Hi Pete and Lynn. Welcome to the forum. You can certainly buy a good caravan for the amount you will be spending. My advice is to have a look around the dealers over the next few months and work out what brand, size etc will suit your needs. When you have a fair idea of the type of van you are seeking start looking at the private sales. You are in a good position because you have the money and they want the sale. You will find that a lot of people who are selling privately have already found out the market price of their van when they either tried to trade it in or sell it to a dealer. It is a buyer's market and you will get a good deal if you are patient.

I see a lot of vans in my travels and although they look great I often wonder if they need or use all those things that they have had included. Lets face it, I don't cook in my van as I much prefer to cook outside and not have to sleep with the smell of a failed curry or the morning's bacon and egg sandwich still wafting through the van. I think a shower and toilet is important as well as a comfortable bed and good size fridge.

As for the structural side of things, get an expert to check it over. It costs about $300 to have your van inspected and is money well spent. NRMA or RACQ can give you a heads up as to where you can find people to undertake your inspection.

Go on to the internet and just follow the caravan sales. Have a look how long it takes and how many price reductions there are before a van is sold. If you are there with the cash in hand you are in the box seat. 

One last tip. Big vans look great when they are parked but can be a pain to tow around. You spend very little time inside the van so do you really need something that is huge, That is just my opinion however.

Enjoy your search and hope to see you out and about sometime in the future.

Check very carefully for evidence of water ingress.

Also checking the sealing of roof/wall joins & windows to see if is in good condition.

Look at age of batteries & tyres fitted to van.

Welcome Petesa to the forum you will find a great bunch of people here who are only too happy to help you.

We have a 2005 model 21 foot van which we purchased after our first 4 month trip in a 16 foot van we have found the van ideal for our longer touring trips and we are now considering a downsize to an 18 footer as most of our trips from here will probably be to sit beside a beach or river and relax with day trips out to explore the area and still have enough room for the occasional longer trip.

After some of our experiences in caravan parks,we would not own a van that did not have a full en-suite, purchasing a van is definitely a personal thing and I believe that the best way to make the least number of mistakes which we have all made is to research research research, check out caravan sales yards and develop a list of things you want in a van that are not negotiable, and a list of things you would like but are prepared to negotiate on and maybe do later.

Hoping you enjoy your search for a van and that you have a great time out exploring the Big playground.

Welcome to the forum, Pete and Lynn

As others have said, you should get a good second hand caravan for $30,000

Any tips or advice, even in relation to anything outside of my question would be much appreciated
If you intend to do any free/low cost camping, then a battery with some solar is a good idea
Also a means of storing your shower grey water, as some free/low cost sites, are saying you must be self contained

If you intend to travel in the hot conditions, then a "T" climate rated fridge would be handy

I hope that you enjoy whatever you choose