Popular caravan YouTubers ordered to pay more than $1 million for ‘misleading representations’

A pair of ‘vanlife’ YouTubers have been ordered to pay more than $1 million to a caravan manufacturer after a dispute between the two parties began to spill into videos published on the family’s public social media channels.

Known for the camping and road tripping videos regularly posted on their popular YouTube channel, Jackson and Kyla Cartwright paid for the construction of a caravan by Masterpiece Caravans Pty Ltd in April 2022.

In February 2023, the couple obtained the caravan before using it as a mobile residence for around six months, and featuring it on their social media.

A dispute began around August 2023 over allegations of “a number of serious defects” which the Cartwrights believed they had found in the vehicle but the company disputed, a court judgment said.

Eventually, the two parties decided the best course of action was for the family to return the caravan to Masterpiece Caravans, who would return the $198,500 paid for the vehicle.

Part of the settlement agreement included the family returning the caravan “that day” and “not (talking) negatively about the plaintiff, including on their social media accounts”.

Despite this, the Cartwrights would publish a video on February 4 2024 titled “HOMELESS!! OUR CARAVAN’S GONE!! RAW 1HR HOME VIDEO STYLE into OUR LIFE – DELIVERY of our NEW HOME”.

According to District Court Judge Kevin Andronos, the video “conveyed representations that the plaintiff had forced the Cartwrights and their family to return the caravan with only a few hours notice, which caused them to be homeless”.

A second video published in late July of the same year and titled WE NEED to TALK … + GET to KNOW US!”, contained what the court found were “representations that the plaintiff makes caravans with ‘catastrophic defects’ and that the plaintiff is evil and/or preventing the defendants from telling the ‘full story’”.

Judge Andronos said both videos “had wide circulation within the relevant caravanning market” and noted “market responses to the plaintiff and its product changed from about the time of (the videos being published) and orders declined significantly from that time”.

“I accept that the extent of the decline exceeded any general decline and, on the evidence before me, is only explicable by reason of the defendants’ posting of the first and second videos,” he said.

“I am therefore satisfied that the conduct of the defendants … caused loss and damage to the plaintiff as alleged.”

Ultimately, the Cartwrights never appeared in court. The judgment said Mr Cartwright emailed the court and plaintiff in October 2025 and were told their defence would be struck out in December 17 if they did not appear in court, which they did not.

The judgment said: “The defendants’ failure to appear, or even to acknowledge receipt of the communications sent to them, is not explained.”

This resulted in a default judgment awarded to the plaintiff on Wednesday.

Judge Andronos has ordered the pair pay $1,211,349 in damages to Masterpiece Caravans.