When Buying a Campervan is probably best…

Whether you’re travelling to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the USA or got-damn Uzbekistan – the same general rule applies: If you’re gonna be travelling for 3 months or more, it will be far more economical to buy a Campervan than renting. Why?

It’s simple – you buy a campervan and it’s yours, when you’re done you can re-sell it and re-coup some of that cost. If you hire a campervan, that money is gone. In Australia and New Zealand, you can buy a pretty decent older model campervan (Toyota Hiace, Mitsubishi Express van) from $5,000. Of course it depends when you’re travelling – over summer there’s a lot of demand for campervans and sale prices are often quite inflated. Best time to BUY a campervan would be the autumn months of March – May, when other travellers are lookin’ to go home and are desperate to sell their van.

In Canada and the USA, it’s even cheaper to buy a van, fit it out and hit the road. It’s legal for non-residents in Australia, NZ, Canada and USA to purchase & register a campervan – so don’t stress your pretty little head over that one…

When Renting a Campervan is probably better…

If you’re only on a short holiday in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA or anywhere for that matter – it definitely pays to shop around and find the best Campervan Hire deals. Here’s at Compare Campervan Hire, we offer near-wholesale rates on almost EVERY campervan hire brand known to man-kind. So if you don’t feel like shoppin’ around, don’t worry – cos’ that’s what we’re here to do for you! The upsides to renting a campervan are obvious:

You don’t have to worry about maintenance if the van has troubles (all hire companies offer a roadside assistance program).
You don’t have to worry about selling the camper after your roadtrip – just throw the keys at Pablo and get outta there before they see all the sex toys you left in the back…
You don’t have to go through the hassles of registering the van and getting roadworthy certificates – just grab the keys and hit the road.

When you rent a campervan in Australia, New Zealand or anywhere in the western world – you are protected by consumer rights legislation. You know that most campervan rental companies will be forced by law to offer you a vehicle that is safe, mechanically-sound and that the price you pay is fair. We know there’s nothin’ worse than layin’ out $5k for a van from a guy named John, Davo or Stevo – only to have it break down 3 days later in the outback. P.S Never buy a campervan from a guy named John, Davo or Stevo.

Before even considering whether to Hire or Buy a Campervan, you need to think about where you are going. You need to consider factors such as:

Road Surface: Will you be driving for long distances on unsealed or sandy roads? If so, then you will need a 4WD Camper. In Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA, no campervan hire company will let you drive on unsealed roads in a 2WD Vehicle. In Namibia, however, most rental agencies will let you take 2WD cars and campers on unsealed roads. So do some research and check road quality before selecting a vehicle.

Budget: Just because you’re livin’ on dog food, doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy the Van Life. Our team have done campervan roadtrips for less than $10 a day. If you don’t have a lot of money, you need to keep your expectations in check. In Australia and New Zealand there are numerous budget backpacker campervan rental companies – Jucy, Travellers Autobarn, Awesome Campers etc, who often have hire rates as low as $19 per day. Aside from renting with budget companies, it pays to research and avoid busy rental periods – like Easter & Christmas Holidays, music festivals and long-weekends. Want to know when is the Cheapest times of year to hire a campervan? Just grab a quote on our website and you’ll get a good idea of rental costs year-round!

How Long will you be travelling?: If you’re gonna be on the road for a while (3+ months), you should probably just buy a campervan or 4WD camper. It will work out far cheaper in the long run. Motorhomes, on the other hand are very expensive to buy – and it makes sense just to rent those magnificent beasts.

Campervan Specifics: If you can’t drive manual campers, then you need to keep this in mind when buying or renting a campervan. If you hate the heat – then make sure your campervan has air conditioning. If you have explosive bowel disorder, you might want to consider a campervan with a toilet – to avoid the need for roadside power-squats.

Hi-Top Campervans: If you’re going on a long roadtrip, you need to remember that it’s not always going to be sunny and warm with unicorns floating past the windows. There’s times (particularly in Australia), when it can rain relentlessly, and times (particularly in Melbourne & the Great Ocean Road), when the temperature can plummit in a few hours. This is when you will truly appreciate having a little more room to move around inside the campervan. A hi-top campervan generally means you can cook inside, chill inside and move around without having to re-organise your whole life. It means you still have a place to relax when the rain is bucketing down. If you are on a long roadtrip, you need to think about your campervan like a studio apartment – it’s your bedroom, your kitchen and your lounge room.

Our Guide to Scoring the Cheapest Campervan Hire Deals…

The daily financial struggle is something a lot of us have to contend with. However – every man, woman and pony is entitled to enjoy the campervan life at least once in their life. So if you're strapped for cash, but still want a kickass holiday, here's a guide to the cheapest campervan hire prices in Australia over a typical calendar year.

★☆☆☆☆ = CHEAP!
★★★★★ = SELL A KIDNEY!

If you really want the best deal on campervan hire, do a bit of research when booking. Take note of these tips:

Avoid Christmas Peak Season:
Between 24th December to 7th January is by the far the most expensive time of the year – all across Australia. It's summer, it's Christmas Holidays, it means you will pay a HEAP more for your rental over this period.

Avoid Easter & Public Holidays:
Easter is the next most expensive time of year to hire a campervan. In Australia, Easter is a long, long weekend – both Friday and Monday are public holidays, so most rental places will either be closed or will charge like a wounded bull!

School Holidays & Uni Breaks:
Take note of School Holiday periods and University semester breaks, prices often increase during these times with demand.

Festivals:
There are some major music festivals in Australia that see demand for campervan hire soar. 'Splendour in the Grass' in Byron Bay is one particular festival where 30,000 music-goers migrate in July every year from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

4WD Hire Seasons:
4WD Hire in the top-end Darwin, Cairns, Broome & Alice Springs can get pretty expensive over the dry season (May-October). It's worth considering renting a 4WD on the shoulder of the dry season to save quite significantly on hire costs. From November to April you can forget about heading too far into the outback as temperatures can get as high as 50 degrees Celsius. While the top end usually floods from excessive rain between Dec and March – it's not worth the risk, so best to avoid 4WD hires in Darwin over this time.

Seriously. We get it man, when you’re in a campervan you shouldn’t be stuck to someone else’s itinerary. But unless you’re roaming the highways for life, you’re going to need to plan a little bit or potentially risk missing the best spots…

Roughly Map your Trip:

With the beauty of modern technology, you can jump onto the old Google Maps and plan out your trip to the nearest km – in like, seconds. So do it! Draw up a km budget for the distances you’re planning on travelling each day – and try to keep it under 300kms per day. There’s no point even going on a roadtrip if all you’re gonna see is the highway at 110kms/hr.

Most Campervan Hire companies in Australia are very strict on minimum hire periods – for instance if you think you’ll be able to hire a campervan in Perth and return in Sydney 3 days later – you’re dreamin’ hombre. Be realistic – for the welfare of the campervan and yourself. Fatigue and wildlife kill many travellers in Australia and New Zealand every year – don’t die for a deadline.

Consider your Travel Buddies:

This is a big one. We’ve seen many friendships (and relationships) crumble on the road. The ‘Van Life’ ain’t all rainbows and unicorns – it can get cramped, wet, smelly, noisy (snorers!) and just plain uncomfortable at times. Some people just ain’t cut out for life on the road – don’t take those people with you!

Supplies:

Be adequately prepared for your roadtrip. If hiring a campervan, check what’s included when you pick it up. Most campervan & motorhome hire companies will provide you with the essentials – linen, blankets, pillows, cutlery, pots & pans etc, but they might miss a few things here or there. You can’t live on dog food without a can opener – so before you head out into the vast yonder, check what you’ve got, check again and hit the road. If you need some extra stuff, here’s a rough guide to getting supplies in Australia:

• Linen, Pillows & Blankets: Cheapest options are K-Mart, Target, Big W.
• Food Cooler (Esky), basic camping supplies & cheap fishing equipment: K-Mart
• Outdoor Equipment (Camp Chairs, Tables etc): K-Mart
• Food: Cheapest option is Aldi. Coles and Woolworths for water and food.
• Beer & Alcohol: Cheapest option is Dan Murphy’s, First Choice Liquor.
• Cigarettes: Cheap nowhere baby, this is Australia…

Research Camp Sites before hitting the road:

Check government regulations in the country you plan to travel in. For instance – in New Zealand, ‘freedom camping’ as they call it, is illegal if your campervan or motorhome doesn’t include a toilet & shower (it must be fully self-contained). This simply means that you cannot pull up anywhere you like and camp for the night – you either need to stay in a Caravan Park or one of 100 Conservation areas dotted around the country. These Conservation areas aren’t too expensive (a 7-Day pass is $25 per person), but they are another cost that you need to factor into your roadtrip budget.