After 5 years living in a motorhome - some questons and answers

Written June 2008

Gail from Motorhoming Lifestyle asks some questions...

 

This interview appeared in Motorhoming Lifestyle - an excellent online e-zine run by Gail Bennett

 

Gavin & Tracey Murray are in their early forties. They have been traveling in their converted Bedford bus for near on five years now – and they seem to be in no hurry to stop. I asked them a few questions about the lifestyle they have chosen.

Q. You have been living in your motorhome full time more or less for 5 years now, how has your opinions of the lifestyle changed in that time?

A. Well we are definitely wiser. We have learnt heaps in those five years. We are far more prepared to go places and much less afraid to try things out. We now know just how robust the motorhome is and where she will go. I think our spending habits have changed a bit too. We do more, more things that cost money I mean. The thought is that if we are in a place, we might as well enjoy what it has to offer… we may never get back there!

Q. What parts of Australia have you most enjoyed visiting?

A. We get asked that question a lot – it is a tough one, there have been so many great places. We loved the Eyre Peninsular of South Australia, the beaches, fishing and diving were fantastic. Some places we have stayed in the middle of the outback desert have been wonderful for different reasons – sometimes just because of the solitude or perhaps because of some great photo we were able to take of an approaching storm. Generally speaking we enjoy places that are not crowded – where you can do your own thing and not have to worry about being asked to leave.

Q. What are your best memories from the last five years of motorhoming?

A. The great fishing on the West Coast! We stayed in some places that were just teaming with fish life – if you couldn’t catch a fish there in less than 5 minutes you clearly didn’t have your line in the water! We have also met some great people, and made some wonderful friends, most of whom we try to keep in touch with regularly.

Q. What do you find hardest about living full time in a motorhome?

A. There are a few things that we find hard. Sometimes peoples attitudes can be difficult … “if you live in a bus you must be a derelict”  .. that sort of thing. There are very few logistical issues that can’t be solved. The internet has made things much easier – we pay all our bills on-line, do all our banking on-line – we even work on-line! Sometimes parking the bus in bigger towns and cities can be a hassle. Perhaps the hardest part for us is yet to come … stopping!

Q. What features of your motorhome do you like the most?

A. We love our motorhome – we think it is almost perfect for us. Here are some of the things that we think are really important:

• A separate drinking water tank.
• Lots of solar power
• A good electric fridge
• A full sized comfortable bed that is easy to make (ie an island bed)
• We love that the old bus is so well built – she is tough and not easily broken. We have little hesitation about taking her on rough roads and tracks
• The car in the back is just fantastic – it makes life so much easier, and not having to tow a second vehicle is great.

Q. What would you change about the motorhome if you could?

A. Oh … I often dream about a vehicle that is like Hobohome but four-wheel-drive with lots of ground clearance and huge outside lockers. Of course it would weigh about half our current weight and not be quite as tall, get about 8 or 10km’s for every litre of diesel we gave her and have huge water tanks (it would need to be cheap too). If ever you spot a motorhome like this, be sure to let us know!

Q. How do you manage to fund the life style?

A. Can I answer that question in two parts?   Firstly we are quite careful about our spending. We very rarely use caravan parks (we simply find them too expensive and they provide us with almost nothing). The motorhome is set up to be 100% self-contained.    Secondly we work – we run a small web design and optimization business (see www.imageworkx.com ). We take on just enough customers to allow us to pay the bills and provide them with an excellent level of customer service – but not interfere with our traveling too much. Imageworkx has been tremendously successful and it is great to be able to work while living on the road.

Q. How do you find places to camp?

A. Word of mouth is the best way. Whenever we are sitting around a camp fire with fellow travelers, the conversation always turns to favorite camps. We also use a very good GPS tracking and mapping program called OziExplorer. It manages all the campsites we have collected over the years and helps us find them again. And we are never too afraid to take a look down a likely looking bush track.

Q.Lastly – what advise would you give people who are thinking about a lifestyle like yours?

A. If I could give just one bit of advice – I guess it would be DO IT – don’t just think about it. Get out there and try it – don’t leave it too late.

 

 

 

 

 

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