Our Camping & Caravanning Experience
Like many people we have used various methods of seeing this wide brown land of ours. We started off tenting with the occasional motel/cabin but as we get older the comfort aspect becomes somewhat more important so we progressed.
We planned the "Big One" around Oz in 2000 so we lashed out and bought a new Cavalier Camper Trailer for the event. The trip did not pan out as expected, in two months we did Canberra-Melbourne-Adelaide-Perth then had to return to Melbourne, later on in six weeks we did Melbourne-Canberra-Alice Springs-Canberra. We had a wonderful time but decided to get away from canvas altogether. The camper was very strong and waterproof, no worries on that score at all. We got sick of not so much erecting it but setting it all up each night. Carrying the fridge from the back of the station wagon into the tent, setting it and the stove/tables/chairs up became a real pain!
Cavalier Camper at Pt Elliot Caravan Park, a lovely spot
Campertrailer Pro's: Good to tow, fairly quick to setup, comfortable/roomy once setup, very strong in winds and waterproof. You also have a great 7' X 5' high side trailer to use when not actually camping.
Campertrailer Con's: Setting up/packing up became tedious, lots of parks don't like them because they kill the grass, you have to be careful of sharp objects under floor, it is very hard to tension walls which flap in strong winds and they are a real pain to pack up in the rain. You have to fold the unit up on top of the bed so bedding can get wet/gritty if you don't protect it. You can't easily stop/setup on roadside rest areas and you can't move on rapidly if you need to (very important!).
So we sold the camper and started the search for a replacement. Was it to be a caravan, campervan, small motor home or just stay in motels/hotels/cabins? We are both "relative" minimalists so we didn't want anything big. Campervans/motorhomes are expensive liabilities registration/insurance wise when not in use and it is difficult to reserve your site if you go off for the day (or just want to pop in to town). Also if you are camped somewhere for any length of time you don't have your nice comfy, cheap to run car to drive around (especially if you get some temporary work). Hotels/motels aren't usually in nice bushy settings which is most important. So that left caravans and as we only had a small car and didn't at the time want to sell it, that meant a tiny caravan. Well, there actually isn't a lot of choice out there. We did consider an A'van but the main problem with the A'van was if you stopped for a cuppa you had to set it all up. Friends who have one (and love it) carry a portable stove but we thought that rather defeated the purpose. It was a close thing as the A'van is a well designed and well built unit but we eventually settled on a pop-top. We tried to view a few smaller models at their Melbourne manufacturers but they were surprisingly very unhelpful, so that left only "Driftaway Caravans" in Geelong.
Their "Little Robin Mini" fitted the bill perfectly. It creates quite a bit of interest and not a few indulgent smiles where-ever we go. Friends of ours that we met through owning the same van have been told by people that "they were cruel taking it away from it's mother too young" :) People tend not to take such a small "rig" seriously but I really think most folks over estimate what they need. You can still be very comfortable in a small space if you are organised and selective about what you take (and who you take!). Time will tell :) The van itself is an excellent concept somewhat let down by a lack of attention to finish. Now all the niggling faults are fixed everything is great. The van and consequently ball weight is somewhat heavier than expected, 690kg and 82kg respectively empty, which meant we were not technically legal ball weight wise (75kg max). We ended up buying a new 2003 Subaru Forester X Auto which is a delight to drive and easily tows the van.
The ball weight issue is a real trap and it pays to do your homework, we did ours and still got caught. The Corolla was a capable tow vehicle but in the case of an accident we would possibly not have been insured.
All things considered, it's a great concept and we can recommend it.
Todd River Panorama, Alice Springs
We would love to hear from other Little Robin Mini owners about their experiences (good & bad)!
________________________________________________
Contact details: sdavo@yahoo.com