Living in a camper trailer

[cindywashbrook]

Is there anyone out there living in there CT full time?

We ( my partner and I) have just upgraded  to the camper trailer - Lifestyle Extenda Elite. We hit the road in 6 weeks with the plan of travelling Oz and working where we can.  The first stop is Ayr for the cane harvest until December. We have not other plans than that except me want to be cool in summer and warm in winter.

While we will be in caravan parks, we will also be set up to free camp.  We have had a camper trailer for the last 4 years, but have upgraded for a bit of comfort. We have had many great trips away, but I'm just a little worried about this being our house - as our house we currently live in is on the market.

Jus after some tips etc. how people are doing it, what you would never do again, what you thought you would need but never used etc.

Cheers 

[Supersi]

McGirr's your man to talk to. He can share his experience with you.

[edz]

Hi and good on you guys for having a go, Basicaly pack the BARE  minimum of what you need to be comfortable and self reliant to a degree,  then add what ever you need to that for the climate you will be heading into as needed [ have family or friends post it or buy it as needed ] ..
Usual story, least used stuff buried under gear thats used every day, emergency gear / first aid /  tools / Fire extinguisher easily accessed etc..
Decent wet weather gear, battery or 12V operated drill / drills,  with  grinder disc attachments ..Assorted bolts screws to suit the tug and trailer, small roll of medium duty fence wire  and good ole 100MPH  gaffa tape and zip ties, Collapsable hacksaw, decent hammer   ..

[Joff]

Hi Cindy

We did it a few years back. 20 months around the country with the two kids. The best advice I can give is to set the camper and the car up so that everything is accessible. We built a draw system into our camper so there wasn't a bag of clothes in sight. Set your kitchen up with electric water pump and permanent lighting and a pantry draw type set up for every day things.

We used two fridges, one in the 4wd and another in the front of the camper. the one in the cruiser was day to day. the one in the camper was cryode meat and other bulk stuff. In my opinion this is the best way because there is no repacking when you are off on a day trip without the camper and the cold stuff bought when shopping can go straight in while still in the carpark.

Speaking of day trips, when you are deciding what travels in the car and what in the camper, do it with day tripping in mind. If you think you will use it when away from the camper then it travels in the car always. As an example, fishing gear that is carried in the camper will need to find a temporary home in the car every time you go of fishing. Carrying it the car always means it's already there and no 'spot' has to be found for it. It's the same for things like chairs and, more importantly, first aid kits and tools. its for this reason that i'd never set up to carry a boat out canoe on a camper.

it's great fun after the initial uncertainty and, unless you find that you made a grave miscalculation with your car or camper type, just about anything can be changed or modified.

Cheers
Joff

[Nomad]

As well as McGirr have a look at post by lilstookie. They are currently out living in theirs.....I think.

[campingaroundoz]

We hope to leave September 12th for our trip around oz. 2a and 2k in a drifta dot. Just gotta sell the house first so if anyones in the market let me know

[McGirr]

We have been traveling and working Australia since Jan 2015.

Our last 2 remote jobs we have lived in a 40ft container and a half duplex that was fully furnished with air con.

We are currently living in our camper at Mt Barnett Roadhouse.

The downside:

Open to all types of weather such as strong winds and rain. We have a large tarp to try and keep the sun from heating the camper up. We arrived here in April and it was bloody hot. We have copped the winds and torrential rain. Not fun.

Bugs and more bugs are attracted to the lights. We turn them off and watch our little TV and have a few Mozzie coils going so that we are not eaten alive. We still do.

Climbing down from the camper a few times a night to walk 20 feet the toilet can be a pain.

Sitting in your camp chairs all the time gets uncomfortable.

Also it will get hot in North Qld as summer approaches.

Summary:

It all depends on the job you are going to weather  they offer Accommodation. Look for jobs that do even if they charge a small fee. We have never paid for accomodation, power or Internet.

As mentioned you will buy some things that assist in making your stay pleasant. Then get rid of them. We bought cheap fans to keep us cool. They will get chucked when we leave.

What we carry is what we mostly use. Plenty of spares for the car, camper as you may get a job in remote areas where the nearest town is 900 Klms away. Ie Warburton WA.

Would I live in the camper again. NO. It can be a pain living out of bags etc.

There is nothing better than a solid roof, 4 walls, air con and best of all your own privacy without hearing your neighbors every night.

Traveling around the country on holidays with a camper is a lot different than living in it. Trust me.

But in saying all this,  try it, you may like it.



Mark

[scubasteve]

Watch out for the black snow in the Burdekin when you are there.   


Cheers Stephen.

[edz]

Here you go https://www.facebook.com/TheWanderingJocks .. Lilstookies trip and travels

[slydar]

I don't like to blow out anyones candles (not saying that anyone else is either) but I have to say our last summer in our camper relates to everything mcgirr has said, right down to the camping chairs. we were at port stephens when everything around the hunter and central coast was flooding, and I think only the weather settling down on the fourth day saw me not abandoning the camp for a better life. that said we were better of than those that did leave their camps for the comforts of home our decision to stay was easier with a flat screen telly and hundreds of hours of videos to catch up on and two dunnies in the camper and after having been through smaller versions of that unhappy time we just cleaned up afterwards and enjoyed the rest of the month in the dunes, I wouldn't know if it would be that easy with a canvas camper if you were working at the same time but the worst scenario is you get tired of it so if you feel like answering the call and are able-bodied enough to cope with the downs you will appreciate the ups - life is after all only what you make of it!

[GROB]

Hi Cindy ,We are in our 3rd year of living in our camper trailer  and have just been through the rain and floods down here in the central coast of NSW ,where we are staying at the moment just had 336mm rain and strong wind gusts to 120kph  .had no damage and only a couple of tiny leaks ,as long as you peg and rope your camper down properly you wont have any problems with the weather .One point I must make is that when ever you camp at a dam ,make sure you use every peg  and rope , as at every dam we have ever camped at we have copped some big storms

[slydar]

 good for you grob! have to agree with the pegging and roping (as long as proper ropes are used, not the flimsy things that come with the unit), it makes a difference and certainly did for us in the storm. doesn't hold well for too long in sand though (we have found) but theres nothing wrong with donning a raincoat and going out and banging them in further

[Joff]

Pegs in sand never work in wind. Coles bags full of sand do.

If you are set up right there are very few things that should really get up your nose.

[whitey1]

We spent a couple of years living and working in our camper. But we also did housesitting as well. Makes a huge difference to your living costs, cutting out caravan park fees. It's also really good up in the tropics, gotta love air con at night!

[slydar]

Pegs in sand never work in wind

ours do - like the ropes, theyre not the ones that come standard with the camper. theyre 40cm long - they go in and they stay in, but in long rain periods it pays to have a cover over them and something on the rope to deflect the rain running down the rope. its the rain going down around the peg that makes it work loose, stop that and no issues aside from banging them in every now and then. the ropes with the springs are a must - all from bcf

[edz]

ropes with the springs are a must

Temper that with, In heavy wind that the springs can and do pull up solid, then you can have dramas..
We have used car inner tube cut into bands 50mm wide and concrete pipe rubber seals since I was a kid in  the 60s on all our caravan and camper guy ropes,They allow a lot more give without breakage,  been through a lot of cyclonic type of weather and the only damage ever was from hail shredding our van annex .

[slydar]

aha - THATS what I see on other camps! where do you get them nowadays? that said I saw a few of those break last summer (assuming theyre the same things your using)

youre right about the springs, in fact some people where we go use both

[Joff]

ours do - like the ropes, theyre not the ones that come standard with the camper. theyre 40cm long - they go in and they stay in, but in long rain periods it pays to have a cover over them and something on the rope to deflect the rain running down the rope. its the rain going down around the peg that makes it work loose, stop that and no issues aside from banging them in every now and then. the ropes with the springs are a must - all from bcf

Coles bags full of sand getting wet just get better and better 

[edz]

aha - THATS what I see on other camps! where do you get them nowadays?

We got ours at a canvas and awning place local to us here, years back for about $2 ea, though it is now closed as the owner passed away.
Believe most places that handle concrete press in pipes should have them, just be aware that there is different grades of them ranging from a silicone type to a full on hard grade rubber type , the softer silicone type ones break fairly easily ..
For what its worth I'd just go to a tire place and get a 13'  to 15" car tire inner tube and cut it up into 50mm bands, then roll them back on themselve to make them thinner in width, works just aswell and  easy to carry a few spares if ever needed too.