Maybe you’ve been watching the campervans roll past at the caravan park, a little bit envious, a little bit curious.
Maybe you’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time on Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace looking at rigs you’re not quite ready to buy.
Or maybe you’ve been saying “one day” for so long that it’s started to feel more like a nice story you tell yourself than an actual plan.
Here’s the thing: you don’t have to buy a campervan to find out if this life suits you.
Renting one first is one of the most practical, confidence-building things you can do — and it’s something a lot of women in the Rolling Solo community wish they’d done sooner. Not because buying is a mistake, but because going in with real experience behind you means you make a better decision. A calmer decision. One that fits your actual life, not just the Pinterest version of it.
This article is for the dreamers and planners. The ones who are still researching, still building confidence, still wondering whether this is really something they can pull off. (It is. But let’s get you there properly.)
You don’t have to buy a campervan to find out if this life suits you!
Why Renting First Actually Makes Sense
Buying a campervan is exciting. It’s also a significant financial commitment, and for a lot of women, that commitment is exactly what keeps them stuck in planning mode for years.
There’s the purchase price, of course. But there’s also insurance, registration, storage, maintenance, and the slow bleed of depreciation — the van quietly losing value every time you don’t use it. And if you’re not certain yet whether you’ll love life on the road, all of that starts to feel like a lot of pressure to put on a dream.
Renting takes all of that off the table. You pay for a week or a weekend, you use the van, and you hand it back. Simple, predictable, and completely commitment-free.
More importantly: renting is how you gather real information. You find out how you actually sleep in a van (versus how you imagine you’ll sleep). You discover which features matter to you and which ones you thought you needed but don’t. You learn how it feels to drive something bigger, to set up camp, to cook a meal on a two-burner gas stove, to navigate a new town solo without someone else to consult.
That experience is worth a great deal more than any amount of YouTube research — and it puts you in a completely different position if and when you do decide to buy.
Have a browse through our campervan rental finder to check what’s available for your dates and region. No pressure, no commitment — just a clearer picture of what’s possible, and maybe the nudge you needed to move from “one day” to “let’s actually do this.”
What a Rental Trip Actually Teaches You
Think of your first rental as a paid education. Here’s what most women discover:
Your true sense of space
A van that looks cosy in photos can feel very different when you’re living in it for five days. Some women discover they love the compact simplicity — they feel snug rather than cramped. Others realise they need more room to move, more bench space, more storage. Neither is wrong. But you won’t know until you’re actually in it.
How you feel about driving something larger
Driving a campervan is not the same as driving your everyday car. It’s wider, it’s taller, it stops more slowly, and you’ll be doing it through petrol stations, caravan parks, and the occasional tight street. Some women take to it immediately; others need a few hours to find their confidence. A rental trip is the perfect low-stakes place to learn — you’re not also managing the anxiety of a brand new purchase.
What features you actually use
That onboard shower sounded essential until you realised the cubicle is the size of a small wardrobe and you’re perfectly happy using the park amenities. Or the opposite — you discover you really do want your own bathroom and that’s non-negotiable. The fixed bed that seemed like a luxury turns out to be what makes the whole thing work for you. Real trips surface the real priorities.
How you handle the unexpected
Something will go slightly sideways on your first trip. Maybe you can’t work out the gas. Maybe the water pump does something odd. Maybe you book a site and it’s not quite what you expected. These little moments — handled with a hire van and no long-term stakes — are some of the most valuable confidence-building experiences you can have. Every small problem you solve on a rental trip is proof to yourself that you can handle it on your own rig.
Choosing the Right Van for Your First Rental
This is where it pays to think practically before you get excited about features. The most common mistake first-time renters make is choosing based on aesthetics rather than fit.
Size matters — pick what you can actually drive
A compact campervan is easier to manoeuvre, easier to park, and much less intimidating on narrow roads. A large motorhome offers more comfort and living space but can feel overwhelming if you’re not used to it. For a first rental, it’s almost always worth choosing something on the smaller side — you can always go bigger on the next trip once you’ve got your driving confidence sorted.
Understand what’s included
Before you confirm your booking, ask specifically about:
- Bedding and linen (sometimes included, sometimes not)
- Kitchen kit — plates, pots, utensils
- Camp chairs and outdoor table
- Power leads and adaptors
- Toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and any other basics
Rental companies often offer add-on packs, but it’s frequently cheaper to grab what you’re missing from a Bunnings or camping store on the way. What matters is knowing in advance so you’re not caught short at your campsite at 7pm.
Check your height — and keep it visible
Campervans are taller than regular cars. This sounds obvious until you’re navigating a drive-through, an underground carpark, or a scenic detour down a dirt road under a canopy of branches. Find out the exact height of your rental van before you drive away, and write it on a sticky note on the dashboard. It’s a simple habit that saves a lot of grief.
The Practical Stuff You Need to Know Before You Go
Insurance: read the fine print
Rental insurance is genuinely confusing, and a lot of travellers assume they’re fully covered when they’re not. Most standard rental policies have exclusions for things like windscreen damage, tyres, underbody damage, and excess amounts that can be several thousand dollars.
Before you confirm your booking:
- Read the full insurance policy, not just the summary
- Check whether your existing domestic travel insurance or credit card includes rental vehicle excess cover — this can sometimes save you money compared to the rental company’s own excess reduction product
- If you go with the rental company’s cover, confirm exactly what it does and doesn’t include
It’s not the most exciting part of trip planning, but it’s the part that matters most if something goes wrong.
Power: what most rental vans assume
Most standard rental campervans are set up with the assumption that you’ll be staying in powered caravan park sites. That means the house battery is often modest, and solar may not be fitted at all.
If you’re planning to stay anywhere unpowered — a bush camp, a coastal spot off the beaten track, a National Park campsite — you need to know whether the van can handle it before you’re sitting in the dark wondering why the fridge stopped working.
When you book, ask the hire company:
- What size is the house battery?
- Is there solar fitted to the van?
- How long can it run off-grid comfortably?
- What type of fridge does it have?
If the van doesn’t have solar and you want to stay off-grid, a portable folding solar blanket is a practical addition — they pack up small, have decent output, and are worth the investment even if you go on to buy your own rig later.
Water: more to manage than you think
Water is heavier and more complicated to manage than most people expect when they’re new to van life. A general rule of thumb is 10–20 litres per person per day for washing up, general hygiene, and cooking — plus additional drinking water on top of that.
Always leave for your trip with full water tanks. Don’t assume you’ll be able to top up wherever you stop — some campsites have no refill facilities, and others charge for water. Plan ahead, fill up before you go, and carry extra drinking water separately so you can manage your tank supply more easily.
Fuel: budget more than you think you need
A loaded campervan uses significantly more fuel than your regular car — and if you’re travelling on open highways with a headwind, it uses even more. Build fuel costs into your trip budget from the start rather than being caught out. Apps like Fuel Map Australia can help you find cheaper servo stops along your route, which adds up when you’re covering real distances.
Campsites: free camping isn’t always free or legal
One of the most common surprises for first-timers is discovering that free camping is not as straightforward as it sounds. Not all roadside spots or rest areas are legal for overnight stays, and the rules vary by state, council area, and land type.
Apps like WikiCamps Australia and CamperMate are genuinely useful here — they show you where you can legally camp (both free and paid), what facilities are available, and what other campers have found at each spot. Download one before you leave.
Packing for a Rental: Less Is Actually More
Overpacking is almost universal on the first trip. It makes sense — you want to be prepared — but in a campervan, every item competes with every other item for a finite amount of space. A cluttered van is a stressful van, and hauling things you never use becomes its own kind of frustration.
A useful test: lay out everything you’re thinking of taking. Then put about a third of it back. Focus on versatile clothing that can layer, compact versions of kitchen items you’ll definitely use, and anything specific to your planned activities. Leave the “just in case” items behind — you can almost always find what you need at a town along the way.
One practical tip that often gets overlooked: bring a 12V USB charger that works in the cigarette lighter socket. It means you can keep devices charged while you drive without relying on mains power at your campsite.
Book Early — Especially in Peak Season
If your trip is anywhere near peak season — May to September in Queensland, school holidays anywhere in Australia — the good rigs go fast. This is particularly true for well-equipped vans with solar, decent batteries, and enough space to be comfortable for solo travel.
Waiting until the last minute means higher prices and a smaller selection. If you’ve got a rough date in mind, it’s worth locking in your rental well in advance. You can always adjust itinerary details later.
One Thing That Makes Everything Easier: The Pickup Walkthrough
When you collect your van, the rental company will walk you through how everything works. This is genuinely important, and it goes by fast.
Get your phone out and record the whole thing as a video.
How the gas works. Where the water valves are. How to empty the grey water. What the fridge setting should be. All of it. In the excitement of getting on the road, these details evaporate quickly — and there is nothing more annoying than standing at your campsite in the dark trying to remember which switch does what.
A two-minute video at pickup means you have your own reference guide for the whole trip. Use it without embarrassment. Everyone who’s done this more than once does the same thing.
Renting vs Buying: The Real Comparison
Here’s something worth sitting with: a lot of women buy a campervan based on what they imagine the experience will be like, and then discover the reality is somewhat different. The van they chose doesn’t suit how they actually camp. The size is wrong. They wish they’d gone with a fixed bed instead of a drop-down. They’d have bought a different fridge type if they’d known.
A rental trip or two doesn’t eliminate all of that — there will always be a learning curve when you get your own rig. But it narrows it significantly. You go into a purchase with real preferences rather than theoretical ones, and that leads to a much better outcome.
Renting is not the consolation prize. It’s the smart first move.
Your Pre-Rental Checklist
Before you confirm your booking and hit the road, make sure you’ve ticked these off:
- Insurance details read thoroughly — know what’s covered and what your excess is
- Check whether your travel insurance or credit card includes rental excess cover
- Confirmed the electrical setup — solar? Battery size? Off-grid capable?
- Water tanks filled before departure
- Van height noted and written somewhere visible in the cab
- Full kit list from rental company — know what’s included and what you need to bring
- Extra fees checked — cleaning, km limits, one-way charges
- Campsite apps downloaded (WikiCamps, CamperMate)
- Campsites researched and booked where required
- Fuel budget built into your travel costs
- Phone ready to record the pickup walkthrough
