Question Aussie in Canada, new & looking for advice!

[LouTT]

Hey all.

I'm Lou, I'm brand new to the forum & to RV's & Campers. I'm an artist, a video game designer, and a remote worker, and I've never even really camped before (I know, yikes). My only saving grace is that I'm Australian & have lived in so many rentals I'm practically handyman certified!

My partner & I are in the market to buy a new or used RV or Camper to explore Canada & live in full time.

We own a Grand Dodge Van (2014) in fairly good condition. I haven't purchased a tow bar for it yet as we are not sure if we should get a trailer or motorhome.

We have a severely limited budget due to some pretty bad luck the past few years (dentist screwed up my partner's teeth, seedy overseas landlord, unreliable work conditions etc) so we are looking to do this as cheap as we can.

My question for the experts here is this:

If you were in my situation what kind of RV or camper would you buy and how would you do it?

Looking forward to learning from the masters.
Lou

 

[Neal]

Welcome! Great to have you with us.

 

[LouTT]

Welcome! Great to have you with us.

Thanks Neal!

 

[Boat Bum]

Since you are cost conscious I think it would be best to pull a trailer as long as your van is up to the task. If you went with a MH and wanted to tow a vehicle that would cost significantly more.

 

[LouTT]

Since you are cost conscious I think it would be best to pull a trailer as long as your van is up to the task. If you went with a MH and wanted to tow a vehicle that would cost significantly more.

Cheers Boat! Do you know of any trailer brands in particular that you consider reliable (or ones that you'd steer clear of)?

 

[Trav_lr]

The mini-van is the weak link, what's its towing capacity? A small R-pod is the first self contained pull behind that comes to mind that "might" be able to be towed by a Dodge mini-van. I'm sure there's others.

 

[NWIP]

Another question to answer, are you planning on spending the winter in Canada?

 

[Rosy]

Since you are cost conscious I think it would be best to pull a trailer as long as your van is up to the task. If you went with a MH and wanted to tow a vehicle that would cost significantly more.

I was going to say the opposite. Since he wants to full time, a motorhome towing the van is going to be more comfortable to live in.

Any trailer that the van could tow safely is going to be pretty small to full time in. Buying a truck to tow a larger trailer isn't particularly cost effective.

 

[TheLooks]

Getting any kind of camper on a low budget is risky. But he says he is handy. Stay away from the Covid era campers and inspect carefully.