Hi Keel,

That's my longer term plan: to get a motorhome and with a platform on the back for a motorbike. Its hard work hitching up the van etc, not to mention getting it up our narrow driveway afterwards. Thank goodness I have two strong and very helpful teenage sons!

I'm not sure how easy it is to import a vehicle from the UK if you live here. As far as I recall, when I imported my motorbike it was only do-able because I'd lived in the UK and owned it for the two previous years.

Been working on our van this weekend. managed to modify the drop-down-table-to-double-bed feature so that it's got more leg room. Turned out it was easy peasy to do.

Dunno why, but the gas stove doesn't seem to be working even though there's gas in the bottle, the valve on the bottle is on and a valve underneath the stove is in the on position too. Not critical because we have a hotplate, kettle, toaster, etc but it would be good if we could use the oven if needed. Will have to pick my fellow campers' brains when we go on holiday with it next month.

That reminds me, I need to buy extended mirrors and a tow hitch lock. A bloody expensive malarky all this is turning out to be!

Hi Keel


We had a motorhome back in the UK, Swift Bel-Air, well made, sturdy thing it was and I think if we could've afforded to bring it with us at the time, then we would have. We ended up selling it in the end for a bit more than we paid for it, so that was a bonus.
Since being here though (Oz) and having noticed a notable difference between the chassis of the Aussie MH and the European, I honestly don't think it would of survived the Australia out back. The European ones are far too low for the terrain over here but if you're willing to pay for adjustments or just stay on the tarmac then you'd be fine.

If you are adamant in bringing a caravan or a motorholme, personally I'd go for the motorhome, but that's just me, I love motorhomes and like you mention, I like the fact you don't have to mess about setting them up etc.. Also another plus for you if you ever come to sell it here is you'd make a good return, as they hold their money very well.
I don't think we will be able to afford to buy one here, as they so expensive. So our camping days are over for now.

It's never ending Paulry.

$64,000 up front the I recon I've spent another $8000 on load levellers, annex walls, electric caravan movers etc. But I would love to just jump into the drivers seat of a motor home and disappear at the drop of a hat.

Is the fault on the hob to do with the cut off switch attached to the hob cover?

Keel

Hello Molly

2 years of caravanning over here and I've never left the tarmac and I've no plans at the present to change that. The out back is something I see on travel shows.

I'm wondering if I could buy a really good motorhome in the UK and sell it over here after a couple of years and turn a profit?

Keel

We looked at buying and importing a motorhome from the UK, although a relatively top end one as we are planning on living in it full time for at least a year (our gap year a bit late!). Firstly you are restricted to UK ones as the habitation door has to be on the left hand side, so no snazzy European ones. Then you have the issue of spare parts; what if your windscreen breaks for example - how long (and how much) to get a replacement from the UK if the base vehicle is not common in Australia? Then there's the differences in regulations; for instance, all the gas piping has to be stripped out and replaced, not easy or cheap on a finished vehicle. And it's nigh on impossible to get anyone to tell you exactly what will be required that way (it's in their interest not to tell you of course as that might put you off) so you can't work out exactly how much to budget for. Then there's durability as Molly says. We are planning on free camping and doing the rough stuff, some of the time. The point we got to was possibly to buy one which is also imported into Australia to solve the spare parts/maintenance issue. There are a few, but we liked the layout on a Autotrail one. We visited the factory to see how they are made and chatted with the guys there, the concern being if it would be up to the rough roads. Then we went to the Caravan and Motorhome Show at the NEC and got talking to another Autotrail salesman, one who had travelled around in a campervan in Australia. Very honestly, he said don't do it. It would get shaken apart. So we knocked that idea on the head.

So we settled on an Ozzie motorhome and spent many hours on the internet, our motorhome experience over there being solely a week in a rental one in Tassie. We slowly came round to the idea that having to up sticks every time to visit anywhere or even to buy a pint of milk was not very appealing. Yes we could get a motorbike, we're keen bikers in the UK and have seven between us at the moment, but to get one without a trailer would require it to be very light and thus limited in power, so would probably struggle with two of us aboard. We could tow one on a trailer, but they're difficult to reverse and unwieldy and in any case, I'm not sure a bike is that appealing in hot and wet tropical Australia. Or we could tow a small FWD car on an A-frame, but again that makes your vehicle really long, impossible to park in build up areas and to reverse into van park spaces without a lot of swearing and effort.

So what else? Caravans of course. So again, we looked at the UK ones which are imported in Australia with a view to taking one like Keel suggests. The following year at the Caravan and Motorhome show we talked to some of their staff and discussed the differences between the UK ones and the ones they export to Australia. Which have uprated this that and the other (stronger chassis, bigger water tanks, etc) and also many of the same issues (e.g. gas piping) that taking a motorhome would. So we knocked that idea on the head too. Remember also that for both personally imported motorhomes and caravans you need to be careful about comparing like with like when you look at values and resale as many Australians (and we) would not consider them, so a much smaller market and thus probably a much lower resale value, so in reality there is probably not as much of a saving as there appears to be.

That then takes us on to Australian caravans, for us maybe an off road one. Lots more internet research and the realisation that Australia still seems to be in the 1950's. For anyone interested take a look at the kitchen units or lighting in a modern UK van or motorhome and then compare it with an Australian one. Still, it is what it is, not much we can do about that. But caravans are unstable and there are few with our favourite layout for weight/balance reasons.

Incidentally, if anyone else is looking at caravans in Australia, we can highly recommend this book, as it happens written by a (very helpful) Brit expat!

Back to the NEC show for one more bit of window shopping. Where we looked properly for the first time at fifth wheelers, something very rare in Europe but apparently quite common in the US, with a small presence in the Australian market. Apologies if this is teaching granny to suck eggs, but these have the tow hitch sitting above the rear axle on a ute or double cab pick up type vehicle, with the bed in the raised area above the tow vehicle rear platform and then like a caravan behind that. These are far more stable, shorter than an equivalent car/caravan combination, more fuel efficient and can carry heavier weights more easily, but of course you need a suitable tow vehicle, which is no issue for us as we have no vehicle at all at the moment! There are quite a few big fifth wheelers, American imports with massive sideouts, but that's a bit OTT for us, so the current plan is something like a Ford Ranger towing one of these.

All this has probably taken three years of contemplation and research. Our requirements are probably rather extreme given we're going to be "Greyish Nomads doing the Big Lap" rather than nipping away for a weekend, but that's our thought process if anyone is interested. Your input would be welcome if you think we have overlooked anything. I don't think we can get any further until we arrive in April and can see what is what in the flesh, so to speak. Wish us luck!!

P.S. Excuse the typos please, looks like I've left it too late to edit my post.....

I absolutely prefer a motorhome. We hired one when we did our validation trip here and it was a delight to use. Would maybe buy a 4 berth (rather than a 6) because a six berth with a motorbike on the back would be near impossible to fit into a car park parking bay.

Thanks for the tip regarding the hob cover. That looks like a likely culprit - will take a look. Cheers for that.

Another option is to import a South African built caravan or motorhome. many there are built to handle "roads" that'll make your eyes water. Take a look on gumtree.co.za to get a feel for the vans and prices there.

Re the motorhome and local travel options once your setup, has anyone considered electric bicycles for those milk runs. You can get very sturdy long range bikes now, easy to carry as well, free fuel being another bonus, as long as you have the correct solar array which is a given in this country.

Thats the option we had in mind.

The other advantage a Motor home has, is being able to pull up in a city side street for a quick overnight stay. You could do that here in Coburg easily.

Tarmac camping is not real camping you know.
Yep, you will without doubt turn a profit.

That's a good idea.
There seems to be a lot of those bikes you mention over here in Oz.

That's the best bit about a MH just pulling up wherever and whenever. We've spent a few nights in a city when we've either been lost or just tired. They are great for that

Just had a reply from Auto shippers for bringing a 25ft motorhome from Southhampton to Freemantle 4600 pounds. It takes 39 days to ship it.

Keel

That sounds like a good deal. And a lot quicker than what my container took to get here.

Are you going to buy one?

When I do go for one, it will be something like this, down the cheaper end of the market, but built for Aus conditions. Plus very very easy spare parts, which is a big plus in Aus... So much so that it should be top of everyones agenda. My mates and contacts would make sure it was as perfect as possible, might upgrade the solar and invertor and thats about it, plus make sure the parts were all in as good as nick as possible.

Toyota Coaster '99 Self Sustainable Motorhome ( 2012 Fit-out ) | Campervan | Gumtree Australia Macedon Ranges - Woodend | 1018073623

Cheap enough as well, by Aus standards that is... I reckon I'd pick this up for 54K.



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I like that, it's smart and not a bad price like you said. You lucky bugger!
You'll have the time of your life. If I didn't have kids I could quite happily live in one of those and travel the world until I was old and grey.

I had a weird dream a couple of nights ago. I dreamed that Deb & I went over to the USA & hired a Harley Davidson, it's our 25th wedding anniversary next year. We then drove around all those famous places that you hear about in the old rock n roll songs. I made a list in my mind & could think of loads. Georgia On My Mind, Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa, Ode to Billie Joe [Tallahatchie Bridge] Galveston, Graceland, Winslow, Arizona etc etc..
When I told Deb she said "No way! Not on a Harley! I'll go if you hire a Winnebago"
I might have to pay a bloody fortune in extra mileage to do that