We are nervous about hitting the road but decide that there is no point waiting any longer. We’ve spent three weeks getting the van ready. The weather is cool but improving. We choose a trip to a spot that we haven’t been to in a long time just to add to the excitement, if that’s at all possible! It’s only a distance of 500 kilometres from Melbourne, enough for us to get used to things and to find any problems. The final packing, which didn’t seem much, takes us longer than expected. We have butterflies in our stomachs. Our neighbour … Continue reading Welcome to Caravanning 5. The Shakedown Trip

We hitch up the van and take it to the towbar people to learn how the load levellers work. We arrive on time but soon realise that we’ve left the van keys at home and can’t open the front boot, we look so green. After a quick trip home we return and have our van ball weight checked, it’s 150kg so we will have to purchase stronger load levellers than those that came with the van. We have these fitted, they are large, heavy, expensive ($700 at the time) and cumbersome but as soon as we tow we can feel … Continue reading Welcome to Caravanning 3. A Levelling Influence

The first hurdle was getting the caravan up the driveway, the previous owner did a great job and the van fitted the designated spot beautifully. Gobsmacked we wonder if we’ll ever get as good as that at reversing. Now can we get the car past the van and into the garage? Yes, with a little squeeze and a lot of care. It’s time now for a cold beer in celebration while we check out all the cupboards and hatches. Two days later the new car arrives and we realize that we’ll have to get used to driving a larger car … Continue reading Welcome to Caravanning: 1. Reversing