These happy customers have been travelling around Australia in their Great Escape Caravan for seven months when they shared this video. And after having tested everything thoroughly they have created a YouTube walkthrough tour of their Great Escape Caravan to share with others.
It’s a non-sponsored, no-collaboration, honest walkthrough from @Outbeckadventures that we couldn’t be happier with – thanks for sharing guys!
For the full transcript and to hear the words from Amy and Stephen themselves, watch the YouTube Great Escape Caravan walkthrough now.
The Beck family worked closely with Jason and Anthony to build a caravan floor plan that suited their needs by using ideas from other Great Escape Caravan customer builds and what they had seen in the showroom.
Collating ideas from this layout, and that one, to bring together a list of inclusions they wanted for their own unique custom family caravan.
Their family caravan was solely built from this couple looking around at what was available and saying “Oh, I want to get some ideas for the van that we want to build.” If you are watching this YouTube family caravan walkthrough for ideas, the Beck family did the exact same thing.
“So, we went into Great Escape. I knew exactly what I did not want, and I knew exactly what I did want. So, shout out to Jason, Anthony, and Chantel for accommodating everything. It has been amazing. And I also want to add a disclaimer, we’re not sponsored by Great Escape. We have no affiliation with them whatsoever” they mention.
“We just love the van. And after I mean hours and hours and hours and hours and hours of research, I mean I did more research on a caravan than I did on any uni assignment ever. We landed on Great Escape. So we wanted to show you what I think is a high spec level van without the high spec level price tag. “
The opinion on the exterior of the Great Escape Caravan from the Beck family.
Solar power & battery management system.
When heading off-grid with your caravan one of the first things to consider is the amount of solar power you may need to keep all your essentials powered up and ready to go.
Staring at solar the couple mention they have five 250W solar panels, adding up to a total of 1,250W of solar on the roof. They also have 600 amp hours of battery. A massive setup that keeps them capable of being off-grid for a week or more.
The Beck family say it takes about a week of almost no solar for to drain their batteries being careful with their usage. Some people will go more, some people go less.
The feedback from the couple on the 12V set up they chose is that they “think it’s simple in the sense that it’s relatively the same as your car and truck and what have you, whereas I think it complicates it a bit much going 24V.”
As a requirement the battery system of a Great Escape Caravan is external to the living space and the Beck family shows us the set-up in their YouTube walkthrough saying there are “no problems whatsoever there.”
It’s all in the details when it comes to power so hear what the Beck family says when they walk us through what they call the brains of the caravan.
“…if you want to have a look in here, this is the brains of the van. This is the brains. So, we’ve got our inverter. We’ve got our DC/DC charger. So, right now, I have one 20-amp DC-DC charger and I have two solar controllers. What I would probably like to do if I ever did a van again is probably one try and add a little bit more solar, and then have a third controller.
So, I’m thinking about adding that now, but we’ll see how things go. The second thing I’d like to do is another DC-DC charger or a slightly bigger one. The 20 amps coming from the truck just isn’t enough. I think we’ve undersized that. And if you’re thinking about doing it for your van, go bigger than 20 amp when you drive. You know, it depends how long you drive for, but if you’re driving for 3 hours, 4 hours, what’s 20 amps an hour?
Well, you’ve only put 80 amps back into the van. That’s, you know, just a bit over 10% 12%. Bigger DC-DC. If you’re not driving long distances, you’ll get more charge in.”
“Gas hot water system, once again, I’m not going with an electric system completely on our van that’s efficient to run. We turn it on and off when we need it, and I’m not using the electrical side of it, which we can do when we’re plugged into power, but that’s very few and far between. So, it just makes sense.”
Toolbox and A-frame set up
The couple chose to utilise a slide out tray for their gas BBQ that keeps all the fittings and fixtures clean, with the LPG stored safely away when not in use. They appreciate the fact that LPG is easy to get in most places, relatively cheap and doesn’t drain the power from the solar as an electric BBQ would.
Although the Beck family has provisions for a generator, they haven’t needed one yet, and so it’s there if they need. Giving them the confidence they need that they will be set up and able to travel whenever and wherever they want in the future with that extra boost of power.
Towing the caravan safely and easily the young couple have extra storage for their MaxTraxx right now. Their towing set up includes a DO45 with a shocker hitch to eliminate any harsh wear on the caravan from towing with a truck.
External storage
The Beck family tell us ‘we have elected to raise our bed and you’ll see that inside, but it means that we’ve got higher space in here’
They have an external freezer in their added external storage space for convenience, and will add it to a slide for easy access down the track. Travelling with smaller kids, they even have a box of the essential Lego stored safely away.
As a family of five the available external space has been utilised for two Vendline clotheslines to get through that laundry. They have utilised as much external space as possible in their design, a true custom build to suit their family.
The external hatches have room for the laundry basket and a nice big washing machine!
“So, all our laundry stuff can fit in one space. It’s good…It does a decent amount of clothes, too”
The functionality of a custom built Great Escape Caravan exterior – designed for you.
Storage for hoses, scuba gear and dirty camping gear is aplenty in a rear bar that includes a firewood basket, spare tyreand Jerry can holders.
With so much external storage, the family can easily enjoy outdoor living under the awning, outings and play with the kids, leaving any mess taken care of outside the van. Keeping the living area clean. The family can even easily eat outside with the two picnic tables they chose to add to the exterior.
The family says ‘It’s nice and easily accessible and keeps everything tidy in the living space.’
Great Escape Caravan family caravan interior.
Amy says “we’ve been living in the van now for probably seven months. So, we didn’t want to do a review right off the bat because we hadn’t lived in it and we also hadn’t taken it to the places that we’ve taken it.”
As honest feedback from customers who have been travelling Australia as a family for seven months in their custom built family caravan we were keen to hear what they have to say…
Bed and living space.
The bed size is queen and the Beck family say standard Queen sheets fit perfectly. The bed head includes storage and a charging station that allows for everything to charge overnight.
Plenty of overhead storage cupboards allow for more kids toys to be stored neatly away, Stephen’s CPAP machine fits neatly in there, with its own 12V power outlet to allow for its overnight use without draining power. Being able to custom build a caravan with Great Escape Caravans means accommodating such appliances and unique needs can be catered for.
To see what Amy and Stephen have done to their living space, take a look at the YouTube walkthrough they’ve shared with us. It’s a unique set up with a portable table, and some cute ottomans for more seating.
Storage under the lounge in the living area allows for all the extras to be hidden away safely when towing, and gives the family room to eat inside when they add the table and utilise the aftermarket ottomans for seating on rainy or really windy days.
The couple love the added space not having a permanent table gives them to ‘live’.
The full height pantry gives Amy and Stephen the room they need for the absolute essentials – alcohol.
Pantry and caravan storage solutions.
Amy walks us through the caravans pantry, as a family of four they need plenty of space for food, snacks, and the very important coffee machine!
If you have a new family caravan or are thinking of building one, you will want to watch the whole video to see the tips and tricks Amy shares with us, including adding a yoga mat for grip!
Anthony and Jason added an extra cupboard to the inside of the entry door to utilise the dead space that appeared in the floor plan. Amy and Stephen utilise it for bug sprays, cooking utensils and those things you need to be in easy reach, without climbing into the caravan.
The boys even have radios for when they head out the door! Old school communication with home base, we love that.
Family caravan with bunks and room for a great nights sleep for the boys.
Quad bunk design with a little twist. One side of the caravan has two bunks and the other a single bed.
With a concertina door it allows the boys some privacy to sleep and relax, they have pockets for the things they want to keep close by. Each of the boys have charging ports and fans to their own beds, as well as reading lights to ensure they are set for the night, and a curtain each for extra privacy.
The bunk area has plenty of storage for clothes with four big drawers down the bottom, and nine drawers on the opposite side.
Caravan ensuite bathroom for a family of five.
Controversial opinion from Amy “The great things or the different things that we have are the OGO composting toilet. Absolutely love it. We’ve had both a composting and a cassette toilet. I will never ever ever go back to a cassette toilet. I know it’s controversial and people have their ways and that’s fine.
Composting works really well as a family of five off-grid for long periods of time. It doesn’t smell. No, not at all. Even when I change it, I don’t gag and choke because it’s even with a cassette toilet. It’s gross. This is fine.
It smells like compost. Smells like dirt. Yeah, dirt”.
The bathroom includes the laundry chute that opens near the washing machine on the outside, making those daily chores a little easier.
Straight from Amy and Stephen.
What they would change about their custom built Great Escape Caravan.
‘I know that on the outside, I’ve shown you guys where the air fryer is. We use that as our oven. I wouldn’t make sure that I put a 240 volt power point there next time I build, knowing that I was always going to put one there. I should have just elected to put a power point there. Yeah, not impossible. Just run a power cord, but it just would have been a bit more seamless had I thought of that in the first place.
How about you?
I won’t get a dishwasher in a van again. So, controversial.
It is very controversial. Everybody says, “Oh, I love my dishwasher. I couldn’t live without my dishwasher and everything like that.” Look, we only ever used it when we first got the van. We only ever used it when we were plugged into power because it did draw a lot of power. I don’t know if that’s normal, but it not heaps. Not heaps and heaps, but you know, it’s half an hour on 240 volt.
And it uses I mean you can use as little as six litres per wash in it. However, as a family of five, Stephen loves to cook and make a mess. We would we would literally be using the dishwasher probably three or four times a day, maybe more. Some days it’d be less, some days it will be more because some days we, you know, we bake and do all that sort of stuff. And to put all that in, it’s only a small little dishwasher.
It’s not like a house dishwasher, we’d have to do a few loads and then that all adds up and like right now we’re 10 days without having to fill up with water. We’ve gone 10 days so far without needing water. That is less when we wash. Yeah. So I look at it as I could either use potentially 20 litres a day in the dishwasher and yes that’s easy or I could do it all at the end of the day and I use I think about five litres.
Yeah. Five or six. But it’s a third of one or third of what the dish and I wash everything that we’ve used. So I don’t think I’d get a dishwasher again. Yep. I agree.
The only other thing that I would change is the height of that cupboard. Yeah. Amy’s elected to sleep on the far side of the bed. She doesn’t generally get up during the night. I tend to. I’m old.
So, you know, I have a nurse bladder. He has an old man bladder. So, and my CPAP machine here. But you might notice there’s a step in the cupboards here. And it means that on Amy’s side, it’s a good, you know, probably two 3 inches lower. And Amy’s prone to bashing her head.
I do all the time. I’m always hitting my head. So, I hit my head on that a lot. Yeah. So, we would probably make it so that it match the other cupboards next time if we if we rebuilt because it just would mean that gives me a bit more room. I can actually sit up properly.
I don’t think there’s much else I would change. TV aerial. Oh, yeah. I would delete the TV aerial and get another solar panel because we don’t watch free-to-air TV. We just stream everything.
I would probably think about getting a turntable-free, flatbed microwave, it shakes around, but it’s hasn’t broken….We don’t take it out and put it somewhere else while we travel. It stays there.
I love the van. Okay. So, what do you what do you think is your favorite thing or what do you like most about the van?’
What the Beck family love about their Great Escape Caravan.
“I love the airbags. I wanted to get airbags because it helps when you’re going off-roading and you need to, you know, up the suspension uh when you’re going over a rise or something. We can tip the van if we need to tip it. So, but I didn’t want to go the automatic because, you know, that’s a significant extra cost. So, I went with the level three manual level and it’s fantastic. From having no airbags, we wouldn’t know any different.
Do you know what I mean? It was a big step up to get airbags. Yes, definitely. Our previous van didn’t and it’s, you know, leveling the van. We pull up to a site and literally 30 seconds we’re level,legs down, especially if it’s an overnighter where we’re not unhooking. Yeah, I love that.
You can even level it without using ramps and all that. So, it’s definitely worth it for ease of use. Yeah. I don’t think we’d get no airbags ever again.
I’d miss that.. And having the compressor on the van helps with air inflating and deflating.. Because we do the truck with the truck one and the caravan with the caravan one. And so we’re doing both at the same time, which is nice. Yeah. my favorite thing would be, well I have a few favorite things.
Number one is the table. I love being able to get the table out of here. when it is in here overnight and things like that, first thing in the morning, like get the table out, get it outside so I’ve got more room to move around and make the bed and you know, we don’t feel like we’re bumping into each other.. so that’s yeah, probably my favorite thing, that and laundry chute. The laundry chute I love because them the boys can just chuck it in and jump in the shower if they need to or you know get dressed or whatever.
They’ve got some privacy there as well. So, and you just chuck it in, get changed. They’re probably my two biggest things. I mean, I love everything about this van. Like, like we said, there’s very little that we would actually change.
It’s been almost perfect for the 7 months we’ve been living in it.
Maybe one other thing I would consider would be maybe getting rid of or reducing the size of the wastewater tank and putting another water tank in just for extending those periods of time.
I would definitely be putting in a bypass myself when we get back and maybe get a portable one so that you don’t need to have it there all the time. There are very little places where we’ve had to actually catch our water”.
Yeah, that’s probably a good change. But that’s about it. ’.
“Thanks so much for coming along for the ride and hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions, please pop them in the comments of the YouTube video. We’re happy to answer anything.”
From the Great Escape Caravans team.
We appreciate the feedback and the honest walkthrough from Amy and Stephen.
If you would like to know more about their custom caravan build, read the blog HERE.
Follow along the Outbeck Adventures on Instagram @outbeckadventures
