An empty red-earth clearing under a river red gum, with low ranges on the horizon in the Flinders.

A cream caravan set up under a river red gum on red earth, its grey-green striped awning out, step down and warm lamps on inside.

Back it in. Wind it out. Stay a while.

New and used caravans and motorhomes from our yard in Gawler, on the road north. We service them in our own workshop, and before your first trip we teach you to hitch up, back in, set up camp and pack down.

The Flinders, north of the yard. Pulled in under the gum.

Pick the van by the road you'll take.

New and used, side by side on the gravel in Gawler. Every used van goes through our workshop before it's parked out the front. Come up and walk through as many as you like; the kettle's on.

Single axle, light to tow, sleeps two.
Raised chassis and water under the floor, for gravel and corrugations.
Tandem axles, an island bed and a wet room, for long stays.
No hitching. Drive in and put the kettle on.

Plans at one scale, drawbar to the left and the door along the bottom; each dark-and-white block on the ruler is a metre. Lengths and layouts are illustrative, drawn for this page.

The caravan set up on a sandy rise beside the still Coorong, its grey-green striped awning out, someone at the door with a mug.

On the Coorong. The wind came round, so we wound the awning in a turn and slept fine.

What it carries for the first night out.

Two 95-litre fresh water tanks under the floor, and a 95-litre grey tank for the sink and shower. A 200-amp-hour battery, charged by 400 watts of solar on the roof. Two 9-kilogram gas bottles on the drawbar.

Figures for a typical touring van, illustrative.

Level it side to side, chock the wheels, unhitch, steadies down, water and power on, awning out. Then the kettle.

Inside the van in low sun: the rear dinette, a pale timber table, the galley and a kettle, red ranges out the window.

Where everything lives.

In the order you meet it, stepping up from the dirt.

The door and grab handle: Hold the handle, not the door, on the way in and out. The door swings against the wind if you let it.
The galley: Two burners, a sink and a 12-volt fridge, opposite the door, so the cook isn't in the way.
The dinette at the back: The table drops, the backrests lie flat, and it's a bed.
The wet room: Shower and toilet in the front corner, with a hatch above for the steam.
The bed at the front: Heavy things go under it, low and over the axles, where the van carries them best.
The lockers above: For light things only: towels, bedding, the tea.

Make the bed in the van up top ↑

Hand at the bottom of the wheel: move it the way you want the back of the van to go.
Small movements, early; the van answers late.
If it's going wrong, stop and pull forward to straighten.

Your first reverse.

Try it here: drag the wheel and the lever, or use the arrow keys, and R starts again. Your tracks stay in the dirt so you can read each go.

Hand at the bottom of the wheel. Then down to reverse.

Hand at the bottom of the wheel.

Reversing a van feels backwards because it is. Put your hand at the bottom of the steering wheel and move it the way you want the back of the van to go. Keep it small and keep it slow. The van answers late, then all at once. If the angle between the car and the van gets tight, stop, pull forward until they're straight, and have another go. Nobody minds.

When you pick up your van we do this for real in our yard, as many times as you like.

The rig and the bay are drawn for this page. The van really does go the other way.

Hitch up, then walk round it once.

Start at the coupling and go round with the door on your left, the same way every time, so nothing gets missed.

Coupling latched, pin in.
Chains crossed and shackled.
Breakaway cable to the car, not the chains.
Plug in, lights checked by someone behind.
Jockey wheel up.

Tyres and wheel nuts looked at.
Steadies up.
Hatch and windows shut.
Step in, door locked.
Awning locked.

Hands winding a jockey wheel on a dusty drawbar, the coupling just above the tow ball and the safety chains crossed below.

Then get in the car and go.

Most trouble on the road starts small.

We service and repair caravans and motorhomes in our own workshop in Gawler: wheel bearings repacked, electric brakes set up, springs and shackles, seals and hatches water-tested, gas checked, the 12-volt system and solar gone over, and a pre-trip check before a long haul.

You drop it off, we put it up on stands, we call you before we do anything you didn't ask for, and when you pick it up we show you what we found.

Wheel bearings. Corrugations shake the grease out and work the rollers. A flat side like this one means a new set, and we show you the old one when you pick up.

Electric brakes. Red dust wears linings unevenly. We set them up so the van pulls up straight behind the car.

Hatch seals. A season of corrugations and a seal lets the dust in. We water-test every one before it goes back on the road.

Bring it back dusty.

Trading in, or selling your van? We'd rather see it the way you use it. We'll look it over in the workshop, tell you what we found, and either take it on trade or sell it from the yard for you.

At dusk on the Eyre coast, a caravan being reversed into a clifftop campsite while someone guides with a raised hand.

Tell us where you're headed.

Say what you'd like to look at, what you'll tow with and where you're going first, and we'll have the right vans out when you come up to Gawler.

The last camp: the Eyre coast at dusk, backing in with a hand up.