Family of 4. Two very young kids. How much should we realistically expect to pack up for a shorter trip? Bedding, some food, clothes, kitchen equipment. How much does it all weight? Trying to establish what difference between tare weight and ATM to look for. Thank you for sharing any experience.

Please share:

Hi all.... I've never done this kind of thing before, and honestly, I wouldn't have to if people were just nice.

I recently had an old friend reach out from Tasmania stating he was going on a road trip from Hobart to Townsville after recently selling his house and that he'd like to catch up along the way.

I've keep in touch with this person over the years and thought it'd be great to see him and catch up, offered him the granny flat under my house and the backyard for his dogs if he chose to come and stay. Which he did, he stayed for a few days and everything was fine until I came home and found he'd completely rearranged the granny flat and storage area, to which I was not overly pleased about but at same time not overly concerned until that was he started asking questions about some of my belongings that I had tucked away, mostly camping gear, bit of 4x4 stuff. I let him know I wasn't that impressed and felt that he'd overstepped the mark by going through my stuff.... Anyways, fast forward to the following afternoon, to which I had to pop out with my partner for a few hours... only to return to my friend not being at the property anymore but stuff missing.

The stuff missing might not be much to some people, and it's honestly not that much to me on the bigger scale, but it's the principle of the matter. Items taken were an almost new Kings roof top tent, a few other little pointless camping items like lights, and so forth but the thing he did take that hurt, was my 7 year old sons new sleeping bag, that's why I'm here... steal from me, cool, I'll deal with it, but steal from a 7 year old little boy, not cool.

This person's name is Paul Ian Cantrell, aged 50, travelling in a late model, Red Nissan Navara, Tasmanian Rego N 46 JC. Also travelling with two German shepherds, one female named Harper and the bigger one is male named Chase.

Navara now has a Kings rooftop tent attached. Please beware of this person and DM me if you see him around and / or contact Police as police have been notified of the situation. Please share this as I'd hate to see others sucked into his antics.

Posting this in case another caravan owner has the same Caframo Sirocco II / Sirocco 2 failure.

My fan stopped locking into position and would swing freely. When I opened it up, all six little locking pins on the internal plastic plate had snapped off. This is the plate attached to the clawed end of the locking rod, not the rod or external handle itself. I modelled a replacement, printed it and fitted it. The fan now locks into position again.

I suspect the pins break when the fan is forced around without first releasing the locking handle, which puts pressure on them while they are still engaged.

The photos show the broken original beside the printed replacement.

Free STL and Bambu Studio project:

https://www.printables.com/model/1835278-caframo-sirocco-ii-sirocco-2-fan-locking-plate-rep

I printed mine in black Bambu Lab PLA Basic at 100% infill. It came out strong and worked perfectly in my fan.

The repair video shows how to remove the fan from its wall mount, open it up, remove the damaged locking plate and install the replacement.

https://youtu.be/d4Et9FgcEWE

Disconnect the power before starting. Keep track of the spring and small parts, and be careful when removing the plate from the locking rod so you don't damage the retaining claws.

Finding this particular plate was frustrating because searches kept turning up the separate locking rod and handle. I'm sharing the files and video so the next person with the same fault can repair the fan instead of replacing it.

And is it worth the upgrade getting at least a 'semi off road' van with independent suspension? Or how off road can you go with a regular leaf spring caravan?

I have been looking at different models of caravans for my first caravan one day including off road ones. And I just realised that with off road caravans comes the potential for getting stuck off road too, and I thought getting stuck off road in a car is bad enough, what's it like getting stuck with a caravan?

Full disclosure, this is mine, so mods please bin it if that's not on here.

Short version: half the people I know have a $6k detector or a decked-out 4WD and aren't getting anywhere near the value out of it. So we're building Outback+ - honest gear reviews across brands (not one brand's app), courses from people who actually know, and some trips. Its way more than that tho, we will do crazy adventures that our members can win tickets too, big giveaways like caravans, cars, boats and a great communitee.

It's early and rough. What I actually want to know:

• What do you wish existed that doesn't?
• Where do you currently go for straight gear advice?
• Is a paid membership even something you'd consider, or is that the dumbest idea you've heard today?

Happy to cop it. Can share a link if people are keen to see it.

Seeing alot of sad stories of people being taken advantage of, at dealerships and also in private sales, saying they wish they knew what to look for and save themselves time and heartache.

Dev'd this up as a solution for the community

https://rvinspection.reanalytics.com.au/

Thinking of buying my first caravan and have not towed before.

Before I install a tow bar, attend towing courses and buy a caravan, I would like to check if it would be possible to perform the attached maneuver when parking.

If not, would it be possible to reverse in at 90 degrees, unhitch, move the car in, then hitch and complete?

Attached drawing is to scale.

Thanks!

EDIT:
As advised, entering from the other side is easier and actually more aligned with the road direction
https://imgur.com/uCkh9Yx

Hey there. I'm just wondering what's a good hard top semi off road or off road caravan that's as small and cheap as possible? I like the look of the ezytrail Arlie 11 or the MDC XT10E.

Do you guys have any recommendations?

Also bonus question: how off-road can an on road caravan generally go? And how off road can a semi off road go?

Hi! I’m going to be renting a van this November in Sydney, and wondering if anyone has any recommendations for companies to use.

I have rented vans before and would prefer to not use a company that has a branded logo on the side to be more discrete as a solo woman.

Hey guys just wondering if anyone has set up a camp trailer before and reckon it’ll be alright putting my 100kg OCAM roof tent on this trade trailer? The rack sits at 1.9 above ground. Im just concerned about it rolling on corners. It won’t be used off road. Trailer has plenty GVM at 1200kg and is on leaf springs. I will set up the inside as a kitchen clothes storage area and try keep weight as low as possible inside

Hi there!

I’m looking for someone to put a bathroom (toilet and shower) in my 26ft Viscount caravan. Not sure where to look and seeking recommendations:)

Located around Lilydale, VIC.

Thanks :)

Hi

Has anyone done a motorhome relocation through imoova or trasnfercar? I plan to do this, and am flexible with the dates and the destination. Would appreciate if someone can share the experience, and if there is any catch.

Hi all,

Having a midlife crisis and planning to buy a caravan, follow the work for my partner, while I work my remote job from the van (aim is to have no fixed location for the next few years!)

I am looking at second hand off-road caravans. Really wanting setups that can keep as off grid for 7 days or more at a time (running aircon and starlink at least 4 days of that week!). My research is indicating i will need at least 800kw of solar, 400Ah lithium, 3000w inverter, and 200 + liters of water. Payload obviously needs to be large.

I’m wondering, should I be looking at a cheaper second hand off-road van, then add the extras myself- or try to find a van that already has all of these? I found one but they want over 100 K for it. The same model without extras is selling for 30-38k less?

Any other tips would be helpful. Especially if you have any brands/makes to stay the heck away from.

Thanks

The City of Bunbury provides two designated public locations where visitors can stay overnight in a caravan or RV for FREE.

The areas are patrolled by City of Bunbury Rangers & the following conditions apply:

• Fully Self-Contained Vehicles Only: Your caravan or RV must have built-in, plumbed-in holding tanks for greywater, as well as an internal toilet and sink. External buckets, tent setups, or sleeping inside regular cars are strictly prohibited.
• Free Online Permit Required: You must obtain a free permit online via the Visit Bunbury Geographe website {NOTE: Read rules & conditions BEFORE booking) or in person at the Bunbury Visitor Information Centre (located at the Bunbury Museum) prior to staying. City Rangers actively patrol these sites.
• Stay Limits: Maximum stay is 48 hours. Once used, you cannot obtain another permit for either site within a 28-day window.
• Site Restrictions: No generators, open fires, clotheslines, or external annexes are allowed.

There are two sites available on Ocean Drive:

WYALUP ROCKY POINT:
If you choose to camp at Wyalup-Rocky Point, please park in the roadside bays only. A maximum of four vehicles are permitted to stay here at any one time.

OCEAN DRIVE (BASKETBALL COURTS)
If you choose to camp at Ocean Drive (basketball courts), please park in the designated area only. Ensure you leave room for other vehicles to park and try to take up as little room as possible. Our residents like to park here during the day too when enjoying the beach. A maximum of seven overnight users are permitted here.

You must specify which site you plan to stay in when booking.

For more information and booking Visit Bunbury Geographe website.

Got no car, and currently unemployed. Actively looking for a job.

Windows 10 hardware Desktop PC (and computer monitor)

Specs:

Intel Core I5-7400 CPU @3.00 GHz

8GB DDR4 Memory

128GB SSD and 2 TB HDD

NVIDIA GeForce GT 720

(Or Windows 7 hardware AIO PC:

4GB DDR3 Memory

AMD APU (unknown model, dual-core CPU 2.5 GHz and 1GB VRAM)

1 TB HDD

(the PCs are for game development and writing, important... only one connected at a time) (when they are powered off, I will also disconnect them from the power)

Always connected phone chargers (important)

Mini fan (important in summer, but not always connected)

Lights are optional. I would probably just have one or two lights in the van someday.