Hi All Each to their own of course and each of us has our preferred touring style. Some like to create a longer term base unhook the van or camper and travel and explore from there. Those with motorhomes are sometimes a bit more mobile ( apart from those who also tow cars) and move on more regularly. Fifth Wheelers and Buses are often more static again except the Coaster sized and smaller buses which often move on move like motorhomes. Our solution is a Slide on Camper although we have chosen an unusual base vehicle in an Isuzu NLS AWD car licensed light truck. We have just returned from 10 weeks touring Tasmania and found our rig absolutely ideal for our purposes and the Tasmanian free/low cost camping experience. we didnt use a conventional caravan park at all. Being under 6 metres long ( by moving the bikes inside for the ferry trip ) our return with truck and camper and ourselves cost to Tassie was well under $700. We paid a small overweight premium but thats all. Even with the bikes on the towbar as usual we can fit into a regular car bay at tourist attractions, Main Street bays and shopping centres and only take one car spot when seeking camping spots. We are move on constantly types and spend a lot of time travelling to places for extended walks or cycles and occasionally also kayaking. Having everything at hand at your parking spot upon both leaving and return makes this style of travelling a breeze. No putting things up and down with our high hard sided slide on camper and toilet/shower, kitchen, dinette and even bed are all ready to be used at a moments notice. Coming back from a long walk, mountain climb or similar, tea/coffee/lunch/dinner are to hand as is the shower if its been particularly strenuous. With big windows and flyscreens and a comfortable dinette sitting inside out of bugs, rain, wind or burning sun is also very pleasant. We love our restaurant table with a million dollar view on so many occasions and spend what we save on high quality produce and wines. We of course still eat out but drive there and park beside and many great pubs in Tassie even provide free camping in exchange for frequenting their establishments. A tiny turning circle, ease of backing up and our AWD capability means we chance our hand at camping spots out of range of towing almost anything or by conventional motorhomes. Whilst not for this trip but on others we also tow an enormous trailerable yacht with our rig highlighting its versatility as a touring platform. Others could easily tow various things from horse floats through motorcycle or quad bike trailers, gliders and a wide variety of types of water and fishing craft just to name a few. Of course we can also unload the camper but rarely do whilst travelling but do at home to liberate our useful light truck for other purposes. our rig is fully self contained including producing its own 240v power through solar and alternator charging lithium Powerpacks. Our hot water is both gas and 240v and our fridge/freezer 12v compressor style with cooking via gas, microwave and induction. for those still agile enough to climb up to a large queen bed overcab and with a love of move on travel I highly recommend our solution.
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Monday 1st of April 2024 11:06:55 PM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Monday 1st of April 2024 11:08:55 PM