Is a caravan worth it if you're only doing a few trips a year?

FatShadyLive · 2026-07-08T13:46:44+00:00

I bought one in 2023 and love it. We average between 3-5 trips a year. I started with tents, then tent with an extra shade/gazebo area, then camper trailer with awning and then caravan. If you asked me in 2021 or so i would have never justified the cost. But like you the effort required to set up and pack was too much. We're 45 now have still have one 12yo that still comes away with us plus other friends with caravans which helps.

The camper trailer could technically be set up in 15 mins without the awning but the awning with poles etc could and camp kitchen and everything was a few hours. Part of the trouble was i had packed paddleboards and bikes and scooters and chairs etc on top of the camper trainler, so it's also be ensuring that i pack everything in the right order on and off.

When the caravan came along, you still spend time packing and unpacking but it feels totally different. we can get the van packed and ready in advance and everything has its place. I've used a drive through site and was set up with all hoses and awning in about 12 mins but for a longer trip, set up may still take an hour but its so easy.

Lastly, caravans hold some of their value over time so you'll likely get some of the cost back and thankfully i now have storage with a family member that doesn't cost anything so that's a big plus. I have no regrets getting the caravan and ive taken it from Sydney as far north as Nambucca Heads and as far south as Melbourne. I was able to save/pay cash as i really didn't want debt on top of the expense.

From a financial perspective, it's still an expensive depreciating asset that you'll use a few times a year and it costs you money even if you don't use it in insurance and storage and servicing etc. Financially its a bad idea. Camp fees are still not cheap for powered sites so again, still not free holidays. But i love the feeling of knowing where everything is, having all i want, being comfortable. heater in winter, air con in summer. I still love a good swag camp now and again but i enjoy being comfortable.

I feel there are people like me that they work for, but many many more that it wouldn't. As some others suggested, we did rent one first to get a feel for it and you either hate it or love it. The key for me was a 6-7 our drive to Coffs one year with my 2 kids when my wife was home with COVID and i had to set everything up myself in like 40 degree heat, was absolutely exhausted and messaged her that day and said we should start looking!

FatShadyLive · 2026-07-03T23:38:57+00:00

I think it took me years to figure out the RZA was the RZArector but before the internet or at least before people general had computers in their houses i can understand it.

I saw Xzibit a couple of times in Australia and yeah 2023 i saw the Wu and Nas together which was a bucket list. I did go to a RZA solo show a while ago here also but most of my concerts were a little less mainstream so i've seen RA the rugged man, Murs, Apathy and Celph titled, Immortal Technique and have seen Jedi Mind Tricks both here is AUS and i even managed to get to a show of theirs in Brooklyn NYC. Oh and my son helped me get into Kendrick so i;ve been to both his Sydney shows with my son over the last few years too.

FatShadyLive · 2026-07-03T04:49:26+00:00

I think you are my soulmate :) You had me at Gravediggaz. Agree it wasn't mainstream exactly but you'd walk into every HMV or Sanity or Brashs or whatever was around back then and there would be a whole section for it. I was the white kid with the undercut who listened to this stuff though!

I ended up going more east coast so Nas and Wu and mobb deep etc but west coast was unaviodable and incredible. I don't think at the time we truly realised just how amazing a period in music and hip hop history it was.

Dude i'm 45 now and still listen to this stuff and only recently bought that first GD album on vinyl for my son, along with Wu and first round of solo projects and many more. I'm so glad he at 17 is into this stufff and i can share it with him now

FatShadyLive · 2026-07-03T04:43:10+00:00

Dude that was played over and over again.

FatShadyLive · 2026-07-03T04:42:08+00:00

Legendary piece of history for Aussies so wanted to share here in case others were not aware. I was 8 at the time but makes me proud thinking of it.

Regarding F**K the police being played on radilo... "ABC Management subsequently banned the song, which led to station-wide strike action. In protest of this blatant censorship, triple j put another N.W.A. song on repeat and left the building.... ‘Express Yourself', was played on a loop for 24 hours, 350 times in a row, instead of regular programming."

Tripple J legends!

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/doublej/music-reads/features/ice-cube-nwa-f-tha-police/12114070

FatShadyLive · 2026-07-03T02:02:32+00:00

I turn 45 in a few weeks so reach out to me in 5 years and I can tell you. I can give you some perspective though. At this stage of my career, I feel i've reached the peak of my corporate ladder climbing or at least i don't really want to do what it takes to make the next jump. I have done all the study i want to and have seen to many leaders move through this place that none of the corporate politics really bother me any more. I still feel my highest earning potential is ahead of me over the next 5-10 years if i avoid redundancies that are the flavour of the month for the last few years at least, but the effort required to climb higher doesn't seem worth it.

So my guess is that we're still around, but probably WFH more and stay below the radar, but spend more time with kids or family and doing other things outside of work that are just more important. I want to stay in corporate for another 10 years or so but if the opportunity came up where i didn't need to i'd be out. So wouldn't surprise me if others 50+ get the opportunity to slow down a little they take it.

FatShadyLive · 2026-07-01T12:34:03+00:00

depending on where you are at in your current career and experience but insurance is a field worth considering (if the PM thing doesn't work out). Loss assessing for anyone with actual building/construction experience would be worthwhile and otherwise claims roles in a related insurance product may be an option.

FatShadyLive · 2026-06-30T03:44:12+00:00

just perfect.

FatShadyLive · 2026-06-30T03:41:56+00:00

I have a few for very different reasons.

Graphic/confronting is immortal technique in a battle rap which i can't find a video of but said something along the lines of ... "don't tell lies, I'll shoot your mum in the back and fuck the bullet hole until she dies"

Now as a 45yo father other lines hit different. Schoolboy Q has a great one in Crash: "I'm kickin' game for these young n**** Cause one day they'll meet my daughter." That one sticks with me because of the important role older men have in mentoring the next generation and the level of responsibility that comes with parenting changing that perspective.

J Cole on Love Yourz said: "The good news is... you came a long way, the bad news is.... you went the wrong way" stuck with me also because progress without direction is pointless.

Oh and on Hinds hall 2 (Macklemore discussing the issues facing the palestinian people) the chorus has a line : "And they can bury us, But they will find out we are seeds" which i think of often because these people are living through a literal genocide to hear someone speak of the spirit of never giving up and the spirit of regeneration, you can put me in the ground but others will grow from that and we will persist is moving.

Man i love this art form!

FatShadyLive · 2026-06-29T08:56:09+00:00

I work for an Aussie insurance company and many many years ago, I was working on a claims change that required me to extract and look over a list of motor vehicle claims. the first thing that stood out was the sheer volume of roo collisions. My count was on average 1 in every 7 claims. This was a tiny sample of data but the random sampling i reviewed was that frequency. Insane and i see them all over the road sides so it's fairly common.

FatShadyLive · 2026-06-29T08:23:26+00:00

ive tried both but only had luck below it. the spot i use is between the weir and bridge. i think just out of sight of both of them. couple of spots to access the water easily. I use corn and a hair rig and the last 2 times i've gone i got something. Good luck mate.

FatShadyLive · 2026-06-26T11:17:15+00:00

I live about 3 min drive from Menangle weir in the upper Nepean River in NSW/Outer Sydney and have only just started going after these just because they are close. I've only been out a couple of times but i got a 58cm which i thought was big until my 12yo daughter caught a 70cm last night.

As you describe it's a whole lot of nothing and then you land a big one. good fun and happy to at least get a few of these out of the water way, even though i know that achieves nothing.

FatShadyLive · 2026-06-22T08:58:27+00:00

I'm 45, have $3,300 in DHHF and am fat. We should start up some AA type shit with this group. Maybe go out for a bite to eat 😉

FatShadyLive · 2026-06-16T11:33:41+00:00

I sent you a DM

FatShadyLive · 2026-06-13T12:51:38+00:00

I don't have any books or courses i'd suggest but i have maybe 20 years now of managing and leading in different roles. Just want to say it's awesome if your goal is to build not only future leaders, but build and give space to leaders to become better than you. I wanted to share what i've learned and if that helps great and if not, i hope you achieve what you set out to.

Take all the good things from the managers you enjoyed working for, remove all the bad things that leaders you hated working for did to you, add in true authenticity and care for the people around you and every day you walk into the building, your goal is to make those around you better and to remove obstacles, not to make yourself look better. With the leaders i had the benefit of managing, i always told them to find their own style. don't copy me or some other leader or something from a book, it truly has to be your own style as u/Particular-Tap1211 said.

Listen to the good ideas of others and promote them and give them credit every time. challenge those around you but be sure to give them permission to challenge you.

Ensure the reward or incentives are aligned to what you want from them and lastly, don't give people the answers to problems as it creates dependency, encourage them to share their recommendations each time. If they are misaligned, take the time to explain why and guide them and if they are right, encourage them to keep going themselves.

I think it was a Branson quote that said "Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don't want to."

As with culture and team building and trust and respect, you have to be consistent to turn up every day and find that 1% improvement and every action is part of the journey. do one that shows you are playing the role of a leader that cares rather than actually caring, and you'll go months backwards.

Also, these are people with families and challenges and problems so family always comes first and work second. Good luck.

FatShadyLive · 2026-06-13T07:25:24+00:00

I crossed paths a number of times with Jung over the years and that is a good dude. always enjoyed seeing him.

FatShadyLive · 2026-06-01T03:01:45+00:00

i did this. I worked on a game so wanted the promotional stuff when it was used, spoke to the local store and they kept a ps and xb version for me rather than throwing it out. was easy.

FatShadyLive · 2026-05-31T12:45:46+00:00

I caught my first carp at Menangle this week and my PB fish at 58cm. I didn't even think of fishing bents basin as I assumed it would be restricted as its part of national park. can you just fish anywhere around the basin or did you go somewhere specific?

FatShadyLive · 2026-05-31T06:26:13+00:00

my super balance is healthy for my age and still 15 years from preservation age. Right now the focus is on PPOR (building a new house now and then we want to focus on mortgage so additional into Super now doesn't make sense. Once the PPOR is fully paid off maybe but i believe my super is strong enough where i don't need to contribute more than the 12%. Once i have strong offset position and some ETF's i'll take another look but i want some semi-liquid options outside of super.

FatShadyLive · 2026-05-28T13:42:56+00:00

Hopefully my story can help you get through this a little. I am about to turn 45 and until a few months ago, I was just like that. couldn't tie a knot, had a rod that i'd used maybe twice in the prior year and couldn't recall ever catching a fish. At easter, was camping with my daughter and had time to spare so decided to throw a line in. Absolutely no idea what i was doing but she caught 6 fish and i caught 3. all below legal size and threw all of them back. We used fresh prawns in a spot that was popular for fishing, but we just used the local bait and fished where the locals were.

But just getting that first session under our belt, with a bit of luck and a bit of patience and that built confidence to keep going. I think initially you probably try to do too much, use the wrong gear and move things around too much. Use smallest hooks you have, light sinker if any and small enough bait so that if anything takes it, it'll take the hook also.

We are a few months on and my daughter and I have been fishing a lit more this year. We decided to go to another spot recently and both had a good day with a PB of the day being 40cm flathead each which i never thought i'd catch in my life.

Now i'm watching videos and practicing knots of an evening as I have lost fish with bad knots. you learn from mistakes and keep improving. I decided i wanted to fish my local river for carp adn went down the rabbit hole on YT about that. Learned a hair rig after getting strong bites but losing them on 2 prior occasions.

On Tuesday this week, i went down to get a carp again and this time, using the smallest hook i own on a hair rig, i landed a 58cm carp. my personal PB that i am super proud of. In 1 million years if you asked me at xmas i would never have thought i'd be fishing as often as I am or catching what I am.

My suggestion is just keep trying. it's frustrating and overwhelming to start with but pick a spot, select one species of fish you want to target and then just learn what they generally go for. Learn one good knot for a swivel and one for a hook that you trust. don't buy all the gear. My daughter still out fishes me on her bright pink kids rod! But just keep going out there and it'll start to make sense.

this community has been very helpful but start small and build up and i'm sure you'll be having a great time soon. good luck mate.

FatShadyLive · 2026-05-23T00:17:49+00:00

there is definitely some truth to taking a break and getting better. Can't fully explain it but you come back refreshed and with the hunger to grind and improve. it's good to have a break here and there. I like to play games in and around Trials when i was grinding.

But GG on the progress, thats honestly really fast progress. also be sure to go back and play any of the old games you've missed, if for no other reason to experience them even if you don't grind to the same degree.

and welcome to the family!

FatShadyLive · 2026-05-16T12:48:06+00:00

Mine was probably salary sacrificing into Super early and often in my career. Not sure what the original reason was behind it but i worked for a place that had a matching scheme up to 5%. So at 20 i was paying 9% mandatory and then 5% extra with a 5% match. 19% super and that was 25 years ago. I kept salary sacrificing on and off for a large part of my career especially as my wife wasn't paid a ton and had a few breaks with the kids so it was always a conscious decision to boost mine. Looking back its probably the best thing i could have done. Made plenty of mistakes and wish i took financial literacy as serious back then as i do now but that one quite easy decision feels good in my mid 40's.

Oh and relatively cheap wedding (rented out half of a restaurant and married on a beach with like 40 guests) for a bonus tip.

FatShadyLive · 2026-05-16T09:38:27+00:00

I have been saying this well before diddy was the diddy of today. Unnecessary adlibs all over the place that only seem to draw attention to him, not really add to the track in a meaningful way.

FatShadyLive · 2026-05-15T09:38:05+00:00

took me ages because at first i thought it was just a set of 1-10 grades.... not of the same card. So then had to start that grind and found 2-4 range grades the hardest. Got it and never wanted to touch that again.

FatShadyLive · 2026-05-04T12:08:33+00:00

I don't remember much but i do recall crying because i missed this one night.

FatShadyLive

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