We last travelled in a Toyota Hi-Ace campervan, which was just a bed on wheels with a kitchen out the back. It was our dream to have a nice large living space for the next time we travelled and also looking towards retirement in a couple of years.

We looked at second-hand vans to do up, or even a Coaster bus, but did not like any we saw, so we designed our own little home, using the frame of a fifth wheeler trailer. Paul is a carpenter and did all the work (except gas and electrical) himself.

We had a short trip to Alice Springs in May 2012 to test it out and it went extremely well. Paul can and does sit on 100 kilometres an hour very comfortably. The fifth wheeler manoeuvres very well and backing up is no problem.

We have travelled Australia extensively by car, caravan, Hi-Ace campervan, Suzuki 4x4 and trailer, and have now embarked on a new adventure.

We purchased a nine metre gooseneck, used as a sprint car trailer, and designed our own mobile home. It took many years of planning, stripping out the interior to a bare shell and developing the outside to include many pull out hatches.

The original tow vehicle was an F350 which was replaced by a newer V8 diesel F250. This has been converted from a well body to an aluminium tray to provide for a fifth wheeler hitch. Storage areas, side steps, wide mirrors, UHF radio and GPS have also been fitted to the truck.

The interior of the van has a very high ceiling which gives a very spacious feeling. The bedroom, which is over the gooseneck, consists of a king size bed with reading lamps and side cupboards. The lounge area has a full entertainment centre, two recliner chairs and an air-conditioner unit. The spacious kitchen comprises a two door fridge/freezer, convection microwave, gas/ electric stove and grill, two taps, one for normal water and one for filtered drinking water. There is a domestic sink and dishwasher. The separate bathroom has a full size shower, large vanity and toilet. Behind a concealed door is the washing machine and dryer. The door of the bathroom has a full length mirror. The cupboards, drawers and shelves of the fridge have been lined with rubber matting. Some foam has been used for protecting glasses, cups and crockery.

On our maiden trip to Alice Springs the rig proved to be so stable that nothing moved, including the magazines on the shelves. I have two large pull out pantries, which includes a neat storage area for the wine. A nice feature is the three steps leading to the bedroom which are made from pine wood and have concealed shelves for storage and the polished steps double as a family photo gallery. The floor is vinyl parquetry and the mats, chairs, bedspread and other accessories are green.

The interior ceiling and walls are white and the cupboards are gloss white. The bench tops are diamond glass marble laminate, hence our nickname from the Top Enders Chapter is 'The White House'. We have called our rig 'RD RUNA' and the number plates reflect this. The sides, front and back of the van has the picture of the cartoon character 'Road Runner'.

The outside of the van consists of many hatches, one side houses the business items, such as two gas bottles, four batteries, and controller for the electronic levellers for the four jacks, water hoses, water filters and electrical equipment. On the social side of the van we have two fold down tables, pull out TV, pull out BBQ and pull out Engle fridge.

The roof has four solar panels, one TV antenna, one radio antenna and four vents/ hatches, some with fans and two fold roll out awnings. All lights are LED and both fridges are 12 volt and run off the solar powered batteries. The fifth wheeler is fully self sufficient for independent camping.

We have just had a wonderful six week trip travelling through Victoria and South Australia and the whole rig was just magic. So if you see us on the road give the 'Road Runner' a beep beep!

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Written: Mon 01 Apr 2013
Printed: April, 2013
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