The caravan is steel, aluminium and composite. What holds a container at the border is usually the timber around it — a separate biosecurity risk, and when it is wrong the bill lands with the importer.

Why the exposure sits with the importer, not the factory

An off-road caravan leaves as a complete, towable unit, on its own wheels or on a flat rack. Bearers sit under the chassis, dunnage holds the unit to the rack, and spare parts ship in crates and on pallets. None of it is part of the vehicle; it is packaging, with its own rulebook. The declaration is completed by the packer, but treatment, re-export or destruction is charged back to the importer. Every model in the range, from the compact off-road caravans for sale upwards, travels on the same timber.

What ISPM 15 requires of that timber

ISPM 15 is the international standard for solid wood packaging material: pallets, crates, bearers, skids, blocking, dunnage and load boards, anything of raw softwood or hardwood used to support or secure cargo. Compliant material must be debarked, within the tolerance the standard allows, and treated by a certified provider. Four treatments are recognised: heat treatment (HT, 56°C core for 30 minutes), dielectric heating (DH, 60°C for one minute), methyl bromide (MB) and sulfuryl fluoride (SF). The treatment is declared on the wood itself:

• The mark carries the IPPC symbol, the treatment country code, the provider's registration number and the treatment code.
• Placement matters: the mark must be legible on the material, not on your paperwork.
• Exempt are wood 6 mm or less thick, packaging made wholly of plywood or particle board, and wood permanently attached to vehicles and containers.
• The trap is mixed packaging: if an otherwise exempt crate contains any solid wood component, that solid wood still needs treatment and marking.

The market rules that decide your packing specification

The European Union does not accept methyl bromide, prohibited there since 2010: only heat-based treatments and sulfuryl fluoride are recognised. In the United States, non-compliant wood packaging is refused entry and must be re-exported, and an Emergency Action Notice follows the importer. Australia and New Zealand enforce the same standard through the declaration: containerised timber must be declared and supported by ISPM 15 compliance statements or evidence of an accepted treatment. A non-compliant pack is treated, exported or destroyed at the importer's expense, and New Zealand inspects the container for soil, plant debris and insect evidence.

What to write into the order

Five items worth fixing at order stage:

• Name the standard, not "export packing". Require treated and marked ISPM 15 packaging, and name the treatment methods your destination accepts.
• Prefer engineered wood where it will do the job. Plywood and OSB crates sit outside the standard; solid bearers or blocking in the pack do not.
• Ask for photographs of the mark on bearer, crate and dunnage before the container is sealed, the cheapest evidence you will hold.
• Put container cleanliness in writing: dry, all six sides free of soil, plant material and bark, with a pre-loading photo.
• Collect the documents: the packing declaration your broker lodges, plus a treatment or phytosanitary certificate where your market expects one.

The packing has to suit the unit inside: a 16ft hard-top ships on a 3,000 kg ATM with its own VIN and data plate, and larger models go one unit per 40ft flat rack. Which ports is the first order going to? Put that on the enquiry and the packing methods can be fixed to match, rather than discovered at the terminal. Document and declaration questions can go to [email protected], WhatsApp: +86 186 6381 3961 handles short ones, and the models are published at www.lgloader.com.

【 Go Back 】 | 【 Print 】