# motorhome hire in australia



## chrisdougie (Apr 1, 2009)

anybody on hired a motorhome in australia - we are going over for 4 weeks in december and are thinking of hiring a motorhome for a week - any pitfalls or plusses appreciated hoping maybe to do Sydney to Adelaide and back thanks chrisdougie :lol:


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

chrisdougie said:


> hoping maybe to do Sydney to Adelaide and back


In a WEEK 

You must enjoy driving :wink:


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## tonka (Apr 24, 2006)

Yes..
We hired one Cairns to Brisbane.. Just 5 days.. back in 2000...

It's cost me a bloody fortune ever since.. !! I am now on my 6th van. :lol:


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## sideways (Jun 2, 2008)

Sydney to Adelaide and back in a week is not feasable in fact you wont do it unless you drive all day every day and even then you will struggle. get on the net and look for a hire van that wants returning you get it for free and if your lucky they will pay for the fuel, you will have a set no of days to do it, you may consider flying to Adelaide and doing it in revers e as i think there will be more vans that way,
We spent 3 months there last winter and can tell you the cost of living is extremly high as the dollar is strong, the minimum wage is $15 dollars an hour, hardly anybody is on minimum wage so the cost of everything is high.
We have had 3 3month spells there, its a fabulous friendly place, PM me if you want any info


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## thegamwellsmythes (Jul 29, 2008)

We drove from Sydney to Adelaide a few years ago and went around the coast via Melbourne and the great ocean road. We took nearly three weeks and did it one way flying back to Sydney.

There and back in a week is a complete non starter (my opinion only). Its a huge distance. You won't be able to stop and see anything as you'll have to be driving all the time.

You could do Sydney to Melbourne or Melbourne to Adelaide but not Sydney to Adelaide and back.

Scale it back and enjoy it more.

I don't know your reasons for going to Adelaide but driving from Sydney to Melbourne around the coast and then straight back from Melbourne to Sydney is just about possible in a week although you might still feel rushed.

Adelaide is nice though. Much smaller than a UK city in the center but is sprawls out for miles. Nice beach too!

Whatever you do have a great trip.


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## scouter (Dec 14, 2007)

Hi,

We've just returned from 9 weeks in Oz and as part of that did Sydney to Melbourne one way in 9 days and we included the Great Ocean Road BUT we did it in a car and looked for accommodation each night.

The 9 day trip was a bit rushed, we could have done with more time to explore a bit more and we'd already had 5 days in Sydney.

We chose a car over a camper for cost. We minimised the insurance excess when doing the costings. The car cost us about $45 a day plus an ensuite room in a motel / backpackers / campsite cabin was about $100 -$125. A total of about $150, many of our rooms have simple cooking facilities. 

Campervans were $150 to $200 and campsites ranged from free with no facilities to $45 for child friendly full facility sites, so say a total of $210 per day.

So you pay your money and make your choice.

Don't under estimate the distances in Oz, away from built up areas, the roads are generally single carriageway with a limit of 90 to 120 kph but often 100kph. One morning our Sat Nav said " bear left in 234km !"

cheers alan


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## adonisito (Nov 6, 2009)

It took us 4 weeks Cairns to Sydney, but what a trip ! Mind you the van was a bit basic, based on a petrol engined Toyota pick up. Highly recommended for a once in a lifetime trip though. We went in our Summer, but spent plenty of time in a quiet and warm N Queensland.

The roads are not in great condition! Not a lot of help in your particular trip I know, but hiring a van over there is a great idea.


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## palaceboy (Mar 9, 2008)

We have been to Oz a number of times and have bought vans and later sold them but this takes time . Last year we hired a Wicked van for two months and went from Brisbane up to Cooktown and back the van was a bit basic but as your living is outdoors you dont need a lot . One thing you should be aware of is it gets dark quickly and very early in Australia and once your on a campsite and its dark there often isn,t much to do , we were in bed most nights by 7.30pm and up again at first light 5.00am to make the most of light .


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## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

Insurance Companies don't like you driving hired vehicles from dusk to dawn [or at least that was on my ins when I went out on a 3 month motorcycle trip of Aus] . . the local wildlife comes out at night [Kangaroo & other beasties] . . you don't want to hit one of those !
I done the Great Ocean road from Melbourne [4 weather seasons in 1 day] to Adelaide stopping in the Aus YHA's then up to Kooba Pedy & onwards to Alice Springs . . . not a journy I want to repeat riding a motorbike - it was like being inside a tumble drier set on HOT - and the endless road almost drives you crazy, I previously drove from Perth to Adelaide over the Nullabor . . another road which you can't get lost on as there are no major turn offs, By road - 2 692 km ( 1672 miles), via the Nullarbor Plain, Ceduna and Port Wakefield. Travel time is estimated at around 32 hours, so it is a good four-day journey. . . and your body 'thinks' its still riding for days afterwards :?


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## JohnandChristine (Mar 19, 2012)

Hi
We are thinking of going over late 2013 and spending 2 or 3 months touring round,
We are looking for advice on motorhome hire in oz. I'm aware of the one way repositioning deal but cant see the point in rushing.
As a once in a lifetime trip we want to get as much in a poss.


Would it be worth considering shipping our MH over there ?
What are the costs and formalities like ?


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## scouter (Dec 14, 2007)

Hi

Depending on where you go in Oz you need to think about the weather. In the tropical north, it starts to get hot in September and then the humidity arrives and then it rains til April time.

During the wet in the north, lots of metalled roads get shut for a couple of days at a time, the unsurfaced roads may be shut for long periods.

We enjoyed the north and west and more remote areas, many of the tourist spots are only accessible via unsurfaced roads.

We got down to Sydney in late September and it was just starting to warm up, just like a pleasant English summer's day. But Melbourne was cold and wet at times.

This would be our ideal camper to tour the more remote spots 



 if we could afford the diesel. I'm not sure too many holiday site managers in the UK would be happy to see it arrive though!

We had a fantastic time in Oz, its a brilliant place to explore especially away from the big cities and centres of population. Its expensive though but we want to go back and look at the more remote places we didn't get to eg the Gibb River Road but it has to be a 4x4 camper

cheers alan


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## jazzlover (Apr 30, 2011)

HI,
Shipping from Southhampton to Brisbane approx GBP120 per cubic metre. Roll on Roll off. GBP6000 ? Return. You will need a Canet or a money guarantee that the vehicle will be exported. Hire or long term rental would possibly be more economical. Unfortunately the GB pound to Aus $ is not in your favour. (Good for us) Maybe a swap deal with a Australian motorhomer is possible? unfortunately I have only a campervan. A Bilbo Nexa.
Regards Waldo


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Hi.

Is there such a thing as motorhome exchange?. The owners come over here and use our van, we go over there and use their van..

ray.


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## JohnandChristine (Mar 19, 2012)

Thanks all, Im having a look for exchange sites at this mo.......

found this http://www.motorhomeholidayswap.com/


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## palaceboy (Mar 9, 2008)

There is a hire firm called Travellers Autobahn who sell off their ex hire vehicles with guarantees on road worthiness and also guaranteed buy back prices if you haven,t time to arrange your own sale . This might be an option if you are thinking about an extended trip . 
We have arranged a house and car swap for 5 months next winter with someone in Perth WA but we were loath to offer our motorhome in the swop due to insurance difficulties plus i am not sure i want someone else driving it , probably silly but i know what speeds it goes better at, also all the little habitation niggles and carefull parking on campsites


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## JohnandChristine (Mar 19, 2012)

Interesting view point there, palaceboy. ( You're not William or Harry are you !! )

Ours is new and I too have reservations about letting anyone else use it. No matter how good they appear, it wouldn't take much to inflict a bit of degradation.
I'll track down your site
Cheers


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## sideways (Jun 2, 2008)

I,ve exchanged 3 times through that site with great results we have stuck with the same people as they are our friends now, a word of warning its virtually impossible to insure your van for an Aussie, we are lucky, they emigrated 30 years ago but come here every year and have still got GB licence and their parents address for bank ect. unless they can provide an english address its impossible.


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## palaceboy (Mar 9, 2008)

RX12 said:


> Interesting view point there, palaceboy. ( You're not William or Harry are you !! )
> 
> Ours is new and I too have reservations about letting anyone else use it. No matter how good they appear, it wouldn't take much to inflict a bit of degradation.
> I'll track down your site
> Cheers


Yes i am even glad that mines plated 3850KG so the kids cant borrow it due to licence restrictions sad bugger that i am.


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

RX12 said:


> Thanks all, Im having a look for exchange sites at this mo.......
> 
> found this http://www.motorhomeholidayswap.com/


I've used that site twice as well, we swapped to NZ in 2010 for 5 weeks and hopefully going again next year for another 4-5 week stay there and a week in Malaysia on the way back.

As said the BIG problem is insurance for non-UK residents/licence holders. Luckily our present swappers (they came over last July) were willing to pay for insurance through DayInsure as it was still way cheaper than hiring even a small car for a month and going for B&Bs. As they don't need to arrange any extra insurance, we'll buy them some extra RUC credit for their van in exchange as that will still be cheaper than a hire for us.


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