There are some things you need to know before hiring a motorhome in Australia for the first time. You know we took 80kgs of stuff with us on our two months motorhome holiday around Australia, yet we had no idea what we were doing when we picked up our Star RV motorhome hire.
Considering we were embarking on a 15,000km Australia motorhome hire road trip (and having never driven a motorhome before), we were slightly worried about whether we were out of our depth. But, luckily we learnt about how to operate a motorhome really quickly while on the road, which is why I’m now bringing you this guide to help you too.
So, if you’re having the same questions like I did below before hiring a motorhome for the first time, then know you are not alone.
- What do you do about power if you free camp?
- What do you do about water?
- How about using the toilet or shower?
- How do you connect to power?
- how do you keep the fridge cool if you’re not connected to power
- what does a free camp actually look like?
- What if we break down in the middle of nowhere? What do we do?
I’m also going to share some reassuring tips about driving a Australia motorhome hire as well as some of the amazing details included in a Star RV van that we loved and also things that we actually never used as well.
| Get 10% off when booking a Star RV motorhome using our code: LIS10 |
1. Campervan hire vs motorhome rentals
If you’re unsure whether to hire the Polaris 2 which is a campervan hire with Star RV or the Polaris 6 which is the motorhome rental we chose, I have to say they are both very similar. The main difference is the Polaris 6 fits up to six people whereas the Polaris 2 fits up to 2 people. I’m glad we chose a motorhome rental over a campervan hire in Australia because we were away for two months and I’m not sure we would have coped in a campervan because we like our space.
In saying that, we did check out the Polaris 2 when we arrived in Darwin and it is really cool as it has a button that brings the bed down over the back seating area. We didn’t have that option in the motorhome rental and I’ve not seen that in a campervan before. I know having that detail would certainly be a bonus when getting ready for bed and not having to make a bed if you’re using the back area.
If you’re still deciding which motorhome rental companies to choose from, I have to say I have heard some horror stories from tourists who have used other companies who gave them really dirty motorhomes that had loads of problems with them. I can honestly say Star RV are so incredible, I wouldn’t hesitate to do a road trip adventure with them again.
2. When you pick up a Star RV motorhome hire
We were slightly worried about picking up the van as we really didn’t know anything about how to operate a motorhome.
But luckily the team at Star RV will take you through everything before you leave. Our technician spent ages with us going through everything like how to use the grey water, how to connect to power and so much more for our Australia motorhome holiday.
Having this reassurance and guidance helped us tremendously and we instantly realised that we would be fine driving around Australia.
If you’re wondering why we chose to drive a motorhome rather than a campervan hire, you can read my guide on What My Experience was like Driving 15,000km Around Australia in a Star RV Motorhome.
3. What if you break down in the middle of nowhere?
Star RV have a 24 hour customer service line you can call if you have any problems with your van. We only called it once about having a cracked windscreen from a tiny stone flying into it on an outback highway (it’s so common) and the team were super helpful. But apart from that, we had zero problems with our van after driving 15,000km!
I actually can’t believe that we didn’t encounter any problems at all. This is one of the reasons we used a Star RV motorhome because I have heard of so many people breaking down in the middle of nowhere and having to sit in tiny towns for weeks waiting for expensive parts to get their vans fixed. We didn’t have the time to wait around so we are so glad we went with Star RV.
4. Understanding how the fridge works when you’re not connected to power
I was actually unsure what food to buy on our trip because I didn’t know if it would go off when we weren’t connected to power. It turns out the fridge runs off gas and it will stay running while you are on a long road trip. If you stop for more than three hours, you can turn the gas on to keep the fridge cool, perfect for the free camping days.
But otherwise the fridge will be on while you are driving, and if you’re doing a road trip around Western Australia for example, you’ll be driving most of the day considering how massive the state is.
We just bought our normal food shop from Coles as we would do at home as the fridges are big enough to pretty much stock what you would usually buy. There’s also a freezer you can use as well that is quite small but handy if you want to keep some ice ready to put in your drinks for those hot places.
| Get 10% off when booking a Star RV motorhome using our code: LIS10 |
5. Using the kitchen while you’re on the move
If you like the idea of being able to pull up and start cooking anywhere like in a car park or by the side of the road, you can do that in a Star RV van. This is one of our favourite things about hiring a motorhome in Australia is that it really gives you a sense of freedom of being able to do what you want, when you want.
We would leave our campsite early to go for a hike and just park up at the hiking path carpark, then have breakfast before going off on a hike.
You can do this if you’re connected to gas so you can use the cooktop stoves (there was two electric hobs and one gas hob in our van but we found the gas hob to work faster).
6. How to operate the Star RV motorhome at a free camp
WikiCamps app is like the bible for van life in Australia. Here you’ll find all of the campsites around Australia, as well as dump points too (we’ll mention more about this later). You’ll be able to see the paid campsites and the free campsites to choose from.
If booking a paid campsite, it’s quite an old school process and you have to ring to make a booking. Because we did our Australia road trip adventure in the off season between May – June (we picked up our van in Perth, drove up to Darwin and dropped it off in Adelaide), we actually didn’t pre-book any and just rang on the day.
One thing we weren’t aware of is that most campsites close at 6pm so you either have to get there beforehand or they will leave you the details in a post box to collect when you get there with your site number and a map to find it in the caravan park. If you are visiting in Summer months, then I recommend you pre-book your campsites straight away.
If you’re looking at staying at free camps, it’s usually a first come first serve basis. You obviously don’t pay anything and some will have toilets. There’s no power to connect to, and some free camps are literally just like a patch of gravel off the main road.
One thing is for sure, if you stay at a free camp, make sure there are other campers when you arrive, and if you don’t feel safe, just continue onto another campsite until you do. We only stayed at one free camp as we were told it was the main campsite to stay at between Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek as both are quite dodgy towns (we’re talking cages up against all buildings here) called Mary Pool. We turned up in the dark (I don’t recommend driving at night in the outback) and it turned out fine. Our TV and hobs were connected to the gas so we could watch tv and cook, and our we had enough power to turn on the lights in the van for the night as well.
To be honest, we probably should have stayed at more free camps as the Star RV motorhome is completely set up for free camping, but as it was our first time travelling in a motorhome, we preferred to stay at caravan parks instead.
7. How to deal with water, grey water and taking showers
I was quite confused about how to deal with water in a motorhome but it’s actually pretty easy. You have a tank that connects to the sink tap, bathroom tap and shower. This is basically tank water, otherwise known as grey water. You could get a filter to put on the tap to drink the water, but we bought boxed spring water from coles and used that for drinking water as well as for brushing our teeth. We always had at least 5 boxes of 10 litres of water we stored under the bed at the back of the van in case of emergencies.
When you stay at a campground, you’ll be able to fill up your water tank to be able to use as and when needed. Just be conscious of how much water you’re using as you will run out fast otherwise.
8. What is the toilet cassette and how does it work?
One of our neighbours told us to rarely use the toilet as it would stink out our van for our whole trip, but he was wrong. We didn’t use our toilet for the first week or two, worried about what our neighbour said, but it was actually fine. And to be honest, it was the best thing ever having a toilet to use when we were on such long drives in the outback so we could just pull over as and when needed.
You want to avoid your pee not going down the toilet which means the cassette is full and will be a bit messy emptying. There is a separate cupboard on the outside of the van which opens to the toilet cassette. All you need to do it take it out and empty it at a dump point which you can find on WikiCamps. Usually they are located at most caravan parks but also on the outskirts of towns too. Just bring a pair of gloves to wear when emptying it.
9. Things in the Star RV van we couldn’t live without
There are so many things we just loved about our Star RV motorhome hire, and even though it was our first time driving a motorhome, we could see how much detail had gone into our van. Here’s just a few of the things we loved about our Star RV van that really became a new home for us.
The dining area
The dining area really was where we spent most of our time when we weren’t driving. It was the perfect spot to eat our food, so some work and unwind and watch tv as and when we wanted. Having four seats to choose from in this area gave us enough space not to feel cramped to have to sit outside in the heat or freezing cold.
Thoughtful plug sockets
There are so many thoughtful plug sockets all over the van which you can tell has been build by someone with a digital nomad in mind. With plenty of USB sockets at the front of the van to charge up phones, as well as plugs at the dining table, by the tv and even outside, we could instantly tell that even the smallest of details had been considered when building the Star RV vans.
Driving an automatic
We drive a manual car but it was a god send to drive an automatic when we were driving eight hour days most days. It might seem trivial but it really does make a huge difference when you’re driving 15,000km in two months. If you’re worried about driving a motorhome, it feels just like a car. You just need to take corners slower and when turning or going around a round-about, make sure you take the van wider than you would in a car.
Having three beds to choose from
We drove the Polaris 6 Star RV motorhome which fits up to six people. This means you have three double beds to choose from and we actually ended up having our own beds which we loved! Even though it felt a little weird sleeping in separate beds at first, it was so nice to have a little bit of space from each other when you’re living in a small space 24/7.
Having a smart tv
Although we didn’t watch a lot of tv, it was so nice to be able to connect to our Netflix as and when we wanted to watch a little bit of tv. It was nice to have the option to switch off and just chill out and watch a tv series or a movie as and when we wanted.
Having multiple cupboard spaces inside and outside the van
Seeing as we took 80kg of stuff with us on the trip, we were so pleased to have multiple cupboard spaces inside and outside the van to put our stuff in. When you’re travelling Australia, you need to bring clothes for all seasons as you’ll be switching between hot and cold temperatures, especially when going inland. We personally found Uluru and Karijini National Park freezing at night and in the mornings.
| Get 10% off when booking a Star RV motorhome using our code: LIS10 |
The big fridge
I am so glad a decent fridge was thought about when building out the Star RV vans. This made us not have to worry about only buying a few things and most of the time we would stock up for about two weeks worth of food due to the remote places we visited.
Having a mirror
Might sound trivial but it was so nice to have a mirror in our bathroom so I could blow dry my hair or use to get ready for the day. We have stayed in countless backpacker hostels and guesthouses around the world where there was no mirror and I’d always have to carry one with me. But thankfully it was a god send to have a mirror in the bathroom to use.
10. Things we didn’t use
Even though it was a total luxury having a proper functioning kitchen in our Star RV van, there were a few things we didn’t even use. This is just personal preference and I’m sure most people would use the following on a daily basis.
The oven, microwave and toaster
We didn’t use the oven, microwave or toaster once on our van trip. To be honest, we rarely eat bread in Australia and don’t even own a toaster at home, but I’m surprised we didn’t use the oven at all. But, we just cooked everything on the hobs and didn’t need to use the oven ever. We also didn’t use the microwave either and we don’t tend to use one at home anyway.
Shower
I know it’s a total luxury to have a shower but we never used ours. I don’t know why but we just never used it and always took showers in the campsites. I’m sure if we did more free camping we would have used the shower more.
The sink for the first two weeks
You know we used the sink for storage for the first couple of weeks during our motorhome holiday and washed all of our crockery at the caravan park kitchens. I don’t know why we didn’t use the sink as I suppose I was worried about water, but it was such a god send having our own sink in the end. It was so nice not having to lug our dirty plates to the caravan kitchen and wait inline to wash everything up. Instead we could just wash up after we finished eating.
| Get 10% off when booking a Star RV motorhome using our code: LIS10 |
More Star RV travel guides to read
If you’re unsure about whether to do a campervan hire or motorhome hire in Australia, check out my following guides to help you plan your trip.
- How Much My 2 Month Van Trip Cost With Star RV to Travel Australia
- 10 Perfect Australia Road Trip Itineraries When Driving a Star RV Motorhome
- 15 Things That No One Tells You About Van Life Australia
- What My Experience Was Like Driving 15,000km Around Australia in a Star RV Motorhome
- 10 Things to Know Before Hiring a Motorhome in Australia for the First Time with Star RV
