Just wondering if there are any opinions on why, at the back of the van on the inside, anyone may think that a bedroom with a door (concertina or otherwise) leading into the en suite area then on the other side past yet another door, the rest of the van may be a bad idea or not.
I have seen some layouts like that and find that the idea appeals to me in the case that I have had a long drive and pulled up early to get some sleep in the late arvo. In such a case I could have both doors shut and the Mrs could have the rest of the van for TV, radio, make herself a coffee and so on with near to no chance of dissturbing my sleep. We do tend to pull some almighty Ks on the road when driving (without a van)....last year 1100K in one hit and this year 700K a day for 4 straight days to drive North to Cairns.... and I dont really see that changing thus the perceived need for an arvo sleep so we can push on into the night if needed. That layout seemed best for that idea to me.
If you have better ideas or think my idea good or bad, please let me know why. We have decided we dont think we could live full time on road in anything less than a 28 footer and we do want to go mild offroad now and then, too.
Before you ask, the reason we are thinking this way is that I had major health problems for a long time and when I could get back to work, no-one wanted a middle aged me (back then) with that sort of hole in their work history. I have not one cent in super and the Mrs has probably enough to help us get by but we couldnt afford to keep the house we live in right now when retirement comes (or is forced on either or both of us) as we still owe quite a bit we could never pay back without income from a job. I am self employed as a result of my predicament, rather than having to go to the Govt with cap in hand. So, the idea is to sell the house, pay it off with the proceeds and as it is worth probably over twice what we owe on it, buy the car and van to suit and live on the road. Ultimately it is cheaper than living in a house and my health problem never went away, just became manageable. I cant live for more than a month in an area of great heat (middle 30s or higher) or humidity thus buying a house in a hell of a lot of Australia is out. Where I live now suits those temperature/humidity needs.
While I have your attention, one thing that became evident to both of us is that if you live in a motor home and the car part of it breaks down and needs a fix, the entire living area and all your valuables go with it. This is why we chose a caravan and car style to go for. If the car breaks down we still have something to live in and if the caravan needs repair we can still get to somewhere else with our valuables in the car. Does anyone have experience with living full time in a camper van and it breaking down? What did you do while it was being fixed?
Thanks for any help on all this. My camper van idea may be all wrong so if it is, please let me know!
after 4 years (and solo) I've decided to change from a Motor home to a tug and caravan ..
The caravan plan I've chosen is as shown ..
.. and with the door set here .. one can access the ensuite directly should you need to .. no-one has to by-pass the bedroom to get there .. curtains separate bedroom from kitchen ..
after 4 years (and solo) I've decided to change from a Motor home to a tug and caravan ..
The caravan plan I've chosen is as shown ..
.. and with the door set here .. one can access the ensuite directly should you need to .. no-one has to by-pass the bedroom to get there .. curtains separate bedroom from kitchen ..
I'm happy with that !
Nice layout. I only wish I had got the bigger fridge freezer installed in mine and a separate dunny like yours
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Pets are welcome but children must be leashed at all times
When I/we were younger we used to drive fast between places to go and see the old people in their caravans and MH's parked up with the chairs out and the cuppa in hand and we used to laugh. Now we are the 'old people', we know why. Life for us now is the journey, not the destination. You can't ghet lost if you don't know where you need to be.
Then layout in your van Jonathon, is similar to ours and apart from the L shaped lounge, not much should change when the new one comes although SWMBO would like and East/West bed not the centre as we now have. Totally agree about the tug breaking down and nowhere to stay. Also inconvenient when you want to explore.
We try to get on the road, when travelling, about 8.30, stop for breakfast/early lunch about 10 to 10.30. An I am looking to stop around 3. About 200 to 250kms per day. Why rush? sometimes the most beautiful sights are to be seen because we are travelling slow enough to discuss and decide.
Greg, have you considered a 5th wheeler? With a 5th wheeler you would still have the advantage of leaving the van and going somewhere in the truck, those that have them say they are easier to tow than a caravan.
Sue and I looked into changing from a caravan to a MH because of ease of access from the driving position to the kitchen/toilet/bedroom but the thought of being stranded with a blown motor/drive train turned us off. We are now looking for a bigger van than our 16 footer, up to 21 feet and 3 tonne. 2nd hand so we can do-up.
A layout similar to yours Jon be suitable except for single beds and we'd do away with the café dinner and replace with a tri-folding table and lounge chairs.
Peter
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Cheers Peter and Sue
"If I agree with you we'll both be wrong"
No, I'm not busy, I did it right the first time.
Self-powered wheelie walker, soon a power chair (ex. Nomad)
The decision to change from a MH to a Caravan was not too difficult for me .. towing a trailer which housed my motorbike gave me that mobility when the MH was parked up. The time had come though to stop riding a bike .. this required consideration but not for long.
This time I will be able to get away from the blacktop a bit more .. My last visit to the Bungle Bungles was restricted because of my mode of transport being only a front wheel drive vehicle.
In my circumstances as a solo traveller, the island bed suits me .. Naturally other considerations would apply were I travelling with a partner.
I had also looked at a few 5th wheelers too .. but nothing stood out enough to sway me away from a Tug & Van. Thats just how I found them .. the next guy will love 'em .. Just personal tastes !
after 4 years (and solo) I've decided to change from a Motor home to a tug and caravan ..
The caravan plan I've chosen is as shown ..
.. and with the door set here .. one can access the ensuite directly should you need to .. no-one has to by-pass the bedroom to get there .. curtains separate bedroom from kitchen ..
I'm happy with that !
Jon, I'm off topic but glad to see you back. Catch you on the track.
JC
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Be your self; there's no body better qualified ! "I came into this world with nothing , I still have most of it"
We have a similar van layout in our 22 ft Coramol. It is a fully self contained set up (...oh!!! not grey water tank.) for bush camping.
We only like to use caravan parks in the larger towns who for some reason refuse to allow any free camping.
If you can afford it go for a fully self contained van, especially with a separate shower and toilet. And yes !!! a double door fridge freezer is a must.
If you are thinking of living on the road, then make sure you get a great unit from day one. You won't regret same.
Hope you make the right decision and enjoy your journey.
Jay&Dee
after 4 years (and solo) I've decided to change from a Motor home to a tug and caravan ..
The caravan plan I've chosen is as shown ..
.. and with the door set here .. one can access the ensuite directly should you need to .. no-one has to by-pass the bedroom to get there .. curtains separate bedroom from kitchen ..
I'm happy with that !
Jonathan,
Thanks for the reply and yes that layout is pretty good. The way I tried to describe it, the layout I was thinking of is the bedroom right up the back of the van and a door (folding or not) there then the shower/toilet with a door on the other side and then the rest of the van after that. There is only going to be my wife and I after all and if I am sleeping in the arvo, she has access to everything if we are free camping (or even if not) BUT if she wanted to listen to the the radio, watch the TV etc, then there would be two doors between me asleep in bed and her. Then, if she needed to get to the dunny, it is still unlikely to bother me. She wouldnt have to go past me at any time. I guess my main thing is to have as much between the end where she is watching TV and me when I am asleep. Conversely, I can be a late night owl a lot of the time and so two doors and the shower/toilet between me on the computer and her asleep in bed.
While I like your layout, my thought was to give just that extra bit to block some of the noise. Oh yes, I have suggested we can get around it with a wireless headphone set but she isnt really happy about that. Sigh.... ;-}
Is there a need for you to do 700+ km a day when you will be travelling?
Cheers
Brett
Honestly, no not every day but then we sorta have been used to doing major driving hits because when you are working, getting there is time wasted ;-} so I suppose I will be like that until I calm down somewhat. ;-}
I know when I drove to Cairns recently (700K a day for 4 days) we rreally WANTED to visit 1770 just because of the odd town name more than anything but we scooted by the turnoff with longing looks on the way there AND on the way back. However, you know what it can be like - you pull into a free camp site and maybe the Heavens open up big time and the creek starts to rise so you pull up stakes and go for a caravan park for the night. In my case, I would just keep driving until I got clear of the rain. Sounds odd I suppose but I look at it this way - when I am on the road full time I wont own a house because I cannot afford to have a house when we arent bringing in full time incomes so if I pull up somewhere that seems fine and turns bad, then I can move on, unlike right now where one of the neighbours' dogs had a bark like a thunder crack that really makes you jump at 2AM! ;-}
Sue and I looked into changing from a caravan to a MH because of ease of access from the driving position to the kitchen/toilet/bedroom but the thought of being stranded with a blown motor/drive train turned us off. We are now looking for a bigger van than our 16 footer, up to 21 feet and 3 tonne. 2nd hand so we can do-up. A layout similar to yours Jon be suitable except for single beds and we'd do away with the café dinner and replace with a tri-folding table and lounge chairs.
Peter
That is the same thing we thought about. It wasnt until I actually saw a motor home being towed that it became apparent that it could be a real problem and it is why in my own personal opinion not to be taken as anything but referring to me, I think the idea of a motor home is a problem. There are very real benefits from it but that is one MAJOR negative to me if the gearbox or motor plays up and everything gets towed away with someone I dont know able to check it all out. Dont like that idea one bit.
The decision to change from a MH to a Caravan was not too difficult for me .. towing a trailer which housed my motorbike gave me that mobility when the MH was parked up. The time had come though to stop riding a bike .. this required consideration but not for long.
This time I will be able to get away from the blacktop a bit more .. My last visit to the Bungle Bungles was restricted because of my mode of transport being only a front wheel drive vehicle.
In my circumstances as a solo traveller, the island bed suits me .. Naturally other considerations would apply were I travelling with a partner.
I had also looked at a few 5th wheelers too .. but nothing stood out enough to sway me away from a Tug & Van. Thats just how I found them .. the next guy will love 'em .. Just personal tastes !
It is interesting you talk about the bikes etc. I have seen, online, actual caravans people live in that are 28 feet (maybe longer, not sure) where there is a back end part of it that is dedicated to a work shop or storage space and able to include things like 2 motor bikes inside the van. I always thought that if I had a real interest in dirt biking, that would be my sort of van. I did see a bus redone for a motorhome where the guy was showing himself driving his smaller 4WD car inside the back of it. I must say I was impressed with that but it still didnt help with my major problem of what happens when the truck/car part of the motor home needs fixing.
