We’re onto the final stretch, and with that, here’s an anxiety-induced whinge.

Pre-caravan house sits are all done, and we’re (hopefully) onto our last Airbnb stint before caravan handover.

Well, we’re onto what should be our final Airbnb stint. This one is located in the Brisbane suburb of Wilston, which was perfectly situated for my final week of work, and not only do we have phone reception, it even has a lock-up garage which was nice and handy—I say was perfectly situated for my final week of work because I’m now officially unemployed, and it feels great!

It seems like I say this almost every post, but the adventure really is close now. And whilst the house-sits and Airbnb’s have seen us take in some new sights and experiences, particularly for Alina, we’re glad the end is in sight. We’ve undergone a lot of change over the last few months and I think it’s understandable that we might be getting a little “toey” and anxious, and with that, perhaps we’re taking setbacks a little too much to heart—making big things out of minor inconveniences, if you will. So, it’s here that we have a few more issues with our van supplier. Our van delivery date was now just under 2 weeks out from date advised, and we were still to make a decision on the ceramic coating for our new caravan, so we called up the supplier to discuss. We had been making an effort to cut some costs during the build by excluding some options, but we decided that if we’re spending all this money on a new van, we should invest in some external and internal protection.

During the purchase we were told about RV Guard coating—no other options, just RV Guard, with a price guide given. On calling the supplier we were asked which option we wanted, essentially a) great protection, or b) the next level option, being more protection and more expensive, however, if we wanted that option, they’d need 2 weeks’ notice—option a) is available pretty much anytime. Along with saying that we were only given 1 option, a), I said that it has to be option a) as the van will be here in just under 2 weeks. With that we were told that we do have time because the van is not ready for handover on said delivery date (let’s call that date the 16th…because that’s what it was), and that the 16th was when it’s ready from the factory, in Melbourne, in a completely different State some 1,800 plus kilometres away, and not the handover date. We were told that the delivery date given to customers is always date ready from the factory. Now, maybe we’re a bit backward, a bit slow, whatever, but for us, if we’re told we should be able to have our van on a given date, I’d anticipate that that would mean we can have our van handed over to us on that date. Anticipating a given handover date, to me, doesn’t mean assuming that we’ll be waiting another week or 2 for it to leave the factory.

So, here’s the thing, from the very beginning we told the supplier our story—we had a van on order with another brand, they pushed out the delivery date, we cancelled the order because caravan availability date was very important to us as we’re selling our home, along with almost everything we own, and travelling full-time. We completely understand that things can change, however, when things are communicated effectively, whilst you may not like a delay, at least, with due communication and notice, you can manage the situation accordingly. But we were given a handover date of the 16th, and around a month earlier, we were informed that not only is the build on schedule, it will likely be ready up to a week earlier. Music to our ears—fabulous news. With that, however, we still kept everything on track for the original handover date just in case anything unforeseen occurs. And so, now were told that we’ll likely be waiting another 2 weeks for van handover. If that had of been spelt out clearly, from the beginning, I would have given notice at work 2 weeks later, made appropriate Airbnb arrangements or, even better, tried to find another house-sit.

Look, we did get an apology for the misinformation, or misunderstanding as they preferred to call it and, really, what more can they do. I explained that another 2 weeks of Airbnb is obviously costly, and furthermore, it’s not a given that we’ll be able to extend our stay. This isn’t a beat-up on the supplier, but it’s just how it went down. And to be fair, there was an offer made to make use of a loan caravan, but a few factors made it more sensible to try and extend our stay here in Wilston. First and foremost, we’ve never towed a caravan before, and ultimately, we’re responsible for the van, and whilst it is insured, we’re up for the costs if damage is our fault. After my panicked whinging, the supplier did say that they’d look to book some more immediate transport, which has since been confirmed.

So, all seems to have ended well, and if you’ve endured reading to this point it may be fair to ask, just what exactly am I moaning about, then. I guess the point is, if there had been communication early on, particularly without us having to chase it up, and the situation explained to us in a manner fitting for 2 people that have zero clue about what they’re about to embark on, let alone caravans, then I wouldn’t have needed to have had a whinge in the first place. But, it’s time to move on, as we have more exciting things ready to hit real soon.