Rising fuel prices complicate vanlife in Australia

Non-bank lender Firstmac has launched its first secured caravan loan for homeowners. The product offers fixed rates from 7.14% p.a. and variable rates from 6.59% p.a., with terms of three to seven years. The launch follows growing broker demand for lifestyle lending products. Industry data cited by Firstmac shows Australians took 15.2 million caravan and camping trips in the year to December 2024, with national caravan and campervan registrations surpassing 901,000.

Removing emissions components (DPF, EGR, DEF) on a 6.7 Powerstroke can improve torque and lower exhaust gas temperatures when towing heavy fifth wheels. However, it introduces legal risks, warranty loss, and potential reliability issues. For most owners, optimizing a compliant setup with legal upgrades is a more practical approach.

Mallacoota residents and holiday park users recently participated in community consultation sessions for the long-term planning of the Mallacoota Foreshore Holiday Park. The sessions, part of council's master plan development with consultancy ODIN360, aimed to gather input on what people value about the park. Two drop-in sessions were held, building on a previous summer survey.

Almería is putting up physical barriers to keep motorhomers off its former fairground — while Turkey simply evicts them from the beach. Lightship is quadrupling its electric-caravan factory in Colorado, even as 50% of Italian motorhome renters turn out to be under 35. Plus 800 kg of hashish in a motorhome at the Spanish border, Anker's 800 W charger running off the alternator, and Carstay as the mobile HQ of a Tokyo festival — all in this issue.

The author invested $60,000 in converting a van for life with a young child. The project proved unsuccessful due to impracticality and the stress caused by limited space and the toddler's needs.

REDARC has launched the RS3 inverter series for RVs and campers, offering models with 1200, 2000, and 3000W power. The devices feature a built-in automatic transfer switch, are more compact and lighter than competitors, operate at up to 40°C, and support RV-C protocol.