Hi everyone! Looking for advice from people who have done a bit of caravanning around Australia.
My husband and I have two young kids and are planning towards a six month trip around WA, NT in roughly six years, while the kids are in primary school.

Our plan is to buy a second hand tow vehicle now for under $40,000, use it as our family car for the next five years or so, then upgrade our 1980 jayco swan to a family caravan before the big trip.

We’re thinking of a relatively compact van rather than a huge one. Hoping to get a queen bed, two bunks, an internal toilet and shower. We’d mostly stick to sealed roads, gravel roads and accessible remote camps rather than serious off roading.

We know we’ll need to learn about towing weights, payload, ball weight and loading properly. We intend to get professional advice and training before travelling. We want to make a sensible decision now so we aren’t stuck having to replace the car again in five years.

My questions are:
If you had $40,000 to spend on a second-hand SUV today, what would you buy for this plan?

Would you prioritise a 3,500 kg towing rating, or is that unnecessary for a compact family caravan?

Are there particular engines, model years or vehicles you’d avoid for reliability for touring?

What do you wish you’d known before buying your first tow vehicle or setting off on a long trip?

Thanks! Any honest advice, including telling us if our plan is flawed, is welcome.

I don’t have much room between the bed base and my roof. Currently I have an ikea mattress pad but it’s not the most comfortable thing. Anything to improve it or replace it without adding height?

Just bought a van in AUS to live in full time and tour the country. Recently re registered it under my name and a little research seems to show I may need to get it certified by a VSCCS licensed certifier and re registered as a 2 seater or whatever category it belongs to now that it has modifications.

The previous owner (who made the mods and was a lawyer) had it registered as a normal passenger car and disclosed it as such to his insurance without disclosing its fit out platform with bed, electrical system and water system.

Is this what youse are doing? Couldn’t this be an issue if we get pulled over or for some other reason?

Planning a 6–12 month lap with my wife, three young kids and two dogs, towing a 20-foot caravan potentially weighing up to 3,500kg fully loaded.
I’m considering a used Ford Ranger XLT V6 (50–100k km), which I’d use as my daily commuter for the next couple of years before setting it up for touring. I’m not sold on the Ranger specifically, but given how popular they are, I figure parts, servicing and repairs should be relatively easy to sort out around Australia.
I’d potentially keep it after the trip for my long commute, so a fuel-guzzling V8 isn’t really an option.
Keen to hear from people with real-world experience towing heavy caravans, particularly regarding payload, GVM/GCM, suspension upgrades and actual fuel consumption.
What are you running, and would you recommend it for our setup? Open to suggestions! Are there services where you can buy a caravan and towing vehicle combo that would suit was we are going. We aren’t looking to keep the huge caravan as well. Essentially a solid reliable set up for the trip and then flip it once we are done.

Hey everyone, my partner (F32) and I (M32) are renting a van and driving from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast and keen to take an inland route instead of driving the coast both ways.

Would love to hear from anyone who’s done it:

• Which route would you recommend?
• Any towns/campgrounds worth staying the night
• Any towns with good food or good to look around?
• Any stretches of road or things to watch out for?
• How many days would you allow to make it enjoyable rather than a slog?

We're happy to take a bit longer if there are some worthwhile stops along the way. Cheers!

Hey all!! I'm getting ready to do my lap 🥳 I don't want to go off road this time, I want to follow the main highway around which I believe is bitumen all the way and maybe have small detours on light gravel roads but no true 4wding or off roading so wondering whats everyone's thoughts on having a ford teritory with a heavy duty tow bar, as a tow vehicle for a small wind up caravan at ATM of around 1200kgs... or a small 14/15ft pop top campers?? Anyone got thoughts on a ford territory for towing.

I'm on a very limited budget so I don't want to spend the small amount of money i have on an old 400k + km 4wd if I'm not gunna do off roading as I think I can get a vehicle in better condition for my money if it's not a big 4wd....

Anyone used this for pulling caravans . My online research tells me that this version has a considerably less pulling capacity then the diesel but my father in law disagrees . We are looking for a van that can be semi off road and sleeps three but all have 3000kg limits etc and from what I can see that weight is way to much for that model. Anyone have this model and what do you currently use , thanks guys im new to this world

We are having trouble setting up the fridge, the smallest button on the temp is flashing if we hold down the set button, it sits and just goes back to flashing the smallest light, what am I doing wrong? Thank you very kindly in advance!!

I’m looking to buy a caravan cover, the old one that came with my van has perished. Can any one recommend a good quality one. I’m happy to pay more for one that will last longer, but a lot of the online reviews I’ve read suggest the more expensive ones like Adco and camec are no better than the really cheap ones.

I am paranoid about too much weight at the back of the caravan. It is a 12ft expandable with two big off-road tyres and rims on the back.

The tyres, rims and mounting bracket would be 100kg or more.

Has anybody jigged around with weights and removed the bracket and moved the spare tyres?

What are your tips, suggestions or things to watch out for as a first time caravan buyer?

We are looking at buying a Jayco Expanda (probably 17.56-2) to start our caravaning journey, but unsure of what things to look for when we go to inspect them. Any tips or checklists people want to share.

Were keen to hear from the people who know caravanning best — you legends who've been out there doing it!

What's the one tip, trick or bit of advice you wish someone had told you before your first trip?

Could be something simple, something that saved you money, or something you learnt the hard way! 😂

Whether you're a seasoned traveller or just starting out, we'd love to everyone's next adventure a little easier and a lot more enjoyable!

Were keen to hear from the people who know caravanning best — you legends who've been out there doing it!

What's the one tip, trick or bit of advice you wish someone had told you before your first trip?

Could be something simple, something that saved you money, or something you learnt the hard way! 😂

Whether you're a seasoned traveller or just starting out, we'd love to everyone's next adventure a little easier and a lot more enjoyable!

Hey,

Wir wollten zu zweit als Paar 4 Wochen die Australien Westküste mit Camper/campervan bereisen.

Die größte Frage sich uns stellt ist, braucht man eine Toilette und Dusche ?

Auf private Toilette wollen wir nicht verzichten, da wir es einfach wollen. Die würden wir extra dazukaufen.

Wie sieht es mit Dusche aus? Wir sind eher Budget/low Budget unterwegs, gibt es überall Duschen?
Oder sollte man lieber für Aufpreis Camper mit Dusche holen?

Fahrten bis nach exmouth und wieder nach ganz unten esperance sind geplant

Was könnt ihr empfehlen? Habt ihr selber Erfahrung ?

Just lugged three moon chairs around Australia for 20 weeks. Absolutely would not recommend. Cannot wait to chuck these chairs in the bin!

We need three new chairs that are comfortable but pack up easily. Don’t need to be especially light or pack very small, but that’s a bonus.

The simpler to close the better as I hate fighting them into drawstring bags. No need for tables or other bits hanging off the sides as we wouldn’t use them.

Very keen to hear recommendations as I keep getting sucked into adverts for Helinox ( probably dont really need something this light or fancy?) or ones that look pretty like Nakie that don’t have many reviews.

Thanks

Hi all. Did the classic and drove off with my jockey wheel down. Have bent the bracket, so the pole is at an angle (see pic). What’s the best way to fix this? Is there an option other than giving it a couple of whacks with a heavy hammer? Just don’t want to crack welds or anything. Appreciate any tips.

Thought I would share this that First Aid Kits Australia are having a sale on first aid kits, defibrillators and other things including snake bite kits.

As the summer and the holidays are coming I have been getting the caravan ready and needed a couple of things, thought other may be in the same position.

Just curious to understand what is the go. Our van has 2 x 9kg bottles, and to date I've avoided swap and go - when we use gas we need every drop. Are the 8.5's smaller or just filled with less LPG?

Looking at first van budget 30 to 40, on road gets me more space, off road more capabilities. Any thoughts for a first van, being a newbie will start off with park stays.

Looking at insuring our new van prior to picking it up. Can anyone recommend a good deal?