The Pro's and Cond of a Caravan v a Motorhome

grahos · Guru

RE: The Pro's and Cond of a Caravan v a Motorhome

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Even when you stop in MH every things there.. Another thing as you get older .. Going "too far" off the beaten track is of no importance, bones hurt too much!!
The MRs is too heavy to carry back like I use to !! Lol ..
Still depends on type of MH as it is with caravan..
The main thing is your out there enjoying this GREAT country..
One point is when set up in caravan, You can take the tow vehicle to do shopping etc..
But I find we stock up with long lasting milk etc ..6 of 1 - 1/2 dozen the other...

peterblack · Senior Member

hi all. wat suits one doesn't suit another
just go and travel our great country I say
since I travel by myself most of time I was thinking MH of some sort
haven't found wat I want as yet
enjoy pete

Tomzys · Senior Member

Brian what you have written can happen to anybody with a wide range accommodation.

I also know of a couple in caravan had some low lifes driving their car into the van door preventing the couple from opening their van door they then broke into their car took what they could and left .I have a MH and wouldn't go any other way . It's also peace of mind for my wife if I get sick on the road. Ihave medical issues and she is able to take over driving for help if this occured at a much faster speed. We had a new van but would not go back to all the hitchingMH is far the way to go.

Tomzys · Senior Member

Try sitting with the wife in our MH if you think that most only do 80/85

And yes we can go off road if one wishes

The mind boggles ????

Chris61 · Senior Member

All this talk about cooking while you drive, not stopping to pee. It seems as though a lot of you need to look at how you holiday. It is not a race. Security is rarely an issue. If it is you are in the wrong areas.

Now back to the topic of concern. I like my run around vehicle in front of my sleeping quarters. A motorhome is limited to camp once setup to camp unless you have a towed behind car. (bit backwards for my way of thinking). Listening to the dishes and cutlery rattling while you drive would drive me mad.

A caravan for me but not any caravan. A 5th wheeler is my choice. Stability and ease of towing do it for me. Large van and a relatively small total length and having the freedom of a run around rig while parked up at a campsite.

Cheers Chris

chaslib · Senior Member

Whilst all comments are informative and do lean towards the motorhome, can someone give me an indication of how they compare whilst driving,maintenance, etc? By that i mean, how they handle, overtaking larger vehicles, new v secondhand, trailering small vehicle option, fuel consumption, etc. anything we should steer clear of. most of the time we would only travel with the 2 of us, but occasionally there would be 1 or 2 additional, we would want toilet/shower on board, basically, we do want to be comfortable without going broke doing it.

we are now at the point where we will be checking out dealers and seriously looking at various makes and models Before going the hire before we buy route ... Any recommendations appreciated ... Northern NSW and SE QLD would be good starting points for us. Now please dont talk too tech .... This is all new territory for us

Tomzys · Senior Member

Chris61 wrote:
All this talk about cooking while you drive, not stopping to pee. It seems as though a lot of you need to look at how you holiday. It is not a race. Security is rarely an issue. If it is you are in the wrong areas.

Now back to the topic of concern. I like my run around vehicle in front of my sleeping quarters. A motorhome is limited to camp once setup to camp unless you have a towed behind car. (bit backwards for my way of thinking). Listening to the dishes and cutlery rattling while you drive would drive me mad.

A caravan for me but not any caravan. A 5th wheeler is my choice. Stability and ease of towing do it for me. Large van and a relatively small total length and having the freedom of a run around rig while parked up at a campsite.

Cheers Chris

Havent heard any dishes etc rattling while driving the motor home, it must be the wifes packing, and yes its very convenient to just hop up and go to the loo or grab your lunch out of the fridge, when we get to our final destination we hire a car if we stay for a week or two, other wise we just relax at the parks, great way to go.

Bryan · Guru

For me its a lifestyle thing. Right now we have an Avan applause 600 for ease and convenience, the fact that we can take it for a day's drive if need be without the hassles (for me) of hitching, reversing up a very narrow driveway etc. Its just easy. In a couple of years time when I finally stop working, I'll be going for a Trackmaster Kimberley 15' because then our trips will be longer and spend out time offroad with the van and 4x4 combination which is really what we love doing.

We thought of a Trakka Jabiru remote but it won't work for us either as sometimes we would leave the caravan behind and take a tent to get to hard to get to places.

Kathy is under the understanding that we will be enjoying the beauty of difficult to get to and therefore unspoiled places. In reality it's the remote fishing destinations that we will be going to. I think she knows though.

wendyv · Guru

grahos wrote:
I notice a lot of Motor homes are flat out at about 80 or 90 Kms an hour.
The other concern I have with a MH is the ground clearance on dirt roads,how have other
MH travellers experienced this problem,or do you have to stay on the black stuff?
I also can see advantages of an MB and it is still on my list of scenarios for off road
travells with the one worry of ground clearance..

Our motorhome is a converted Coaster long wheel base. Before this, we had a 4WD and offroad caravan, so am in a position to make comparisons.

The Coaster, even towing the Terios, will cruise at 100kmh or more, if we want it to. However, our preference is around 90-95, just as it was with the 4WD and van. We have noticed that the bus goes up the Great Dividing Range between Yarra Glen and Yea, much easier than the previous rig did! And is easier to drive down it too. (We use that route a lot)

We have spent a lot of time travelling and working in the far north, in the van days. Many remote communities - way out on dirt roads - use Coaster buses. As do some tourist operations. You certainly do not have to stay on the black stuff with one of those.