GORV - Digital Magazine Issue #15 | Page 40

LIGHT ’N’ EASY RV FEATURE CARAVANNING DOESN’T HAVE TO EQUAL A GCM OF 6000-PLUS KILOS. THERE’S A LOT TO BE SAID FOR GOING LIGHT… WORDS: TERRY ROGERS We all love the notion of a long open road, of an endless horizon with adventure beckoning around the next bend. What they don’t tell you, though, is that to get to that open road, you first need to negotiate city traffic. You have to wrangle the loaded car laden with luggage and backseat drivers, van attached, through the bustling city streets. Here you are, starting your road trip, trying your best to switch off and relax, surrounded by vehicles that needed to be somewhere five minutes ago. Sometimes at the height of negotiating these situations, you can’t be blamed for taking a look in your side mirrors and wondering just why you had to go with that big, imposing van. Sure, its great when you’re on the open road, or once you’ve arrived, but right now when all you want to do is change lanes and make that green light, it’s proving to be a thorn in your side. These visions came flooding in when we were about to embark on our road trip from Brighton, Vic, to Adelaide. It was a windy Saturday morning and I was considering everything we had to negotiate before hitting the open road. Weather. Traffic. Cyclists. The list goes on. Then I saw the Bailey Coastal Woolamai, which had a Tare of 1600kg, ball weight of 90kg unladen, and a carrying capacity of 400kg. Just looking at this single-axle compact beauty gave me a sense of relief. We hitched the Coastal not 40 gorv