Russian caravaners began preparing for trips to China

Of course, the popularity of motorhome travel, or caravanning, in Russia has not yet reached the level at which this lifestyle has been in Europe or North America for half a century. Where, on all the narrow country routes in the summer season, “caravan drivers” form real traffic jams and thus greatly irritate those who like to ride with the breeze. In our country, the place of such an irritant is so far reliably occupied by trucks with vegetables and fruits, as well as old-fashioned summer residents with trailers and sofas on the roof.

Nevertheless, it is in the fall, when Russian caravaners return from long journeys, gather for season-ending rallies and place their bulky equipment in winter parking, that they suddenly become noticeable even on the streets of Moscow. And it’s a strange thing – despite the fact that for three years now the import of new such equipment to Russia has been extremely difficult (caravans are found almost exclusively in currently unfriendly countries), there is still more such equipment in Russia every year.

As well as enthusiasts of “nomadic autotourism”. However, this is not surprising: at the end of the season, caravaners usually have something to talk about to make their friends and neighbors in the garage envious.

“Our route took exactly 30 days,” writes a Moscow caravaner on a specialized forum. — Traveled 13,300 kilometers along the route Moscow — N. Novgorod — Elabuga — Chelyabinsk — Kurgan — Omsk — Novosibirsk — Gorno-Altaisk — Aktash — Tashanta — Gorno-Altaisk — Novokuznetsk — Krasnoyarsk — Taishet — Irkutsk — Listvyanka — Irkutsk — Tulun — Omsk — Kemerovo — Tobolsk — Yekaterinburg — Perm — Kirov — Yaroslavl — Moscow.” A month-long trip with the whole family cost 240 thousand rubles – not cheap, but more affordable than almost all other options in terms of “person-days”.

Novice colleagues ask: after such a “grand tour”, what is more important – impressions or fatigue? “More impressions,” answers the “sea captain” who returned to Moscow. — The mobile home does its job. You’re tired, you stop, and you immediately have everything: hot food, a soft bed, TV, cold beer in the refrigerator (this is for adults). Although the roads leave much to be desired.”

Import and substitution

The formula of a motorhome-caravan is simple: put everything you need for everyday life into a car or trailer, thanks to the ultra-dense high-tech “filling”. From the bathroom to the kitchen, from beds to refrigerators and cabinets. The prototype is, of course, the same American wagons on which 19th-century settlers traveled to the West for fortune and new lands.

It is not surprising that the culture of motorhomes first flourished in the United States – back in the 1930s, spreading to Europe in the mid-1950s. In the USSR, they knew about the presence of “dacha trailers” (including thanks to foreign tourists who were allowed entry into the country during the “thaw” times) and tried to make something similar: there were several experimental industrial samples, publications in the magazine “Model Designer” ” Craftsmen made them themselves with extensive use of plywood and fiberglass.

Now motorhomes exist in three main varieties: trailers of different sizes – from tiny ones, weighing up to 750 kg, to ones quite comparable to a country cabin; motorhomes based on trucks and minibuses; and finally, residential modules for pickup trucks.

In addition to increasingly problematic imports (however, quite a lot of similar equipment was imported into Russia during the years of peace), motorhomes and trailers are made both in Russia and Belarus. And for a long time – since the late 90s of the last century. True, the quality of the first samples a quarter of a century ago was specific.

“I remember I bought a brand new Belarusian trailer in 2007, I wanted an “unused” thing from the store,” says Oleg Mikhailov, the owner of the motorhome. — I cried: everything seemed to be as it should be, but instead of tricky camper parts they used ordinary Soviet latches, which opened on the move due to shaking. As a result, by the end of the first season I no longer had half of the cabinets and shelves.

So, the basis of a camper of any format is transformable furniture (the dining table, for example, turns over and turns into part of a double bed). The second “whale” is a compact bathroom. The third is gas equipment, which makes it possible to “autonomously sail”: not only the stove, but also the heating and even the refrigerator run on bottled gas. The fourth is the ability to connect to the camping infrastructure: water supply, sometimes even sewerage, and most importantly, electricity.

“The simplest solution is to buy a ready-made trailer or motorhome, but some build such equipment on their own, usually on the basis of commercial minibuses, trucks and “large” buses, as well as unfading “loaves,” says Oleg Mikhailov.

One of the simple solutions of the “no-brainer” class is to attach a small decommissioned trailer as a body to the chassis of a commercial vehicle (usually a Gazelle). The advantage of this solution compared to using a trailer as a trailer is that there is no need for customs clearance: the resulting motorhome travels under the number of the original truck.

Ecology and “ambushes”

The specificity of Russian caravanning is not only that we still produce quite a bit of such equipment, and used ones from Europe are now limitedly available. A special approach is also needed to the operation of a motorhome, and for two reasons at once: a deep “minus” in winter and the currently undeveloped network of campsites with infrastructure. The first requires “winter” solutions, sometimes non-standard ones; the second is autonomy.

“Right now, in October, we need to drain all the water from the tanks, and don’t forget about the sewage system,” says Elena Mikova, the owner of a motorhome based on an old Fiat and a mother of three children, about preparing for winter. — But if you wish, you can travel in winter – we are thinking about going to Veliky Ustyug for the New Year holidays. To do this, you need, in an amicable way, to introduce insulation of the tanks (well, or wash yourself with a washbasin and a bucket). And also install another autonomous “stove”.

A separate issue for many caravaners is connecting to electricity. Yes, every traveler has a 50- or even 100-meter electrical cable in the locker of a motorhome. But the question is where to find an outlet for it – not everywhere you can connect to 220 volts.

“Gasoline generators are simply a reason for scandals,” says MK’s interlocutor. — Imagine, you come to some picturesque clearing. And then all the neighbors are starting up generators in their ear. What kind of holiday is there? Therefore, instead of a gas generator, he often uses a 12-volt network – a capacious battery plus solar panels, so as not to drain the car network. At worst, you can run the car engine for a while – it’s cleaner and quieter than a generator.

Another aspect of caravanning is security from the point of view of residential thefts. “This year we managed to travel around France in a motorhome,” says Moscow lawyer and caravanner Alexey. “And we witnessed: thieves pump sleeping gas into the living quarters of a motorhome at night, then, when the owners are passed out, they open the door and take out valuables. The owners wake up – their heads hurt, the door is open, their wallets and phones are gone.”

Where and with whom

Autotourism is different from autotourism, caravaners insist. “We don’t have travel from home to the sea,” says Alexey. — There are those who for whom the road is just a stretch between points A and B. These people prefer, for example, toll roads, both in Russia and abroad. Caravanners usually drive differently: at low speeds, using free routes, enjoying new experiences and details of the route.”

Although, according to MK’s interlocutor, “high-speed shooting” is sometimes characteristic of caravaners: since the surroundings of one’s hometown, as a rule, have already been well studied, because this is not the first time you have traveled through them, it makes sense to “jump out” outside the region along expressway. And then – turn onto a new path for yourself and enjoy the process.

If you don’t take fans of off-road caravanning (there are some – it is for them that “loaves” and even “GAZ-66” are converted, and special off-road trailers are built), the key question when choosing a route is the availability of campsites and parking lots. The most detailed and up-to-date information about these objects is available from the auto travelers themselves: there is a map updated by club moderators (on popular navigation platforms). You can enter information there yourself – however, not manually, but by reporting information about the new object to the moderators.

Only in recent years, new campsites have appeared in the Krasnodar region (as expected), on the M4 highway in the Yelets region, as well as in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Rostov region (convenient stops on the way from Moscow to the south). But those heading towards Arkhangelsk and Murmansk still need the skills of autonomous drivers: it won’t be possible to plot a route using only campsites.

For their part, the directorate of museums and the mayor’s office of historical cities are trying to help caravan tourists. Such improvements usually come along with the organization of parking space: if spontaneous parking is prohibited in a historical city, allocating separate parking lots within walking distance from the center, then it would be foolish not to take care of special places in this parking lot for trailers and motorhomes.

It’s funny that just four years ago, many Russian caravanners almost despised traveling around our country, preferring Europe with its well-developed network of campsites and parking lots with all the amenities. With the closure of EU borders for cars with Russian license plates, we have to explore new directions – and above all in Russia.

Although not only: next year many Russian caravaners are preparing for long trips. There are two main directions: Iran (where Russians currently do not need visas, but the direct route through Azerbaijan is still closed) and China. There it’s the other way around: there is a common border, but the entry rules are quite complicated.

“Everything is sad so far: we need a group of at least two cars accompanied by a Chinese guide,” says Anna, who is working on such a route with her family for next year. — It is also necessary to clearly define the route and coordinate it with the Chinese authorities. But in principle, nothing is impossible – you need to team up with friends and travel in several cars.

Although this is not too big news for caravanners: these are people accustomed to planning trips at least six months in advance. It’s a paradox: it seems like a motorhome is a technique that allows you to just pick it up and go anywhere right now. But a successful trip requires planning…

In addition to Iran and China, there are also neighboring countries: for example, Uzbekistan became the top destination in 2023 for caravanners from Russia. Getting there is quite easy – thanks to the Soviet road network, and there’s a lot to see (and eat!) there: Samarkand and Bukhara alone are worth it!

And in addition to long trips for the entire vacation, there are also weekend options: for example, only this year caravanners could be seen at reconstruction festivals such as “Epic Coast” and “Siege of Azov”, at the festival of contemporary art “Nikola-Lenivets” in Kaluga regions – yes, in fact, almost everywhere where travelers gather. Because, although the presence of a motorhome dictates the method of transportation, the question of “where to go” and “what to see” is determined, as always, only by the tourists themselves. And this is the spirit of freedom.