Jun 21, 20215 min read

The Caravan - How we chose our new home on wheels

Purchasing a caravan is not a small decision. There are many reasons why you would buy a caravan, most of which would see you get out and about, and create wonderful memories, especially for young children. These memories will forever stay with you and your loved ones, and will more than likely become a new family tradition, if it wasn’t already.

Let’s face it, we are an inquisitive bunch. It’s human nature to want to explore and see new things. Owning a caravan will give you the freedom to do just that. Out on your journeys, no longer will you have to find motels or bed and breakfasts on the way, and when you arrive at your destination. At most, if you choose to stay in a caravan park, then that’s all you’ll need to seek out.

You will have many options for your stays when you own a caravan. There is free camping, which is just that, FREE camping, where you can pull up anywhere safe and legal and set up camp. There are National Parks, where you sometimes pay a small fee and share an area designated to travellers like yourself to stay, generally no longer than a few days at a time. Then you have the smaller caravan parks which have the basics and sometimes a few extras like camp kitchen, picnic tables etc. Lastly, you’ll find the bigger holiday parks that generally have everything you could want, including large playgrounds, swimming pools, restaurants and so much more. It all depends on what you want out of your destination, and of course what you are willing to pay.

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We, up until now, have always stayed in caravan and holiday parks. This is mostly because I’ve never ventured out to anything else. But when we begin our big lap, most of the time we will hit the free and less expensive options. Simply because we plan to be on the road for 12 months, so we will need to make our money go further.

It’s with this in mind that helped us decide what we want out of a van. We need it to be self-sufficient and to carry us along the way, relying on nothing else. Off grid and off road set up is the way we went. Most modern caravans nowadays will find you with off grid, all it takes is a battery set up and some solar panels.

Our Jayco StarCraft Outback is probably a little bigger than we anticipated buying, but the alternatives just seemed too small. Perhaps I have an element of claustrophobia within, but I just didn’t want to feel crammed. Travelling for a long amount of time will require some level of comfort in order to enjoy your trip to the maximum.

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Our very first van was a Jayco Dove wind up. It was a nice van, for a first van. Our first trip, and the reason why we purchased it, was to head interstate to be with a family member while he passed away from cancer, at the age of 42. We stayed in the van for about 2 weeks before I started to feel a little ‘closed in’. By the time the third week came, it was time to look at trading up.

Sunny Queensland found us looking at new vans, instead of holidaying. We spent a few days looking, with some family who are very experienced at caravanning, before we found the one that would suit our needs, and our budget. It was a Jayco Freedom Expanda. It had so much more room, it was lovely.

We purchased it, and while staying in a holiday park, we sold our Dove before heading back home. It probably wasn’t the ideal time to upgrade, as we knew nothing about that van and for all we knew it could have had some major defects, but within our capabilities, we checked it mechanically before we made the purchase.

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We had the Expanda for about 4 years. It served us well, in fact we probably didn’t use it often enough. We probably holidayed in it under 10 times, but it served its purpose.

When it came to our new van, Mr decided it will need to have a toilet and shower. I personally don’t like having to try and find my way around a park at night to locate the toilets, so having this option, was a no-brainer. We also wanted a van that didn’t require setting up. We’ve always had to either wind up, or pull out and push up beds and roofs, but now we are older, and probably a little lazier, we want the ability to pull up somewhere and the van be ready. Of course that awning requires the same set up as we had on the Expanda, but the van is ready whether the awning is out or not.

With all this in mind, we found a bunk van would best suit our needs. We have previously been to caravan shows and looked at bunk vans there. We’ve always liked them but found the $80,000 price tag to be a little crazy and hard to justify. At the last show we went to, we actually found one we really liked, we even signed up for it to be built, but on our way home, we found the one that suits us perfectly, and bought it.

Our new home on wheels, Jayco StarCraft Outback

It’s only 4 years old, but in immaculate condition. It’s a one-owner and has barely been used. For all the time that it sat idle, it had been parked undercover in a shed and kept very well.

It has 3 bunks, one for the dog, or storage if the dog doesn’t come on our journey, has a separate toilet and shower, air conditioning, of course and a queen size bed. The kitchen has more bench space than all the ‘pokier’ vans we looked at and it has a leather L shaped lounge/dining, with a telescopic table. There is a lot of storage and cupboard space, and plenty of room to put everything I will need to carry on our trip.

We are happy with the van. It will require a few smaller things to be added on, just to personalise it a little, but we reckon this will be the one to take us on our big journey!

We thank you for being a part of our journey with us. Stay tuned for more content as we continue our planning.

Happy and safe travels to you xx

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