FAQs

BOOKINGS

We take inquiries every day about hiring vans. If a caravan is available for your requested dates, we provide a written quote with deposit and payment details.

If you want to secure the van, it’s really important to get in touch and pay the deposit ASAP. It’s not uncommon for 2 or more parties to want the same van for the same dates.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING:

All our caravans come equipped with: Doonas, doona covers, pillows, and pillowslips for all beds; Cutlery, crockery, and cooking utensils; Electric kettle, toaster, and sandwich maker. Foil, Glad Wrap, cleaning essentials, and tea towels.

For the outside area, we provide a large matting groundsheet, a fold-up table, camp chairs, and a portable outdoor BBQ with the plate. Kids camp chairs and an outdoor high chair are available on request.

You need to bring: Sheets, towels, personal effects, and spare blankets if required.

 

PICK-UP

The pick up is from 13 Luker St, Elderslie. Our hours are quite flexible to suit your needs, just discuss with us beforehand.

Please allow up to an hour for setup, familiarisation, and paperwork.

About a week prior to the day of pick-up you’ll be sent a Hire Agreement including our Terms and Conditions. This Agreement needs to be signed and returned to Discovery Caravan Hire before the Pick-Up date.

RETURN

Return hours are also flexible, but we’d prefer if vans could be returned before 3 PM. Later return times can be arranged by agreement. It would be appreciated if you could ring or SMS to let us know an approximate return time on the day.

INSURANCE AND BOND

A Security Deposit of $1,500 applies to all hires. Under our Terms and Conditions, the hirer authorises us to deduct any costs arising from accident, damage, loss, or cleaning requirements as a result of the hire. A $1 pre-authorisation is taken against your credit card at the commencement of the hire to verify its currency. The caravan needs to be returned on time, free of damage (except for normal wear and tear), with all inclusions, and in a clean and hygienic condition that would be acceptable to the next hirer.

The Caravans are fully insured – there is no extra cost to you.

Our insurance covers damage to the caravan in the event of an accident. Under our Terms and Conditions, any amount up to $1,500 of the security deposit can be used by us to cover the Insurance Excess, plus future premium increases resulting from the accident.

If you’re towing the caravan, and it causes damage to another vehicle, that damage is covered by (your) tow vehicle CTP Green Slip.

  • Please refer to the Terms and Conditions on our website for full details.

Trailer plugs:

Modern Jayco Caravans use a 12 pin flat plug. However, a 7 pin flat plug on your tow vehicle is OK to run all the trailer lights. The only advantage of having a 12-pin flat plug fitted to your car is that you will be able to run the fridge while traveling (see the section on appliances below). Adapters are available for 7 Pin Flat Plugs.

Please advise if your tow car has a round plug so that we can make sure we have an adaptor available..

Brake controllers:

All our caravans have electric braking systems which require a brake controller in the tow vehicle.

Modern Proportional brake controllers can be supplied and fitted by an auto electrician for a cost usually between $650 – 750. The most common brands are Redarc and Tekonsha. We use the Redarc Tow-Pro Elite which is top of the range and recommended if you intend to do more towing in the future. The wiring for the brakes runs through pin #5 on a standard 7 or 12 pin flat plug

If you don’t want to get a brake controller installed, we can supply (depending on availability) a modern and approved Bluetooth brake controller for a cost of $65/hire.

Breakaway units: All our caravans are fitted with a breakaway unit that applies the trailer brakes in the unlikely event that the caravan breaks away from the tow vehicle.

Battery Monitors: NSW law states that caravans over 2T Gross Mass must also be fitted with a caravan battery monitor. This is to ensure that the Caravan Battery has enough charge to power the electric brakes should the breakaway unit be activated. Our vans come supplied with a wireless battery monitor which plugs into your cigarette lighter so no extra wiring is required in your car.

Wireless Battery Monitor :

 

Appliances

 

  • Fridge: Our fridges run on 3 types of power- 12V, 240V, and gas.

Running the fridge while travelling: The only way to run the fridge on 12V while traveling is to have a 12 pin flat plug on your car wired to the Jayco wiring diagram (copy available). This way the fridge runs on the car battery which is being charged while driving. Auto electricians will usually include a cut -out relay in this circuit so the car’s battery doesn’t go flat if you stop for an extended time but leave the van connected to the car. The fridge is not connected to the 12V battery in the caravan (or solar where fitted), and it’s illegal to operate the fridge on gas while the vehicle is being towed.

  • Microwave, Air Conditioning and Washing Machine (where fitted) will only operate with 240V power connected.
  • Hot Water operates on 240V or gas
  • Lights, TV, and Radio operate on 12V or 240V. They automatically switch to a 240V transformer when power is connected.

 

 

Free Camping

Free Camping is the term applied to camping without 240V power and /or a pressurised water source (I.E. tap and hose)

With the exception of the 5 Berth Outback, none of our vans have solar panels installed. A fully charged caravan battery will last about 1 day running the basic operations of the caravan.

Depending on availability, we can provide a portable solar panel ($45 / hire) if required. We don’t hire generators.

 

Appliance Use when Free Camping:

Lights                                    12V off caravan battery

TV and Radio                      12V off caravan battery

Fridge                                   Gas

Water                                   2 X underfloor tanks each holding 70 litres

Water pressure                12V pump off caravan battery

Hot Water                           Gas

Hotplates                             Gas

Rangehood                         12V off caravan battery

Air Conditioner                 Only with a 3KVa generator*

Microwave                         Only with a 3 KVa generator*

Washing machine            Only with a 3 KVa generator*

 

*Use of Generators

Many Free Camp sites have restrictions (or even outright prohibition) on the use of generators for reasons of noise and fumes.

If you intend to Free Camp using a generator, it’s really important to check the site rules and restrictions. Often there are curfews or certain time windows which allow you to charge up the caravan battery using the generator.

Previous clients have tried to use 2 or 2.5 KVa generators to run air conditioners and microwaves with little success. Jayco advises that 3 KVa is optimum for the 240V appliances installed in the caravan.

 

Please feel free to call at any time to discuss or clarify the topics above