We Bought a New to Us Caravan! Pickup Day & First Shakedown Trip

We finally did it — we bought another caravan! 🚐 After years of dreaming and adventures by cruise ship, plane, and road trip, we’ve taken the plunge back into vanlife as a couple.

This video shares the excitement of pickup day and gives you a look at our new home on wheels, in our 2006 Island Star Concorde. But buying a van is only the beginning — the real test comes with our first shakedown trip. Stick around as we share what worked, what didn’t, and what we learned along the way.

💭 For us, this is part of a much bigger journey:

In 2007, we set off on a family road trip around Australia in a pop-top van.

In 2021, we tried vanlife again with a Travellers Autobarn campervan. 👉 Watch that road trip here    • Travellers Autobarn Campervan RV South Coa...  

And now, in 2025, we’re starting our own caravan adventures as a couple.

We can’t wait to share this new chapter on the road with you. Thank you for joining us. Travel brilliantly, and we look forward to seeing you at the next one! 💙

If you’ve been wondering what gear we actually use in our caravan, we’ve put it all together in one place! 💙
Check out our brand-new Vanlife Gear & Caravan Essentials Hub — a growing list of the real products that make vanlife easier for us, from power setups and lighting to kitchen must-haves and cosy comfort upgrades.
👉 https://sapphirebluetravel.com.au/blo...

⏱️ Chapters
0:00 Going to Pick Up Our Caravan 🚐
1:51 Shakedown Review – What Worked & What Didn’t
4:37 Our First Campsite Location
6:11 How We Use Phones to Park the Van
7:24 Phil Starts the Upgrades (Of Course!) 🔧
8:50 A Surprise Bonus: Choosing Bathurst 🎁
9:52 Settling Into Vanlife
13:52 What’s Next + First Upgrades to the Van
15:47 Do We Regret Buying This Caravan?

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