Prospecting In Wa ---- Tent, Camper Or Caravan?

[Ethan in Adelaide]

Hi ,

I saw youtubes some prospectors using caravans, some do tents. I wonder what are the pros and cons for each? I imagine it would be difficult to go with off road caravans as many places are not easy to get in, then why they use caravans? What do you use? Any thoughts or experience?🤗  I hate flies there btw. 😐

[dig4gold]

Most people, if not all, hate flies. If they are going to be a problem to you & you can't deal with them then I don't think it is going to matter what your choice of travel/accommodation would be. This possibly isn't going to be for you. There are one or two flies out there.

But to answer your question I would say a caravan towed by a real 4X4, as you can park it up, detach & use it as a base. There are some great off road type set ups in Aussie.  If you had a ute type 4x4 or flat deck you could also pack in a quad bike to get even more remote in difficult terrain. Depends how serious you are.

D4G

[geof_junk]

Consider your tolerance of the cold nights and being look in after a rain event. I used a 4 wheel caravan  and found assess to near location was not a problem.  

[Aureous]

My preference is off-road camper. Caravans are top heavy and have more things to go wrong with them. The serious 4x4 caravans are huge $$ whereas the used off-road camper can be bought for $3K or less. Set up is often less than 5 minutes after practice. Quick getaway if rain threatens to isolate you for weeks. Just my preference, others have good experiences with vans....I don't. Tent....forget it, been there, done that...it sucks.

[Dorado]

I started out with a tent , then a swag in the back of a ute. Finished with a small caravan, depends how mobile you want to be and if you intend to camp in caravan parks or where you want to detect.

Photo of  a few WA flies. If it works

Cheers

[Lesgold]

I’ve taken both a camper and caravan to WA for prospecting. Both have advantages and limits as mentioned. If you are on your own, a camper would be my preference. You can get it into tight areas and push the limits to get closer to the gold in some localities. If the “better half” is travelling with you, considering her comfort is pretty important so a van would be my preference in that situation. The cost of pulling a van over extended distances also should be considered. I have found that water and to a lesser extent fuel reserves tend to be the biggest issues to resolve when camping off grid for extended periods of time.

[GR Guy]

Even better solution for flexibility would be something like a Troopy - totally flexible and everything inside. I would recommend whatever setup having a fly screen tent / awning so you can put a barrier between the flies.

[Ethan in Adelaide]

13 hours ago, geof_junk said:

Consider your tolerance of the cold nights and being look in after a rain event. I used a 4 wheel caravan  and found assess to near location was not a problem.  

maybe not too strong to deal with cold nights. lol.

[Ethan in Adelaide]

2 hours ago, GR Guy said:

Even better solution for flexibility would be something like a Troopy - totally flexible and everything inside. I would recommend whatever setup having a fly screen tent / awning so you can put a barrier between the flies.

mine is ford ranger ute