Australia So Much to See
Why are there hundreds of different caravans, motor homes and campers out there? Because we all want something to suit our needs, family size, time on the road, types of roads and places we choose, hip pocket, personal preferences, tow vehicle capacities, style of travelling (eg move every day doing the Big Lap or go to the seaside for annual holidays) - the list goes on and on. Hiring may be an option worth considering for a short holiday.
Caravan, motorhome, tray back slide-on or camper trailer? Your choice will include how suitable the rig is for where you want to travel, whether there will be room for your needs, your tow vehicle and your budget.
You decide what you want to set these criteria, then go somewhere where your type of travellers will be, look at their rigs and ask questions. Most travellers are pleased to show off their rig, their modifications and add-ons, and tell about their travels.
Consider pre-loved. Most people don't get what they ultimately want first up. If you buy second hand you don't loose as much as if you buy new. Any problems will have been sorted out, and you may get useful little additions.
If you want an Off Road Caravan, do your research thoroughly. Caravan manufacturers can produce a beefed up caravan model in their range, put off-road in its name, but if you read the fine print on a number of these, to take on rough, corrugated or stony roads would invalidate the warranty. Many of our inland roads are just that; miles and miles of corrugations. Even soon after grading it only takes a week or two of traffic before they are just as bad.
If you get a ‘bitumen
road’ model, be prepared to go tenting for a few days or more rather than risk your rig on rough roads. This however means not
being able to take long corrugated through roads such as the Plenty, Tanami, Great Central roads and the
Be sure that what you get is within the authorised weight limits for you vehicle, when fully laden and including all of you in the vehicle. It is amazing how quickly weight comes up when packing the van. Check what payload you can add. Some caravans have very little allowance for what you can pack without being overloaded. Best advice is to get the caravan then the tow vehicle to suit. See all about weights and what the letters such as ATM and GCM mean.
What we bought: One of our priorities was a Queen sized bed. The caravan we purchased has a yacht style bed (sideways) which gives us heaps more space in our 18' (internal) caravan than an island bed. We also have a small but adequate combined shower and toilet bathroom; a bathroom being something you don't miss until you've had one, but something you wouldn't want to be without after having travelled with one. We have four water tanks (one dedicated drinking water with a separate outlet tap), four solar panels and four batteries for complete independence.
Although the numbers of motor homes seen on the road when travelling are increasing, caravans are still proving the more popular choice for purchasers.
Australia has the highest caravan ownership per capita in the world according to this 2013 report.
The majority of hired campers are motor home
or camper van types, ie self propelled, and they appear to be a large proportion of motorhomes seen on the roads.
There is no
conclusive evidence that either motor homes or caravans retain their resale value better. The choice should be made to
suit the needs of the purchaser without undue consideration to resale value.
Motor home or camper van (self propelled)
Pros: No towing (unless towing a small vehicle as often seen with the larger motor homes and converted buses).
Depending on design,
in many it is possible to climb from cab to living area without leaving the van, which may be useful if it is raining.
Very little
setting up to do when you stop for the night, or to do before leaving in the morning.
Cons: Unless large, no storage space for things like spare fuel, generator, bulky tools. We saw good custom built ones - lovely, expensive, and to have room for all the needs of a round Australia trip, rather tall and long which would limit where we could go.
A number of motor homes have the bed built up over the cab of the vehicle. Climbing up to an over cab bed may be easy for the young, but not for nocturnal visits and ageing knees of older travellers.
Unless you tow a small vehicle behind the motor home, which rather negates the benefits of not towing, if you have a breakdown such as broken spring or wheel problem with a motor home you are stuck. If you have a mechanical breakdown you will have nowhere to stay while the motor home is in the workshop being repaired, which may take some days or even weeks in outlying areas.
Driving large motorhomes and converted buses requires a heavy vehicle driver's licence. See more about licence requirements here.
In case of a mechanical failure which is not viable
to repair, you are up for the cost of replacing the whole rig.
More of a caravan with tow vehicle than a motor home, but sometimes considered a hybrid between the two.
Fifth wheelers have all the features of a standard caravan but are designed to be towed by utilities or trucks. The towing connection is mounted on the tray of the tow vehicle, as close as possible to the rear axle. The fifth wheeler's suspension carries the majority of its gross weight, with the balance distributed forward of the rear suspension over the differential rather than the extreme rear of the tow vehicle. Those towing fifth wheelers should ensure that they do not exceed the axle capacity of the towed vehicle when the rig is connected and the overall gross mass for their vehicle.
Pros: Stability when towing.
See Caravan and Motorhome Books - Fifth Wheelers - currently not available
With 25% of the weight on the tow vehicle, larger
vans can be towed by the same vehicle with a fifth wheeler than a separate caravan.
Large fifth wheelers may have slide
out rooms, making a very large mobile home.
Easier to manoeuvre and shorter when finding a parking space than a caravan
of the same size.
Cons: Requires a tray back tow vehicle.
Load space in tow vehicle limited by being a tray
back, with loading of the tray being limited by the space taken by the fifth wheel and to allow room for turning.
When
disconnected for day trips or camping for a few days where you can't take a trailer, the fifth wheel on the tray limits the
available space on the tow vehicle.
