Off Road Caravan

[baker]

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

[peterm]

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.

[baker]

Hi Peterm
Thankyou for some really good information i will keep it in the memory, bank.
Cheers
Baker

[BillMc]

G'day Baker,
First all of Peter's info is spot on, it is a big van you are after and will require a high powered vehicle to pull it off road.
I have an off road van which I bought new last year in Melbourne. It takes around 12 - 18 moths to have built. We have been in very remote regions in this time and it is fantastic.
Other options are to get a 2nd hand one and there are a fair few around.
If you are going seriously offroad you would need solar panels, generator etc. I also have HF radio, others prefer a sat phone.
This all adds to the cost if you don't already have them.
You would need to be ok at changing tyres and resealing beads on the rim. A possiblity is to travel with an offroad group to get experience.
It's a great idea, good luck.

Cheers,
Bill

[4wd26]

Also are you after a family van or just 2 adults?

[keddy]

I won't ramble on like some. Check out Kedron and Bushtracker. If you want real off road look at T Van.

[discodriva]

Everyones needs and likes/dislikes are different, so there is no set answer.

We are a couple who travel quite a bit, including on lots of dirt roads. We currently have a 20 foot Jayco Sterling Outback, which suits us almost perfectly. We have just ordered a new 21 foot version of the same van, simply to get a cafe dinette, since we were not happy with the L shaped lounge.

We bought our Sterling after looking at a very wide range of vans and listening to all of the marketing guff. It was the van which appealed to us the most (apart from the lounge, but the 20 foot was the biggest Outback made by Jayco at the time, and you couldn't get both the dinette and pantry in it). It also represented by far the best value for money. Is it as solid as a Bushtracker or a Kedron? No. But is it solid enough to travel around the country on some interesting routes? For what we want to do, clearly the answer is yes.

One other thing, we have found that depreciation on the Jaycos is very low due to the high demand for them used.

[Numb Thumbs]

We, too, are looking for an Off Road van. In my case, I seem to be in a very small minority, I suspect, as I am looking at 13' vans. This narrows the options down incredibly as all the manufacturers seem to think you need a minimum of 20' and preferably a tare weight of nearly 3 tonnes...

My tow vehicle will be a Terracan diesel with a 2500kg tow rating.

Our current choice is a 13' or 13'6" Trakmaster Sturt with a "Cross-country" tail and a pile of options. The tare weight is listed as 1300kgs. We just don't feel the need for anything bigger.

There are a lot of "Dirt Road" vans on the market, but something designed to be pulled down rough tracks is a much rarer beast. Just adding some checkerplate and independent suspension doesn't make an "Off Road" van in my opinion.

If you want to go 4WDing with the van, then a Tvan (which is really a bed and an outdoor kitchen, with a fair bit of canvas), Vista RV or maybe an Eclipse would do? Maybe if you are one of The Gall Boys you might take a 3 tonne 25 footer...

Good luck with the hunt!

Cheers
Numb Thumbs

[wendyv]

We, too, are looking for an Off Road van. In my case, I seem to be in a very small minority, I suspect, as I am looking at 13' vans.

Our current choice is a 13' or 13'6" Trakmaster Sturt with a "Cross-country" tail and a pile of options. The tare weight is listed as 1300kgs. We just don't feel the need for anything bigger.

Cheers
Numb Thumbs

Our 14' Trakmaster has done us for 12 years - and we lived in it, full time for 3 of those. Agree - it is plenty big enough when you are pulling it into out of the way places.
Also agree with the comments re some vans - an off-road label does not create an off-road van!