G'day lesly & Jeff,Im a newbe to the nomads but have traveled OZ near on 3 times around.I was a full colored BROWN nomad at the time,very young and footloose.I was wondering what price range ya were looking at for ya motorhome?We plan to do it all again and have been researching very hard from every angle,just to choose the right option(read cheapest way to achieve the trip with the best comfort)

Seeing we live here,fitting out a motorhome to our needs would be easier than your senerio because we have more than 12mths to do it and go see it all again if ya get my drift.If ya could give us an idear on "What size M home you were after and/or what ya think your basic requirements were(read comfort zone).WE might be able to help in some way,there are a lot of options either way you want to go.Depending on $$$,ready to go M Homes can be bought for as little as $12,000 AUD up to $28,000.I guess it's all up what ya need to do the deed.

With no disrespect,you wont get a million replies here to soon.I would say it's because most G/Nomads are on the road most of the time,great life heh?,I usually check in nightly as at the moment we arn't on the road.Fip one back soon and we will reply the same day.Glenn.

Hi Glen
Many thanks for your reply.   Originally we thought of something around $35,000, but we, of course, then realised that at the end of our trip we would have to resell, and there could be no guarantees that we would be able to get a reasonable amount.   So I think we'll be looking for something around $20,000.   Hopefully we'll be able to get a 4-berth motorhome for that - we do like to have a bit of space.   Somebody has mentioned that either Brisbane or Newcastle could be good places to find a fair sized range of rigs - is this correct?

We're thinking about getting a GPS navigator and hoping that we can arrange for a broadband service with our mobile phone provider - at the moment we're with '3' which I understand operates in Oz.

Thanks also, Peter, for your reply.   CMCA has been recommended by several people.   As soon as I know that we have been granted our Visas I shall subscribe.   But I will check out their Members market.

Thanks guys

-- Edited by LesleyW at 05:11, 2008-05-01

Lesley & Jeff,out of curiosity have you googled "motorhomes for sale australia" or "busses for sale australia"?.Heaps of stuff to look thru and it will definately give you both a better perspective of prices.I assume ya have two youngens as by "4 Berth",then ya have to have a vehicle with leagle provision for 4 seats,a lot of M/homes in that price range seem to only have 2 seats.Mind you,there are a few small busses for sale at the moment for under 25K that are leagle for 4.

I actually have a thought on how ya could afford something in the higher price range and a way to get around selling it on and paying less in the long run.It all has to do with others in the UK who are thinking of doing the same thing.Basicly you would have to net work someone like minded who would do the tripp after yourselves."Scenario"Ya buy something for around 35K that is suitable do the trip and sell it on for say 20K to the person you have networked in the UK.This will work the same if you are talking URO's or AUD.

As for the best place to buy,well,I guess it's like everywhere around the world.And whats on the market at what time ya ready to buy is about the bottom line.I've done ozz in VDubs and found it great,but,that was mainly on my own and ruff as guts.This time we are taking a M/home (small bus,35ft or close,with a car trailer an small topper dingy).Nothing worse than parking up and having to go shopping or sightseeing without alternative transport.Duel fuel is the best(read cheapest) way to go.Diesle is dearer than LPG or ULP.Well I have waffled on a bit so I'll bid ya all a good night.Glenn.

Ok here we go,busses have a 25yr lifespan in service.To get a bus to the 30yr life span of service it takes a whole lot of requirments(read the vehicle needs to be worth the cost of the extra 5yrs)So a bus thats 30yrs at end of service is better than a bus on it's 25th year and comming out of service.Mileage isn't the worst factor with thier big diesle engines,I load a truck every few days that has 1.2 MILK's on the original motor with no major overhaul.It by the way is only 5yrs old.

Having said that,I will allways advocate for a bus with a duel fuel system and conversion to a big V8.There are a few reasons which seem apropriate for this.Duel fuel/no brainer!But the bottom line I feel is,if the brown matter hits the fan,you can rebuild a V8 for around 6K,a diesle about 15K AND up to 25K.There are heaps of busses out there that are converted like this and that should be a priority.Gas is hard to find sometimes in the outback,not impossible,but in the populated areas is where it comes into it's own I think.Slower speeds/traffic ect...50c a litre,ULP $1.45,Diesle $1.35/up to $1.60?

If you are serious about decking one out for your own needs,piece of cake,8k should be shear luxury.Ever wonder why some folks build a full length kitchen?So do I.Wasted space.If ya want room,what better to have than a yacht style galley kitchen?Compact and versatile.Most RV stoves and sinks/fridges,are about the same size,and,ya don't need 10ft of bench tops to prepare food.A friend of mine traveled around OZ with a very,very,very small potbelly heater.Warmed the bus up super,just remember to ventillate,and the small amount of wood needed to get it going was everywhere he went.Sorry,waffling again.Get the right rig and fit it out to your rec's.Maybe you will get lucky and find one part done for 12k,I have seen them.Glenn.

http://www.kea-rv-sales.com.au/Search.aspx

Cheers,
Peter

Sorry,in ya first post ya mentioned taking a few weeks to fit out a motorhome.Got me terms mixed up.www.rvpoint have motorhomes listed for 20k and under,some with rego.There is a Bedford S20 bus for sale all decked out and ready to roll for 20k its a private seller as well.I have been trying all morning to cut/paste the add here but to no avail.If LWB coaster is what ya after,there around but not to many under 20k.If ya don't mind a LWB poptop,there are a lot of those for under 20k.Busses like the one above offer the best room to move though.Glenn.

Sorry Glenn, by 'fitting it out' I really should have said getting it ready for us, like stocking up with food and bits and pieces, and getting ourselves kitted out. We thought that we would only be able to bring one piece of baggage each on the plane, and as we'll be bringing a fair bit of our craft stuff, we thought we'd use this as an excuse for some new clothes. Now we've actually found that Emirates Airlines allow two pieces so we can bring more.

That RVPoint site looks good, thankyou kind sir. I've added it to my 'Favourites' and will keep checking it now and again, especially when we get closer to departure.

Now all we have to do is wait for our Visas, hopefully we should hear sometime this coming week.

All the best

Our Visas have arrived, so its all systems 'Go'. We're busy sorting out the house ready for renting out - getting rid of 25 years accumulated 'stuff'. We're aiming at leaving at the end of June but will just have to see how we get on.

Regards

Hi Karli

Oh but of course Tassie is on our itinerary If we can work things out, we want to be there in February for the Wooden Boat Show. We have a friend living in Hobart who is very much involved in the show, as well as friends who will be attending, one from Sydney and a couple from the UK.

Many thanks for the offer

Regards

-- Edited by LesleyW at 20:19, 2008-05-13

Not particularly - Jeff is a member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers (an educational charity) and we're hoping to meet up with other members who are taking part in the show.

If you'd like to see the sort of things that he does there are some photos on our website www.wydon.co.uk . The Guild has a website too - www.igkt.net