Tips on Hiring a Motorhome in the NT

Top 10 Tips for Hiring a motorhome in the NT

I recently hired a 6-berth motorhome in Darwin and we drove around the Northern Territory.  This size van was ideal for our situation with 3 adults and where we were travelling was relatively flat so easy driving. The size of the van gave us 2 double beds without having to pack them up every day so worked out well. 

We had a fabulour time but there are some tips I would like to share with you.

1. Screens

Not all of the motorhomes come with screens and in the NT there are bugs. Luckily our van had mosquito screens but a lot of motorhomes don’t have them. Make sure you request them in your van. Now, even though we had screens, the metal didn’t sit firm against the window so bugs could still get in, so we had a roll of tape with us and we taped the screen to the window vertically so seal the gap. Worked a treat so pack a roll of tape for emergencies.

I must say if you are in a powered site then you probably would have the windows shut so the screens are not an issue but in the NT a lot of the national park camps are unpowered so you need to be prepared, which brings me to tip 2.

2. Fans

If you are in a non-powered site, which we did 3 nights on our trip, the NT can be hot. We were there in September and every day was 38 degrees and at night still pretty warm. Check if your campervan has fans. Ours didn’t as they feel if you have aircon you don’t need fans. Wrong! The nights were still really hot and one night in particular at Wangi Falls, where it was down in the valley with no wind, was extremely hot. So, if there was a way to put a fan in, I would definitely do that. We actually had a small fan that plugs into a USB port and even that would have been better than nothing, but of course we didn’t think ahead.

3. Driving

It is recommended that you keep the windows closed whilst driving. We had 2 screens blow out whilst driving as the wind was too strong against the screen. We were able to pull out our handy tool and do a quick repair job. Take a handy tool as you never know when you are going to need a screw driver and other tools.

4. Plastic Cups

Everywhere you go and there is a swimming hole eg Edith Falls, Florence Falls, Wangi Falls they all say no glass at the swimming holes which makes sense for safety. However, there is no plastic cups or plastic glasses in the motorhome we had, so I would suggest you either take plastic cups or buy some throw away when you are doing your shopping. Ideal if you want to have that glass of wine whilst swimming. Also buy beer in cans.

5. Pool Noodles

We didn’t get the memo about pool noodles being a requisite for swimming in the many swimming holes in NT. They are ideal as you can lounge around on them out in the swimming hole for as long as you want and relax. Suggest you put them on your shopping list as well.

6. Camp  Toaster

For the days when you are at a non-powered site, if you want toast for breakfast you only have the gas cook top and it is a bit difficult to cook toast on there without burning it. Having a camping toaster would have been perfect. We had one at home but we just didn’t know to bring it.

7. Esky

Even though you have a fridge in the motorhome they are quite small and we were very glad that we took a small esky to keep the beers cold. We got a bag of ice everyday along the way to top it up and worked really well.

8. Oven

We used the oven in the motorhome a couple of times and the first time we cooked roast lamb and vegetables. I guess we got a bit carried away when we bought the roast lamb but because we had the oven, so we thought it would be easy. Wrong! The amount of cooking equipment in the kitchen is very limited and there was only one small roasting pan so we couldn’t cook roast vegetables at the same time as we simply didn’t have the equipment. We ended up cooking the roast vegetables in a frying pan on the gas cooktop but it was painstakingly slow as we were cooking up a storm for 3 people. And when you are in NT and it is hot, the oven was heating up the whole motorhome. The oven actually heated the oven handle and gas cook top knobs so made it quite dangerous. The moral of the story is I wouldn’t bother using the oven.

9. Bugs

If you are travelling to the NT and going bush, you expect bugs, mosquitos and flies. We actually didn’t find it too bad. Didn’t really get many mosquitos but the flies were a bit much a couple of days. I bought a fly net that went over the top of my wide brimmed hat and that stopped them getting on my face. I was happy with that then but glad I had a wide brimmed hat to keep the net off my face.

10.  Wiki Camps App

If you don’t have this app I suggest you download it. It was very helpful to find comments and recommendations of various sites along the way. A must for any camping trip.

Overall, we really enjoyed our motorhome trip around NT. It is much better to book with a travel agent and we can offer you reduced excess insurance right from the beginning and it normally works out cheaper, than paying for additional insurance direct to the motorhome company.