SHAPES, SIZES AND THE BEATEN TRACK
Two wheels or four, independent suspension or
beam-axle, offroad or blacktop tourer. Caravans
come in shapes, sizes and configurations to suit
all needs and most budgets.
Motorhomes, however, comes in A, B or C class
configurations. There’s still plenty of opportunity
to customise, but arguably less so than with
caravans.
Purpose-built, spacious and luxurious 4WD
motorhomes exist – expedition rigs built on
truck platforms such as MAN – but the common
Ducato, Sprinter, Transit and VW-based rigs offer
precious little offroad ability.
A caravan towed by a 4WD, on the other hand,
offers more opportunity to explore rugged,
remote regions of Australia. If necessary, you can
unhitch and leave the van somewhere safe while
you explore in the 4WD.
Similarly, once unhitched, it’s not such a chore to
drive around town. The same can’t be said of a large
motorhome, which is why electric bikes and towed
Suzukis are popular among the motorhome set.
Marty Ledwich and his wife, Kylie.
CARAVANS JUST MAKE SENSE
Marty Ledwich of www.rveethereyet.com has
been on the road with his wife full-time for a
year. They tow a Roadstar Safari Tamer behind
a 200 Series Land Cruiser, and couldn’t be
happier. These are his reasons for preferring
caravans over motorhomes…
• We prefer the freedom to set-up our
campsite and go exploring in a capable and
comfortable 4WD.
• Caravans are quite simple to maintain and
repairers are located in most towns and cities.
• The tow vehicle is a Toyota so servicing it
is not an issue, while most motorhomes
are based on European trucks with limited
service agents.
• Our caravan is an offroader so we can
travel to remote outback areas. To carry the
same amount of cargo we have into offroad
areas in a motorhome would require a very
specialised vehicle that would be expensive
to purchase and maintain. It would also
require a Light Truck licence to drive.
16 \