Favourite motorhome memories of a long-term CMCA member.
Since joining the CMCA in 1991, I have travelled around Australia extensively in 11 motorhomes, from the very basic to a few luxurious ones. I’ve always been drawn to large motorhomes. I purposely look past the negatives (length, weight, fuel consumption), and embrace the positives (roominess, storage capacity, comfort).
When I first became a member of the CMCA, I placed an ad in The Wanderer (then a small, ten page publication in black and white), to buy my ideal motorhome to travel around Australia for a minimum of five years. My ideal preference was for a 36-foot converted coach, with a rear engine, not too old though, and mechanically sound. There wasn’t an abundance of large motorhomes for sale at the time, so after six months looking and getting impatient, I bought something totally different; a 34 foot front engine truck conversion! It had originally been built as an on-site vehicle for the filming of The Man from Snowy River, the base being a 1947 American LaFrance fire engine out of Darwin. It certainly was different, with three separate levels and a spiral staircase to the rooftop deck, where the cameras had been mounted, plus a side-opening rear door that originally housed a shortened Mini Moke. By the time I started my journey though, I had done extensive modifications, and the car space was turned into a laundry and wine cellar, while the rear door remained. Because the vehicle was so unusual it certainly attracted attention. At the 1992 Canberra Rally Open Day, we had a constant stream of people looking through it; in the front door, through the lounge, the bedroom, the laundry, then out through the rear door, which was very handy, especially as it had been very wet and muddy.
The second of Phil’s many motorhomes
By then we had spent seven months touring and decided the noisy engine was just too much, so by a stroke of luck we placed one ad in the Canberra Times and sold it that weekend to the then Chief of the Australian Federal Police. The trouble now though, was what to replace it with? I was just about to buy a coach and convert it when I stumbled across a purpose-built motorhome in Melbourne that suited us, but the engine had blown up. Seeing as there weren’t many other options, I bought it, installed a new engine, and then spent three months at a friend’s place in Lorne refurbishing it. After that it was slowly across to south-west Western Australia then back to Queensland.
A change of plan then saw us downsize to an 18 foot Landcruiser/ Winnebago motorhome, in which the only modification I did was convert the single wardrobe into a toilet/shower combination. Luckily we were both fairly slim and able to fit into it (not together!). That motorhome enabled us to do Central Australia and some desert tracks over the next 18 months.
The Landcruiser/Winnebago was Phil’s motorhome of choice for an 18 month Central Australia trip
Once back in Queensland I was at a garage sale in an industrial building on the Gold Coast, when I spotted this spectacular looking motorhome in the far corner. After many questions I found out it was to be sent to Sydney for auction the following week. After a lot of pleading I was granted a viewing. Wow, I was in love – sorry - in awe of the beautiful machine. Over the next few days I managed to convince the owner, Martin St James (the hypnotist), to sell it to me instead. The trouble was, how do I pay for it? Fortunately, prior to travelling I had been fairly successful business-wise and had invested in a few rental properties in Bundaberg. In two weeks I had sold two of them, enough to cover the cost, and six weeks later I was the proud owner of one of the most luxurious motorhomes in Australia at the time (1995).
This motorhome had been build with no expense spared to provide luxury accommodation for Martin St James during his shows in Australia. Converted from a 40 foot Silver Eagle Coach, it featured solid marble benchtops, Italian leather upholstery, quality crafted cabinetry, sensor touch taps, plus a two person infrared sauna!
The 28 foot A-Class Ross motorhome was built for luxury and comfort
On our first trip away to the Tamworth Country Music Festival, we pulled into Alstonville where the local CMCA chapter was just finishing happy hour. Within ten minutes we had a long queue of people asking to look through the motorhome. After two hours we were still showing people through, and it didn’t look like slowing down, so our travelling companion Kerryn cooked us dinner so we could continue. At eight o’clock we managed to close the door and relax a bit. This proved to be an ongoing saga with the motorhome, and eventually proved to be a contributing factor in our decision to sell it 18 months later. It was a beautiful motorhome to travel and live in, but it came at the expense of our privacy.
After another four motorhomes, one of which I purposely bought to exchange with in England, Europe, and New Zealand, I finally was able to buy one I had been keen on for ages: a 28 foot luxury A-Class Ross motorhome. This was a great example of a quality-built, well-thought-out and engineered motorhome, and it included large external slide-out bins. A feature perhaps not everybody would have chosen though, was the illuminated ceiling mirrors in the lounge and bedroom, but it did prompt many a comment and eventually produced the nickname ‘Kinky’. Probably because of the quality and comfort, I had this motorhome the longest by far - 13 years in total. It well and truly proved itself out on the road, especially during the research for Camps Australia Wide, when it clocked over 100,000km without a hitch.
THE PEOPLE
I have met many wonderful people and interesting characters, seen many fantastic sights, started many new ventures (Highway Wanderers, Camps Australia Wide), and am still doing so: wot2do.org. If time permits I may even be able to finish a sequel to the memoirs of my first 40 years. If not, I’m happy to spend an hour, a day, a month or more, just reminiscing to anybody who wants to sit and chat.
Over the years I have had people who see what I’m travelling in and say, “wow, you’re lucky to travel like that”, but my usual reply is, “the harder I worked, the luckier I got”. Mind you, winning the Queensland Golden Casket in 1988 did help a bit!
Circumstances change, but not so much the travel bug. So now I’m using all that experience and knowledge to retrace my steps around Australia with Connie and our two cats, Gypsy and Coco, for an indefinite period. Our current motorhome is an early model 36 foot Swagman A-Class ‘Australian Dream’ that I’m very happy with. She may be an old girl, but she still has plenty of class, with full leather upholstery, solid timber cabinetry, full ensuite, etc. After a few short trips away I had the feeling that the cats expected more of the comforts of home. So, using that as an excuse, I proceeded to upgrade a few items. I added more solar panels so that I could use a multitude of appliances, one of which is an Italian espresso coffee machine. I changed the corner mounted TV to a large widescreen TV that glides up out of the computer cabinet opposite the lounge at the touch of a button, and I replaced the convertible sofa with a soft leather couch comprising two electric recliners.
So, even though we enjoy a night around the campfire telling and listening to stories, sometimes it’s nice to go inside away from the bugs, have dinner, then relax in the recliners with a good coffee and watch a movie. Ah, bliss! And the cats are happier too!
