The Motor Caravan Association is advising freedom campers to heed the safety in numbers warning, following an attack on a campervan in Golden Bay on Saturday morning.
A 59-year-old Christchurch man has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, after allegedly smashing the campervan's windows with a machete or slasher and trying to set it alight at Pakawau near Farewell Spit.
The association's president, Dick Waters, is urging freedom campers to travel with other vans when visiting remote spots.
He says while freedom campers are occasionally harassed, he is shocked by the ferocity of Saturday's attack.
Mr Waters says the association, which has more than 40,000 members, does not condone freedom camping in vehicles that are not fully self-contained, or in areas where it is not permitted.