purchasing of caravan

Thank you for your advice, I appreciated your response and I will check out the Phoenix, thank you.
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Regards Ken

Thank you for your reply

I have a Nissan Patrol 2000 model combined fuel/gas.

I am pleased you are happy with your van and would be interested in having a look at one, I live in ACT and I realise Kedron is Qld.

Due to price I may have to look at a 2nd hand one, do you have any idea what they would be worth 2nd hand?

Regards Ken

Couple of thoughts.

If you basically intend to live in it , you are going to want a decent sized Van , especially if you have a shower and Loo . . . 16ft minimum to allow for extended stays in Wet weather. Anything much less then that would be a PITA , IMO.

A 16 ft Offroad van IS heavy . . . My Parents have a 16ft Phoenix , and it weighs in at just on 2500kg's loaded. To do PROPER offroading , towing a van that size , you are well into F250 Country.

A Patrol/Cruiser will easily tow one on road , and on most Tracks , stick it on trails though . . . good luck.

Sorry for the late reply - I think the 2nd hand tandems approx 17' internal were around the $40 - $45 G - most usually have large compressor fridges rather than the tiny 3 ways and have batteries and solar panels which all add to the cost. Shower/toilet vans are a bit more. If I were living permanently in it for a long period I would go for a 17' - 17'6" internal with shower toilet. Expect around 2.5 tonne unloaded.

The Cross Country would more than suit your needs over the heavier duty ATV.

Cheers

Darryl

Darryl, thank you for your response, don't worry about being late, I too have been a bit late answering mail due to commitments. I appreciate what you have said, can you tell me what brand is Cross Country or is this the brand? also do you often see them 2nd hand?
Regards Ken

Thank you for your response. I will certainly consider a standard strong van. I am not the type to go fast on outback roads and I do adhere to the road conditions. You have certainly had a good run and been to many places I would like to travel.

Safe travelling and thank you once again
Regards Ken

Thank you for your response, I appreciated your thoughts. I will certainly look at the Coromal seeing you are happy with the performance and how it tows. Quite a few responses say some of the other vans are heavy and I believe expensive, although I suppose you get what you pay for.

Happy travelling, might catch you on the road one day

Regards Ken

Thank you for your response. I have heard quite a bit concerning the Trakmaster and I believe, as you are saying, it's a good sturdy van and your suggestion of a 16' van is appreciated. Due to new cost, I think I will have a look around for a 2nd hand one and check it out.

Safe travelling & many more happy hours on the road
Regards Ken

I appreciated your response and have taken on board what you said. Your Getaway van sounds interesting and may be worth consideration, I would be looking at a 2nd hand van due to cost and I am sure there are quite a few around for sale, we still have about 3 months to make the final decision.

We are certainly going to give it a go and may see you on the road one day.
Regards Ken

Ken,

The Getaway's are hard to find second hand and the ones you do see have generally been used for their intended purpose so look for the least abused one if you go second hand. They are generally much cheaper than other offroaders, but new are still up around the 40k mark for a decent size.
If you do see me on the road somewhere you are most welcome around my campfire.
Cheers and have a good trip when you go.

Regards Trevor.

Thanks for your advice Trevor, I certainly will check out the 2nd hand ones for wear and tear.

Another thing to look for is a van that has been twisted due to the vehicle rolling. We heard of a Nissan pulling a Futuristic??? van about 21ft, the vehicle rolled and was written off and the van badly twisted. They tried to give way to someone on their left who was speeding but they didn't succeed, the person in the other vehicle was killed. The manufacturer wanted to fix the van but the owners wanted certificates so instead the manufacturer made them a new one to their requirements. Happy travelling

Regards Ken

Thank you for your response, I am pleased you are happy with your bushtracker even though it is a bit heavy. We will have a look around for a 2nd hand one and take into consideration what weight it is. I suppose you can't have it both ways a heavier van and cheap too to do the job. We are 55's and not serious 4WDs and we do adhere road signs I realise some go too fast and that is where you can come unstuck.

Hope you get on the road soon too, we may meet on the road sometime and enjoy happy hourtogether

Regards Ken

Hi Ken, thanks for taking the time to respond to us all. If you are interested, i can post links to BTs for sale. Even second hand they are expensive, but more are coming onto market as more a being built and purchased - and they last the distance. Ours is 7 years old, well travelled, and still looks like new. We are also older and past the hard work of setting up camp each night - this way we just drive into the bush and stop for the night with all mod cons. We wanted something strong because we want to get out there and see it all without any worries, and we choose the out of the way roads and tracks to "get away from all those grey nomads". It follows us everywhere, although there are times we may have to leave it behind to see some special places, but are concerned about security.

Have you had a look in the Caravan Trader ?

HEAPS for sale , plenty of Bushtrackers , plus all the others.

Good advice flappa. Now they are more common there are heaps on line (I found about a dozen when someone came and looked at ours a couple of months ago). I have pointed some people in the right direction when I've known of one for sale through the Bushtracker Owners Group website. When we started looking, i only ever found an occasional one on line - usually very big and very expensive. The caravan trader was the place to find them around 18 months ago and how we found ours. We never saw any Kedrons or other heavy duty off roaders around that time in the Trader. While we were driving over to collect ours, the owners had four more people keen to buy it. On the way home when we fuelled up, someone came over and said is that yours? I'm after one. I said we'd just bought it and he stormed off with "so your the people who bought the one from xxxx street!" With more on the market, they are often newer than ours, and have lots of added features. Ours is rather plain by comparison, but has all we really need, and weight is an issue for us, as we can't afford that F250.

It seems HALF the trader is now Bushtrackers.

Why ? No idea. Folks have done their thing and selling them on ? Dont know. Plenty to choose from though , AND Phoenix , AND Supreme.

Bushtracker say they are building around 120 - 140 a year (i think some go overseas) and at the price, some people, like the ones we bought from, sell their house, tour for a year or two, then sell the van to build the next house and back to work. The people we bought from would have loved to have kept it and used it for holidays, but couldn't justify just putting it in storage, and I'm sure selling it helped pay for their lovely new house. A surprising number of people go back and get a bigger one built (ah to have that much $$s!). One person chose to get the second one smaller. A few people have moved overseas, or had a major change in their plans so decided to sell.

If money was no object, my oversized husband would like a slightly bigger one custom built - and an F250 to pull it, and we'd choose a few different things - eg ours has a caravan sized fridge which could be a bit bigger, and the new ones have 12 outlets throughout the van.

We met on the road a couple who sold their farm and got an 18 footer similar to our built in 1998, and have been on the road ever since (i think they have children spread around the place). They had a bigger fridge than ours too. They occasionally take a grandchild on holidays, and had a sofa bed at one end for the children.

One couple who came and looked at ours ended up getting a Phoenix (they were downsizing to 16' from a big custom built off-roader they'd had for many years), because they found Phoenix the most obliging when it came to negotiating what they wanted and they had very specific requirements. They were happy with the service throughout the building and pick up process, and had a good trip home through the middle of Australia with it.

Good luck with whatever you choose, and i'd certainly recommend you consider buying second hand from the top end of the market, rather than new regular vans. If they are tough, they will still be stronger second hand that a new ordinary van.

Quote:One couple who came and looked at ours ended up getting a Phoenix (they were downsizing to 16' from a big custom built off-roader they'd had for many years), because they found Phoenix the most obliging when it came to negotiating what they wanted and they had very specific requirements.

Thats very true , and why my Parents went to them , well , apart from the fact they could get a bigger van then from Bushtracker.

Bushtracker didn't want to know them until the stumped up for a deposit on a van , that they wouldn't even tell them the price of. All very strange.

Not saying BT aren't good Vans , they certainly are that , the Business seems to have a strange way of doing business. Maybe they can afford to be a little choosy. Anyway , plenty of 2nd hand ones around.

Thanks for your update. I can see you are more than happy with your Bushtraker which is great and you certainly have travelled some interesting places. We hope to see as much of OZ as we can, I retire this year. We are also looking at travelling to Sth America backpacking for 3 mths, not sure if we will get there yet. When we come back we will start travelling OZ so much out there to see. We will look at the different vans mentioned in the in the responses, and take on board the advice given. If I may, when the time comes, I will let you know if we decide on a Bushtraker and then I would appreciate you posting on the BT site for us, we will let you know thank you.

So many nice people have responded, thank you all, there are lots of nice people out there doing what we intend to, travel OZ.

Regards Ken

Flappa - you are a man of wisdom. Thank you for sharing it with the Forum.

People we met on the road who were happy with their Jaycos (which were their homes) stay on the bitumen and do a lot of "park it in town and do day trips". Not the way we like to travel.

Why thank you very much . . . most people say I'm just a Pain ;)

Thats specifically why my Parents did what they did. They were tired of the Cvan Park scene , and the OBSCENE charges , and decided to venture out of the way a bit more.

Hi again Flappa - yes, we like to get out in the bush or wherever on our own. Occasionally have to come in to town to do the washing or something. Some people say they never go to caravan parks - even just street parking in cities. We buy an expensive van with mod cons so we can do just that - stay out in the bush. We value our privacy, but we do get the opportunity to chat with other caravanners we meet at sight seeing spots or just lunching in roadside parking bays.

Years ago with my parents and sister we toured UK and Europe in a small camper van. Even then it was only an occasional foray into a caravan park if it had decent hot showers and a laundry, but did have to use them when doing cities. In Venice we camped in a parking lot. A camper van was parked as far as you can drive onto the islands, just outside a swanky hotel. They just used to tip the bellboy who thought they were regular guests when they went in and use the bathrooms! Now that's a bit cheeky. We occasionally would go to a hotel and ask how much for a hot bath and they were most obliging. For part of the way it was winter season, and the camp sites had shut down anyway.

Thanks for your update advice, I have taken it on board. It is great to hear others views, I have a very small older caravan and have put heavier springs on and it tavels well. My parents used to tour around OZ in it and now it's my turn. I have done a few trips, the last one was to Tassy 12mths ago and I was pleased with it, a go anywhere van. We are now thinking of one a bit larger van, a bit more room and comfort with shower & toilet as I am retiring this year and intend to be on the road for unlimited time. We usually stay in bush camps away from the caravan parks and only venture into one to do our washing. There are lots of lovely people out there who are only too willing to have a chat and compare notes as to where we have both been.

I haven't looked at the Caravan Trader as yet! but I will be looking at all the types that have been recommended. When time comes a bit closer we will check the trader out thank you.

The forum is a great link, lots of lovely people out there, I will be forwarding it onto others who I know will be interested.

Happy travelling, our paths may cross on the road one day.

Regards Ken

Thank you for your comments. A bushtraker sounds good but maybe out of my price bracket, but I will surely check one out.
regards Ken