Marto Kelleher
Founder & Touring Editor
Based in Bright, VIC
Marto sold the house in 2017, bought a 21-foot off-road van and hasn't looked back. He obsesses over tyre pressures, tow-ball weight and the exact moment the corrugations start on a desert track. If a route is in this site, chances are he's dragged a van over it.
35 published articles · most recent September 28, 2026
Marto sold the house in 2017, bought a 21-foot off-road van and hasn't looked back. He obsesses over tyre pressures, tow-ball weight and the exact moment the corrugations start on a desert track. If a route is in this site, chances are he's dragged a van over it.
Articles by Marto Kelleher
- Booking a year ahead: the Big Lap sites that fill before you've left homeSome caravan parks and campgrounds book out 12 months out. I map the ones that catch first-time lappers and when to actually hit "confirm".
- Camp kitchen water: the litres-per-day maths I actually useMost tourers guess their water needs and run short. Here's the litres-per-person, per-day maths I use for camp kitchen and drinking water on remote trips.
- Battery monitoring: the one gauge that stops you guessing your amp-hoursA voltmeter tells you almost nothing about how much charge is left. Here's why a shunt-based battery monitor earns its spot on every off-road van.
- Fuel budgeting for the Big Lap: what towing actually burns per stateReal fuel figures for towing a van around Australia, state by state, and why your consumption changes more than you'd think once you leave the coast.
- Weight distribution hitches: when you need one and when you don'tWeight distribution hitches fix a real problem for some rigs and do nothing for others. Here's how to work out which camp you're in before you spend the money.
- Caravan brake pad and shoe wear: the check nobody does before a lapElectric brake linings wear quietly and fail loudly. Here's the ten-minute hub check I do every 10,000km, and what worn shoes actually feel like on the road.
- Suspension upgrades explained: what actually stops your van beating itself apartIndependent, coil or leaf-spring upgrade? I've run all three configurations over corrugated tracks. Here's what the numbers and the failures actually taught me.
- Free camp curfews and stay limits: the rules nobody reads until they're moved onA ranger's torch at 6am is how most people learn their free camp had a 24-hour limit. Here's how to actually check before you set up.
- Tyre deflation for sand and corrugations: the pressures I actually runA tyre pressure guide for towing on sand and corrugations, with the actual PSI numbers I run on the van and tow vehicle, and why "just let some air out" isn't good enough.
- Caravan wheel bearing repacks: how often, and what "done properly" looks likeHow often to repack caravan wheel bearings, what a proper repack actually involves, and why the servicing sticker interval isn't the whole story off-road.
- Payload creep: why your van weighs more than the day you bought itMost vans are near their ATM within eighteen months of full-time touring. Here's how payload creep happens and the weighbridge habit that stops it biting you.
- Brake controller gain settings: the number most tourers never touchMost caravans tow around Australia with the factory brake controller gain setting still sitting where the dealer left it. Here's how to actually tune it.
- The recovery kit I actually pack: what earns its place and what stays homeNine years towing a 21ft off-road van has taught me which recovery gear gets used and which sits in the tunnel boot as dead weight.
- Van, hybrid or camper trailer: matching the rig to how you actually travelOff-road van, hybrid or camper trailer? Marto breaks down real weights, setup times and trade-offs to help you match the rig to how you actually travel.
- Caravan brake magnets and controllers: the electric brake check nobody doesWorn brake magnets and a poorly tuned controller can quietly rob half your stopping power. Here's the check I do on my 21ft van every few months.
- Sway, yaw and the wobble you feel through the wheel: understanding caravan swayCaravan sway isn't random. It's got specific causes and warning signs, and knowing them beats reacting once your van's already fishtailing.
- Council-managed rest areas vs national park camping: what you're actually paying forFree council rest areas and paid national park sites look similar on the map. They're run under completely different rules, and mixing them up costs tourers money or a fine.
- Mail, meds and mobile signal: the logistics of long-term travel with kidsRedirecting mail, refilling scripts and staying connected on a long lap takes real planning. Here's the system that's worked for us over nine years.
- Sizing your 12V fridge to your battery: the sums most tourers skipA 60-litre and an 80-litre compressor fridge draw differently in real heat. Here's how to actually match fridge size to battery and solar before you buy either.
- The Eyre Highway west of Ceduna: a lap of the Far West Coast worth the fuelA slow lap of SA's Far West Coast from Ceduna to the WA border, with the campsites and detours worth pulling off the Eyre Highway for.
- Registration, permits and park bookings: the paperwork that trips up first-time lappersNational park permits, interstate rego, park booking windows and the desert track passes people forget. A practical paperwork checklist for the Big Lap.
- Loaded weight versus tare: why your van tows different full than emptyTare weight tells you almost nothing about how your van will tow. Here's what actually changes between the showroom weigh-in and a loaded rig on the Oodnadatta.
- Finding free camps without an app: the methods that still workApps have made free camp hunting lazy and crowded. Here's how I actually find quiet, legal sites using maps, radios and old-fashioned local knowledge.
- Caravan tyre age and inspection: why a good-looking tyre can still kill youTread depth isn't the test. Here's how to read the manufacture date, spot sidewall cracking and know when a caravan tyre with plenty of rubber left is still done.
- Recovery gear that actually earns its place on a van rigA practical rundown of the recovery gear worth carrying when you're towing an off-road van, and the kit that just adds weight for nothing.
- Coupling up: the hitch-up checklist that stops driveway disastersA step-by-step caravan coupling checklist covering the hitch, safety chains, breakaway cable and electrics, built from nine years of towing mistakes.
- Single vs tandem axle off-road vans: the trade-off nobody spells outSingle or tandem axle for an off-road van? The real trade-offs are tyre load, articulation, repair access and what happens when you get a puncture at Purnie Bore.
- Wheel bearing checks: how to spot trouble before it costs you a hubA hot, roaring hub on the Oodnadatta doesn't lie. Here's how I check caravan wheel bearings before every big trip, and what the warning signs actually mean.
- A Flinders Ranges caravan loop that's actually worth the dieselA two-to-three week Flinders Ranges caravan loop from Adelaide through Wilpena, Blinman and the Oodnadatta Track, with real numbers on fuel, water and pressures.
- How long does the Big Lap actually take? A realistic timelineThree months or twelve? Marto Kelleher breaks down realistic Big Lap timelines — by rig type, pace and budget — so you can plan one that actually fits your life.
- How to size a caravan solar and battery system that actually worksStop guessing how much solar and battery capacity you need. Marto walks through real load calculations, honest panel output figures, and the sizing mistakes that leave tourers flat.
- Can My Van Do This? Our Rig-Rating System ExplainedHow our 1-5 rig rating and caravan suitability categories work: grading surface, corrugations, clearance and water crossings to read any track page.
- Towing Weights Explained: ATM, GVM, GCM, Tow Ball and PayloadATM, GVM, GCM, GTM, tow ball mass and payload defined plainly, with a worked example showing why so many caravan rigs are illegally overweight.
- Tyre Pressures for Corrugations, Sand and GravelReal tyre pressure ranges for corrugations, sand and gravel, why airing down works, why the caravan's tyres matter too, and where TPMS earns its keep.
- Australia's Best Scenic Drives You Can Tow a Van AlongThe best scenic drives in Australia you can tow a van along, with real gradients, fuel gaps and honest towing advice for each route.
