10 reasons why caravan life SUCKS

G'day VanFam. In this video, we have a look at all the things that suck about living full time in a caravan.
0:00 Intro
00:51 #1 finding camps and parking
03:03 #2 Space
04:29 #3 Sh*t jobs
05:56 #4 toileting and hygiene
07:42 #5 lack of community
09:07 #6 legal stuff
09:34 #7 The mercy of the weather
11:57 #8 Mail and Shipping
12:56 #9 maintenance and repairs
14:13 #10 internet
14:53 Conclusion & Thanks

[@Khigha87]

The screw on the floor that you don't know where it's from is the worst! It's like a countdown timer to something completely falling apart, but you know the time left, just the mental ticking of the clock in your mind.

[@kathleenbarton4201]

Thank goodness for outlining the realities 😊

[@lazzasamuels3722]

Really appreciate the honesty and the practical and realistic advice. I'm contemplating becoming a Grey Nomad when I retire in 3-5 years and this video has really helped get my head around important things to consider. I've done plenty of non-powered camping, from peak season in popular caravan parks, to remote backpacking, but never lived in a caravan. Thanks!

[@shaunpearce9462]

Awesome video guys, thanks for being so honest!

[@SvedosTrippin]

our pleasure, thanks for watching and leaving a comment.

[@yindyamarra]

I just love this channel, we are buying a new van next week and you are my go to site

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thank you, we appreciate your support. Good luck with your new van purchase.

[@andrewmoroney2381]

I like how you guys are very open and honest - just telling it how it is from your experience.

[@colinreeve1565]

Great and honest review of caravan life, nothing is ever perfect but you never see or hear about it on so many videos. Well done, hope you enjoyed Tassie by the way

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks, we sure did enjoy tassie but I'm looking forward to some warmer more swim able weather.

[@user-zg2mm1xo5z]

We have a 16footer and understand what size means. Luv your vlogs. appreciate your open honesty and your positive attitude. Happy vanning and be safe

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@krh007]

Great insight to reality of van life. There are so many vanners on the road blogging on youtube weekly it is now to the point of overload for viewers. And of course they all want to make out it is glamerous by focussing on nice scenery/beaches etc they come across to get their views/subscriptions up and never tell how it really is We have been to all parts of Australia and lived and worked in Broome for 4yrs covering the whole top end to Darwin during that time. Last year in Cairns & Port Dougles region and i can tell you it is expensive tripping around these days no matter where you go and the country is overrun with travellers on the road in campers/vans/RV's etc it makes finding a nice spot to stay a logistical nightmare in peak season. These days you are far better off with a compost toilet like a "Separett Tiny" in a van than a chemical toilet which are a pain in the butt literally

[@asnomads]

The things no one tells you :-) You are so right with the 'vanfluencers'. At the end of the day it is a home, your home. Just with wheels. The chores are pretty much the same, just on limited space. The upside is: the housework is done much quicker and there is less to do than in a 4 bedroom house. You either love it or hate it. We stuck in a cabin for a few weeks now, off the road because sold our caravan and waiting for the new one (which is coming soon). These few weeks in a fixed location are enough to made us realise we wont get back to living in a house or unit anytime soon. The caravan life bug has bitten and there is no return for us soon ;-) Great video, guys. Keep going, enjoying and safe travels. Love your episodes!

[@SvedosTrippin]

Orr, thanks so much. You nailed it, same jobs but more complications and annoyances. But I sure as sht wouldn't trade this life for the old one any time soon. Hope you get your new van soon, catch ya on the road.

[@asnomads]

@@SvedosTrippin countdown is running. Less than 40 days ;-) Thank you, would love to catch up with you guys. :-D Enjoy your travels and this awesome lifestyle.

[@susannlynchyzus8664]

Very informative! Need to be very organised!! The price of FREEDOM!!! Keep Enjoying & Exploring as long as you are still having FUN🥰

[@SvedosTrippin]

oh were still having fun, thanks for watching and commenting.

[@karenmc9298]

Good reality check. Thanks great tips.

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks for watching!

[@lionelbekker3590]

Wow, you guys are amazing- well done,

[@scottnuffinadventures]

Absolutely nailed it guys 100% agree with this video great work.

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks so much 😁

[@melissaleaning7474]

Very interesting, so glad the positives outweigh the negatives by far.

[@sandymckay7900]

Brilliant … the honesty I just what is needed.. all about balance, the yin and yan… I reckon though 10 things not to like, a thousand to love ..👍🍾👌

[@SvedosTrippin]

Well said! Plenty to love about this lifestyle for sure.

[@The_Resistance_1961]

If you plan on traveling Australia buy a hotel on wheels or you just won't enjoy yourself. By that I mean a van that has a top that pops 12 inches to give you head room but is otherwise fully appointed so that you pop the top, turn on the fridge (after a few minutes of leveling) and turn on a TV. You need a solar array and a battery bank to do it though and that's, in my own case, 4x170Ah batteries (plus a loose 5th) @ $270 each, 2x350W solar panels @ $170 each, leads and connections @ $150ish, inverter at $200 (but you can do better - I just got a 3000Watter). I've gone fruit picking in my younger days with a canvas sided pop top and yes, it sucked. Those things are meant for hot weather travel, and not for long.

[@CitizenZ9823]

Suggestion for the smelly toilet, get v.i.poos from the supermarket. It’s a little spray bottle, you spray once into the bowl (b4 each sitting)and magically no bad smell! Lasts ages

[@SvedosTrippin]

Great tip!

[@dognute2746]

Maybe you gotta let more of city life go. I was in the Victorian high country years ago in new year. Dargo high plains more or less. Back at the office was a skeleton staff. I had full faith in them. I would come back into mobile phone coverage and find a heap of messages about what should I do. Well I had no idea. I was on holiday. Sort it out yourselves etc. A problem of modern communications is it makes it harder to be on holiday. Life was easier when you went out of range and people understood that. D

[@jockwar]

great info

[@user-eb3ec9oc4d]

Saving the the toilet a little more.. The boys could use a bucket that is kept in the shower. It becomes a bush wee and gets tipped out under a tree in the morning :)

[@johntoth6506]

😂😂😂 let’s face it at least you have been to just about every Bunnings .👍👍👍👍👍

[@SvedosTrippin]

Hahahahaha love it, what's so good about them is they are all layed out the same

[@twocoddiwompletravellers]

great insight.....after 16 mths on the road I can totally relate and I have a bigger van with no kids.

[@SvedosTrippin]

We're so envious of kid less travellers haha. Thanks for watching and commenting 🙂.

[@twocoddiwompletravellers]

@@SvedosTrippin it will come to you one day

[@warwickpeople5140]

A great insight about what it’s like in a caravan full-time. It’s not all Insta photos everyday. Being 11 months in we agree with all your points, apart from StarLink. We can quite easily camp in the middle of nowhere and enjoy being beyond the internet. Safe travels. 👍

[@SvedosTrippin]

Awesome, thanks for the positive comment 😀. We would love if we didn't need to be on the internet but we would be able to make this all happen with out it, small price to pay I think.

[@nursek9066]

Love this video. We will be hitting the road soon travelling. Would love to know who you do the schooling through and what you both do to earn money while traveling

[@SvedosTrippin]

School for us is the Cairns school of distance education, it's very full on and there are easier options, but it's also a second to none education and happy to put in the work for my kids. Mel works an admin and accounts job 3 days a week online and I run our socials and create our content (as well as school the kids though they don't lay me for that 🤣).

[@xavierrose8208]

When we went camping as kids, we’d shit in the bush until absolutely necessary lol. .

[@SvedosTrippin]

Hard to get away with that these days. And with how many people out there doing it, it wouldn't take long for everywhere to become a toilet and very unpleasant.

[@kathleenwhelan6500]

Great video guys

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks do much 😁

[@melissasvedinek850]

Life on the road is hard but fun 😅

[@Ourwhittleadventure]

Great video guys! Can definitely agree with all of these. Just quietly, was the camera set up on the toilet for this? 😅

[@SvedosTrippin]

Camera needs a throne 🤣

[@jodie927]

I bought a caravan to live in, and I hate this lifestyle. I miss living in a house…

[@SvedosTrippin]

It's not for everyone that's for sure.

[@ladysusanjane2682]

So is it a lot different to what you initially imagined? You mentioned you wish you had a washing machine….any other major things you wish you had purchased before you left on your travels? You came up with some very honest thoughts. Nice to hear the other side !😅

[@SvedosTrippin]

We have everything we need, and it's funny when we go to shops we are always like we don't need to be here, we don't need anything. The point of this video was to highlight the things that it seems no one really shares, we certainly love what we we are doing and wouldn't change it for anything but it's not always raibows and butterflies.

[@VykingBoy]

Replace your toilet with a composting toilet and it will be like a star link game changer! It lasts weeks, no water needed, no smells or chemicals and no need for dump points!

[@SvedosTrippin]

Hmm... one day. I can see the benefits for sure.

[@davevillon812]

Motorhome too much problem’s Repairs all time you never going scape from theses bills going up? Thank for this information !!

[@SvedosTrippin]

Life's getting too expensive

[@judithtaylor6916]

Install a fan in the cassette system there is a space for it. We installed a front loader which is up on the wall. Wont help 100%, a friend has a 2nd toilet cassette to take the pressure off in having to empty the cassette straight away. Yes, feel your pain in having to get out 10 things to get another item out at the back of the cupboard. $75 p/n @ Apollo Bay is a rip-off, was it a public holiday? Can the Van Cruiser crowd help, re parcel collection. If you are delayed someone can collect for you, if they live near where you are travelling to?

[@SvedosTrippin]

Wow, there's alot to unpack there. Firstly thanks for watching and commenting 😀. A fan isn't going to help when Owen decides he's gunna go 2s at dinner time, it's not the cassette smelling, my son just needs to stop being so annoying... No Appolo wasn't a pub holiday, it's just the great ocean road tax. Parcel collection just is what it is. We manage, I just wanted to highlight that it is definitely more challenging than when you live in a house. We love our life on the road, but we wanted to be honest and share some the negatives just so that people know, because hardly any of the "vanfluencers" share some of the monotonous annoying side of this lifestyle.

[@angelineroberts8339]

Do you have a generator? I highly recommend having one , I live on a boat and our generator is a necessity

[@glmaguire]

Very much agree with your comments re HIP camps - we’ve found the pics to be very misleading

[@SvedosTrippin]

At least we aren't the only ones.

[@gardeningchris2901]

we set off next month happy with my barista and cook 😊

[@SvedosTrippin]

Enjoy

[@davidsheridan1240]

Great video but we are about to go on the road full time snd would love to know what you do about address for licence, insurance, Centrelink etc but you skipped over it. We won’t have a home base.

[@SvedosTrippin]

Hi, yes, sorry that would be a video onto itself. Short answer is we use our parents' address as a residential address. Enjoy and good luck getting on the road and thanks for watching.

[@lastknownlocation8760]

Glamorous lifestyle LOL You guys crack me up

[@SvedosTrippin]

hahah thanks, we try lol.

[@kathleenwhelan6500]

How do you get mail to be sent to a post office of your choice? What's the procedure and how much does it cost?

[@SvedosTrippin]

Hi, sorry my wife manages this and she's currently away from me (long story). But we have something called parcel collect. It would be a good start for you to google how parcel collect works. But thanks for your comment, we will put how do we manage mail on the road onto our list of help videos that were going to start putting out.

[@RobnDi]

Even with all those negatives I bet you wouldn’t change your lifestyle.

[@SvedosTrippin]

nailed it.

[@jeffwilkes3039]

Hi, I know this is a bit personal, but how do you make an income to pay for all that?

[@jackturtle131]

Just a small generator would help you big time out of trouble for charging the batteries. You can ger a small 1000 watt for 260 dollars that maybe 8 nights in a caravan park I would buy the small Honda one for sure that one will last you for many years

[@SvedosTrippin]

I will have to look into it. Tbh it's very rare that we need to book a C.P for power reasons but.

[@72superlead]

Can I ask guys, has your reversing gotten better the longer you've been travelling, ot is it still q little daunting everyone watching at caravan parks?

[@SvedosTrippin]

It's very natural for me, I learned from the several boats I had before I got the van. My local boat ramp was a 10/10 for difficulty so my skills developed in a harsh environment haha. It gets easier with practice, and just try to ignore the gawkers at the C.P, I hate when they do that, it even makes me nervous...

[@72superlead]

@@SvedosTrippin Thanks mate. I drive a box trailer every day for work - 9 years now but the caravan is surprisingly quite different. You give me hope 🙏

[@robertjfsoper]

Out of interest how come you didn’t go for a bigger van? We have a 16ft van with bunks, I love it, but we are weekend warriors and school holiday campers, I couldn’t imagine traveling in it full time.

[@SvedosTrippin]

A couple of reasons. We wanted to be smaller to make it easier for finding places to camp and navigating tight roads. We wanted to have an off road capable van (which are heavier) but also have a boat. We had an average budget so couldn't afford a bigger tow rig and bigger van. I think most of these complaints would exist in a bigger van too. Thanks for watching and commenting 🙂.

[@72superlead]

I for one couldn't imagine how hard reversing into tighter spots, tighter roads etc anything beyond 20ft would become. It's just too difficult in my mind and limits things you can do whilst increasing stress

[@promis40k]

How many amp hours do you guys think you need?

[@SvedosTrippin]

How long is a peice of string? It really depends on your usage. We would be alot more comfortable with 800watts of solar and 400 amps of.battery, but we don't use alot of appliances for cooking if you did you might want more.

[@michaelhermans4753]

Life’s boring realities no one wants to talk about, Some interesting points, a separate toilet with a door is a must 😂

[@SvedosTrippin]

Yup, not many "vanfluencers" seem to want to talk about these aspects of the lifestyle, that's why we took upon ourselves to do it.

[@chrisbridgland7212]

Seems to me that a lot of the challenges you face are made worse by the choice of van you made. A proper family 22 foot van would make your lives much more comfortable and easier. More lithium batteries and panels on a bigger van would also help take the pressure off. 👍

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks for watching and commenting. There are always pluses and minuses, I can think of a lot of negatives to a 22 foot van as well.

[@davevillon812]

More bigger more problems?

[@garypadiham3221]

I wonder about the long term affects on your children. Maybe they will not get into relationships such as marriage as they associate that with living in hell.

[@obs2746]

Sounds like you need a bigger van. But, enjoy what you have. Having a home and a day job mean more comfort but less freedom and travels. Can’t wait till we do what you’re doing

[@simoncook8772]

How do you manage ‘mummy n daddy’ time with the kids always there? 🫣

[@SvedosTrippin]

Our kids are solid sleepers. We ask aloud if "does anyone want chocolate" to make sure 😅. There are plenty of compromises in this life.