If you think that this picture is the start of our great adventure, I suggest you quietly close the web page and check out ocean cruises instead. This is the culmination of twelve months of research, preparation, much decision making and HUGE expense.
The Important Decision.
Like the four horseman of the apocalypse, there are four main choices when selecting your mode of travel, each more terrible than the last (if you get it wrong). The motor home, the camper trailer, the pop-top and the caravan all have their pros and cons. So, what kind of traveller do you see yourself as? Where do you want to go? What do you want to see? How much are you prepared to sacrifice the comforts of home for that unique location or epic off road experience?.
For us, we imagined a two year figure eight trip around Australia, so comfort, space and self-sufficiency were the main drivers. Being able to reduce costs by free camping or the luxury of spending extended time “off-grid†at a great location steered us towards a larger van. Now there are plenty to choose from with all kinds of layouts and options and for the most part it will come down to what does it for you.
At this point, I have to declare a conflict of interest. Yes, we bought a Jayco Sterling (and that’s a great story), but for none of the reasons most would consider. As a songwriter/arranger and part of a two man collaboration, known as The Pedantics, I needed to take my music with me. Only a handful of vans had the potential to allow this and eventually only Jayco Sterlings 2011 – 2014 with the full slide-outs filled all the criteria. I needed a two seater side lounge that I could rip out and replace with a recording studio/media hub.
The Purchase
Tamika, thankfully supported the plan, and in fact, was responsible for locating our dream purchase. While spending a few days at mine she spotted an add on Gumtree, for the “ideal oneâ€. So happened it was sort on the way to her departure point at Newcastle Airport, so we rang and arranged a quick look. Glenn was a retired builder looking to offload a 2013 25’ Sterling. It was perfect and immaculate. Tamika agreed straight away. We had the van. Now, if your pulling a 25’ van, you need a grunt vehicle to tow it. No 4 cylinder anything will cut it and a lot of the popular sixes are still not rated to pull the weight.  There was a Jeep Grande Cherokee sitting in the garage, so, as a throwaway line, I said to Glenn, “Say, that Jeep wouldn’t be for sale would it? “
The Surprise
Glenn says “It’s my wife’s car. I think she’s looking to upgrade. I’ll give her a callâ€. Five minutes later…â€Yes, it’s for saleâ€. While he was on the phone we were both furiously Googling what price range we were looking at.  Thankfully it only took a minute to agree on a price. Now we had the van AND the 4WD, a diesel 6 cylinder with a proven track record of towing the van. Not only that, but Glenn, being the builder that he is, had custom built a slide out camp kitchen for the Jeep, complete with slide out fridge. Our complete package in one hit. How much? 2013 Jayco Sterling and 2014 Jeep Grande Cherokee came to $70,000 plus some hundreds for the fridge. More than we had budgeted for (thanks Mum), but so worth it.
We came, we saw, we bought
The Bonus
When you’re on a roll……In the course of the conversation, I mentioned my plans to do some renos, and being the builder, Glenn says; “I can probably do that for you.†I had already sketched out what the recording studio would look like and he was able to finish it from a few ideas and measurements. Turned out note perfect. I included a large TV, that doubles up as a computer screen and folds up out of the way if we want the view.
The Dead Hand of Covidism
So, some weeks after the deal is done and an epic 15 hour run to Melbourne. “the rig†arrives at Mooroolbark at 2AM. The next day we take the van to Strongroom Storage, mercifully only a few kilometres away just as Covid Lockdown 1 was eased to Stage 3. Great little business offering both indoor and outdoor van and boat storage. And there, out Junko sat for the next seven months as Covid 19 tentacles strangled our plans to renovate and get on the road.
That doesn’t mean that those seven months were uneventful. Tamika had to leave a well paid but stressful to care for her Dad whose health was declining rapidly. After his passing, there was grief to process and the support network locked down. In June we decide to make a run for it while the going was good. Tamika followed me to Wauchope on the last flight out before the second lockdown came into effect. So with the Jeep and the van also in lockdown, we wintered in NSW and lived a relatively easy Covid normal life. It was the longest time we had spent together, (now THAT’s a whole other blog) and a good prequel to life on the road.
Pleasure Dome to Free Camper
The time in “exile†was not wasted. We had a very comfortable “on-road†van, but we wanted to be able to get off the well beaten tracks for more than a day trip and be able to do farm stays or casual work off-grid. So, let the research begin! Straight up, the internet is an absolute goldmine. So once you’ve figured out your objectives, the “how to get there†is a banquet of information from experts, suppliers and caravaners. Rather than go into prescriptive recommendations, what I will say is that 80% of our budget for upgrading went on the power supply. Solar panels, regulator, inverter, batteries, re-wiring. Over anticipate your usage. Better to have excess capacity than be caught short. We can run a whole bunch of computers, electrical gear, even the washing machine without even blinking. Peace of mind -10/10. We also installed two Sirrocco wall mounted fans and a modem.
A load distribution hitch is a must for the larger van. A good one, professionally fitted will cost you over $1000 BUT it gives you a much smother, balanced ride and greatly reduces the risk of swaying.
A Weighty Subject
Which brings us to the great uncertainty – load and towing capacity. There are four different weight limits and they ALL have to be correct AT THE SAME TIME. Now you will find some helpful information on the compliance plate in your van and in the car and van manuals. Here we go.
- The van tare weight
This is the weight of the van before you start packing it. This is handy to know . It tells you how much weight you can add to the van before it reaches.
2. Gross van weight
Your van, when fully loaded cannot weigh more than this
So far so compliant. Now your towing vehicle is rated to tow a maximum load. Make sure your gross caravan weight is less than the maximum tow limit. The next hurdle is;
3. Combined car and van weight limit
The combined weight of both cannot exceed the maximum limit. This also should be a factor when loading the van. I mean, you might be under the gross van weight, but still have packed too much to be under the combined weight limit
Now you can achieve all this, but fall at the last hurdle, which is;
4. Tow ball weight
This is essentially the downward force of the weight of the van on the towball. It is a surprisingly small number which varies depending on the size of the van. This is the weight test that the police will use if they are in the mood, so another reason to get it right. Your maximum allowable will be somewhere on your compliance plate.
Now this story is true. We had our ball weight tested at ADP Caravan Services and it was way over by 150kg, which is a LOT. Well we fixed it by re-distributing the load within the van. ALL the bottles of wine that were stored at the front of the van suddenly found new homes in wardrobes, cupboards at the back of the van. 150kg of wine you say? Well actually, no. Shifting 75kg of weight from the front to the back is effectively redistributing 150kg. (-75KG front, +75kg back) and compliant we became.
Bagging a Bull Bar
Now, with the van set to go, our attention turned to the Jeep. Having first hand experience at the damage even a small roo can do, knowing how MANY there are out there and how cheap Jeeps are to repair (lol), a bull bar was deemed mandatory. Besides, we had to shake that Toorak Tractor image somehow. Covid cut off any possibility of a bull bar from ARB but again, Tamika came to the rescue, locating one attached to a write-off at a wreckers. It was in mint condition. Hillside 4WD agreed to do the install which, by the way is a lot more complicated and intricate than you would think. There’s a lot of undercarriage to bolt on. They also got the local panel shop to re-spray and match.
Thanks to Tamika, we saved $1500 and turned our genteel urban status symbol into a bush warrior…sorta. Yeah, a bush warrior with heated leather seats. So there we have it, not every detail but enough to get you excited, we hope. Now, the journey begins!!