What car,what caravan?

Submitted: Wednesday, Apr 29, 2009 at 17:43

ThreadID: 68360 Views:2942 Replies:5 FollowUps:5

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arcaxiu

Hello,
we hired a small motorhome & travelled from Esperance to Broome in 3months. Well now we've gotten a real taste for this sort of exploring. We would like to do the Savanah Way, discovering the Kimberley on the way. With the motor home there were a lot of places we couldn't reach as it wasn't 4w dr. So we are getting really serious about buying. Has anyone got any advice on what we should be looking for. We thought our best option would be a 4x4 to haul a small (ish) caravan so we could park up the caravan & head off to the remote areas in the car. There's just the 2 of us, no kids & our surname isn't Getty. SO what car, what caravan, what makes have the best reputations.
Best regards to you all.

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Reply By: Isuzumu - Wednesday, Apr 29, 2009 at 17:49

Wednesday, Apr 29, 2009 at 17:49

All depends on how much money you want to spend. that would be a start for advice.

AnswerID: 362294

Follow Up By: arcaxiu - Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 at 17:55

Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 at 17:55

That was partly the info I wanted. Where to start without talking silly money. If I started looking at say AUD10,000 would I be looking at wrecks?
Thanks for the feedback.

FollowupID: 630174

Reply By: Member - Dave G (QLD) - Wednesday, Apr 29, 2009 at 18:12

Wednesday, Apr 29, 2009 at 18:12

All I can add is research research and more research, and KNOW what you want from the van you are going to choose, do you want it to go off road or on graded gravel type roads or just stay on the bitumen and go to the other places via your vehicle. Its a minefield but ask as many questions as you can but my advice is stick to responses from people who own the vans they are promoting.

Dave

AnswerID: 362299

Follow Up By: arcaxiu - Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 at 17:49

Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 at 17:49

Thanks Dave,
excellent advise. Would you say buying privately is a better option?

FollowupID: 630172

Follow Up By: Member - Dave G (QLD) - Friday, May 01, 2009 at 00:18

Friday, May 01, 2009 at 00:18

Sorry cant help you there
we went through every dealer on the sunshine coast sometimes twice or more times over. Its hard to get good advice as we found too many had there own vans and wouldn't shift from them something like the Holden Ford thing. Even on the sites people give great advice but some tend to jump in with there own preference even if its not the style or design you are asking about.

My best advice is to really decide what you want from you van, Camping, Off Road, Bitumen with comfort or one that will take you into something like an National Park with some rough roads. We chose ours on that sort of criteria my wife said she wouldn't come with me if I didn't have the en suite and all the bells and whistles....so I bought a camper....just joking so we bought a large van with ensuite

I've also found it best not to get into debates about which van is best or ratings everyone has their own likes and dislikes...just don't rush it and don't listen to the sales people look at things really carefully look inside the cupboards see how many staples hold it together, check EVERYTHING TWICE

Best of Luck
Dave

FollowupID: 630242

Reply By: Member - John and Val W (ACT) - Wednesday, Apr 29, 2009 at 18:56

Wednesday, Apr 29, 2009 at 18:56

Thats a fairly broad question. Have you had a good look at all of the information/articles on this site - there is a wealth of stuff here if you have not already had a look.

If you are really serious about getting into 4WD places, maybe its worth looking even broader to include a camper trailer or traytop. How much comfort do you want vs how much ability to follow bush tracks and camp where you find that special spot?

Cheers,

J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein

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AnswerID: 362311

Follow Up By: arcaxiu - Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 at 18:01

Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 at 18:01

Thank you both,
I haven't as yet looked at all the information on this site.But given time I hope to wade through it. As you say there is a wealth of it!
Advice much appreciated.

FollowupID: 630176

Reply By: UKE - Wednesday, Apr 29, 2009 at 22:46

Wednesday, Apr 29, 2009 at 22:46

Have a look at the Outback Trekker - Cambridge Caravan made by Alpha Fibreglass in Tasmania - check website for details

AnswerID: 362362

Reply By: Member - Cookie & Di - Wednesday, Apr 29, 2009 at 23:06

Wednesday, Apr 29, 2009 at 23:06

We have a "Tray on Camper" & a 19' 6 Jayco (with an ensuite),we are experiencing the best of both worlds.Where the van can't go the camper will.Go for it.

AnswerID: 362372