Resources - off-road caravan guides and articles

Almost every buyer’s guide in this industry is a brochure wearing a costume: a list of one manufacturer’s own models, with the awkward questions left out. These are not that.

We have deliberately written them without naming competitor brands, because brand rankings go stale within a season and they teach you nothing transferable. What does not go stale is understanding why a composite wall behaves differently to a timber-framed one, or why a 600 kg payload disappears faster than you expect. Learn the principles and you can assess any van on any dealership floor, including ours.

Several sections of each book are free to read in full on this website, including the weights section that catches out more buyers than anything else, and the levelling section that prevents the most common damage we see in the workshop. Nothing is held back within them.

The guides

$9 each as a PDF · both for $15

The Off-Road Buyer’s Guide

31 pages 22 min read $9 PDF

How to choose one that suits the trip you actually intend to take, working through the decisions in the order that matters: trip first, weights second, construction third, fit-out last.

Who it is forIf you are researching your first off-road van, or replacing one that turned out to be the wrong category. Also useful if you already have a shortlist and want to interrogate it properly.

GVM, GCM, ATM, GTM and ball weight explained, including the payload trap that catches most buyers
Build types compared honestly, with no brand names
Chassis, suspension and body construction: what corrugations actually do
Off-grid power, water and waste in realistic daily numbers
Twelve questions to ask any dealer, including us
Dealer versus private: the five questions that explain the price gap
A section on when not to buy off-road at all

Sections 1, 2, 3 and 8 are free to read in full. The complete guide adds the rest plus The Trip Planning Workbook.

Read it free Buy the PDF →

The Camp Set-Up Guide

37 pages 25 min read $9 PDF

The fix for slow setup is not expensive gear, it is sequence and habit. Checklists, tyre pressures, levelling in the right order, and a pack-down list that makes the costly omissions impossible.

Who it is forUseful whether you already own something or are still shopping. If you are shopping, sections 1 and 4 tell you what to look for on a dealership floor and what to time with a stopwatch before you buy.

Pre-departure and fuel-stop checklists, including the walk-around that prevents the most common damage
Tyre pressures for bitumen, gravel, corrugations and sand
Levelling and stabilising in the right order, and why stabilisers are not jacks
Power, water and waste, same sequence every time
Awnings and wind: the most damaged item on any van
A sixteen-point pack-down list, and managing resources on remote stays
The after-trip hour: washing down, sealant inspection and battery storage

Sections 1, 2 and 4 are free to read in full. The complete guide adds the rest plus The Trip Log.

Read it free Buy the PDF →

Both books

Buy the pair and save.

Choosing the right van and living with it well are two different problems. Together the two PDFs are $15, against $18 bought separately.

Email us to buy both

Articles

Free to read, always

July 2026 · 6 min read

Caravan weights explained

Every buyer hits this and almost nobody is given a straight answer. The whole thing on one page: what each term means, where the numbers hide, and the calculation that catches out more caravan buyers in Australia than anything else.

Read it →

Or skip the reading

Come and stand next to one.

Reading about payload is one thing. Lifting a drawbar is another. Bring your tow vehicle if you can and we will talk you through the weights on your own compliance plate rather than a brochure. No appointment needed, and no obligation to buy anything on the day.

Find us in Marcoola

Guides and articles for off-road travellers.