There are those who have the money and need, have over two tonnes of 4WD dragging over two tonnes of huge van.

There are those with a tighter budget, who are happy to pull a small "pop up and fold out" model behind a small sedan.

There are those who own a mobile home the size of a bus and there are those who simply own an old bus.

Then there are those who prefer a fully off-road juggernaut, looking like something surplus to army requirements.

Jolly good luck to all of you!!.

For us? We have chosen the middle of the range approach.

We have a lightweight (one tonne) 17ft touring van, set up for two. Front kitchen, middle lounge/diner and back bedroom (double). We can entertain visitors and even sleep the grandkids - but basically 17feet gives us all the room we need.

Our 4 litre Ford wagon, barely knows that the van is on the back, making for stress free cruising at freeway speeds, retaining valuable acceleration when needed and flattening the hills. Fuel consumption is still adequate on average, given the performance, varying between 13 and 18 litres per hundred kilometres according to headwinds, hills or how much of a hurry we are in (that's between 18 and 21 miles per gallon).

We are still newcomers compared with many we meet on the road - however we thought we would build up a guide to what we have learnt, (Handy Hints), the various places we have been and van parks that we have visited (Van Park Guide).