Thank you Nelly

Hi Ronda and welcome.

I think Nelly, Doug and Mike have knocked it on the scone, and most have battled this dilemma as well, including me.

The easiest to set up is the best, and think of where you want to go. If you are intending on sticking to sealed roads only then a caravan of sorts will do just fine. If you are thinking of going more remote then a campervan may be a better option (you can get them with remote controls these days).

With the coaster I used to ramble about in, it had a canvas annexe - great I thought!
Yeah, it was great until trying to get the damn thing up, you - or rather I - would near snap your arms in two just trying to feed it through the railing by myself, I did come up with this ingenious idea of using a tent pole to push it along whilst I fed it in, worked but still made it a very painful job to the point I just threw it in the trailer and rarely used it. Actually I only ever used it about four times when I was staying for extended periods at a place - more then a month.

So I like easy, easy to set-up, easy to pack-up - if you need to move camp quickly for whatever reason you are not tooling around and doing battle with things to do so.

adreamer wrote:

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Hi Ronda, Like you I knew I just wanted to travel. Had no idea what to purchase but was also was limited with my budget. I bought a lwb mid height Ford Transit 2002 and it is fitted out with two single beds or a double, fridge, sink, toilet, awning, sola power and that is it and guess what it's been sitting in my driveway for the last two months as I have been dithering about where to go and also listening to too many people with their opinions. Now the weather is getting hotter, I will just do some short trip as I have a small dog that suffers with the heat (french bulldog).
ps I am 68 young. But I now know my limitations and just try and make things as simple as possible!!
Good luck
Helen

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Hi Helen.  When I first bought my Hi-ace Campervan, it was used only as a normal vehicle for the first 18 months.  Then one day, some-one who was a friend at the time, came along and said " I want to take a trip to Cairns.  Come with me."   She had her own Hi-ace, so, 2 days later, we hit the road.

I learned a lot on that trip !!!   When I got back, I couldn't wait to go again.   The next long trip I did, [some months later,] was from CQ to Mildura and back, on my own.

Can't wait to be able to travel a hell of a lot more.   The bug will bite you, and when you realise that you can do it easily on your own, you'll be fine.

I'm 72, and have a Chihuahua who travels with me.

Cheers,

Sheba. 

 I am a69 Female. I went for a Sunliner Holiday. Less work setting up on your own( have taught the dogs to help yet). 

I like the way you  can just walk through and drive away if you don't feel safe or it is raining. Had to have a toilet & shower and LOTS & LOTS of storage,.

Another solo lady here - I have a 25ft Motorhome. I looked at all options including the fifth wheeler. In the end I decided that age had to be a consideration (now 65) and that the older I got the harder it would be to handle fiddly things and I consider hitching and unhitching a fiddly thing. With the motorhome it is virtually just pack up and go. There was also the security side to it in that if I had a caravan or fifth wheeler I would have to go outside to get to the motorised vehicle. My wish was to free camp and so this was a big factor for me. 

Am I the only woman towing a Caravan - surely not!

Have an 18' Expanda and love it although had I known I was going to travel so much I may have bought one with 2 single beds. I sleep inside now - dropped table down, but have the choice of beds either end if I have a travel companion - like my sister. Just got sick of having to pack the bed up every time I moved camp. Because it has a slideout side I have plenty of room inside and dont feel the need to set up under awning very often unless I am camped for several days. Everything improves with practice. I can now back, and hitch up very quickly. I am not shy about asking for help if there is anyone around. When camping I dont always unhitch anyway.
I have never felt 'unsafe' in 15 months on the road even at free camps, and have had 2 occasions totally alone! If you are looking for problems/troubles then no doubt you will find them

My reason for a van was that I wanted to drop it off and go exploring areas. Will leave at a camp if I have met people who will look out for it but mostly stay at a CP for a couple of days and explore. Have a lock for the towball hitch.

If I won lotto I may buy an off road van to allow for more adventurous travel Tow with a 2006 Nissan Navara double cab- plenty of space for all the 'bits'

Hi Ronda

Welcome to the Forum.  I am also a solo female traveller and have a motorhome.  Mine is 7m long and 3.6m high, which I find a bit cumbersome at times especially when trying to park in a shopping centre or town.  It won't fit in a normal car space.  I think if I could afford to change,  I would go for a Coaster as you don't have the height worries, although you would probably have to compromise a little on space.  Of course, you can get smaller motorhomes as well, but parking and low bridges for me is the main issue. However, I think a motorhome is a lot easier to set up than a caravan.  I can pull up and be sitting down with a cuppa in a few minutes.  I can't reverse a 6 x 4 trailer so a caravan was totally out of the question for me.  I guess there are fors and againsts on both sides, it really boils down to what you are comfortable driving, reversing and parking.  Good luck with your decision, I am sure whatever your mode of travel, you will have a ball.

Cheers!

Chris

Hi Andrea.

Do you find a problem with caravan parks and parking your 5th wheeler.

Are there a lot of parks that don't take them?

I have been looking at a Travelhome 5th wheeler which is built in Boolaroo near Newcastle.

Rondavoo wrote:

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Hi Andrea.

Do you find a problem with caravan parks and parking your 5th wheeler.

Are there a lot of parks that don't take them?

I have been looking at a Travelhome 5th wheeler which is built in Boolaroo near Newcastle.

 

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No problems so far in our five years of travelling, though we do try to avoid the denser populated areas, and we've never been asked for more than one site fee - even been given a double length without asking (we don't need it!). As well as occasionally free-camping, we also do quite a bit of property-minding in rural and semi-rural areas. That allows us free accommodation, with all the facilities of a CP (barring the jumping pillow! ) and plenty of time to go exploring - a sort of up-market free-camping! - and we get to play with the pets until their owners come home, then hand them back...like grandchildren.   We've met some wonderful people and been invited back to stay 'any time, you're always welcome!'. We're often only 20 or 30 km from major attractions, sometimes less, so don't miss out on anything.

We looked at the Travelhome five years ago before we decided on the Southern Cross but it didn't suit us at the time, mainly because we didn't like having the bed at the front over the hitch - SC build most of their vans with a 'proper' walk-around bedroom and put a lounge/dining area over the hitch. Like all manufacturers, though, Travelhome may be doing different thing now.

Oh, and as far as stabiliser legs are concerned, I think most '5-ers' use electric controls to raise and lower the front end, so no winding up and down, and as the wheels are further back on a 5-er than on a caravan we find that we don't often bother dropping the back legs - it's stable enough without.

Good luck with the research, Rondavoo - we'll be interested to see what you decide on!

Cheers -

Andrea