ALL ABOUT HOME ON WHEELS : Grasshopper

Sakshi Nagar 22-06-2022 08:16 PM Adventure

‘Yun hi chala chal raahi, Yun hi chal raahi, kitni hasin hai yeh duniya’- remember these song lines from the Bollywood movie, Swades starring Shah Rukh Khan? The movie released in 2004 had a storyline of an NRI visiting a UP village in a remote part of India. The movie had lots of social messages in it but what I remember from the movie was seeing Shah Rukh Khan driving a caravan to the village. It was probably never shown in any Bollywood movie before and that concept of caravan back then seemed so cool. The movie showed the actor using that Caravan whole the time as his own place where he slept, bathed, and worked. Since, the actor played an NRI in the movie, his familiarity with the culture of caravans comes as no surprise as the caravan culture is quite popular in the west. Which types of caravans are available, how much does it cost to rent a caravan and can you even own one? All these questions will be answered in this article. Let’s go further.

WHAT IS A CARAVAN?

A caravan, travel trailer, or camper can either be a trailer tugged behind a motor vehicle or an integrated RV (Recreation Vehicle as classified in India) itself to give a place to snooze which is way more relaxed and secured than a tent. It acts like an own home on a trip or a holiday for people without relying on a motel or hotel and facilitates them to stay in locations where either nothing is accessible or unavailability of a good stay property. Many people reverie about taking off in a caravan to travel around amazing countries. It can be a mind-boggling experience driving from city to city interacting with locals and searching for food and places that are off the beaten track. However, many countries restrict campers to some of the spots for which some amount is payable. Caravans and travel trailers differ from basic models which may be little more than a tent on wheels to those containing quite a lot of rooms with all the furnishings and fittings of a lavish home.

Caravan Tourism is a field whose potential has not yet been entirely explored. The perfect feature of holidaying in a caravan is that you will be able to tour in the fullest sense of the word. Never at any point in time will you be constrained to a particular place. Your caravan will be your own personal traveling hotel room. If you are the one who desires to eat, sleep, and voyage, caravans will be your ultimate choice. The Van Life will become your home on wheels.

TYPES OF CARAVAN

1. Regular Caravan - These are types of caravans that will probably first comes to mind when you think of caravans. Regular caravans are full-bodied; with four walls, a full-height roof (the length of the van can vary up to 10 meters), and can have between one and three axles.

These caravans are good to go in any weather and also have a decent amount of storage space. These vans are trouble-free when it comes to arranging camp for the dusk. You can merely search your spot and you are all set to go. Also, when you are ready to depart the campsite then also all you need to do is shut the door and go!

2. Pop-up Caravans - These caravans are very much like a regular caravan, including built quality and storage room except for the roof storage, as the roof needs to be folded down when not in use. When you are all set to utilize the van as accommodation you just have to pop the roof up, which will provide you with about half a meter of headroom. The USP of having the pop-top caravan is that it isn’t as tall as a standard van when packed away, so this can decrease wind resistance when pulling. Pop-up caravans are also fuss-free when you want to store them in your garage at home.

3. Tent Trailer - This is a good small vehicle option. This is basically a trailer that has an attached pull-out type tent. One can store all equipment within the trailer as this all is quite light & packable.

4. Camper Trailer - This is probably a stronger version of the tent trailer. The foldable caravan folds easily in compact size around the trailer. Similar to the tent trailer, these are easy to be towed with a smaller car. The camper has certain advantages over a tent trailer such as an easier set and comfort which makes it more popular.

5. Pop-out Caravans - If group vacationing is in mind then these are really great options for those with a large group of families and friends. It has pop-out compartments where you can place additional beds at the end of the van. This extra room outside the caravan ensures a spacious feeling inside and more, useable storage space than a regular one.

6. Fifth-Wheelers - Vehicles with large towing capacity are best suited for these large caravans as they are attached at the back of the truck as these are really big in size and you have to be particular about choosing the destination which can accommodate these hence advance planning is a must. Thanks to its massive size, it offers enough room inside with a full-size master bedroom set-up.

7. Motorhome - This one is best suited for long trips as a motorhome is a caravan cum car which requires no additional set-up and offers all types of comfort & facilities that you have in a home. This requires careful handling as you will be driving the whole unit so consider places to visit wisely if you want to go for a local sightseeing or a popular tourist spot.