4WD Caravans

Submitted: Monday, Oct 04, 2010 at 12:08

ThreadID: 81713 Views:5440 Replies:6 FollowUps:5

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Harpshark

Gday their
Well we've made the decision to pack it all up and hit the road.
The only thing is we are looking to purchase a light off road caravan to tow with the 3 ltr diesel hilux, as the missus (quite rightly) wants to be able to just stop and put the kids to bed with out having to set up the tent, unroll mattresses etc (shame as we have an A1 Campmore Senior bush baby combo :(,). Ive been searching the web and a lot of the off road vans are just out of the price range (>$20000) and to heavy (>1Tonne). The Jayco and Corrimal pop up caravans seem to fit the bill with tare and space/storage but Im not certain how long they take to set up, are their issues with security (has any body had issues with intruders in remote locations? - Im worried about an idiot with a stanley knife) and what are the better brands to look at. I have come across threads on the web where people have bought on road caravans and are looking to increase the suspension and extend the draw bar but Im not sure if this is a viable option as twist in the chassis has been raised as an issue. Were not really looking to take the van hard core 4wding, just on rough dirt roads and occasional creek crossings (similar as from Nelligen to Shallow Xing)
Does any one have any suggestions?

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Reply By: Member - John and Val - Monday, Oct 04, 2010 at 12:31

Monday, Oct 04, 2010 at 12:31

Hi Harpshark,

Cant help you with recommendations for a van, but would suggest that in your travels you may well encounter roads and tracks that are very rewarding to take BUT are a fair bit rougher than the Nelligen to Shallow Crossing road, so try to find the toughest van that you can safely tow.

RE intruders in remote locations - we bush camp a lot and have never had any problems. But we do choose our campsites carefully trying to get away from the road and out of sight as much as possible. And well away from towns etc. Most of our bush camps are overnighters.

When we have longer stops where we would be likely to be away from the vehicle for extended periods doing walks etc we would most likely to be in some sort of camping area. Make sure that when you leave your vehicle and van unattended that you lock up as much as you can and put anything remotely valuable out of sight. We have never encountered anyone with a stanley knife!

When we have heard of people being relieved of their valuables they have usually been staying in caravan parks...

Cheers,

Val

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

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Follow Up By: Harpshark - Monday, Oct 04, 2010 at 12:59

Monday, Oct 04, 2010 at 12:59

Cheers for that some good advise
How do you find the various literature like Camps 5 and the Independant camping web site for selecting camp sites?

Cheers

Nick

FollowupID: 702890

Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Monday, Oct 04, 2010 at 16:41

Monday, Oct 04, 2010 at 16:41

Hi Nick,

Camps 5 is an excellent travelling companion, and is available from the ExplorOz shop. The cost is recouped very quickly.

Perhaps the one downside of Camps 5 is that it is so widely used that what were once quiet and unknown spots are now populated with travellers!

Highly recommended.

John

J and V
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Reply By: Peter_n_Margaret - Monday, Oct 04, 2010 at 19:56

Monday, Oct 04, 2010 at 19:56

I understand that a pop-top van is heavier and not as strong as a full size van.
As far as commercially available STRONG and LIGHT, those fearures are mutually exclusive, unless you build your own.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

AnswerID: 432121

Reply By: Motherhen - Monday, Oct 04, 2010 at 22:52

Monday, Oct 04, 2010 at 22:52

Regarding intruders - as said, occasionally reported in town caravan parks. Lock up if you all go to the bathroom at once. We generally bush/free camp, and have never had any fears or incidents. Much safer out in the bush than in a town, and nicer too.

Motherhen

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Follow Up By: willem269 - Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 02:29

Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 02:29

Hi,
I feel I have to react on the safety issue. We (from Holland) have been travelling Australia for 5.5 years and/or 107,000 K's. We bush- or free camped 95% (at least) and did not have ONE bad experience re. intruders. Stayed well off the road, well out of town and that was it. And that's one of the reasons why we love Australia and are happy to be back soon.

FollowupID: 702945

Follow Up By: Motherhen - Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 22:20

Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 22:20

Absolutely true Willem.

Why would anyone want to go somewhere miles out of town on the off chance they might find a camper to annoy or rob? It they are after the goodies, they would stay in town and burgle suburban houses - all in a row with lots of goodies. Sometimes it has been reported that an opportunistic thief has visited a caravan park (in a big town) and taken wallets and cameras. We prefer to stay out of sight and sound of the road more for a quiet night (unless alongside a minor road where there is virtually no traffic after bed time). We have stopped alongside highways for convenience (eg when on a rushed trip where we just pull off the road at dusk) and had no problems or threats. We feel so safe outside of towns.

We also camped around Europe in the 1960s (with my parents and sister), and free camped much of the time with no problems either.

Mh

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Reply By: Members Pa & Ma. - Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 21:11

Tuesday, Oct 05, 2010 at 21:11

Hi Harpshark,
We're trying to upgrade to a small, tough off road van too.
About the same price range, maybe a bit more for a good van. We go very remote but our choice has to be second hand.
We're looking at a small Trakmaster or a sml supreme getaway.
There are some good vans for sale 2nd. hand, but they all have double beds and we want single beds.
We've asked around and done a lot of research.
Other than buying new, which we can't ,some of our other choices aren't available 2nd. hand yet.
Trakmaster seems to be the one with least fault out of the 2.
One you've mentioned,has had a lot of complaints, even on the bitumen. You can message me if you'd like to know which one.
I have the same security issues but I think that you'd be safer in a caravan but they're a bit harder to hide than a small tent.
We agree with what the others have said regarding security.
Take care, safe travels, Bye for now, I'm shutting down for the night. Ma

AnswerID: 432189

Follow Up By: Harpshark - Wednesday, Oct 06, 2010 at 21:09

Wednesday, Oct 06, 2010 at 21:09

Hi there
Thank you all for taking the time to respond, Im sorry that I havent replyd earlier b ut work has been hectic - no time for the important things in life like travelling, camping and campoven cooking!
Good advice re the best safest and cheapest places are bush camps.
Still in a bit of a quandry as to what would be the best type of caravan to get into these places though!! - any opinions?
Thank you all so much for the input

Cheers

Harpshark

FollowupID: 703073

Reply By: Harpshark - Wednesday, Oct 06, 2010 at 21:17

Wednesday, Oct 06, 2010 at 21:17

Hi Ma Pa and Gus
I cant send you a message via the site as Im not a member yet.
Would I be able to trouble you for an email to: harpshark@hotmail.com?
re the info on the type of poptops that have a bad rap on and off the road - youve obviouslly done a bit of research on the subject and know your stuff
Id really appreaciate the input.

Cheers

Harpshark

AnswerID: 432272