Your Motorhome Needs May Change - Ours Did.

As we all know, life continues to change and our motor homes can too. Ours have, we are now on our third motorhome. And they've all been different. Different sizes, different layouts, different shapes and each one suited our needs at the time. 

Camper # 1

Before I met Bernie, I was the proud owner of a L300 Mitsubishi camper van. It was a little over 5 metres of cuteness, which provided me with many happy adventures and memories.

Oakly (my furry child) enjoyed it as much as I did. Together, we tiki toured around the South Island and went on weekend get-aways.

Having never owned a camper before, there were a few first time experiences. Turning up at the dump station, was one that comes to mind. Luckily no-one was about, so I had all the time in the world to suss out what went where and I'm pleased to say it went without a hitch.

Another first, was never having travelled alone before, but lucky for me, I never felt completely by myself because Oakly, was always by my side (literally).

Oakly had most of front seat to stretch out (it was a bench seat), but he always sat right beside me, often resting his head on my arm.

Camper #2

A little while later, I met Bernie (now my husband). If you’ve met Bernie, you’ll agree the word 'slight'  isn't a word one would choose to describe him. Not personality wise nor physically. And so, my little camper van was no longer the ideal size. 

Wind the clock forward a few years and we were both working stressful jobs. As they say, all work and no play. At the end of the day, we'd often wonder that there must be more to life than being stressed out and counting down the days to the weekend. And that was the catalyst that led us to consider a lifestyle change. 

Resign, rent out the house and hit the road.

We looked at various RV options - buses, caravans, camper vans etc. 
Bernie felt claustrophobic in many of the ones we viewed, that is, until he stepped into a fifth wheeler. The interior height and slide outs provided extra height and space, and a feeling of roominess, which suited Bernie.
Another factor, were our three dogs, Oakly, Paddy and Boo. They'd be sharing the new lifestyle with us and would need space too.

Bearing in mind, Paddy was the size of a small horse.

To cut a long story short, we imported a fifth wheeler from America, bought a tow vehicle, resigned from our jobs and rented out our house. Then hit the road. 
Six months later, Paddy our Irish Water Spaniel became terminally ill. To give Paddy the best chance at fighting the disease, we needed to stay in one place to be with the same vet. For us, there was no other option than to move back home. Which we did. We parked the fifth wheeler up and focused on Paddy.

Not long after we got home, Paddy became unable to travel, even short distances. So we sold the fifth wheeler. We'd invested too much money to have it sitting around unused.

And sadly, eight months later Paddy lost his fight - needless to say, we were devastated.

The truck and rig combined was 17 metres...three times bigger than camper #1. 

Camper #3

Next was a small bus. One we could use for weekends and one that could be driven on a car licence so I (Katrina) could drive it.  

As I'm writing this, we're planning to live on the road again. Currently Bernie is 2 months into working a 5 month contract with Fonterra. He's staying in the bus and commutes home on his days off. I'm home in Nelson, relief teaching, and close to my daughter who just had her first baby - my first grandchild.
In February, after Bernie's contract ends, we plan to explore the Catlins for 6 weeks. During that time we'll look for Camper #4. Something a little bigger for us to live full time in.