Crazy to live in a caravan? It helps!

I describe our journey of converting our lifestyle. From mundane to one of adventure.

Over four years ago now my wife and I made the unfortunate decision to move our family into a caravan. To live in full-time.

“YOUR BLOODY CRAZY!” my mum shrieked at me over the phone. Horrified by me telling her that we had decided to sell up house and employment and live life on the road.

I know there will be people that would be inclined to agree with my mother. It would seem a stupid thing to do on the face of it. Sell real estate to live in a vehicle that will only decline in value. Anyway, we had our reasons, and we still feel like we made the right decision 4 years later.

I had a pretty grim thankless job as a taxi driver. A business that was only going downhill and with the emergence of COVID as the final nail in the coffin there. We had the pressure of being able to afford a better neighbourhood so that our kids would be zoned to attend a better school. Also, my health wasn’t great and no quality time with family. As I say we had our reasons.

With the money from our house, we bought an Isuzu diesel utility or pick-up and then managed to find a four-year-old Australian made Jayco caravan. With a full bathroom, bunks for the kids, a dinette and a double bed and an off-grid setup with solar panels and batteries we thought we had it made for full-time caravan living. Touring around our beautiful country, New Zealand.

After four years we have clocked up the mileage in both the north and south islands, been to many wonderful, secluded spots and met some friends, other crazy individuals like us. Trying a different take on their lifestyle. Living in what I’m fond of calling mobile effluent trailers as your toilet has a tank that you can only empty in certain drains called dump-stations. Thus, literally taking our crap on tour with us!

A definite plus with caravan living is that everything you ever need is towed behind your car. Your clothes, your pots and pans, your TV and your toothbrush are all there as you travel down the road to your next adventure. I struggle to know what to pack in a bag if I have to travel somewhere without our caravan now. To use to just throwing extraneous items like hats and jackets onto the bed in the van. Slamming the door and driving off. With the caravan in tow hopefully.

The mobility of our home has other advantages too. Particularly if you end up with neighbours you're not fond of. We usually park in communal sort of parks that other people like us in caravans and motorhomes use. There great because there cheap, a major plus with this lifestyle. However human nature being what it is every now and then you might end up beside someone that makes you uncomfortable or their just plain rowdy or inconsiderate. A couple end up having a few too many and have a domestic perhaps. Typically, it can involve setting up their caravan or maybe their caravans awning. Upon setting up our own awning the first time, I was lucky enough to get a helping hand (a flipside to caravan parks) from nice people more caravan experienced than ourselves. Anyway, the man that assisted me said that some camping awnings and tents can be a divorce in a bag.

Possibly a less than fun aspect of the lifestyle is marching the toilet cassette off to the dump station early in the morning because your kids use to much toilet paper. It can be an experience that doesn’t always put you in the best mood for the day. Keeping track of your family’s bowel output doesn’t always pique the appetite. Its highs and lows this lifestyle to a degree. A good BBQ in a serene location takes your mind off the unpleasant aspects.

The caravan dealerships will always tell you that caravans and RVs aren’t designed to be lived in. There not, but people do anyway. Now more than ever at least here in New Zealand. The cost of living, already expensive enough has dramatically increased here in the last few years. When a couple spends a lot of their income just on rent or covering their mortgage living in a caravan becomes an option worth exploring.

We started our experience in the caravan more as a lifestyle change than solely as a cheaper way to live. However, we are glad we made the decision and are not now burdened by a mortgage, rates and insurance for a house.

But it's a lifestyle that you have to learn to take things in your stride. Not take things too seriously and sort things in order to face one problem at a time.

At the moment we are facing expensive repairs to our caravan. Being nearly ten years old it's due for an extensive repair process where all the sealant around the windows and on the roof needs to be replaced. Also, there is water damage in the walls which needs to be fixed. This is the latest drama in a line of problems both major and minor. Plumbing problems, electrical, the caravan's brakes overheating and sticking on. Our kids swinging on the door and breaking the door handle. The list goes on.

It's a steep learning curve going from completely new to caravans to learning all there is to know. I could just about work as a caravan repair man most probably.

My family and I are like a crack pit crew now when we have to pack up or setup the caravan. Myself, my wife and our kids all have tasks that we do as a family. It's a far cry from when we started. I was driving gripping the steering wheel of our tow vehicle nervously. Petrified in the knowledge that I was driving our family’s home and belongings down the road. Convinced I was one corner away from swaying out of control and parking the caravan and truck on their rooves.

Reversing our rig into a tight caravan parking spot was another area where we had to come to terms with the size of the caravan and Ute and learn some anger management, patience and get a grip and learn a new skill.

I have it down pat now and can usually back into a campsite in one movement, assisted by my wife on speaker phone guiding me backwards. The first few times I remember probably took the better part of an hour, much shouting and cursing and ended with me refusing to listen to my wife who was directing me backwards and nearly taking a neighbouring BMW’s bumper off.

So, its Ying and Yang living in a caravan. It's both cheaper than living in a house and more expensive than having a regular car. It's not as secure as living in a permanent building but it's not as boring either. Every day we can have a different view out of our bedroom window if we so desire. I think it's the thing we love the most about it. We love the road tripping aspect of it. We can pack up and move on. The weathers cold and miserable. Well, we can drive until it's not.

We have our family, our kids and our dogs and can make memories wherever we go. Meet new people and have interesting conversations or we can camp by ourselves next to a river. As long as we stop and earn enough for gas and food occasionally, we are good. It's not for everyone this lifestyle and it has its share of stress and problems, but what doesn’t these days. All in all, it works for us.