van with shower and wc

MSN Caravan Forum long thread all about vans with showers and toilets.

BDM .have spent the last couple of months looking at this and have found the big
boys are not to interested in small vans with ensuite. I'm having a 14ft Trakmaster
built with combo shower/toilet, and would imagine any of the smaller builders
could do the same. Will lose a bit of room, but at my age and bladder will not do without it.

See you on the road next year.
Mike B

Hey BDM - do a bit of research before you load yourself up with having to dump waste tanks etc, and taking up van space with a toilet.

We have been caravanning / camping / camper trailering all round Oz for 30 odd years, with and without kids. I would say that if you follow a few rules the dunnies are ok at most caravan parks :

1. Wear thongs in the shower
2. Be prepared to look along a bit in the toilets - if one is dirty, the next should be ok. You can buy packets of disposable paper toilet seat covers if you are worried.
3. Pay $12.95 for an NRMA / RAC? Caravan Park Book, and select parks that have a bit higher star rating. The chains (Top Tourist / Big 4) have and enforce higher standards, but you pay a couple more bucks for the privilege.
4. Pick your time to have your shower. With a littlie I hope you won't join the mad rush to be out of the park by 8 am. Take your daughter for a swim, then go to the showers when the rush is over. Or shower at 5 pm. Often the kids bathroom is real good too.

Why not take a Saturday and go visit half a dozen parks around where you live? Walk in, look at the toilet blocks (if they are locked ask at the office if you can borrow a key to have a look), check out the laundries and make up your own mind. If they have ensuite sites, check them out - you may feel more comfy paying the extra to get them.

Having said that - we are waiting to get our new caravan, and I am afraid that we will probably buy a porta pottie. That's because we're old and bladders have grown weak, and multiple trips to the toilet block through the night are a nuisance. So I will join the procession of grey nomads emptying the cassette every few days - but that is a mile better than dropping "grey water" and "black water" tanks - believe me, I've done that on rented campers overseas.

The best part of the amenities blocks is that there is always someone to talk to who has been where you are going. That's where you find out all the great things to do and the best parks to go to.

Happy caravanning - its great.

Max

I have been at a number of parks in WA - most were very clean and well kept - a real credit to their caretakers. Mostly we choose the bush - but if paying, we want a good hot shower and occasionally a decent laundry. Council parks were probably better than private run ones. No experience with the rest of the country. Our caravan has an ensuite - but have only camped with it for a few days so far. Years ago when travelling in Europe - the first words we learnt in each language was "hot showers?". Likewise, we only wanted to pay if it was good facilties - otherwise it was the forest, beach, roadside, or whatever.

BDM.
I'm sure you'll find the caravan forum a wealth of info as there has been some good recent discussion on this question.
My two bits worth would be to consider an older van. We did this and found we were able to buy something with a much higher level of appointments without breaking the bank. Obviously, one has to be careful, but really a caravan is a relatively simple structure and should,I believe, be equated more to a house than a vehicle in the criteria applied.
Frankly, I cannot justify the price tickets on new/late model vans . Should a box on wheels cost as much as an upmarket car or 4wd?
Many new vans are long on presentation but short on practicality.
Having spent many years as a long hall truck driver I've had my fill of wearing thongs to shower in dodgy amenities and value our self sufficiency.
Good Luck. Mick.

Peter.
The "Caravan Trader" magazine is a good place to start, that's how we found ours.
Do you already have a tow vehicle? If not, you will often see combinations for private sale. We had originally intended to buy, use & resell. To this end I was prepared to outlay up to $100,000 initially,(van & 4wd) hoping to recoup maybe $85-90,000 on resale. I almost bypassed our rig as being too old, but I'm very happy I did check it out. We can now afford to keep the rig if we so choose. We could probably even make a dollar out of hiring it to various members of our large adult family who casually enquire what we're going to do after the "big trip".
Regards.
Mick.

. Peter. You should be able to pick up something quite acceptable for that sort of money and I would think your horse should be up to towing quite a large van.
My thoughts are that the bigger the better for long term touring, providing you're comfortable with handling it on the road. It's not rocket science and common sense and proper setup are the main ingredients required.
Just as an aside, seems to be a need for an independent testing/inspection body like RACV does with vehicles.
Regards.
Mick.