Most people travel for holidays and live full time in their own home or rental, but a growing number of people have ditched the nine to five, mortgage/rent and commute for a life “on the road”.
There are literally dozens of ways to do this and this page is to help people decide which is best. But remember, we each have our own story and desires along with our own ways of doing things, so take the parts out of this article that will work for you.
So where do you start when you think it might be the life for you, your partner and maybe your children too.
This is our story. We met a couple way back in 2012 who were living full time in their caravan. They worked February to May in the apple orchards and September to November in asparagus, so three months on and three months off. They were in their late 50’s when they started and when we met them we thought, “this sounds like a great idea”.
So over the next four years we thought long and hard about whether this sort of lifestyle would work for us. The kids were almost all gone from home, but we still owned a business and had a mortgage, so how on earth could we do it?
We spent time looking at every type of motorhome and caravan and talking to the owners about what they liked about their particular unit. We found everyone we approached to be super friendly and helpful when talking about their van and about how they lived whether it was full or part time and what challenges they faced.
Every year that our working on the road friends came to Nelson for the apple season we would get together and talk more about what they had been up to and how it was all working out. Up to this time we spent most of December and January away in our 17′ Lite weight Caravan whilst we rented out the house, so we had plenty of “camping” experience, but mostly over the summer months and always at caravan parks on power with full bathroom and laundry facilities. Freedom camping was literally unknown to us
So, during our research period we looked at every type, size and shape motorhome, caravan and fifth wheeler and would make a preference only to change our mind again later on. We literally walked up to anyone who had an interesting vehicle to talk about their particular unit until in 2016 we saw a few American Rockwood caravans and fell in love with the layout of the 33′ Ultra V.
There were funnily enough, a few different models with people living full time at the Richmond, Nelson A and P showgrounds just down the road from us. We could check out the differences and see what we liked and what we didn’t. Not only did we like the Ultra V model we liked their tow vehicle the Mazda BT50.
Well, next we decided to sell up the house and listed it and sold it before we ordered the caravan. When we received the deposit we had enough to buy the ute and arranged a bridging loan to buy the caravan so we could start moving in before we had to vacate the house.
We also purchased a 40′ high cube container and found a place to store it. We started selling as much household furniture and appliances which sold easily, but we still ended up with the container jam packed. A big part of that was our love for motorcycling so four motorbikes ended up in the container too. Realising we still had a business to run (computer sales and service) we bought a large enclosed trailer to house that as there was no way we were going to repair computers in our very large, but still tiny home, compared to our massive house and specially built business premises.
We were very blessed to have found a large site in a local caravan park where we could fit the caravan, trailer and our two cars. Phew, what a mission it was to pack, sell and move, thankfully just a kilometre down the road.
Our first night after collecting the caravan from Dairy Flat north of Auckland and the start of our journey back to Nelson.
Nothing like a beachfront site in a storm. Felt like riding in a rushing train all night.
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We’ve found the Mazda BT50 an ideal tow vehicle and just as great for running around town and exploring the highways and byways too. Very economical and tons of room.
There were a number of reasons why we decided on a caravan over a motorhome. One was that in our experience caravans held their value better. The Lite weight Caravan we purchased for $12000 and sold it 10 years later for $18000. The second reason was that we knew we would be stationary for at least the first year as we still had a business to run and sell and a container full of unsold household and garage items. We setup the computer repairs in our covered trailer which we found an absolute blessing to have. Coming from a large family home to tiny house living was going to take a few steps.
This american made trailer was an ideal office and garage for the first stage of our journey.
Surprisingly we settled into our new lifestyle very easily and the space and comfort in our caravan helped. Although we had been caravaning for years we had never heard of the NZMCA and didn’t join until we had spoken to other full timers and just before we purchased our Ultra V. Being members would not show the full benefits to us until a wee while down the track, but we have loved being members as you will find out as you read further.
For the first year as we settled into our new normal, we pretty much lived as we did in our home. We were still members of the local motorcycle club (Ulysses) and rode with them most weekends. We also undertook a three week tour of the south Island on our bikes and saw heaps of places we put on our list of, must go back to with our mobile home.
Having the large caravan was great, but for us it was too large to packup and do short trips in, so we didn’t. Our first grandchild was due in May 2017 and having sold our business we made the decision to move to Hawkes Bay where two of our five children lived and to help out with and get to know our first grand baby.
It was a fun mission having tow cars, a large caravan and trailer to pack up and move north. One of the vehicles was a run around car and not suitable for towing, so then we did the “leap frog” of towing the trailer to the next campsite and coming back for the caravan.
Our first stop was Picton where we spent a week parked up and exploring the region on our ebikes. Getting the trailer and caravan onto the Bluebridge ferry was very easy as the staff loaded and unloaded the trailer for us and we just towed the caravan on and off.
The next stop was Lower Hutt so it was an easy run to and fro to the ferry terminal. Again, we stayed here for a few days so we could explore around the area. As some bad weather was closing in we decided to head to our next possie, Masterton. The wind was fair howling as we firstly towed the trailer over the Rumutaka Hill, but quite OK, but I was not looking forward to doing that with the caravan as the winds were building and the road side marker pegs were horizontal. I needn’t have worried as the three tonne weight of the caravan didn’t even notice the wind. At 33″‘ long I found towing the caravan of this size much easier to tow than I thought, but we had to have large sites to park in and one question we always asked caravan parks was “what size sites do you have?”
Our family was quite keen to see us move to Central Hawkes Bay and all of them wanted to come and help move us from Masterton to Waipawa where we were headed. Unfortunately, the tow coupling was a very large size and the tow vehicle they bought down had the wrong size tow ball, even after I had explained they would need a large size one. None of the local vehicle spare parts places in Masterton had a suitable tow ball, so it was another long leapfrog day going well into the night. We had planned on hopping from Masterton to Woodville to break the journey up.
We had arranged a long term stay at the Riverside Holiday Park which is a fabulous little camp run by an amazing couple who made us feel very welcome. We have made some lifetime friends who we met there who were also staying whilst they were building.
After just three months there and with little offering in the way of “suitable” work for us, we decided to move to Hastings where we had a large farm paddock just two kilometres from the city centre. We had everything we needed here, water, power and a dump station.
We both found it very easy to get work and we settled in for the next year.
Our oldest son decided to get married in Auckland in March 2018 so we thought we’d have a tour up north to attend the wedding, explore Northland and go to the Covi Supershow. We had discovered the local NZMCA group and had started processing that we needed to downsize the caravan and become more mobile as day trips away in the car meant staying in motels or simply coming home again.
A week after the wedding the show was on and we bought a pass for three days and set about looking at motorhomes. On our way to Auckland we had stopped at all the motorhome sellers and checked out what was on offer, never really finding one that we liked enough to buy.
The Covi show was to be our next exploration into swapping from a caravan to a motorhome and as we knew we would lose money buying brand new we had to have something that would meet our needs now and well into the future. We had brands that we had discounted and wanted to stay clear of, one of these being Jayco. As we walked through the gates of the show, the very first motorhome we saw was a Jayco and instead of steering clear we went and had a look. To be honest we have always found the layouts of all the Jaycos we’d looked at suited us but the build quality left reasons to doubt. We both said we really like that motohome, pity it’s a Jayco, let’s go find something better. The layout and size and price set the standard to what we were looking for, so off we went to explore.
Well, long story short, we kept coming back to the Jayco, talked at length with the salespeople and left the show having signed up with deposit paid for delivery sometime in the next six months. Phew, what had we done?
There were two very important reasons for us to downsize. Firstly, more maneuverability and secondly that we could both drive. There was no way Tania could hook on the caravan and tow it on her own, so if something happened to me at least she could manage the motorhome.
The new motohome on show, Jayco conquest FA25
We ended up picking up the new motorhome in May, just two months after the show and moved all our personal belongings from the caravan into the motohome. The caravan was listed for sale and sold to a couple who ended up doing exactly what we had done, sold the house and lived full time in the caravan.
We have found the motorhome very easy to drive and since owning it have attended numerous NZMCA rallies, other club rallies and explored extensively from the bottom of the North Island right up and around the Coromandel with still much more to see. Most of our journeys are documented on this website, broken down into regions.
After four years on the road, we’ve only scratched the surface of what there is to see in this beautiful country we call home.
So as you can see we will all start the journey of “full time living on the road” differently. There are advantages and disadvantages of a caravan over a motorhome and the varied circumstances of our individual lives will determine what is best.
Here is a link to a British website on the pros and cons of caravan vs motor home. Motor Home V Caravan
Finding work is surprisingly easy if you are not afraid of doing anything. Many follow the harvests, or if you have skills like carpentry, computers, cleaning, healthcare etc, there are always jobs around.
The key is to not spend all your money on your new vehicles, you must have money to cover repairs and accommodation and food.
The decision to own property is another consideration. Some want the security of somewhere to call home, “just in case” or provide an income like rent.
As we didn’t want the idea of having the property to drag us back, we have invested the surplus in high return investments that I consider safe. Again, many won’t want higher risk and will settle for low interest but safe bank deposits.
You do not have to be filthily rich to undertake a life “on the road”. You can get smaller, older and cheaper vehicles that are perfectly suitable. You will never find anything that is 100 per cent what you want, you will need to compromise. Everyone you speak to will advise you differently. Just take what will work for you and leave out what doesn’t.
We have always found it really easy finding places to stay, mostly via facebook. The NZMCA Parks and numerous freedom parking sites have been awesome. We certainly find that other like minded travellers are more laid back, super friendly and helpful.
Our time in Hawkes Bay came to an end in April 2019 and we moved to the Coromandel. What a fabulous area to live in and explore, so many bays, beaches, cycle trails, bush walks and gold fields. The roads are pretty steep and windy in places, but the views are spectacular. Also the fishing is out of this world, but see the Coromandel pages in this website for more.
We sold the ute (regretfully now) and Tania’s car and purchased an older 4x 4 car so we could tow a smaller enclosed trailer I built which houses our washing machine, dryer, freezer, work tools and other items we haven’t decided to part with yet. So when we uproot and travel we have the motorhome, car and trailer. We have Bluetooth in both vehicles and just talk to each other as we drive. Once we get settled in a new area, we often get out and explore in either the motorhome or car depending on the destination.
Easter 2019 we went with a friend and rode half the timber trail near Bennydale and had to drive the motorhome into a DOC camp along a dry dusty road. After discovering dust inside everywhere, we firmly decided, no more dry dusty roads in the motorhome, so hence we have a 10 year old 4 x 4 car which has taken us to some amazing beaches. It is no problem for us to drive both vehicles when we know we are going exploring. Some travellers tow their cars behind their motorhome or on a dolly or trailer. We decided not to do that and haven’t regretted that decision.
It is a real blessing to have the washing machine, dryer and freezer and the motorhome has a small 3kg washing machine on board too. We carry a generator, have 450 watts of solar and 200 amp hour batteries. Tania loves her Thermomix and to run that we have a 1500w inverter with which we can charge the bike batteries and run the coffee pod machine too. Our laptops can be charged on the inverter and everything else runs on 12v.
For television we have a chromecast for online viewing and a dual tuner satellite recorder, which we also run straight off the 12v system. If, for some bizzare reason we can’t get satellite reception and we’re in the UHF signal range we have another terrestrial tuner that can record two channels at once too.
I provide mobile internet, exactly the same as all the big names like Wireless Nation etc through my own company Clever Technology Ltd. We have 200gb available each month. For mobile phones we are on Skinny $16 every 4 weeks.
We have two Avanti E-Bikes purchased for $3000 each and are great for riding trails. These fit easily on the bike rack on the back of the motorhome or on a bike rack on the car.
Our health is excellent and we are very thankful for that. We do our best to stick to a Keto diet and have both lost 10kgs each since starting that. It is our intention to stay on this eating plan as we really enjoy the simplicity and the huge range of foods you can enjoy.
Our newest location is Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty (May 2020) and we are excited about being closer to family and getting out and amongst the cycle trails, bays and beaches and walks. May see you out there.
So come and and join us. Do your own research and don’t rush it. Take your time. Don’t ever get pushed into a “bargain” in a rush. Rushed decisions rarely work out positively.
If you have any queries feel free to get in touch ian@reads.co.nz