Hi nomads,we want to buy a winnebago soon so when the time comes what do we need to aware of in particular? It seems there is quite a lot to find out before just jumping in the motorhome and heading out.Is there a travel type book that will help us with what is necessary.Also to be comfortable and safe.I understand It is safer to stay with other nomads at night and I know how we want to have our home set out inside but not sure re costs needed to travel.thanks Robby
I think you'll find a Winebago forum if you bring ot up in search.
Maybe a motorhome or caravan club local?
You'll also find that once you in a M/Home and getting around.
The motorhomers tend to think themselves above the caravaners.
Unless it changed in last 6 yrs or so.
Just use your commonsense and take it easy when you start.
I've been doing it since '63 and still make mistakes.
Unless you find a night stop with others in there.
we don't normally stop at any less than at least 16km from nearest town. and ALWAYS park pointing out.
In case you have to make a run for it. (NEVER put the jacks down.....)
Unfortunately we can't carry a 12g anymore.
Life was a lot more relaxed in those days. (IE Peace of mind)
Hi Guys, Two or three thing that I would consider essentials and the basis for other things.
If you have a tablet or smart phone them Wikicamps. A great cheap app.Good place to find Campsites and Freecamps.. Camps 8 Book, I think the latest version if you prefer a hard copy book. Another good source of sites.
A good GPS unit and depending on your vehicle the version that has heavy vehicle component for height and weight restrictions. Most of the mainstream GPS's have a heavy vehicle version.
A Hema version is the bees knees as far as recommended GPS systems go. The best Australian maps.
Collyn Rivers book about Caravans and RV's. He has other books about electrics/batteries and solar. All good reading with lots of info.
You will get lots of good advice on the site. Every-one will have different ideas of essentials so good reading and enjoy the process.
Hi Robby. Welcome to the Grey Nomads and we all hope you will gain knowledge and help from us to assist with your learning curve and in return that you will regularly post about the fun and places you travel to :)
Your ask about starting out is a big one.
Most of us just got our RV and headed off, learning the good, the bad and the ugly as we went along.
As you are yet to buy your RV, now is the perfect time to consider joining a local RV club in your area. Most are very active and can share their knowledge with you as to what and don't want in your m/home. Many also have regular outings for a few days or a week and not only will you be in convivial company (communal eating and drinking) but most will be very keen to impart their collective many years of knowledge and experience with you.
If you don't fancy joining a club (and most are very relaxed with very few rules), then the other step is once you have your m/home is to book into a caravan park (called a CP by us old dogs here lol) not too far away from home (maybe a couple of hours) for around a week. This enables you to try out all the things in your mobile home. Most CP managers or owners will help you if you explain to them youre there to learn about your first time home.
Make sure you take a pad and pen to note down any defects or faults in your m/home so that they can be fixed by the Dealer on your return.
In terms of planning where and how to go - you should always carry Hema state maps and you can also buy various free camp books like Camps 8 (issued every couple of years) which list most free camps in Australia as well as books on CP's, and specialist books on nomading (safety, cooking, 1st aid, emergency repairs etc). If you are able to find your way around a laptop, smart phone or tablet, then Wikicamps is a gret App. Costs $8 and lists most CP's, low cost, free camp sites, toilets and so on......
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
Hi nomads,we want to buy a winnebago soon so when the time comes what do we need to aware of in particular? It seems there is quite a lot to find out before just jumping in the motorhome and heading out. Is there a travel type book that will help us with what is necessary. Also to be comfortable and safe. I understand It is safer to stay with other nomads at night and I know how we want to have our home set out inside but not sure re costs needed to travel. thanks Robby
G'day mate
Firstly - welcome to the GN chat & information swapping forum
You say "we want to buy a winnebago soon" but there are a dozen or so companies making these RVs, so my 100% is not to go on a brand name - go and seek the best unit for floor plan & storage & drivability & price that suits you. Also, ask around for drivers experiences with the engine/chassis unit that powers the home-on-top bit. Some are more reliable than others
"Is there a travel type book that will help us with what is necessary." There are heaps of travel books around - any book shop or RAC shop will have them. My 100% is that they are somewhat shallow in their text - always glossing over difficulties and extolling the virtues of things that cost extra money
"I understand It is safer to stay with other nomads at night" yes it can be safer - tho in 30+ years of RV camping, often by ourselves with no others around, we have never been interfered with. We have however been caught with overnight rain turning soil to mud, so now we always park the MH pointing out towards the road in case a qwik exit is needed
"not sure re costs needed to travel." A 2015 national survey of Free-Campers by a mob called Freedom Camping Australia came up with average expenditure of $700 per week excluding your accommodation costs. Those costs could vary from very little if 'free' camping to $1000pw during the peak weeks of the holiday season. The survey average for camping costs was $100pw
Other stuff Many people like their GPS units - for us, it was so unreliable, and the maps so poor unless a) we were in a city wondering about red-light cameras, or b) only going along big main highways - that after a few months it went into the cupboard and after a couple of years into the bin. Not a good $1200 investment for what was sold to us as "the industry leader in GPS units".
For our travelling, we decided long ago to get off the main highways to avoid the B-Double transports & the zippytee-doodah cars who want to be there yesterday, and go along the many delightful secondary highways & back roads. Sometimes a dirt road, often a good bitumen road. All too often the GPS unit ended up showing us an icon for the vehicle in the middle of an empty screen
So we started to buy state-by-state Road Atlases for about $50 each, and now we can sit at the table - ours or a picnic table - and plan our travels while having a cuppa. Something you can't [easily] do with a battery GPS unit connected to the dashboard. You might not need such items for your travels, so another method is to go into a state RAC / NRMA office and ask for their free-to-member district maps of the entire state. They will give you up to a dozen district maps, each showing heaps of information that cannot be shown on the one-size-fits-all maps that cover the entire state on one sheet
Insofar as the vehicle is concerned, when you are inside the MH, consider how you will go in wet weather, when both of you are 'stuck' inside Is there enough floor space / table space etc for each of you to do your stuff? Is there enough battery power to do the lights, the laptop, the TV whatever? How will those batteries be recharged .... 95% of campers now use solar panels [roof or portable] to recharge their batteries
When camped, the fridge will be on gas, the HWS will be on gas, the cooking will be on gas ... so how much gas does the MH have? Most good MHs have 2x9kg gas bottles, where each lasts 2 to 3 weeks at a time. Some cheapskates supply 2x4kg gas bottles, meaning that you only get 1-week if you're lucky out of a gas bottle. [I personally would not buy a MH which only supplied you with 4kg gas bottles]
Hope this helps a bit ... feel free to PM me if you want to chat more off-line Phil
Hi Robbie
I think PHIL summed it up for you, if I can just ad my 2 cents and ask that we all refrain from any talk of discrimination or elitism regarding what rig we have ,be it caravan,campervan, motorhome,coach. It has been my experience that discrimination is more perceived than actual .
Regards Peter
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Greet everyone as a friend, its up to them to prove you wrong.
Thank you all for so much info.I feel better about it now,and am looking forward to meeting friends along the way.I am waiting to get over a total hip replacement that has caused complications so my hubby is keen as I am to get going on our big Adventure,,hopefully this will start happening within the next couple of months.We have eagerly been looking at Motorhomes,,maybe then we /I can get something back in our lives to look forward to.Happy n safe motoring.
When camped, the fridge will be on gas, the HWS will be on gas, the cooking will be on gas ... so how much gas does the MH have? Most good MHs have 2x9kg gas bottles, where each lasts 2 to 3 weeks at a time. Some cheapskates supply 2x4kg gas bottles, meaning that you only get 1-week if you're lucky out of a gas bottle. [I personally would not buy a MH which only supplied you with 4kg gas bottles]
Hope this helps a bit ... feel free to PM me if you want to chat more off-line Phil
Whilst I agree with a lot of what you say Robby, I disagree with your thoughts on gas bottles.
We have a MH with 2 x 4kg bottles and find them quite adequate for our purposes, they are light weight and much easier to handle than 9 kg bottles.
Our gas is used for cooking and to heat our gas/240 volt Truma hot water service.
Our 12 volt compressor fridge is powered by battery's and charged by solar panels.
A 4kg cylinder of gas will last us approx a month.
Using 4kg gas bottles is more a common sense option rather than cost saving, a full 9kg bottle weighs approx 15 kg, x 2 = 30 kg, so, using smaller bottles means better use of limited available space as well as not having to needlessly carry all of that extra weight around with you.
Of course having 2 x 4 kg bottles means you never run out of gas, changing a gas bottle over is a minor exercise, couple of minutes and its done.
Thank you all for so much info.I feel better about it now,and am looking forward to meeting friends along the way.I am waiting to get over a total hip replacement that has caused complications so my hubby is keen as I am to get going on our big Adventure,,hopefully this will start happening within the next couple of months.We have eagerly been looking at Motorhomes,,maybe then we /I can get something back in our lives to look forward to.Happy n safe motoring.
Hope your big adventure goes well Robby, best of luck.
-- Edited by Santa on Friday 24th of June 2016 11:51:18 AM
