Options for first-time caravan and camping road trip travellers

After years of copping flak from Top Gear, it seems caravans are finally cool -- and not just because Hollywood stars like Chris Hemsworth are spruiking their advantages… 

For those in the know, caravans have been Australia’s best-kept secret for years, now delivering road travel freedoms along with enough modern technology and shiny appliances to give many city apartments a run for their money.

For those of us forced to cancel international holidays and instead holiday at home here in Australia, contemplating a caravan getaway might just be the key. They’re still not a cheap camping option (although pay off in the long run) with a half-decent new van with queen bed, dinette, kitchen, and internal bathroom will set you back at least $35,000.

However, there are plenty of other options when it comes to a camping holiday here in Australia to suit a range of budgets. We asked caravancampingsales.com.au Editor Chris Fincham to give us a quick rundown of everything you need to know about caravanning and camping options for first-timers.

Backyard camping during coronavirus has seen tent sales skyrocketing, but that cheap 100 buck polyester tent you picked up at the local Outdoors Emporium, may not be the smartest option for a weekend getaway to the high country.

They might be light and easy to throw in the car boot, but cheap, lightweight tents often leak and fall to pieces at the slightest hint of wild weather.

Better to spend a bit more on a tent with tougher canvas and more robust frame like the very user-friendly 30-second OzTents from around $1000, or this ‘three-second’ kid-friendly, $300-odd Malamoo…

Another popular, affordable canvas camping option, particularly for teenagers, are one-person swags. Once again, they range from basic roll-up swags to big double bed units, some with stretcher bed-style fold-down legs to keep you off the damp ground. Swags aren’t great if you’re claustrophobics though.

Roof-top tents were traditionally aimed at bearded 4WD types who don’t mind roughing it but preferably not at ground level with the crocs when camping in the Top End! Now tents that fix to the roof bars on your vehicle come in all shapes and styles, with some suitable for smaller cars.

Once again, the cheaper (and less user-friendly) options start around $1000, all the way to around $5000 for a slick fibreglass unit or one that automatically erects at the touch of a button.

With utes making up around a quarter of all vehicles sold in Australia, a lightweight camper module that slides on and off the back of a ute tray makes a lot of sense. Often equipped with kitchens as well as interior bedding and storage, they have fold-down legs so you can store them in the garage when not out camping.

Unfortunately, many slide-on campers are designed for flat aluminium trays on single cab utes (rather than the more popular high-side dual-cab utes), but they’re a great option if you hate towing or want to head bush with your ute.

Over the past decade, Australia’s tent trailer market has been flooded by cheap Chinese-built imports. Fortunately, the quality has improved so you can now get a decent ‘soft floor’ camper (basically, a tent fixed to a trailer that folds out to form an undercover living room) from as little as $5000. The main catch is that they can take hours to set up and pack up!

More expensive (from around $15,000) are ‘hard floor’ tent trailers, that fold out forwards or backwards (or both ways) to create off-the-ground, canvas-covered living and sleeping areas. Most come with basic battery power, water tanks and a slide-out kitchen, for a fuss-free city escape.

These are the family-focused tent trailers with wind-up roof and slide-out bed at each end, popularized by Australia’s biggest RV manufacturer Jayco. Starting around $15,000, they’re a good option for beginners, although some require Popeye biceps to wind the roof up and down…

Bondwood teardrop campers were big back in the 1930s, but they’ve recently made a big comeback due to their cute styling, easy towing and ‘romantic’ cosy bed. Despite their small size and lightweight, they’re not always cheap with very basic examples starting around $15,000.

A mix of caravan and camper trailer design, hybrid campers are the latest fad for people sick of packing up wet (or leaky tent canvas) but still want the off-road benefits of a smaller trailer.

Blending inside and outside amenities, they’re relatively easy to set up with either a fixed or pop-top roof and often pull-out sides for the bed. The downside is hybrids are generally pricier (from around $30,000), but you can get a lot of bang for your buck including hot water, internal and/or external showers, battery-powered fridge and gas cooking equipment.

Full-size caravans come in a range of sizes, construction types, interior layouts and weights, with either fixed or pop-top roofs and sometimes slide-out sections to increase interior living space.

Most caravans sold these days come with a host of luxuries your parents never got to enjoy, like internal showers and toilets, well-equipped kitchens, leather lounge/dinettes, coil spring queen beds (and bunk beds in family vans), plus in many cases an air-conditioner and washing machine.

You pay anything from around $30,000 for the cheapest Australian-built caravans, to well into six figures for big off-road caravans with the lot. You can even get one with a spa bath.

You can find out more about the best caravan towing vehicles here.

You don’t have to be a backpacker to enjoy the cramped confines of a small, Kombi-style campervan. The ultimate stealth camper, campervans are easy to drive and park, and require little set-up so you just back one onto the beach, lift the tailgate and enjoy the sunset from the rear bed!

Often converted from Toyota HiAce or Volkswagen Transporter commercial vans, campervan pricing usually starts around $60,000, so a used model from around $20,000 might be a better, first-timer option. Just as long as it hasn’t done too many laps of the map.

You can start your campervan search here on carsales.

A motorhome is usually the term used where a coachbuilt camper body has been affixed to the rear of a van or truck cab-chassis. They’re very popular with grey nomads and European travellers, mainly because they require no set-up and offer increased safety and convenience as you don’t have to leave the vehicle to enter the ‘house’ section.

The downside of a luxury motorhome, which can often sleep up to six people so are great for larger families, is their upfront cost (usually into six figures). They’re also a pain to park in busy towns and can cause novice drivers grief when the over-cabin bed ‘peak’ gets lodged under a low-hanging bridge.

Expedition vehicles are the luxury yacht or supercar of the camping world; big-ticket, all-terrain motorhomes aimed at travellers with big plans and deep pockets.

Most expedition vehicles are based on large four-wheel (or six- or eight-wheel!) drive trucks (often Mercedes or Iveco) with purpose-built luxury living quarters out back.

They’re often designed to fit into shipping crates so their intrepid owners can do a self-drive tour of Mongolia or another far-flung place and stay off the grid for weeks on end. Budget $300,000 and upwards for one of these go-anywhere glamping machines.

With fewer mechanical parts, caravans and camper trailers generally depreciate less than cars, so five-year-old vans are often not much cheaper than the latest version. But used is still a good option for first-timers, in case you decide after a week of living with screaming kids in a 5m by 2.5m living space that caravanning is not for you!

There are also a few retro-style new caravans available if you want the old-school looks without the mouldy mattress…

You can save more than a few bucks by building your own recreational vehicle. However, when it comes to taking on the #VanLife, there are plenty of traps for the inexperienced, as well as confusing rules and regulations around fitting gas and some electrical appliances.

However, it could mean you end up with exactly what you desire -- like a life-size LEGO caravan you can actually sleep in…

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