Advice on van size.

My opinion is to rent a couple first and see how it goes for you. You are the only ones that will know what you want, maybe. After a couple of rentals we worked out we wanted an island double bed, separate shower andtoilet and comfortable seating. But then again we are full time in ours.

Neil

That is a vary personal question, one that I would not care to answer. The layout is as much consideration as the length. There are possibly shorter ones you can feel comfortable in and certainly longer ones that you wont.

You need to do a fair bit of tyre kicking. Here is a list of camping/4WD shows You did not say where you live, before you travel a great distance to any of these check out their web sites, contact them and ask for a list of exhibitors. You can then check from the list of exhibitors whether there are any 5th wheelers likely to be there.

Spend up to a half a morning or afternoon checking out a particular manufacturers wares. You need to check the comfort of the seats and bed. You need to sit for a while and see if there is sufficient space to entertain in inclement weather (if you are the social types.) The cook needs to survey the kitchen and mime some meal preparations. See how you fit the shower and dunny. Check both the internal and extremal storage (including fresh, grey and black water.) Check out the 12 V electrical system.

Ray,
My advice to you is ..........Don't think of size, think Liveability it's imuch more important.
The best van/5th wheeler/motorhome is the smallest one that you both can live in without feeling inconvenient or squashed in.
I would hate to have to drive one of the Monster 5th wheeler rigs much more so when trying to get into many sites.

Disco.

Sorry, I meant to say that I have done plenty of study over the past year or so and been to several shows, Penrith just this week. The M/H's I have settled on are a Sunliner Monte Carlo or Winnebago Menindee, the 5th Wheelers are Evergreen or Travelhome.

The smaller ones don't seem to offer the comfort and room, however the more experienced people might have good reasons to swap these for the benefits of size and ease of travel.

Hi Ray,
Here are my experiences.
I have owned 3 vans, each upgrade getting bigger than the previous van.
First van was 15 foot purchased in 1973, the next was 18.5 foot in 2006 and currently up to 23 foot. Might stop now I think. Plenty big enough.

1 For comfort sake, especially as we get older, I prefer a toilet and shower and preferably a separate toilet as when they are combined the toilet gets wet when showering. Means a cleanup before bed or a wet backside during the night

2 An island bed for ease of making the bed up and so you do not have to climb over the cook to get out, too easy to get sidetracked doing that. LOL

3 a comfortable dining area which can double as a lounge as I like to lay back a little after tea.

4 Van of sufficient size as to be comfortable and sufficient room so that I can get out of the cooks way if necessary

5 Motorhome option
Brother owns a 32 foot petrol powered motorhome and he is going to tow a small 4 wheel drive around so that he can nick down the road to get some supplies if he runs out and for getting into those places you would not dare take the motorhome. No matter which way you go, or look at it, you have to tow something or sacrifice flexibility. Interestingly his fuel consumption is going to be close to mine in my petrol cruiser towing our van

6 5Th Wheeler option
A mate owns a Wildcat 5th wheeler, weighs about 4 + tonne and I drove his setup once. The effect is as though someone was sitting behind the drivers seat and kicking the back of the seat as I was driving along. Most disconcerting to say the least.
He has the airbag shock absorbing setup on the hitch that he was advised to get but it makes little difference. That put me off a fifth wheeler for life.
I have since read that that is a common problem with 5th wheelers.

5Th wheelers are more for living in or touring for really extended periods I would think, given their size and weight.

What would suit you depends on how much experience you have had towing, or driving trucks, as towing is not unlike driving a truck or a semi trailer.

I bumped into a lady in big W one day who was buying a couple of things and I mentioned that it looked as though she was about to give hubby a couple of jobs and she said "Oh no, this is for the new 5th wheeler I bought", hubby deceased I assumed. I said I guess that would be a bit of a hand full for her.
She said "Oh no, I took it for a run around the block and it was good"
She went on to say
" You know I have never even towed a box trailer before in my life"!!!!!!!!!!

I thought 'Here is an accident waiting to happen’.

Don't get me wrong, girls can do anything they put their mind to, but something like that requires a bit of practice before doing it in traffic big time.

The bigger you go the more you need to think about what is behind you and the implications such as braking distances and what the tail is doing as you go around a corner.

As the other responders have said, try before you buy if you can.
You can certainly hire a motorhome and several places hire vans but I do not know about 5th wheelers.

Anyhow there is my 2 bobs worth. Hope it is of some help
Cheers, Bruce.

Ray,

Back in the 80's we lived in 'vans for 6years, 24/7, as they say, while on stations in NT & western Qld.

I love caravans, except when I'm following them in a truck, and a well set-up one means carefree travelling. From my point of view, you need the following:

Island Bed
Buffet style dining
Seperate toilet/shower, though a combined, across the rear end type ensuite would pass(with small w/machine)
Plenty of 12v battery power storage, say 200amphr plus
Adequate Solar panels on roof, to keep 12v storage simmering.
Gas or diesel cook-top, preferably with oven
Microwave
HEAPS of storage/cupboard space(one thing I hated when in the van was, no matter what you needed, you had to move something else to get to it)
LED lighting
AM/FM Radio, with good speakers, & maybe DVD too
At least one comfortable,nanna type chair, but I love sleeping on the floor too. Not so far to fall LOL
No rear windows, nor any front ones. maybe some of those big ones, to get good air flow.
Reverse cycle inverter aircon, preferably built in, not roof top.
12v Fans, in the kitchen, bedroom & lounge
Plenty of insulation
Awning, so you don't have to put up an annexe, every time you stop for more than o'night.
And finally, though I've sure to have forgotten some points, the best independant suspension you can afford.

Can't help you with the motorhome vs 5th wheeler, but my preference would be for the 5th whlr. Easier to tow, and in 5 minutes you're off to the pub, while the van part, and the cook, are left behind.

If I didn't have the experience, I wouldn't like to drive a big motorhome, especially with that little Suzuki or sedan following faithfully behind. Bit like the flea on the elephant, whereas 5th wheelers are more like the elephant riding the flea.

Good luck with your eventual choice, I hope you enjoy it,

Bob.

I have just spoken to Sydney RV Centre and they don't hire motorhomes anymore, I was told they they sell them on a guaranteed 'buy back' up to 3 months. That is not an option that I would want, so I guess that I will have to rent a smaller cheaper hire unit, that only solves part of the problem though.

Thanks for the advice Bob, gee you lot here are a wealth of help.

I would like some comments from 5th wheeler owners if there are any out there, just need some more convincing or otherwise (lol)

Ray,
To me you could be happy in a Jayco Conquest motorhome, double bed along with the Toilet Shower in the rear, the larger model I think is close to 26ft. I have seen the 7m versions in the likes of MacDonalds, the rear is parked over low garden and the front then sticks out no more than a Landcruiser, this eliminates the need for a toad.

Came across a happy owner in Tassie who paid $80,000 for his Jayco mh on the second hand market, the Chassis was a Fiat.

IMHO, MHing is different from caravanning or 5th wheeling, you do not need to go back to a central point ie CP where your van is, but continue your Travels and stop over at night at rest areas or where ever.

Peter

The usual do not work for Jayco and do not own a Jayco.

Ray
There is some information in the links below on fifth wheeler stability and why some of them suffer from shunting problems. It appears to centre around axle location with some being set too far forward to cater for lighter weight tow vehicles. When designed properly they are far more stable than large caravans. This is explained in detail on a lot of sites on the net.

You will also find information on single and double oscillating fifth wheeler hitches and problems associated with singles.

http://www.lets-getaway.com/5thWheelerStability.htm
http://www.travelhome.com.au/documents/FifthWheelersandStability.pdf

G'day Ray,
I was in a similar situation and chose the 5th wheeler (after heaps of research)
Make sure you have a slide out as they make the world of difference to your level of comfort.
I have come across many people with Winnabago's and it's amazing how many are having warranty issues and all complain about how hard it is to get them to honour the warranty and only after doing the Jeckle & Hyde do they get any action.
Another thing to consider is the 2nd hand value as a motor home clocks up the km and every one you put on takes the $'s off the motor home. 5th wheelers and vans don't have that problem so you will lose less if you keep them in good condition as no one can tell if it's done1000km or 100,000km.
You can do the 5th wheeler on a car licence you will need a rigid licence if you get a larger motor home.
With a motor home you have to completely pack up if you need to get the groceries then you have to find somewhere to park it. When you get back to your spot someone has taken it, unless you left gear behind to show the spot has gone (and you may get back to find someone took those things)
If you break down in the middle of nowhere it could take weeks to get fixed - now where are you going to live? Just to top it off all your stuff is in it and the workshop has your keys - do you feel safe knowing some bong chugging mechanic and his mates are riffling through your stuff and the wife's gold and diamond women's stuff.

5th wheelers ARE easier to tow and reverse than a boat or a caravan and my 5th wheeler @ 29.5 foot total length from front of Navara STX550 to the back of the van is about the same length as pulling a 23ft caravan because there is no A frame.

I get an average of 18lt to 100km but on the flat it comes down to about 15.8 doing 95-100kph in 7th gear @1500rpm. Pulling almost 3.5ton.

Another plus is I have a 4wd (if a motor home gets bogged you may need a tractor to get out - now where did I put my tractor?)

I can hook it up in less than 2 minutes and the same to un-hook it plus I can do it without any help as it is just so easy, and as I said I now have a 4WD to go fishing, shopping, prospecting etc.

Another bonus is I don't have to listen to all the pots and pans banging around whilst on the move and if things are being thrown around and breaking I just don't want to know until I get there as I can live without the stress when travelling. I just get there and if there is a problem and things have been thrown around we will fix it then not keep stopping to check on this noise and that noise etc.

We have no regrets with our choice and have been on the road since October and have no desire to stop. If I was in the market to buy again I would buy another 5th wheeler.

Well there's a few new points for you to consider.

Cheers Nigel

That's great Nigel, I was considering a unit of around that size, what brand is yours?

I notice you have the new 6 cylinder Navarra STX, I was looking at one of them but was surprised that the towing rating was less than the Ranger or Mazda BT50???

The longer the total rig, the fewer places it will go.
Non driven wheels are a problem in soft stuff and will restrict where you can go.

Get a short 4WD motorhome. :-)
We are happy to live in ours for months at a time.
Under 6m overall, fridge, freezer, shower, toilet, 600W of solar.....just like home....
Tow a tinny occasionally too, but only to where the fishing is good.....

Cheers,
OKA196 Motorhome.

Has anybody got one of these or does anyone know anything about them.

http://www.ultimarv.com.au/

I have always had an aversion to USA imports, but these seem OK and the price difference to an aussie built like a 'Travelhome' is huge, personally I have trouble justifying the price of aussie built units.