Greetings From ColinM

[ColinM]

Hi All,
No doubt, like many newbees that started here, I've been trolling the forum and like what I see and yes, my wife and and I have a three year plan to sell our home, cars and possessions (what a job the latter will be!) and bight the "expandable bullet" and head around Australia for the rest of my wife and I's collective live together!

So now the learning and research begins!

What (expandable) caravan ?

What vehicle to tow it? (This is proving very difficult).

Working out all those important spec acronyms.

Take our cat with us? (Yes National Parks).

and much much more.

.At this stage, the expandable we have our eye on (and yes, we realize a lot can change in 3 years) is the 22 ft Jayco Journey 22.68-2 Outback 2019.

Vehicle wise, I own a 2015 2L TDI Amarok - love it, but won't cut the mustard with that caravan.

Looking at the Jayco and considering the V6 Amarok (and all you boffins let me know if I have this wrong) and using this guide:
* Jayco Tare Weight - 2710 Kg.
* Amarok Gross Combine Mass - 6000 Kg.
* Amarok Gross Vehicle Mass - 3080 Kg.
* Jayco - Aggregate Trailer Mass/Gross Vehicle Mass - 470 - 600Kg (the latter with free mod).

It doesn't take a mathematician to work out you have nothing to move on when you aggregate the Amarok GVM and Jayco Tare and subtract that from the Amarok GCM - loads of advice on all the above most welcome!

 

[Drover]

More than Welcome here and youv'e started a thread that will certainly attract many .............................

First off I would ignore the tare weight, once it leaves the factory floor the tare is wrong, in fact the tare is usually wrong and it will never see that weight again and it is irrelevant, the ATM is the cruncher, that and the GTM are the guide, along with the vehicle GCM .................. most dual cab Utes with 3.5t towing capacity and loaded for a trip will not be able to tow a van with a GTM of more than 2.8t and thats allowing 250kg ball weight which goes on the tug, now thats the real world weight on the scales not the compliance plate, of course you can't go over the stated ATM/GCM plate weights, the tare on the plate means nothing..... if your GCM is say 6t you don't really want to be towing at your max all the time, doesn't do the vehicle or your wallet a lot of good......

Remember the weights stated on plates and brochures should be taken with a grain of salt, they seem to err on the light side.......... you will get booked for being over plated GVM, ATM,GVM and GCM and thats actual weight on the scale.

 

[ColinM]

Hi Drover,
Thanks for the welcome and the great advice. Definitely a case of going in with my head and not my heart. Yes, I looked at all the utes and they all appear to have a GCM of 6000.
Since the original post, I've now looked at the "non outback version of that Jayco - which at 2490 is 220 Kg lighter (acknowledging your comment on the tare weight). Definitely good point on towing at the top end of the GCM. I guess I shouldn't be to surprised that plate and brochure specs can be sus.

 

[ColinM]

on another note...perhaps my original figures needs some recalculation as I need to be looking at weight of the towing vehicle plus the caravan tare weight (actual not plated) plus required to make up the ATM - and starting off with the vehicle GVM.

 

[Drover]

Actually thinking more on the matter, if travelling around for a few years and the rig is the only abode then an Expanda while a great rig, the sleeping area will soon become a chore,especially if you have a few years racked up on the calander , I know it was getting a bit tedious after a few months, anyway no matter what van a 2 door fridge is a must, seperate freezer is certainly up there on the must have list, single door and dinky freezer is a big pain if on the road for a long time. and for a tug a stationwagon doesn't have the room, a dualcab with tub is a lot of of work getting to stuff but one with a tray and alloy canopy allows access from 3 sides so easy to get to stuff and you don't bust a gut or waste space......Travelling for along time you need to look at things using the KISS Principle or you just make life hard.

 

[ColinM]

Hi Again Drover,
Thank you again for your input. Once again early days - and there is every possibility we will come across alternatives to the current caravan being considered but why would the sleeping area become a chore and how would you go about setting up a 2 door fridge/freezer? Yup, I had the same idea on the tug.

 

[Crusty181]

Hey @ColinM and welcome to the forum. You've found our resident experienced and wise counsel in the form of @Drover.

I suspect you may be confusing the Expanda concept with the slide-out concept. The Expandas are the various Jayco caravan models with canvas tents hanging off either end. The Journey 22.68.2 you've mentioned is a very nice, if not huge, traditional caravan with the slide-out. Although the forum was originally aimed specifically at Jayco Expandas, it has well and truly matured and now includes many people who have upgraded away from Expandas and welcomes members who have never own either Expandas or Jaycos.

I'm more interested in your back story and your plan to ditch everything and hit the road; big WOW, impressive and what a massive and equally awesome decision which may possibly be a little daunting I would imagine. On top of that, I'm assuming that you're also new to the whole caravanning world in general as well ?? So ..... whats the whys and hows behind it?? Feel free to tell me to bugger off, Ill used to that and I'll get over it pretty quickly.

You've certainly landed in the right place here; there's an extraordinary wealth of information, skill sets and broad travel experience both short and long term to be found here ... its also a very inclusive and enjoyable community with none of the usual social media bile, BS and sharpness.

We are looking to semi-retire in around 3 years as well, so I'm looking forward to reading about your story.

 

[ColinM]

Hi Crusty,
Great to have another experienced forum member's interest and input, so thank you for those and your time taken in your post.

First off - Ah! Good point on the difference between expanda and slide out - that may account for @Drover 's comment about us finding out about expandas being a "chore. I'm sure a lot of people find expandas suit their needs well, but, as with all things that come down to personal preference, we didn't deem those suitable.

Size wise, my wife and I wanted to strike a balance between living comfort and manageable towing size. I'm used to towing decent sized boats but my wife isn't so naturally she wants to get some training and experience as she will be sharing the towing and must be able to do everything I can do if something untoward happens.

Now for the back story...

It actually was my wife's idea. She is a self confessed gypsy and loves the idea of moving around. At 62 each and both in good health and with a mortgage that won't be paid off by the time we are 65 she didn't relish the prospect of continuing working and wants to see more of Australia before we kick the proverbial and unshackle herself from substantial asset ownership etc.

She floated the idea to me over drinks one evening and I was surprised at how attracted I was to the idea. Yup, I agree, going from no caravan to permanent caravanner is a huge step. But we enjoy camping and have had holidays based in a caravan. So yes, we are new to carvanning but, whilst the excitement and romantic appeal is there, we'll be approaching this logically and sensibly.

Oh, and crusty - no change of telling you to bugger off - a much better chance of saying a huge thank you for interest and feedback.

As for the story ongoing - I plan to create an online blog so family, friends and anyone interested can follow and/or interact.

Sounds like we might be on the same trajectory, so would be great of our paths crossed!

 

[Drover]

I should have checked out what a 20.68.2 was, your very observant @Crusty181 and a real sticky beak I'll put my hands up as well, sounds very interesting for sure...............................
Weights will do your head in as well @ColinM ,

This link has some good reading which is worthy of a browse for old hands and novice alike...
https://www.rvbooks.com.au/page/technical/

https://www.rvbooks.com.au/page/choosing-a-caravan-tow-vehicle/

https://www.rvbooks.com.au/page/do-not-trust-caravan-declared-mass/


and my Fav place for bits and bobs; https://www.caravansplus.com.au

and for battery info as well; https://caravanchronicles.com/guides/how-to-connect-two-batteries-in-parallel/

 

[Drover]

Ha, you wait till you get to know him , then you will tell him to bugga off, I do all the time.....................................lol,lol,lol......

I originally saw retirement at about 78 or there abouts but as luck smiled on me, I walked out the gate at 60, the 14.44 we had was great but after 3 months the walls started to close in and making the expanda bed was getting a bit much, so along came Big Mal a 22ft Coromal with a proper ensuite, as well as a washing machine which I thought a bit much but have since changed my mind and a bed we could walk around, 2 door fridge as mentioned earlier, heaps of mods to it and its great evenb though we still miss our little 14ft Tardis sometimes. While we sold up our prickle farm we only wandered around for a short while before putting down roots again though we still spend probably aropund 5 mths wandering around, its nice to have a base to keep all the other toys, Tools, Boat etc..................seperate shower toilet is a must, we do 95% free camping.

 

[ColinM]

Hey Drover,
Ha Ha! No sweat - glad you checked out the 20.68.2 and I consider @Crusty181 as "well researched" LOL.
Thanks heaps for all those great links - LOTS of reading to do. OMG! You are so right about weights! I haven't read all the material in detail but was alarmed about the article concerning the "GCM Trap" ! Coramal was definitely one of the vans we were considering and there is a local dealer - just need to see if they have anything suitable with a decent wardrobe - one of wife's requirements - the other is the washing machine you mentioned. Would love to have the money to have a base as you have!

 

[Crusty181]

Hi Crusty,
Great to have another experienced forum member's interest and input, so thank you for those and your time taken in your post.

First off - Ah! Good point on the difference between expanda and slide out - that may account for @Drover 's comment about us finding out about expandas being a "chore. I'm sure a lot of people find expandas suit their needs well, but, as with all things that come down to personal preference, we didn't deem those suitable.

Size wise, my wife and I wanted to strike a balance between living comfort and manageable towing size. I'm used to towing decent sized boats but my wife isn't so naturally she wants to get some training and experience as she will be sharing the towing and must be able to do everything I can do if something untoward happens.

Now for the back story...

It actually was my wife's idea. She is a self confessed gypsy and loves the idea of moving around. At 62 each and both in good health and with a mortgage that won't be paid off by the time we are 65 she didn't relish the prospect of continuing working and wants to see more of Australia before we kick the proverbial and unshackle herself from substantial asset ownership etc.

She floated the idea to me over drinks one evening and I was surprised at how attracted I was to the idea. Yup, I agree, going from no caravan to permanent caravanner is a huge step. But we enjoy camping and have had holidays based in a caravan. So yes, we are new to carvanning but, whilst the excitement and romantic appeal is there, we'll be approaching this logically and sensibly.

Oh, and crusty - no change of telling you to bugger off - a much better chance of saying a huge thank you for interest and feedback.

As for the story ongoing - I plan to create an online blog so family, friends and anyone interested can follow and/or interact.

Sounds like we might be on the same trajectory, so would be great of our paths crossed!

We started blogging for over 10 years ago, and the motivation was primarily so our families felt like they were with us and part of our various travels, and that we cared ... the reality was we just didn't care at all, we just didn't want the continuous responsibility of keeping in touch and we didn't want to be pestered. It worked very well, but I found what we added a great reminder. That original mindset morphed quickly into the blog becoming a permanent journal of all our travels just for us along with family and friends. It does come in very handy looking back, particularly the search capabilities.

We spent 14mths away over 2016 bopping about this vast land and I blogged every stinking single day; 405 sequential entries and oh my god that pains me just thinking about it now, but that often painful permanent daily record includes dates, times, pics and many of the funny little forgettable things that evaporate quickly from your mental timeline. The labour of blogging has paid me back in spades many times over. We went to SE Asia for a fortnight many years ago and I didn't bother blogging because the internet was rubbish .... within a month we could each barely remember a gross total of 3 days between us of the entire trip.

I host my own websites for work and my blogs reside on my server so I control and own all aspects of my data. We didn't once (certainly no behavior I witnessed) tried to kill the other. We found just normal daily chores and the usual routine of living was ample 'me' time for us and we didn't really need to schedule time to get some personal distance, or sharpen the knife or stage an alibi.

If you stay a local here, we'll very likely cross paths at some point.

 

[ColinM]

@Crusty181 ,
You definitely have a nice narrative style and flow so I'm sure those blogs would have been well written and a great read. LMAO love you honesty on your family re the Blogs and what you say is so true about a Blog being a travel journal and capturing so much that we, as you say, forget. I did the same when my wife and I won a trip to Ireland (we met through Irish Dancing - but can't/wouldn't do it now otherwise I'd create a sink hole!). The memoir was a true written journal rather than a website blog with the intention of it being material for a book that never got finished or published.

I noticed you host your own websites. Are you a freelance website designer like me or work for someone else?

Oh, and I laughed out loud when I read your third paragraph!

 

[Crusty181]

@ColinM im have a cabinet making/reno business. I tinkered with web design years ago and retained enough old knowledge to build a basic site, although i find nowadays Wordpress does a mighty fine job and is much easier to set up, tinker with and maintain.

 

[DRW]

@ColinM have a look on you tube for “trip in a van” these guys are young and have been cruising around Australia for 4 years, their youngest just had her 4th birthday on the road. They have the same brand van as we have and tow it with a BT50. Not saying you should by a WillowRV but the blogs are really worth watching oh and the vans are great as well

 

[Crusty181]

@ColinM have a look on you tube for “trip in a van” these guys are young and have been cruising around Australia for 4 years, their youngest just had her 4th birthday on the road. They have the same brand van as we have and tow it with a BT50. Not saying you should by a WillowRV but the blogs are really worth watching oh and the vans are great as well

The TIAV Willow is a nice van and their blog is a great showcase for the brand ..... but ..... When they started out it was pretty good; young family hitting the road and all that but over time they've become horribly transparent brand bitches which has soured their appeal for me. They've done a mighty job sponsoring their lifestyle, but that all it is now and they've sold their souls to this new age paid opinion and product placement cash grab. Their video editing is pretty effective.

This wave of people pretending a long holiday is a job even have their own catchy names, Affiliate Marketers, Brand Partnering, Social Media Influencers

Google the story about Social Media Influencer Elle Darby trying the scrounge a free stay at the White Moose Café .... didn't quite go to plan and its quite amusing

 

[Drover]

I've found a few of those sort of blogs they get a bit smarmy, bit like some of these Off Road TV and online things, get actually boring trying to flog all this rubbish and forced drama...............


2016, doesn't seem that long ago you were here playing with our Blue bottles oh Crusty one..... Put up the link to that photo that everyone loves, the digital howls are fantastic.

 

[ColinM]

@ColinM im have a cabinet making/reno business. I tinkered with web design years ago and retained enough old knowledge to build a basic site, although i find nowadays Wordpress does a mighty fine job and is much easier to set up, tinker with and maintain.

Ah - Ok - thanks for the clarification Crusty.

@ColinM have a look on you tube for “trip in a van” these guys are young and have been cruising around Australia for 4 years, their youngest just had her 4th birthday on the road. They have the same brand van as we have and tow it with a BT50. Not saying you should by a WillowRV but the blogs are really worth watching oh and the vans are great as well

Hi DRW - Thanks for that - I'll check them out.

The TIAV Willow is a nice van and their blog is a great showcase for the brand ..... but ..... When they started out it was pretty good; young family hitting the road and all that but over time they've become horribly transparent brand bitches which has soured their appeal for me. They've done a mighty job sponsoring their lifestyle, but that all it is now and they've sold their souls to this new age paid opinion and product placement cash grab. Their video editing is pretty effective.

This wave of people pretending a long holiday is a job even have their own catchy names, Affiliate Marketers, Brand Partnering, Social Media Influencers

Google the story about Social Media Influencer Elle Darby trying the scrounge a free stay at the White Moose Café .... didn't quite go to plan and its quite amusing

Ha Ha - Yes - I'm not a great fan of the "Influencer" Marketing strategy and any of those demanding free or reduced prices deserve what they don't get.

I've found a few of those sort of blogs they get a bit smarmy, bit like some of these Off Road TV and online things, get actually boring trying to flog all this rubbish and forced drama...............

So true - a lot of them are just one long multiple products advertisements.

 

[DRW]

Hey @Crusty181 I fully understand the points you are making (if you could be more direct it would help )its a bit like caravan reviews they all manage 10 out of 10
I guess the point i was trying to make (as poorly as I did) was @ColinM has a 2litre Amarok which has a towing capacity of 3,000kg, the WillowRV has a ATM of 2,800kg so the Amarok would do it okay. The second point was by watching videos like the ones I suggested was to show its more than possible to live comfortably in a 19'6" van as these guys do as a family of 5. It also shows some wonderful places to visit and even though its a paid job for them some tips are good for beginners, now don't let me start on the NEWS channels this really is paid for properganda

 

[ColinM]

Hey @Crusty181 I fully understand the points you are making (if you could be more direct it would help )its a bit like caravan reviews they all manage 10 out of 10
I guess the point i was trying to make (as poorly as I did) was @ColinM has a 2litre Amarok which has a towing capacity of 3,000kg, the WillowRV has a ATM of 2,800kg so the Amarok would do it okay. The second point was by watching videos like the ones I suggested was to show its more than possible to live comfortably in a 19'6" van as these guys do as a family of 5. It also shows some wonderful places to visit and even though its a paid job for them some tips are good for beginners, now don't let me start on the NEWS channels this really is paid for properganda

Hey @DRW - To the best of my knowledge and I'm still getting my head around "The Figures" - the TDI 2L Amarok with 3,000 Kg for a 2,800 Kg van would not be ideal - that's why part of the plan is to trade up to the V6 with 3500 (which is what I wanted to do before the van anyway - but don't tell the wife )