Planning your first domestic road trip can feel daunting, so advice from seasoned travellers can always bring comfort. Here are some of Caravanning Australia’s favourite contributors to give some insight into things to avoid:

Beach driving: @_dontwannagohome_

‘Sure, it’s exciting to drive on beaches and it’s even better waking up in the morning, taking one step out of your van and hitting that soft warm sand. But don’t do what we did.

Don’t drive your van on a beach or through saltwater and then not immediately wash the underside of your van. For us, this was clearly a very rookie mistake. Oh, we knew we needed to wash the car but trying to find a carwash big enough for caravans just seemed like too much hard work! Do the hard work. Or do what we did which was leave it and end up with a big mechanic’s bill for rusty brake drums and faulty wiring due to saltwater getting into connections. Lesson learned!’

Weather check: @_readytoroam

‘Weather, always check the weather. One time on Stradbroke we were camped up on the main beach in a rented camper trailer on top of a dune with epic views, but one night at 2 am a freak storm came through. With over 50 kilometres per hour winds and rain coming in sideways. Being completely unprepared for this, everything went everywhere and it was only forecasted to get worse, so we decided to pack the whole thing up to move to a more sheltered area of the dune so we could at least get some sleep. From that day on we are always triple checking what the weather is doing.’

Mosquitoes: @territorymama

‘The Northern Territory is notorious for bad mozzies and on a recent trip south they didn’t disappoint. So as we often do, I lit some mosquito coils and placed them around the van. However, in my sleep-deprived state, I stupidly went to bed and left one alight on a treated pine stump! Thankfully it didn’t spread any further! So please always double-check any fires or mosquito coils before heading to bed!’

Image courtesy of iStock: 1137657235