On retiring, what new things did you start...

[Flying mermaid]

Our car (our only one) is 2013 and has just managed to creep to 39,000 km - how much driving after retirement? As little as possible

 

[Quickstatus]

I will reduce cars to two though so Mrs QS and I do not need to be bother each other 24/7/365

So maybe a small town only car and a bigger tourer

 

[OATEK]

We run an i30, and will use the 5 year warranty, before trading in for another vehicle with similar warranty. Rarely get over 15k kms pa. I fund the vehicle from post retirement contracting, and will break the 5yr cycle at some point. We had cheap, and sometimes unreliable vehicles in our poorer years when supporting kids and MIL at home, and now want the luxury of newish reliable vehicle for a while.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Low km!!
I’ve got a 2009 at 185000km and a 2005 At 175000km. The youngest 2017 Car has hit 37000km after 15konths.

All my cars are low km.

• A big reason has been that for over a decade I have been milking the FF system and so it has been an International holiday or two each year. So the cars stay at home
• Even moreso these days as for the last 3 years my business is mainly run via the cloud and so my daily commute is the carless 30 seconds dash down the hallway from the bedroom to the family room (my office!). Plus my wife left her long-term employer late last year, and so now also does the 30 second commute ona part-time basis.

How much driving after retirement?. I hope lots

Yes will ramp up when fully retired as while I will still travel overseas each year I am going to recommence my love affair with the Aussie Bush and Coastal areas and this will mean lots of driving to far flung places.

As I now take 4-5 months off each year I have already recommenced this with two Murray River camping trips already this year.

Later this year I will buy a new 4WD and possibly a offroad caravan as well for my retirement years. I used to do a lot of hard core 4WD-ing and especially in my 20's (Cape York, Simpson Desert, retracing Burke & Wills's overland trip etc) and am looking forward to getting the time to do it as some of the trips I have in mind will take 2-3 months each. Our recent 5000Km self-drive 4WD camping trip across Africa reconfirmed this love was still strong. Though we will not be roughing it as much as we used to.


Murray River Camping near Cobram.

 

[Quickstatus]

I still have my Ultimate Campertrailer.
Used to do Off-road Fraser Island and Vic High Country
I think less off road after retirement but a caravan is not out of question. Which then means a 4x4

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I still have my Ultimate Campertrailer.
Used to do Off-road Fraser Island and Vic High Country
I think less off road after retirement but a caravan is not out of question. Which then means a 4x4

Sitting chatting by the campfire each night...gazing up a glowing Milky Way that one could see due the lack of streetlights etc has reconfirmed that this will be a significant part of my retirement...or at least for the first 15-20 years anyway.

But yes its probably time to pension off my tent and swap to a van. The question is which one as the array available now due the demand created by cashed up baby boomers is simply astounding .

I will mix things around a lot, but definitely will do many off-grid trips accessed vi gravel roads and tracks. ie The Murray trip above you had to cross a creek that was 0.6m deep on a clay bottom (so about the limit in my Honda CRV), and is sometimes deeper. So will be at least a semi-offroad van for me is not a full off -road one.

The other reason to swap to a van (apart from my body being older!) is that I want things set up so that you can move every night if required with minimal time required for setting up/ packing up, plus can also do short multi-day trips as well as long ones. I also do not want a huge van like some people buy as that will limit where I can go and would also increase the hassle factor. These criteria will ensure it is easy to use. tow and move and so we will use it more.

So a comfortable van (ie real mattress bed) for 2 where I can just pull up, pop down the legs, and extend the roll out verandah is all I want. About 18ft or so, with good ground clearance and reasonably tough, with solar etc will suffice.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

PS: I think that there are also two types of people in this world.

Those that think camping is bliss....

...and those that think it a living hell.


I am not big on van parks (except off-season when they are near empty) but give me a great campsite as per my pics above and I am in bliss mode.

 

[drron]

My new car,2013,has done 48K.
Mrsdrron's car,2002,has done 46K.As they say in the classics-one LOL driver.

 

[drron]

Mrsdrron loves sleeping under the stars-as long as there are 5 of them.
So my camping days finished 47 years ago.

 

[Quickstatus]

5 stars? You should try upgrading to the Milky Way suite - billion stars

The longer the caravan the more unstable it is to tow with a short tow vehicle.

My camper used to take 4 hours to pack up.

Essentials for camping trip:

Generator electricity + battery storage
Gas hot water
Proper spring mattress

 

[Flying mermaid]

I will reduce cars to two though so Mrs QS and I do not need to be bother each other 24/7/365

walk, buses, taxis, Uber. I haven’t had a licence for 25 years, but am still independent. Although Mr FM is good about taking me around - he tends to drop me off at say the dentist, doctor etc and I make my own way home. I figure the amount it costs to run a car, I can take an Uber whenever I want to and I am still way ahead. It does help that he does all the market and grocery shopping - I just hand over shopping lists and yell at him when he brings the wrong things home .

 

[Flying mermaid]

Mrsdrron loves sleeping under the stars-as long as there are 5 of them.
So my camping days finished 47 years ago.

I was a bit with Mrsdrron until I discovered glamping on Safari.....

 

[lovetravellingoz]

My camper used to take 4 hours to pack up.

My current tent set up is under an hour all up.

I want my new van set up to be minutes. So no annex etc.

I want to minimise the hassle factor.


Less is often more in life. And with vans I think many making the mistake of going too big.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Mrsdrron loves sleeping under the stars-as long as there are 5 of them.
So my camping days finished 47 years ago.

Each to their own of course. But there are many places that one can only enjoy if one camps in some form or another.

 

[JohnK]

How much driving after retirement?. I hope lots

Yes. I think intrastate trips up and down the coast will be scheduled more often.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I was a bit with Mrsdrron until I discovered glamping on Safari.....

And vans today are not what they used to be....(but be careful as quality and durability vary a lot).

 

[Flying mermaid]

And vans today are not what they used to be....(but be careful as quality and durability vary a lot).

Some friends of ours just bought something similar and they are off to the centre in a few months for a 3 months trip - we had a good look round and it is amazing (but still didn’t convert us ).

 

[ellen10]

We bought a van 3 years ago. Husband is retired and I am still working, so my husband is a little frustrated that we can't just pack up and go when we have a whim. I still enjoy travelling overseas, and haven't ticked all the boxes yet.

In our day to day life I do most of the driving, but I have never towed the caravan, which we knew when we purchased it. We have had some nice trips away and are planning another 5 week one in late June. Caravaning can be a very sociable way of life, and "free camping" is extra nice.

 

[Quickstatus]

Here is my ultimate bees knees off road caravan.

Bushtracker :: Real caravans for the outback

Once tow vehicle added on it will be quarter mil
But 250k depreciated over 10 years will net maybe 30k per year (plus interest earned) which A good OS trip in J for 2 once a year

 

[rogerkambah]

- I just hand over shopping lists and yell at him when he brings the wrong things home .

It's not so much getting the wrong things, but that they morph into something else on the way home.

Frinstance mineral water morphs into tonic water and dry ginger ale becomes diet ginger ale etc.