I think you should sit down and ask yourselves what you want in a Motorhome. Make a list of the stuff you wouldn't do without. Flush Toilet, Cassette style. Toilet separate from  Shower, single beds,  East-West, North-south.  Would you want an oven, Cooktop or like many go the cook outside with something like a Baby Q.  Heating and cooling. Diesel or gas or electric for water heating and Solar power for Free camping.

Lots to look at and the biggie, How Much to shell out for what you want.

I was lucky the second van I looked at was just right for me and I did add a few thing over the last few years. The biggest being a Dometic Reverse Cycle aircon.

It would be nice to have slide-outs for more room but that's a big cost.

A seasoned traveller also told me whatever you buy if there is "Stuff" you have with you put a sticky red dot on each item and if you haven't used it in the first six months or year take it out.

Good luck and I hope you find what you are happy with.

Sometimes we compromise about things like life in general. You may well find a MH that ticks nearly all your boxes but maybe one or two are missing. May have to go without some of your items. As you say like buying a house. The closer you get to what you want and you can compromise on the rest.

Personally I prefer the rear wheel drive with prop shaft.  I find the front wheel drive stuff overly complicated myself. As for a genny I have six solar panels on the roof but having a Genny for emergencies is handy. It comes in handy for extra's such as running a small welder etc.

Hi,

We have done quite a bit of short traveling in mostly poptops over the years. Our first MH was a Winne on a 3T Isuzu truck. The size inside was good and plenty of space for us two and perhaps the kids use sometimes. Had it for a couple of years. The ride and the getting in and out wore us down. Having a truck base has its limitations and getting off the good highways is hell. Sold it. It was older and medium value. I still miss the space and the simple good layout. Auto and good power.

We bought a Mercedes bus and have done a simple conversion. Good price and excellent to drive and not bad on normal outback roads. Not much spare space inside but just enough. Live outside more, and use other facilities. Auto too and better economy than the Winnie and easier to drive as not so big. Hmmmm ? Will fit it out better but still not my ideal yet. 

Still looking Jaahn 

The pets question always opens a can of worms, 50+% here will argue leave them at home. I'm on the otherside of the fence that say take them with you. We have a small dog and have been travelling with her for the last 5 years averaging 8 months on the road each year.  We just returned 2 months ago from doing the big lap taking 12 months.

Smaller dogs are more acceptable than larger dogs, cats IMHO are a pain.  Most caravan parks don't accept dogs/pets but those are mostly found in capital cities or larger towns.  Smaller towns are more accepting.  National Parks are generally a no-go Australia Wide, but we've found in some places if you ask the local rangers some in more out of the way places may make exceptions subject to certain conditions, most won't, but you don't get if you don't ask!. 

Lots of forward planning is required to see the places you want to see but it's doable.  The places we can't see because we have a dog with us, we just treat as another excuse to go back there when we no longer have her.  Our idea is to keep traveling as long as we can with and later without our much loved dog.

We chose the Tracker FB. It is just over a year old and has now travelled 24,000 kms with no issues. We are very happy with our purchase. I read on various forums that you never get it right the first time. If you do your homework before you buy you can make a positive choice. As has been previously stated you do need to list down all your needs and then find a match. It is not rocket science. 

Cheers,

Gary C

We cook almost every night in the Tracker while on the road. The meat is usually cooked outside on a baby Webber while the rest is done inside. I do not like the smell of meat in the house. I did place a few too many tools in the tool box I carry but offhand the only other item that has not been used is the fishing rod I purchased for the codriver. She seems to be able to find a fish coop in every place she feels like a seafood meal. The FB stands for French bed or fixed bed depending what side of the English Channel you are from. If you are tall an FB may not be the correct bed to choose as they are often no longer than around 6 ft. The FB is one of the standard layouts that many European manufacturers build. At the rear the bed is one side and the toilet / shower is on the other side. Usually one side of the bed nearest the bathroom door has the corner cut off to allow ease of entry to the bathroom. We are less than 6 feet high so the bed works fine for us. I can say that the layout suits our needs and there is nothing of significance I would change. We did add a few extras to the MH prior to delivery and one extra latter. The Auto-trail is no fitted as standard with a connection to hook up to the caravan park water supply. In Uk that system is the exception rather than the rule, they use the water from the onboard tank. A bike rack and a ladder were also fitted. After our first trip we realised the Omnistor awning needed beefing up so we had an Aussie traveller anti flap kit and a curved centre rafter fitted. The awning now is very strong and has coped with some quiet strong winds. Hope this helps,

cheers, Gary C.

-- Edited by Geeco on Tuesday 2nd of February 2016 09:47:21 PM

I read once that owning an exercise bike is better than owning a bicycle.

You can pedal the exercise bike and dream of where you are going and what you are seeing.

The really good part is that you do not need to pedal back home when you are tired.

The Phantom