LIGHT ’N’ EASY
RV FEATURE
CARAVANNING DOESN’T HAVE TO EQUAL A GCM OF 6000-PLUS
KILOS. THERE’S A LOT TO BE SAID FOR GOING LIGHT…
WORDS: TERRY ROGERS
We all love the notion of a long open road,
of an endless horizon with adventure beckoning
around the next bend.
What they don’t tell you, though, is that to get
to that open road, you first need to negotiate
city traffic. You have to wrangle the loaded car
laden with luggage and backseat drivers, van
attached, through the bustling city streets.
Here you are, starting your road trip, trying
your best to switch off and relax, surrounded
by vehicles that needed to be somewhere
five minutes ago. Sometimes at the height
of negotiating these situations, you can’t be
blamed for taking a look in your side mirrors
and wondering just why you had to go with
that big, imposing van.
Sure, its great when you’re on the open
road, or once you’ve arrived, but right now
when all you want to do is change lanes and
make that green light, it’s proving to be a
thorn in your side.
These visions came flooding in when we were
about to embark on our road trip from Brighton,
Vic, to Adelaide. It was a windy Saturday
morning and I was considering everything we
had to negotiate before hitting the open road.
Weather. Traffic. Cyclists. The list goes on.
Then I saw the Bailey Coastal Woolamai,
which had a Tare of 1600kg, ball weight of 90kg
unladen, and a carrying capacity of 400kg. Just
looking at this single-axle compact beauty gave
me a sense of relief. We hitched the Coastal not
40
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