what caravan would suit our needs??

I would suggest you get your van serviced by a competent repair organisation and see what they reckon. Age has not much bearing on the condition of a van. It has more to do with the amount of wear it has suffered. Look for cracking in the chassis and other places of stress – water stains on the interior ply wood that would indicate water ingress that may start dry rot – ask yourself if the soft furnishings are sound. You can always replace cushion covers and curtains and do some paint work to make it look better than another van you can purchase for $30K

I would expect to spend more than $30K on what you are looking for. If you do not have a shower in your current van consider purchasing one of the double compartment shower tents. A black plastic shower bag can be purchased for $20 and will have the added advantage that you will economise with shower water. You can have an Aussie Traveller – Coolabah awning fitted to your van which probably is the best awning to attach awning walls. This way you will probably save enough cash to finance your fuel for your trip round the block.

PeterD

Hi Di
Remember me (Peter & Carol) friends of Rob & Pauline - Cannot help (we have a Kimberley Kamper) but good to see you are members now

Remember too that a lot of the older vans are a lot stronger than some current models as they were built when cars were stronger so weight was less of a consideration. Most of the older ones actually have a frame inside the walls too;-))
I'm no caravanner but a lot of the current crop would have problems on anything except the expressway.

Father inlaw has just gone through same excersise ,wanted to upgrade his 19ft to something more "modern" ,,lots of legwork latter decided to keep same van and refurbish , from a budget of 35k that he was prepared to spend on replacement ,spent 10k leaving 25k for the real necessities of touring , 25k buys a lot of fuel.

Another question.
Does anyone know about; and who makes a Monarch Crusader - are they a name in their own rihgt or a branch of another brand? Seen one advertised that looks okay but don't know the brand?

Dian

Bill and Di ,hes in Hervey Bay ,had the van almost gutted ,new kitchen and a shower/toilet installed ,, did all chassis work himself and had a retired cabinetmaker mate do the internals ,, coat of paint on the outside ,looks nothing like its actual age ,,would never know that van is 18yrs old ,, as far as resale value goes ,once a van reaches a "certain" age the price remains fairly static.

Gday Bill n Di,,, We also live in WA and did an upgrade about 18 mths ago looking for the same features you are. We looked at heaps of sec hand vans and rang every dealer in WA , all told the same story,if you want a late mod sec hand full van with shower and toilet if you hang on long enough you may find one or buy one private. They were right we ended up buying a new one as the few that were available were only a few thousand below new price anyway.There are a few older vans with shower etc we looked at but most are a bit rough and if you are spending that amount of money and are going to get the use out of it, if you can go the extra, you wont regret it. We ended up with a 18 ' 6" Regal and are paying it off, but never regretted it for a second. Happy traveling ,,Regards ,, Nav.

Dian, i you still decide to purchase rather than renovate, you will probably save money both on purchase price and stamp duty by going to the eastern states, but do the sums if you are only spending around $30,000. You can check the stamp duty in the other states on the web. We went to Qld to get what we wanted, and the stamp duty we saved probably paid for the cost of driving over there. On the way back we were talking to a couple from Ravensthorpe who were returning with their brand new van, which they had been able to purchase much cheaper in Adelaide than in WA. Same with most products - cheaper anywhere else in Oz than here in WA, and the gap is getting wider as fuel costs go up and the Nullabor doesn't get any shorter.