We've created this page to act as a resource for those who want to combine living on the road and growing their family.
Troopy anchor point options:
- Techsafe Seating if you are looking at adding seating in the rear of the vehicle. There are multiple fitters and stockists around Australia.
- C.R.A.B Bar (Child Restraint Anchorage Bar) if you have a front 3/4 bench seat and don't want to add seats in the rear, or if you have no anchor points behind your forward facing rear bench seat. As long as your Troopy doesn't have airbags, a CRAB bar is an option to have your baby ride in the front of your Troopy.
**Be aware that any seat modification that requires engineering can be a super lengthy process. It took us 6 months to have our Techsafe seat installation request approved by the Department of Transport in WA. We had it installed an engineered by Packard Automotive in Perth and would highly recommend them. I would also highly recommend modifying your Troopy as early as possible to ensure it is legal for when your baby arrives!!**
Pregnancy and check ups on the road:
We were a few weeks into a 3 month roadtrip up the Red Centre and through the Kimberley when we found out we were expecting. I'd recommend the following:
1. Decide where you want to give birth, and get in touch with that particular hospital to organise/connect with a midwife. If you are travelling and don't have a regular GP back home, can't get in with one as a new patient, or are too remote, you can still organise all your appointments and referrals and scripts through a midwife (we were able to with a WA based midwife).
2. Organise your 7 week/dating scan and initial blood tests after finding out. We were travelling through Kununurra when our 7 week scans were due, so we were able to call the midwife there and book in an appointment with her. She organised our first ultrasound and all the blood/pathology tests that were required.
3. Your chosen midwife at your birth location can email you or any pharmacy scripts for medication, referrals for ultrasounds and bloods etc.
4. Our 12 week tests were a bit tricky. We had to organise bloods to be taken for the NIPT test prior to the ultrasound being done (as the blood test results are required to be available at the ultrasound). I had my bloods done in Broome at about 10 weeks, my midwife was able to email me the script and I had it printed out at the Post Office in Derby, so I could hand it to the lady at pathology (we just did a walk in appointment at Broome hospital). Then we had our ultrasound at 12 weeks at Karratha. I called up Karratha hospital 2 weeks prior to book the 12 week ultrasound, and it was super hard to get in! Their team had a cancellation I was able to take, so I'd recommend calling and booking in a 12 week scan as soon as you get your referral letter from your GP/midwife. I had to email the referral through to be able to book the 12 week ultrasound with the Karratha hospital.
5. We were back home by the time I was due for my 16 week checkup, so we were able to do this with our midwife. Then we were off again back to Victoria for another 6,000kms round trip! My midwife gave me a physical copy of an ultrasound referral for my 20 week test, just in case we weren't going to be home for that one.
Working on the road:
We have been living on the road since 2021, and haven't had an issue finding work so far. We drive headers and chasers for harvest work. Wheat is our favourite crop to work with by far!
Being pregnant has made this part a bit more difficult for me, but we have farmwork lined up again beginning November 2024. Our boss is aware I'm pregnant so I will be a runaround for the crew this year, while Vaughn will work in a header or chaser.
Where do we find work?
We usually advertise ourselves on FB, the 'Harvest Australia' FB page has been great to us and we have always found employment through there. You don't need any qualifications or licences to drive farm machinery, and every farmer has their own way of doing things, so we always get on the job training for a few days at the beginning every stint/every different machine we operate.
When is the best time to look for cropping work?
Harvest time roughly runs from September through to January but is dependent on your location. Up north (eg Central QLD) the harvests start in September through to October), and down south is where you have them starting November and running into January. If you really want to make the most of it you can get on board with a contractor and work for a full 4-5 months. We prefer working on one farm for the season, rather than contracting, as it's quite a bit nicer being based in the one place when you are working long hours.
What if I have no experience?
If you can drive a manual car, you can generally drive a tractor or a header. It just comes down to practice, sitting in with an experienced operater as much as possible and asking lots of questions. Although most farms prefer experienced operators, if you have common sense and are hungry to learn you will have no issues - you just have to find an employer willing to give you a go.
