Adria goes the distance

A common concern about European-built caravans is their ability to stand up to harsh Aussie conditions, but an Adria caravan that has just completed a gruelling 27,000km road trip proves they can be as tough and reliable as their locally-built counterparts.

Kent Ferguson, a business manager with Grand Motors Toyota on the Gold Coast, recently took his young family on an overland journey around Australia, choosing a lightweight, six-berth Adria 542PK van with a 1500kg ATM to tow behind his Toyota Kluger with its 2000kg towing capacity.

Built in Slovenia to Australian requirements including a rugged Al-Ko suspension, the 7.2m (overall length), Altea 542Pk comes standard with a double bed plus bunk beds for the kids, a compact kitchen and shower and toilet.

Ferguson added a few creature comforts to his van including awnings, TV and aerial, microwave, and outdoor table setup.

All up, the family of four spent 172 nights in the van, travelling 27,072km in total on a route that went north from their Gold Coast home to Darwin, across to Perth and back home.

Although initially concerned with the prospect of being confined to a caravan, Ferguson said that overall the Adria van provided his young adventurous family with "safe and sound accommodation" for the duration of the trip.

"The Kluger performed well throughout the trip and the Adria Altea caravan proved it was a surprisingly comfortable home on wheels," he said.

It wasn’t all plain sailing though, with a few hiccups along the way.

"A broken jockey wheel handle was replaced in Rockhampton, the water pump in the caravan broke down not far from Exmouth but a phone call to Adria saw a replacement ready for fitting when we reached Perth a few days later," Ferguson recalled.

"A couple of door hinges came a bit loose after much rugged overland travel but they were soon fixed and we somehow managed to crack a wheel rim on one of the more rugged sectors of the trip. Again, that was easily replaced.

"The only other issue was a couple of blinds needed replacing on the return home. Not bad after clocking up over 27,000km on some of the most inhospitable roads in the country."

The overland adventure took in a number of tourist hot-spots including Broome, Kings Canyon, Kakadu, and Timber Creek - where Ferguson said they were treated to an amazing if somewhat scary thunder and lightning show.

A visit to El Questro, a million acre property which is predominantly a working cattle station located east of the Kimberlies was another highlight of the trip.

"The journey through Exmouth enabled us to experience whale watching and on reaching Coral Bay, we enjoyed activities such as quad biking and snorkelling," he said.

Carnavon added dugongs and turtles to their marine experience, while Ferguson admitted that a stop off at Kalbarri, with its fantastic sand dunes and superb beaches, was "one of the nicest places we saw on the trip".

All up, the Kluger used 5578 litres of unleaded petrol at a cost of $7983, with an average fuel consumption of 20.6L/100km. The cost of staying at various caravan parks along the way worked out to about $40 per night.

On average, they travelled 157km per day over the almost six month period.

• Have you had a long-distance adventure with your caravan and lived to tell the tale? Let us know by sending an email via the ‘Comment on this article’ link below. All letters received have the chance of winning a 5-litre Dream-Pot thermal cooker valued at $260...