Living the dream

You know what it’s like - or want to know what living the dream is like. For some, there is no clear distinction between religion and travel. It’s the lure of the endless horizon, the hidden secrets waiting for discovery, the characters, family, friends, laughter and tears.

The trouble is, knowing how to take those travelling adventures, whether it’s best to tackle them in a motorhome, caravan, campervan, camper-trailer, or hybrid. Here’s the pros and cons of each choice.

Setting up camp and finding convenience

If the idea of setting up your camp means not having to do much more than drive onto your campsite and pull on the handbrake without the hassle of unhitching then a motorhome or campervan might be for you.

After that long drive, you can just drive into a camping site and park up your motorhome with no hassles. Caravans, campers need to be either towed into or reversed into a caravan spot, unhitched, stabilising legs and jockey wheel deployed in order to be able to say you have done the least you need to do in order to have set up camp.

Of course, all RV’s may need you to hook up to power, organise your water intake and wastewater, then roll out some sort of awning or annex-style arrangement before you can say that you have made your campsite comfortable.

When it comes to setting up camp, camper-trailers are less convenient than motorhomes, campervans, caravans and hybrids. They are the incremental stage between a tent and more convenient options. What’s more, camper-trailers lose on the convenience stakes because they generally have less storage than other options, offer less privacy as the walls are canvas and don’t make for the sturdiest camp in high winds.

Easier to drive but then what?

Typically the smaller size of typical campervans makes them a breeze to drive. The usually larger size of motorhomes might take a little getting used to when it comes to cornering, parking or reversing.

 Towing a caravan, camper-trailer or hybrid, for some, can be a nightmare and take a little time for beginners to master. Not to mention, having to make sure you have hitched up correctly, secured the hitch properly, connecting your Anderson plug and safety chains.

Now here’s the thing. There is perhaps no time to feel smug at the ease of which you can set up a motorhome camp. Unless you have some kind of other transport, you just parked you’re only set of wheels. That’s a bit tough if you then want to do a little sightseeing or just want to run out and pick up more milk and bread. That’s the advantage of towing. Once you’ve set up camp, you can jump in your tow vehicle and explore your destination. While some will say the difference then is one of being organised and considering what you might want to achieve before hand – if you’re like me – the inability to just set up camp then head off touring your location is a little too painful.

Initial Cost

If you own a small car, then buying a caravan might pose a problem. You might need to upgrade your vehicle in order to tow the caravan you’ve decided to buy. This is potentially less of problem for campertrailers and hybrid caravans as they are typically smaller than caravans.

In effect, a motorhome or campervan means you already eliminated the entire question of whether or not your tow vehicle has the chutzpah to do the job.

Curiously, you may well find a budget motorhome or campervan and a caravan may not be all that different in price.

Choose you rig on the type of adventures you want.

Here’s the thing. At one level, there is no wrong answer. Choose the RV that suits your needs. If you want a less expensive RV, love the feel of tent camping but want a little more convenience for the occasional weekend away – a camper-trailer might well be for you.

If you want more space and probably more creature comforts then choose a campervan, hybrid, caravan or motorhome. And if you need to match a smaller tow vehicle to your RV of choice then keep the weight lower with a hybrid. If you don’t like the idea of towing a campervan or motorhome might be your best bet. The smaller caravans, camper-trailers and some campervans might suit you if you are looking to go along less accessible off-road or rough road outback tracks.

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