baker wrote:
Interested in purchasing an off road caravan no pop top 18- 20 feet in length shower and toilet any information would be very much appreciated
G'day baker,
There are many things to consider and some are;
What type of vehicle do have to pull it?
What is the tow rating of the vehicle?
What do you consider to be OFF Road, i.e driving on dirt roads or going cross country/bush bashing?
How much of this type of travelling will you think you will be doing? i.e does it warrant getting an expensive so called OFF road van, or buying a van with the suitable suspension and strengthening that you may get from another manufacturer that makes quality Dirt road vans.
the measurements of 18-20ft you give, I would assume that is the internal measurement, if so then the overall lentgh of the van could be of concern. ie if you are going bush bashing and you want to cross a creek bed your approach and departure angles are affected by the overhang.
If your van then gets hung up on the rear bar, you will have all of the weight of the van onto your towball as towball download, and this added weight to the tow ball and subsequently onto the towbar could cause the towbar to be pulled out of its mounts and or cause severe damage to you chasis.
If you take Cape York for example, people are pulling good quality dirt road vans up there without any problems and are going to all of the out of the way places.
My theory is, why pay 90-100+ k for a van when you can take a say 40-50k van and do the same trips. If it only lasts you 5-6 years then replace it with a newer one and you are still in front.
A little point to note.: My CIL insurance has an excess of $100, if i have a claim, if i claim for damage or an accident that occurs on the dirt or a beach the excess is increased by $200 dollars. so that makes it a $300 excess if i were to wright my van off going upto the Cape or the Gibb river road or any Off road place.
Anyhow there will be others with differing opinions and with more info. So just think long and hard before you part with you hard earned.
Happy Hunting for the van.
Cheers,
PeterM.