At first, you think it’s all about having the right gear.
The perfect esky. The roof racks. A swag that rolls up just so. You reckon if you buy enough kit, the touring life sorts itself out.
Then you clock up a few trips — down the Great Ocean Road, out to the Red Centre, up through the Daintree — and something shifts.
You realise it’s less about the gear, and more about the routine.
You stop worrying about packing everything under the sun. Instead, you start asking yourself the questions that actually matter:
- What do I use on every single trip?
- What’s always getting in the way at camp?
- What can I make simpler next time?
That’s usually about the time touring starts to feel easy.
Not because you’ve bought everything in the catalogue. Not because your ute is loaded to the gunwales with the latest bit of gadgetry. But because you’ve finally worked out what matters… and what doesn’t.
It’s the Small Stuff That Adds Up
Funny enough, the best improvements rarely come from one big overhaul. They come from making one small change at a time — swapping a fiddly tent for one that pitches in five minutes, or finally sorting a proper spot for the eskies so they’re not sliding around the tray on every corrugation from here to Kakadu.
Every trip teaches you something, whether you’re chasing sunsets along the Ningaloo coast or hunkering down for a wet weekend in the Tassie highlands. The trick isn’t remembering every lesson — it’s actually taking it with you into the next trip.
That old trick about adding self-adhesive dots to everything and peeling them off one at a time – only when you use something? Then after the trip remove it? Do that.
So, What Are Your Touring Priorities?
At Joining The Dots, we reckon touring should get more relaxed the more you do it, not less. That’s why we’re always banging on about routine over rigmarole, and function over flash.
Whether you’re planning a weekend loop through the Grampians or a proper lap that takes in Broome, Uluru and everywhere in between, it pays to ask yourself the same three questions before you load up:
- What earns its place in the vehicle every trip?
- What’s the one thing that always slows you down at camp?
- What’s one small change you could make before the next trip?
Answer those honestly, and you’ll spend less time fiddling with gear at a rest stop off the highway, and more time actually enjoying the scenery.
Because at the end of the day, touring isn’t about how much you’ve got in the back of the four-wheel drive. It’s about knowing what you actually need — and having the good sense to leave the rest at home.
Got a touring tip that changed the game for you? We’d love to hear it — drop us a line and let’s compare notes.
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