Where do I start?

Should you do it? yes yes yes do it now before the kids are reliant on schooling.

What van and vehicle?? How much do you have to spend as it would give us a starting point to assist.

How much per week?? it varies, are you going to free camp or use caravan parks or a combination.

Cheers Kev

Hi Blue

With young kids and if you can do it just go for it.

You won't be sorry.


Regards

Derek.

Yes do it!

I would suggest that you click on the TOPICS button above as a place to start. There is a wealth of information to assist you in the choices you will have to make.

You will nmeed a reasonable sized van around the 6metre length mark for a family of 5 and buy a yow vehicle, preferably diesel powered, with a 4 litre or greater size engine. You do not have to buy a modern 4x4 or car for that matter, as some great tow vehicles were made during the 1990's

Where you will be staying on overnight stops will dictate what it will cost. Caravan Parks charge $25 plus per night. Work out your normal daily living(home based) expenses and add a bit..say 20% as you will not be able to carry too much bulk food with you. Fuel may cost you $1.50 to $2.00 litre, so work out what your vehicle will use and go from there.

Enjoy the planning

Cheers

Mate just go for it,, we are heading of to do the same trip at the end of december.. did a ruff costing for the 12 months and came up with between 35 to 40 grand. thats allowing for every thing, food , fuel, etc etc.. we have a td landcruiser and a gold stream camper trailer, 2 adults , 13 year old , 9 year old , and a new born.. distant ed is great these days, so go for it , see you on the road.....

Gday mate , we have some friends in west Oz at the moment they have been on the road for about 12 mths and say they have no dramas getting odd jobs in towns so you might even want to work out where you want to go and mayby write /phone /Email ahead to see if there is any work in these towns I.E pubs ,hotels servos,farms .... thats if you need or want to work and if you have not tried the 4b vanning thing I would suggest you buy what suits and affords you and have a few short trips under your belt 1st so GOOD LUCK and ENJOY and BE SAFE ...Im so Jelous!!

regards J.B.

Welcome to the forum. You won't find many people here who suggest you should stay at home, so go for it. The kids will love it. Good luck with choosing caravans etc.

If you are looking to buy a caravan, there is some good advice on Thread 49225. You can also search for various topics, eg caravan, tow vehicle, etc. Good luck with the trip.......every morning you will get up and think..."I love this country..."
regards
shameem

blueriderwa.
Go for it, but I recomend using a single large vehicle rather than a caravan and tow vehicle. The advantages are many. low stress, not having a van swaying around, reliability,mechanical failures accur when a vehicle is overloaded, a unit built on a truck chassis is not overloaded and will go forever, cost, it is cheaper to buy and run a single large vehicle. security, if you decide that want to move away you just slip into the drivers seat and move of. Just for the record I have tried all combinations and now use a Mercedes sprinter cost $30k. Less than 10litres /100 k. Eric.

Would be thinking more of a motorhome set up ...as above says ..Mercedes Sprinter conversion..watever you get its a compromise ..but from my experience ..a motorhome is a good choice..do you wish to travel off the beaten track?..stay in caravan parks..or 'free camp'...its a hell of a big ask for a definitive answer ..there simply is none !!! Its a big balancing act to come up with the unit that suits you best ..and if you haven't trevelled far away from home in this scenario..you are best guessing at the moment ! A van and tow vehicle would likely cost a lot more than a motorhome...depending on choice...but as you haven't given any parameters for your question...its hard to answer in the way you may expect !!

Hi blueriderwa,

Firstly welcome to the forum, secondly yes to doing the big loop if you can.

Might be worth looking into hiring a few vehicle combinations that suit this kind of travel, ie: motorhome/caravans/campers and go for a few shorter trips away while you are still planning the big escape.

Most people suggest an average of 20,000km when doing the big lap so petrol costs could start at this average and go from there. For all the rest as what van and how much cost or what have you, I think a bit more detail as to what you are hoping to see will help the forumites advise you more closely to your needs. Do you want to see offroad destinations or do you want to stay on the blacktop ect, do you want to bush camp or Big4 it....

The kids will not be strangers for long in most van parks. Kids tend to reflect how you are feeling so the calmer and more enjoyment you are having the happier they will also be. Don't overdo the km's travelled in a day as this will surely bore them to tears, making your life hell in the meantime LOL!!

Happy planning,
Trevor.

Australian 4WD Monthly magazine has been following a family around Australia in a Nissan Pathfinder and Jayco wind up camper. Mum, Dad and two kids.

They budgeted for about $200 a week for fuel, but in reality spent nearly $300 a week. Two factors came into it. They travelled more than first thought and fuel cost a bit more.

It meant they had to cut back on tours and caravan parks and had to rely on finding free camp spots, but they are glad because they had much more fun and enjoyment in isolated situations. In otherwords, without the crowds!

The washup is in the October edition.

Take you rwife and children to as many caravan shows and showrooms as you can. Pile everyone inside and see how comfortable 'it feels'. No matter how much space you think you might want, with a family you will always need more. Hire and try before you buy. Do some short trips to see how you cope etc. Most kids love camping and will readily adapt. Whatever you buy, make sure your tow vehicle is rated to tow that weight, your tow bar and WDH (Weight Distirbuting Hitch) are adeqaute and correctly installed as with the controller for your van brakes. Also ensure that you don't overload the van and in particular have too much weight forward as to exceed tow ball weight (this will be found in your vehicle handbook). When first driving with a caravan take it easy, don't drive beyond your's or your vehicle's capabilities and always keep a watchful eye on your mirrors. Enjoy.

Hi Blueriderwa - welcome, and may I please point you to this article I wrote on planning a trip - http://www.exploroz.com/TripPlanning/Itineraries/HowToPlanTrip.aspx . It should cover most issues and give links to the other issues that arise.

Also - read the section on Trips with Kids

I hope you enjoy the community feel of ExplorOz and that we have useful articles and reference information throughout the site.

Hi Blueriderwa,
Like yourself, My husband and two children (aged 4 and 7) are taking next year off to travel around Australia. We are both teachers so not too worried about schooling. Just keep them where they should be at in terms of literacy and numeracy, and the rest can emanate from the trip. Get your 6 and 7 year olds to maintain a daily diary etc.

Re how much to budget - like another poster, we have estimated around $35- $40K for the year (after all equipment purchased) and excluding costs of maintaining 'home base' (in our case we rent, so storage costs, insurance, car rego, sponsor child etc. etc. still have to be paid).

I guess what you spend will depend on what activities you undertake - swimming with the whale sharks, etc. etc. If we had no kids, would probably be happy to really rough it and not spend too much, however, will need to cater to the kids as well. We are going to try and restrict the activities to things which we think will be truly memorable for them (of course those things don't necessary cost the big bucks, but these days, going to a movie will set you back a hundred dollars if you buy the popcorn and choc top!!). We have allowed $5000 - $6000 for fuel (4 cylinder Nissan Navara towing camper trailer). $12000 for accommodation (which we expect to be a mix of free camping, powered sites and the occasional Big4 for the kids - who knows if this is realistic). Plus $150 - $200 a week for food - expecting it to be more expensive as can't buy in bulk and small country areas always dearer. $8000 for activities. As I say, we don't leave until after Christmas so these figures are purely guess work. From past experience travelling, things have never been cheaper - always more expensive!

Hope to meet you on the road! Good luck with your planning