I don’t remember when Marilyn made the suggestion that maybe we should look at getting a caravan and tour around. It was certainly some time in 2008 because, when we changed our car in September of that year, we picked one which could pull a ‘van comfortably. Previous to this, she had been talking about getting a small, modern, minimalist apartment somewhere, and now this had morphed into a small, modern minimalist caravan which we could take anywhere in Australia.
I found this suggestion very exciting. I dreaded the idea of an apartment or a small cottage because I know that we would find it difficult to afford anything that would satisfy both of us, and, with all of our somewhat diminished superannuation going into the purchase of the residence, we would be dependent on the pension for day-to-day living. Not much chance of luxury cruises then!
Typically, we hadn’t let grass grow under our feet and had checked out the caravan dealer in Launceston to see what he had. At the beginning, we thought a 16-foot van might be enough. In my mind, I thought one weighing about 1500 Kg would be the optimum for us. Of course, as we looked more seriously, we expanded our ideas to encompass shower and toilet, etc.
The choice of second hand vans in Tasmania is quite limited so, after visiting all the options in the state, we took a trip to Victoria to look at some pre-owned Jayco Discovery ‘vans in Geelong. In fact, we visited several dealerships in that area but didn’t find anything which caught our attention.
Of course, I had scoured the internet, and made lists of possibilities but each of them lacked one feature or another.
Marilyn’s sister, Anne, and her husband, Alan, have been traveling in a caravan for about 7 years so their advice was welcome. It was interesting that they had almost given up travelling because they found the standard caravan seating too uncomfortable. At home they have reclining chairs; in the caravan, they didn't have the same comfort. Alan was even considering trading-in his van and buying one with comfortable seats so they could travel for a few years longer.
Things were becoming clearer. I was getting a better picture of the ultimate ‘van. My internet searching focused on finding a van with recliner chairs - rare as hens’ teeth and, in many cases, a bit dodgy. I had been warned that a lot of ‘van owners had decided to do their own installation of recliners without any regard for the structural integrity of the body. When they started to hear creaks and groans, they quickly put their ‘van up for sale before anything serious went wrong.
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