We bought an RV for Australia!

Yes, the same rig we were talking to you about yesterday. We spent some time on the phone with the Swiss owners Raffael and Jasmin and they showed us some live video of the rig. The internet is wonderful sometimes, isn't it?

We came to an agreement, and now it is just the logistics to figure out!

Here are some more photos. They are not very good resolution because I just took them from the advertisement that attracted our attention to begin with.

It has a four burner stove with full size oven!

The camper is named Joyce!

The truck is named Bundy!

Kitchen table and couch.

At a campsite.

It comes with everything we need. Outdoor table, chairs, grill... even a 160 watt portable solar panel.

Australia camping.

One of the things that several people have mentioned is the height of the rig. It's actually 10'8" which is not too bad. (Sherman is 11'3"). Raffael says he never noticed any problems with stability. The only thing he found a problem was fuel mileage when there was a head wind. And sure, a side wind is never fun to drive any RV in. But, we will be in no rush to get anywhere, so if it's that windy I really don't want to drive anyhow.

Looking at other rig possibilities, the most common option in Australia is your typical backpacker style campervan. These are fine, but they have very cramped quarters and usually you need to make up the bed every day. They normally have a two burner stove and no oven. And no toilet facilities. And they usually have very high miles. Some have a pop up roof, but many you can't stand up in.

Yes, they have motorhomes and travel trailers as well. But I have no interest in a trailer of any kind, and motorhomes in Australia are VERY expensive.

So this rig ticked almost all the boxes for us. The truck is a 2008 model with 125,000 kms (77,000 miles and a 3.0 liter turbo diesel, but the camper part of it is relatively new. Raffael and Jasmin bought it in October from the son-in-law of the guy who built it. The guy who built it, intended on using it himself, but he died shortly after it was finished and never used it. So it's essentially new, and from the photos and video we saw it's very well done.

One benefit of it being tall is that it has lots of room!

Jasmin, showing us how tall it is!

So, now the only thing left is to get them their money and get it transferred to our name. The logistics are not easy, but we will get it done somehow. In fact, Jasmin and Raffael transferred the registration to South Australia yesterday to make it easier for us to put it in our name when we arrive.

Raffael holding our new South Australia licence plate!

They fly out of Adelaide in the middle of this month, so the rig will be put in storage until we arrive in mid May. We fly into Melbourne, so will have to make our way by bus (or something!) to Adelaide to pick up Bundy and Joyce.

Isn't this exciting!?

In the meantime, we continue on with the Mexico RV Caravan group.

Yesterday, we made our way the short distance from Valle de Juarez to Roca Azul.

Yesterday's drive, 81 kms (51 miles).

Heading around Mazamitla. 

Sunday morning traffic.

Scenery along the way.

Heading down towards Lake Chapala.

Downhill. 

We went from 6,500 ft altitude to 5,000 ft.

Another perfect day.

One of the ladies said yesterday "Why would anybody stay in their RV in the U.S. for the winter when you can come here and have guaranteed perfect weather?"

Indeed.

We figured that out 11 years ago!

More berry growing greenhouses.

It was an easy drive... other than the town of San Luis Soyatlan.

We've been through this town several times in the past and so we knew that it can get a little tight. Especially if you happen to meet a bus or heavy truck coming the opposite way.

Pretty quiet

Still quiet.

One of the reasons we chose Sunday morning to do this drive!

Hmm. A little tight here.

And then around the next corner we saw a tanker truck coming our way, with a line of traffic behind him. We were very lucky because there were some cars parked at the side of the road and only enough room for one of us to get through. But he saw me coming as well, and smartly stopped behind one of the parked cars on his side of the road. Ruth forgot to get photos!

Anyhow, with some patience we all made it though, but only because we got lucky with the timing.

Arriving at Roca Azul, we had 2.5 kms (a mile) of bumpy cobblestone road.

Lake Chapala. The water level is the highest we've ever seen.

The only problem with planning a Sunday arrival here is that the place is very busy on weekends with locals from Guadalajara. But, we got ourselves all set up and enjoyed the afternoon.

I'll post some photos of where we are staying tomorrow.

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