The arrival is a document match, not a fresh inspection
By the time a camper container reaches the importer, most of the checking has already happened. The documented process ends with a pre-shipment inspection before the units are loaded — carried out by your own inspector or a third-party company — and the photo or video records from the agreed inspection points are part of the paper trail that travels with the order. So the receiving bay is not where quality is judged from zero; it is where the delivery is compared against documents that were agreed before production started.
That reframes the exercise. The question on arrival is not whether a unit looks good — it is whether the container matches the specification, the quotation, the agreed shipping format and the inspection record. A delivery that matches its documents can go straight into the fitment programme; a delivery that does not has a documented baseline to be measured against, not a judgement call to argue about.
The file to pull before the container arrives
The written specification is the anchor document. At the enquiry stage the factory returned a written specification naming the model and the options that apply, and production started against that approved document — so every unit in the container is supposed to be the specification, made physical. Around it sit the four other records an importer should already hold from the order. None of them is new paperwork for the arrival; they are the same documents from the production timeline, reread at the delivery end.
| Document (agreed before production) | What to compare on arrival |
|---|---|
| The written specification | Model, options, equipment level, colours and artwork on every unit match the stage-01 document the factory built against |
| The agreed shipping format | Bodies arrive assembled or in shipping configuration exactly as agreed per model line — the format was decided before loading, not improvised at the port |
| The pre-shipment inspection record | Photo or video records taken before the units were loaded; anything the inspection documented, the arrival should reproduce |
| The spares kit list | The recommended spares kit ships with the first order — receive the kit against its list before it is dispersed |
| The compliance document set | Whatever documents were confirmed for the destination market before the order was committed travels with the shipment |
Assembled, in shipping configuration, or flat-packed
Units ship assembled or in shipping configuration according to the model and how you want to receive them at the destination — which is why the format question belongs in the order conversation, not at the container door. The receiving plan differs by format: an assembled body comes off ready for the mounting step, while a body in shipping configuration means some reassembly at destination is expected, and the labour, space and sequence for that should be planned before the container arrives rather than discovered inside it.
Roof-top tents always arrive the same way: they containerise as compact flat packs, which is what makes them the easiest line to receive and to store. The flat-pack check is quick, because the standard list is short and published — each R-line tent ships with the mattress, the telescopic ladder and the mounting kit included. Pack count against the order, included items against the standard list, and the tents are received.
The last check happens on a truck, not in the container
Every body was custom-made to the bed or chassis dimensions of the vehicles on the order, and the body length, mounting type and weight were confirmed for those exact vehicles before the order was placed. The first fitment is therefore the final receiving check: mounting hardware ships in the standard list of every model, installation is non-destructive bolt-on — the unit mounts into the bed or onto the chassis without cutting or welding the vehicle — and the body can be removed again when the truck changes. First fitment on a known vehicle, using the hardware from the unit's own kit, confirms the delivery against the vehicle data the whole programme was built on.
From spares kit to service inventory
Receiving is also where after-sales starts. The recommended spares kit ships with the first order, and the parts that follow — lift mechanisms, windows, hardware and service components — come from the same production line as the complete units. Checking the kit against its list on arrival and setting it up as the fleet's first service inventory turns a delivery task into the start of the parts continuity that the supplier was partly selected for.
The receiving checklist
- Pull the file before the container arrives: written specification, quotation, agreed shipping format, pre-shipment inspection records, spares kit list and the compliance documents confirmed for the market.
- Match every unit against the written specification line by line — model, options, equipment level, colours and artwork.
- Confirm the shipping format per model line is what arrived: assembled bodies, bodies in shipping configuration, and flat-packed tents.
- Check the flat-pack tents against their standard list — mattress, telescopic ladder and mounting kit included.
- Compare the arrival against the pre-shipment inspection records instead of re-inspecting from zero; a discrepancy is measured against a documented baseline.
- Receive the spares kit against its list and set it up as the fleet's first service inventory.
- Do the first fitment on a known vehicle with the hardware from the unit's own mounting kit — non-destructive bolt-on, no cutting or welding, and the body already confirmed to that bed or chassis before the order.