Hello from Tassie

[Offby2]

We're just a couple of oldies    who are starting the journey of travelling around locally, then it's off to the big island. We're leaning towards a hard floor ( currently in tents) but are also quite tempted by some of the hybrids out there. Has anyone got one/ or any advise etc about any particular brand? Cheers

[Rowlie]

Hi,
My better half and I are expatriate Taswegians. We emigrated to Vic 30 odd years ago. We have graduated through all the camping alternatives up to a hybrid - Lifestyle Reconn. Although I dread the day I guess it is inevitable that we will one day end up in a caravan but resisting like hell for now. We have recently retired and in our early 60s and spend a bit of time off the beaten track. There is much on this site if you access the "Cross Over" pages. About 10 or 12 down there is a plethora of info on Lifestyles but everything from Jaycos to AORs are there. Best advice I can offer is that everything in camping is a compromise. ie weight / comfort vs light / manoeuvrable. It took us 5 years to decide on our latest option and so far so good. It comes at a price though ie not much change out of $50k. There aren't many in Tas and we only saw one other when we were there in March. They are a cheap fare on the boat though because they sit under 2.0m high and 5.0m long (near enough !!) Spend some time exploring this site - there is much to learn. Lots of light hearted banter also and not many nasties - quite refreshing.
Rowlie 

[trinityalyce]

We're just a couple of oldies    who are starting the journey of travelling around locally, then it's off to the big island. We're leaning towards a hard floor ( currently in tents) but are also quite tempted by some of the hybrids out there. Has anyone got one/ or any advise etc about any particular brand? Cheers

Buy an Ultimate!  (Not biased at all... LOL. We just picked ours up a week ago!) We spent over 6 months deliberating which way we'd go - had been set on getting an off-road caravan but storage and weight issues ended up ruling out that option until we want to upgrade our tug to an F250 or similar (...sell our Patrol? Never going to happen!). We wanted quick and easy to set up as we're predominantly tourers, lightweight, comfortable, indoor living space, etc. Don't discredit them because they look like an upside down boat! We nearly did... and we LOVE ours and couldn't imagine going back to a tent! The Ultimate ticked the boxes for us. But everyone is different and you'll be bombarded with a LOT of options from the awesome people on here.

My advice after going through the process? Start making lists about what is "essential", "nice to have", "prefer not" and "do not want". Shift things around as you realise your priorities change. Go to the camping shows/expos and go over them all with a fine-tooth comb. Camp with others with different set ups. Go on factory tours (especially if you're buying new). Look at some second hand models to see how they go with age... And ENJOY the homework phase! You'll probably change your mind a million times like we did! Heck, there was a stage there where we were going to build an expedition truck before we realised how crazy WE would be for taking that on! I take my hat off to all those talented people who do that.

Welcome to the forum.

[Troopy greg]

Take your time looking we spent 18 months looking at all types of set ups from forward folds to small caravan/hybrids caravan camping shows are a great way to see different types of campers just remember what one persons ideal setup is not necessarily what will suit you for what it is worth we ended up buying a lifestyle breakaway ultra and we love it probably as much as Trinity loves their Ultimate good luck with your search