We’ve been getting lots of interest and questions about the campervan we’re renting down here in Australia, so come on in for a tour! It may be compact, but the space is perfectly usable and the smaller size lets us fit just about anywhere, even in most parking spaces.
Lots of things are different than we’re used to, but we found it easy to adapt. One thing that’s very helpful is that the vast majority of rigs have one thing in common: modest holding tank capacities. The reason that’s helpful is because caravan parks (that’s Aussie for “RV parks”) provide infrastructure to support that. Virtually every park has bathrooms with nice clean showers… along with “camp kitchens” to allow campers to cook meals without using water or filling their grey tanks.
Related Videos:
- Official Trip Announcement – We’re Going Down Under!
- Melbourne, Australia Beachfront Boondocking
- Tasmanian Devil Feeding Frenzy!
- Preparing to Drive on the Left in Dunedin, NZ
- Akaroa, NZ Waterfront Freedom Camping
- Freedom Camping on the Mohaka River near Napier, NZ
- RVgeeks Interviewed by the Legendary Pacific Coast team
- Picking Up Our Campervan. We’re On the Road in OZ!
- Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef
- How To Hook-Up & Dump Tanks on an Australian Campervan
- Duck-Billed Platypus Hunting in Australia’s Atherton Tablelands
Quite the ‘compact’ unit. Looks like fun for a week or three but would be challenging for real long trips. Especially where there are no caravan parks with showers and cooking areas.
Have you come across any true full-timers in Australia?
We have indeed met some full-timers, referred to as “Grey Nomads” here in Australia (since they’re so often retirees). The issue of small toilet cassettes can indeed be an annoyance when free camping (boondocking) for an extended period. We can go two weeks on our black tank, but obviously a cassette could never last that long.
As someone approaching the Grey Nomad stage we do a bit of traveling, but not a lot of free camping as yet. We rented a larger camper based on a ford transit when we went to NZ for a few weeks holiday. I believe that you might refer to it as a class B. With 2 adults and 2 teenage kids traveling in NZ the tank would last 3 to 4 days free camping. Then we would pull into a Caravan Park since by then we needed to do the laundry anyway and dump the tank, top up the water, have a long hot shower etc. Many of the Grey Nomads will stay for a night or 2 in a small town. Some of the local Pubs will also allow you to camp there and some may allow you to connect to their power.
Anyone traveling along the east coast of OZ like you are, there are many towns and rest areas where you can stop overnight will have a public dump point as well as toilets you can use. There are Govt sites that list areas where free camping is permitted as well as public dump points. There are also a number of Aussie web sites devoted to RV in OZ as I am sure you have already discovered and explored. Your Wikicamps app should show you. If you like paper you can pick up a book called Camps 8 from any BCF. The local RACQ office (your US AAA club card may even get you a discount) also carries it. NRMA in NSW and RACV when you get to Victoria may also carry it.
If a town has an “RV friendly town” sign it has a public dump point.
There are quite a few older US made RV’s around with some of them still left hand drive and some locally made ones have the slide outs, although these are more common in newer top of the line caravans (Trailers). You will no doubt have seen lots of camper trailers which will have either a porta potty or nothing. I am not sure how common they are in the US and I am not sure I would care to be in one in the snow. Most camper trailers are used to tow behind your 4wd and are built pretty tough to go almost anywhere but not big on the creature comforts.
I think that if I do get something to go on the road full time or for long periods I will get a composting toilet.
Thanks for adding all the great input, Jack! We definitely agree with a composting toilet being the perfect solution in lieu of a cassette toilet.
ok nice and all, for a very shot time rental [wat to SMALL compact for me] i would NEVER have a setup like tht for a full timer as myself, living in mine for years now [hell my 33fter gets/feels small after a while]
back to tht type model you just showed , here in AZ [where i stay mostly] the tv commercials are really pushing tht type make model brand setup lil RV …their just NOT 4me ……………thx 4sharing
We could never full-time in anything this small either, although we know people who do. But I t’s great for a vacation. It’s quite a revelation to be able to fit just about anywhere!
Thanks again for sharing, you guys rock! I’ll never get a chance to go down under but with your video’s it’s almost like I’ve been there!
I KNEW you would get to the van review at some point! Your coverage of your trip has been so thorough and visually satisfying, I don’t feel the need to go myself! And forgive me if you felt I left out the writing and narration, top shelf as always!
Thanks George! If you’re satisfied enough from what we’ve shared so far to not need your own visit Down Under, once you see some more of the videos we’re currently editing, you’ll definitely never go! LOL This country is amazing!!
Hi guys! Just wondering about the biggest MH you have seen there? Have a blast!
Don & Bobbi in Tucson
Hi D&B! We stayed with a family along the coast that has a magnificent 40′ bus conversion, which you’ll see in an upcoming video (although just from the outside… not a tour). That is definitely the exception to the rule, as there’s not an RV park that we’ve seen anywhere that they can fit. They’re big free campers (boondockers).