RV requires an additional driver to attend the branch or be approved before driving | A fee applies now, with the rate shown at booking rather than published; both say no card fee will apply in Australia from 1 October 2026 |
| Spaceships | Yes — Visa, Mastercard, Amex, China UnionPay and JCB, credit or debit | Where a credit card is presented, its holder becomes jointly and severally liable as a hirer. Whether cash is accepted is not addressed either way | Not published. A separate A$3.30 per toll processing fee applies, unrelated to card type |
| Travellers Autobarn | No — a Visa or Mastercard credit card is required for the deposit, and cash cards are refused | A family member's or guarantor's credit card can be authorised in advance on a form. The hire itself can be paid by cash, debit or credit card | 2.9% non-refundable on Visa, Mastercard and Amex for rental payments. Its contract sets no release period for the pre-authorisation; only its website gives one, at about 14 days |
From each company's terms, payment and help pages, read 20 September 2026. Where a company does not say either way, it is written here as not addressed rather than guessed at; ask before booking. Several companies' own help pages give card percentages that differ from their rental agreements — see the sources note below.
Work out whether it is a hold or a charge
This is the first question in Australia, not the last. A hold reduces what you can spend; a charge takes the money. At Tourism Holdings and Cruisin Motorhomes the deposit is genuinely debited, so A$5,000 to A$8,000 leaves your account at pickup and comes back weeks later.
Leave room on the card either way
Held or charged, treat the deposit as money you cannot use until it is released — fuel, campsites and a long drive between depots all have to fit alongside it.
Expect the refund to take weeks, not days
Tourism Holdings and Cruisin both say up to 14 business days. Campervan Village's inspection alone can take 7 to 30 days, and after an incident it holds the deposit until third-party claims finalise. Camperman is the quickest published, at 5 to 10 business days.
Check whether the card fee comes back
Tourism Holdings refunds the Visa and Mastercard administration fee with the deposit but never the Amex one. Campervan Village's 1.7%, or 3.5% internationally, is non-refundable on every deposit transaction, so a deposit returned in full still cost you a percentage of itself.
Check the card can be yours
Campervan Village and Cruisin Motorhomes both require the cardholder present, and Campervan Village needs the name to match the driving licence. Travellers Autobarn will accept a relative's credit card, but only if it is authorised in advance on a form.
Is excess reduction worth it? Fourteen-day examples
| Scenario (14-day hire) | On the included cover | On a paid option | What the arithmetic shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maui motorhome, no damage at all | A$0 for cover — and A$7,500 debited to your card at pickup for the length of the trip | High Road: A$910 (14 × A$65). Platinum Pack: A$1,260 (14 × A$90) | Declining is free but not costless: the A$7,500 is money out of your account, not a reservation. What A$910 buys, on a trip with no claim, is the use of your own A$7,500 |
| Britz 4WD, scraped on a permitted gravel road | A$8,000, debited at pickup | High Road at A$910 leaves A$750 — and is still debited. Adding the 4WD Liability Reduction at A$15 a day, A$1,120 in all, makes it nil and turns the charge into a card authority | The A$210 between the two is what clears the last A$750 and stops the money leaving your account. On a 4WD, the middle tier buys less than it looks like it does |
| Travellers Autobarn campervan, single-vehicle rollover | A$3,500 pre-authorised; liability for the damage or the van's market value up to A$50,000; a A$190 claims fee | Value Pack: A$630 (14 × A$45), nil liability. Protection Plus, at A$490, still leaves up to A$10,000 | The A$140 between the two options buys the last A$10,000 of rollover risk, plus an extra driver and camping gear. The A$3,500 hold was never the number that mattered |
| JUCY Crib+, roof catches an overhead beam | Up to A$3,000, plus the A$125 claims fee | Comprehensive: A$700 (14 × A$50), then only the A$125 fee | Essentials, at A$490, would not help: its A$1,500 cap covers body-panel damage only, and its own terms send roof and overhead damage back to the full A$3,000 |
| Spaceships van written off | Up to A$18,000, against a A$5,000 deposit | Stress-Free: A$490, or A$560 at the A$40 rate from 1 October 2026. Partial, at A$350, still leaves up to A$9,000 | The deposit is the smallest number in the row. Comparing companies on what they hold rather than on what they can charge gets this one exactly backwards |
| Cruisin motorhome, cracked windscreen | Up to A$5,000, plus A$75 payable when you report the accident rather than at the end of the hire | Maximum Cover Package: A$770 (14 × A$55) | The A$45-a-day option, A$630, zeroes the excess but not the glass: only Maximum Cover includes windscreens and tyres. Neither tier covers the awning |
| Campervan Village 4WD, booked direct | Not available — Standard Liability is sold only through selected travel agents | LR One at A$700 (14 × A$50) keeps a A$5,000 deposit. Cover Plus at A$1,260 (14 × A$90) drops the excess to A$1 but still keeps A$2,000 | A 4WD booked direct never reaches a nil deposit, and its agreement charges the A$150 claims fee on every claim whichever tier you hold, whatever the comparison table implies |
| Camperman, kangaroo strike at dusk | A$750 — its single-vehicle figure, which its terms define to include animal strikes | Nothing to buy. The A$100 tyre and windscreen package is the only cover sold, and it does not apply | The lowest excess in this market is also the only one that cannot be reduced. For a A$750 worst case that may be the right trade — but it is a trade, not an absence of risk |
Cover prices for pickups in the current season, from each company's published terms, read 20 September 2026. Repair costs, where quoted, are the companies' own published figures rather than quotes obtained for this article. Claims fees are shown where the company publishes one; Tourism Holdings publishes none.
The most a top option can cost
Because almost every company stops charging after 50 days, the top option has a fixed ceiling per rental: 50 × A$90, or A$4,500, for Maui's Platinum Pack against the A$7,500 it removes, and A$2,750 for Cruisin's Maximum Cover against A$5,000. Campervan Village charges a 4WD's Cover Plus for up to 90 days, the longest here. What no company publishes is how often its renters actually claim — so the honest comparison is always cost against exposure, never cost against probability.
Travel insurance and excess cover bought elsewhere
The rental companies are consistent on this. The deposit is taken, the excess is charged, and you claim the money back from your insurer afterwards. That ordering matters more in Australia than in markets where the deposit is only reserved: if Tourism Holdings or Cruisin Motorhomes debits several thousand dollars at pickup, an excess policy does not stop the money leaving, it only repays it later. Your card has to carry the figure either way.
Check what the outside policy actually covers before relying on it. The policy limit needs to reach the company's real ceiling rather than its headline excess — A$50,000 for a rollover at Travellers Autobarn, up to A$18,000 for a write-off at Spaceships, and at Tourism Holdings no stated ceiling at all, because a substantial breach of its agreement removes the cap rather than raising it. Confirm too that the policy names campervans and motorhomes: a large motorhome is not always the same risk to an insurer as a hire car.
And no policy rewrites the rental contract. The exclusions in the table above are contractual, so damage in water, a bogged vehicle, a banned road or an unlisted driver stays yours regardless of what you bought elsewhere. Personal belongings are excluded by every company here — the cover stops at the vehicle, and what is inside it is a matter for your own policy, not the rental desk's.
Injury is handled separately again, and not by any of this. Compulsory third party insurance is attached to the vehicle's registration in every state and territory, and it covers personal injury only — the regulators in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia each say in terms that it does not cover damage to vehicles or property. So it never touches what you owe the rental company for the campervan, and the excess tables above are unaffected by it. It is also eight different schemes rather than one: Victoria's Transport Accident Commission and Western Australia's Insurance Commission are single government insurers, while New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT have the vehicle's owner choose a licensed insurer at registration. Fault matters differently too — Victoria's scheme pays regardless of who caused the crash, while South Australia's standard cover excludes a driver entirely responsible for it.
Two things worth knowing are not confirmed by any official source. No regulator states in plain terms that an overseas visitor driving on a valid foreign licence is covered exactly as a resident is, although every scheme attaches cover to the vehicle and to any driver of it rather than to the driver's residence, and the schemes that list non-compliance describe it as driving without a current licence rather than without an Australian one. And no Australian government source frames compulsory third party cover as a substitute, or not, for travel insurance. What can be said from the regulators' own pages is narrower and enough: it pays for injury from a road accident in Australia, and for nothing else.
Does the policy name campervans or motorhomes?
Not every excess policy covers them, and some that cover hire cars exclude vehicles over a certain length or weight. Check the wording against the model you have actually booked.
Does its limit reach the real ceiling?
Match the policy limit to the rollover or write-off figure, not the headline excess — and note that at Tourism Holdings a substantial breach leaves no ceiling to match.
Can your card carry the deposit regardless?
Outside cover repays you later; it never reduces what the company takes at pickup. Where that is a debit rather than a hold, the money is genuinely gone for a fortnight or more.
What will the claim need?
Keep the rental agreement, the damage report and the company's invoice. The insurer reimburses you from those, after the rental company has been paid.
Choosing your cover
You cannot have several thousand dollars leave your account for the trip
This rules out declining cover at Tourism Holdings and Cruisin Motorhomes, where the deposit is debited rather than held. Either buy the tier that converts it to a card authority, or choose a company that only pre-authorises: Travellers Autobarn at A$3,500 and Spaceships at A$5,000 both hold rather than charge.
You only have a debit card
Apollo, Britz, Maui, Mighty, JUCY, Star RV and Spaceships all take debit cards for the deposit. Campervan Village takes one but you then forfeit the Cover Plus deposit waiver entirely, and JUCY keeps a A$300 deposit on a debit card even on Comprehensive. Cruisin Motorhomes needs a physical credit card, and Travellers Autobarn a Visa or Mastercard credit card.
Your route includes any unsealed road
Read the list before you pay for anything. Most companies allow campground access roads under 12 km; Campervan Village allows 10 km on a 2WD; Travellers Autobarn allows 500 metres; Camperman allows none, and says any unsealed road voids all cover. Campervan Village charges up to A$2,000 if its tracking catches you, and JUCY and Star RV A$250, damage or no damage.
You are booking a 4WD
Budget for the add-on as part of the price. Apollo's, Britz's and Mighty's 4WDs start at an A$8,000 excess and stop at A$750 on the middle tiers, so nil costs a further A$15 a day or the Platinum Pack. Campervan Village's 4WD keeps a A$2,000 deposit even on Cover Plus. And no tier anywhere covers a bogged vehicle.
A driver is under 21
It is an eligibility question here rather than a price one. Tourism Holdings sets 18 for MightyLITE's HiLITE and DeLITE and Mighty's Highball and Double Down, and 21 for everything else; Campervan Village takes 18 on a 2WD with a A$5-a-day surcharge but 21 on a 4WD; JUCY takes 18 with a A$5-a-day surcharge; Star RV, Cruisin Motorhomes and Apollo's own range start at 21. No company here loads the excess by age.
The trip runs past seven weeks
Almost everything stops charging at 50 days — Tourism Holdings, JUCY, Star RV, Spaceships and Travellers Autobarn by day count, Cruisin by a dollar cap of A$1,450 to A$2,750. Campervan Village is the outlier, charging Cover Plus for up to 60 days on a 2WD and 90 on a 4WD.
You already hold an excess policy
Keep the included cover only if your card can carry the deposit — as a charge, not a hold, where that applies — and the policy covers campervans up to the company's highest figure. Otherwise weigh its cost against what the top tier adds beyond the excess: windscreens and tyres almost everywhere, GPS and gas at Cruisin, an extra driver and camping gear at JUCY and Travellers Autobarn.
Go by the figure on your own booking
Cover terms change with the booking date and the vehicle, and several changes are already scheduled: Spaceships' Stress-Free rises on 1 October 2026, JUCY and Star RV both say their Australian card fee ends the same day, and Tourism Holdings' prices change for pickups from 1 April 2027. Companies' own pages also disagree with their own contracts — Apollo's FAQ still gives a A$500 4WD excess where its agreement says A$750, and Britz's 2025/26 liability pages are still live alongside the current ones. Treat the booking confirmation and the signed agreement as the figures that count.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a campervan bond and an excess in Australia?
The excess, or liability, is the most you owe per claim for damage the rental contract covers. The bond, or deposit, is the money the company secures before you drive so that it can collect that amount. At most Australian companies they are the same figure, but not everywhere: Travellers Autobarn secures A$3,500 while leaving you liable for up to A$50,000 after a single-vehicle rollover or write-off, and Spaceships secures A$5,000 against a write-off liability of up to A$18,000.
Is a campervan bond charged to my card or only held?
It depends on the company, and in Australia it is more often genuinely charged than in most markets. Tourism Holdings — Apollo, Britz, Maui and Mighty — debits the deposit immediately when you travel on its included Low Road cover or on an unreduced 4WD, and Cruisin Motorhomes debits its A$3,000 or A$5,000 to a physical credit card at pickup. Travellers Autobarn and Spaceships pre-authorise instead. JUCY's and Star RV's booking terms say the deposit is debited at pickup while their own websites say it is an authorisation only, and Camperman's pages say both. On a debit card, assume the money is unavailable either way.
Can I hire a campervan in Australia with a debit card?
At most companies, yes. Apollo, Britz, Maui, Mighty, JUCY, Star RV and Spaceships all accept a debit card for the deposit. Campervan Village accepts one, but paying the hire by debit card forfeits its Cover Plus deposit waiver entirely, and JUCY keeps a A$300 deposit on a debit card even on its top tier. Cruisin Motorhomes requires a physical credit card for the deposit, and Travellers Autobarn a Visa or Mastercard credit card. Pre-paid and cash cards are refused across the board.
Does zero excess mean I can never be charged for damage?
No. A nil excess applies only to damage the contract covers. Every company here excludes water and submersion at every tier, and not one covers a bogged vehicle — Tourism Holdings says so of its top Platinum Pack explicitly. Damage on a banned road or after a breach of the agreement is charged in full everywhere, and at Tourism Holdings a substantial breach removes the liability cap altogether. Travellers Autobarn never covers roof, underbody or awning damage at any tier, Cruisin never covers an awning, and JUCY, Star RV and Cruisin all charge their claims fee on the top tier.
Is campervan excess reduction worth it in Australia?
It depends on how likely you are to claim, which no company publishes, so compare what the cover costs against what it removes. Over a 14-day hire, Maui's High Road costs A$910 against the A$7,500 it removes, and because the charge stops at 50 days the most it can cost on any rental is A$3,250. Weigh the deposit mechanism too: at Tourism Holdings and Cruisin, paying for cover is also what stops several thousand dollars being debited from your account for the trip. And check what a cheaper tier leaves out — JUCY's and Star RV's middle option covers body panels only.
Will my travel insurance cover the campervan excess?
It may repay it, but it does not replace the rental company's terms. The company still takes its deposit and charges its excess, and you claim the money back afterwards — which in Australia often means the cash genuinely leaves your account first. Check that the policy covers campervans or motorhomes, and that its limit reaches the company's highest figure rather than its headline excess: A$50,000 at Travellers Autobarn, up to A$18,000 at Spaceships, and no stated ceiling at all at Tourism Holdings after a substantial breach.
What happens if I drive a rental campervan on an unsealed road?
At almost every company, the cover you paid for stops applying. Most allow well-maintained access roads under 12 kilometres to recognised campgrounds; Campervan Village allows 10 kilometres on a 2WD, Travellers Autobarn 500 metres, and Camperman publishes no allowance at all and states that any unsealed road voids all damage protection cover. Several charge you even with no damage: Campervan Village up to A$2,000 where its tracking shows a beach or a prohibited area, JUCY and Star RV A$250 per violation, and Travellers Autobarn A$250. Camperman deducts the cost of an inspection from the deposit.
Which Australian campervans can legally go off the bitumen?
Only the four-wheel-drive models, and even then with conditions. Apollo's Adventure Camper, Britz's Maverick and Warrior, Mighty's 4WD and three of Campervan Village's models are cleared for unsealed roads; every other vehicle in this comparison is restricted to sealed roads. Even a cleared 4WD is barred from beaches, Fraser and Moreton Islands, the Old Telegraph Track and the Canning Stock Route, and needs prior written consent for the Simpson Desert, the Gibb River Road, the Tanami Track and Tasmania. No tier at any company covers recovering a bogged vehicle.
How long does an Australian campervan bond take to come back?
Longer than most travellers expect. Tourism Holdings and Cruisin Motorhomes both say up to 14 business or working days. Camperman publishes 5 to 10 business days, the quickest here. Campervan Village says its inspection alone may take 7 to 30 days, and after an incident it holds the deposit until third-party claims finalise or a limitation period expires. JUCY and Star RV contradict themselves: their terms promise 10 business days after the hire ends, while their websites say the bond is released 7 days after pickup or 48 hours after drop-off, whichever comes first.
Why do I see different excess figures for the same company?
Usually for one of three reasons. The figure depends on the vehicle: Apollo, Britz, Mighty, JUCY, Cruisin and Campervan Village all set higher figures on larger or four-wheel-drive models. It depends on the booking date: JUCY's and Star RV's current figures apply from 1 May 2026, and Tourism Holdings' prices change for pickups from 1 April 2027. And companies' own pages disagree with their own contracts — Apollo's FAQ gives a A$500 4WD excess against A$750 in the agreement it links to, and Britz's 2025/26 liability pages are still live beside the current ones. The booking confirmation and the signed agreement are the figures that count.
Sources & freshness
Every figure comes from the company's own published terms, read 20 September 2026. Apollo, Britz, Maui and Mighty share one document set: thl's Summary of Rental Conditions Australia, version 15 of 11 August 2026, covering travel from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027; version 5 of 4 August 2026 for travel from 1 April 2027; and the Australian Rental Vehicle Agreement of Tourism Holdings Australia Pty Limited, effective 8 June 2026. Britz's and Maui's copies of that agreement are identical documents. Each brand's own liability-options page was read alongside them. JUCY and Star RV: their respective Customer Booking Terms and Conditions valid from 1 May 2026, their Australian excess-reduction pages and their help centres. Spaceships: its Australian terms and conditions, its bond-reduction options page and its help centre. Travellers Autobarn: its Australian rental terms and conditions effective 19 June 2026, which supersede the 16 August 2023 document, and its bond-reduction page. Cruisin Motorhomes: its Summary of Rental Conditions for Cruisin Motorhomes and GoCheap Campervans, 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, version 1.0, and its payments and liability pages. Campervan Village: its Australian vehicle rental agreement and its policies page. Camperman: its terms and conditions updated May 2026, its campervan insurance page and its FAQ.
The companies' own documents conflict in places, and this article reports both rather than choosing. JUCY's and Star RV's booking terms say the bond is debited at pickup where their own websites say it is an authorisation with no money taken, and their terms promise a refund within 10 business days where their websites say 7 days after pickup or 48 hours after drop-off. Camperman describes the same A$500 three ways across two documents — held on its insurance page, charged to a credit or debit card in one clause of its terms, held again in another — and accounts for its A$750 single-vehicle figure once as A$500 plus A$250 and once as a single A$750 excess. Apollo's liability FAQ, republished on 7 September 2026, gives a A$500 4WD excess where the rental agreement it links to says A$750. Britz's 2025/26 liability pages are still live, quoting A$60 a day and a 30-day cap against the current A$65 and 50 days. Campervan Village's comparison table shows its A$150 claims fee only under the agent-only tier while its agreement charges it on every claim, adds A$100 for a police report, and allows more than A$150 where its costs exceed it; the same table shows roof cover on Cover Plus while the agreement makes rooftop tents and awnings fully chargeable with no exception, and attaches its A$500 remote-depot minimum only to one cell where the agreement applies it to every tier. Spaceships gives its accident administration fee as A$125 in its terms and A$100 on its insurance page. On card fees, thl's agreement gives 2.0% debit, 3.1% credit and 2.9% Amex, while Britz's and Mighty's help pages charge debit cards the credit rate and Maui's gives 1.9%, 2.8% and 2.6%. Tourism Holdings' summary and agreement also differ on whether restricted-area 4WD travel needs written consent or only a declaration at the branch, and thl's own documents include MightyLITE's HiLITE and DeLITE in its 18-year minimum age while both Mighty's and Apollo's FAQ pages omit them. Star RV's minimum age is given as 21 on its own FAQ and as 18 in the booking terms that FAQ links to; the ages in this article follow each company's FAQ, which is what a traveller is shown when booking.
Not published, and asked for: any rollover or write-off ceiling at Tourism Holdings, which removes the liability cap on a substantial breach rather than raising it to a figure; any claims or accident administration fee at Tourism Holdings; the dollar amount of Camperman's claims administration fee, which its terms charge but never quantify; Camperman's card surcharge percentage; JUCY's and Star RV's current card surcharge percentages, which both say will cease to apply in Australia from 1 October 2026; Spaceships' card surcharge, its bond release timeframe, the price of its Remote Recovery Cover, and any version number or effective date on its terms; Campervan Village's effective date or version number, the price of the single-vehicle-accident cover its exclusions name, and its named prohibited roads, which it publishes only as a map; Cruisin Motorhomes' policy on lost keys, which its conditions do not address; and Travellers Autobarn's bond release period, which appears only on its website and not in its contract.
The compulsory third party section is written from the state and territory regulators' own pages, read 20 September 2026 and linked below. Two points in it could not be confirmed from any official source and are written as unconfirmed: whether an overseas visitor on a foreign licence is covered on exactly the same terms as a resident, and whether any Australian government body frames the scheme as not a substitute for travel insurance. The Northern Territory's and Tasmania's schemes are described only in outline here, because their own pages could not be read directly for this article.
Official sources
- What am I covered for? · State Insurance Regulatory Authority (NSW) · Read 20 September 2026. Green Slip cover is personal injury only: "Green Slips don't cover the cost of damaged vehicles or property."
- Transport Accident Charge · Transport Accident Commission (Victoria) · Read 20 September 2026. Victoria's single-insurer, no-fault scheme, charged with registration and limited to death or injury.
- What is CTP insurance? · Motor Accident Insurance Commission (Queensland) · Last updated 13 July 2026; read 20 September 2026. Queensland's choice-of-insurer model, and its exclusion of vehicle and property damage.
- About CTP insurance · CTP Insurance Regulator (South Australia) · Read 20 September 2026. South Australia's fault-based scheme on a single regulator-set policy wording, and its licence-compliance conditions.
- Motor Injury Insurance · Department of Transport (Western Australia) · Read 20 September 2026. Cover for injury caused by any driver of the licensed vehicle, expressly excluding damage to vehicles or other property.
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