Many vintage caravan owners like to give their van a nickname, like it was part of the family. Some of them even have their caravan’s name painted flamboyantly across the back of the van.

You might think that only people with a flair for decorative painting put a name on their vintage caravan, but it’s not quite that difficult. There are still artistic sign writers out there, and you simply have to find one.

We recently met sign writer Chris Dagg of Bridgetown, WA. During the past year he took his 1968 Viscount Valiant caravan – nicknamed "Lady Madonna" – on a 32,000km journey around Australia, towed by a 1958 FC Special Holden. During his travels, Chris painted plenty of signs on caravans, cars, trucks and buildings. You can easily spot his work, since it has his own nickname printed at the bottom.

• Susan and Keith Hall are regular contributors to Caravan World magazine. Check out their latest blog entries at http://somewhereelse.com.au