As we will be taking a 40ltr Engel fridge with us when we go camping, we decided to make sure our battery charging process was in order.
We has a Piranha DBE 180S Electronic Isolator fitted to the Pajero. The DBE 180S is a 180 Amp unit with full spike/surge protection and solar input to charge auxillary batteries. We also had another Andesen plug fitted in the rear cargo area to connect our ARK Powerpack to which will run the fridge.
We had an Andersen plug next to the trailer plug into which we will plug the Camper Trailer battery for charging on the road.
Saw this on special in Bunnings and bought it on the spur of the moment.
We have been discussing how best to incorporate 240v into the camper trailer and have taken the safe (and cheapest) option.
The time had come to replace the tyres on the 4WD.
Considered Micky Thompsons and Coopers, but with both over $330 a tyre, I finally settled on the Bridgestone D693 A/T Duellers (265/75R16 LT) at $250 a tyre.
I was one of the lucky ones who pre-ordered an iPad and received their iPad on 28 May 2010. I bought a 3G 64Mb iPad which should do me for a few years.
I am impressed with what it can do and am writing this blog entry from it. Whilst the keyboard on the iPad is "qwerty" it does take some getting used to.
Will it replace the laptop - NO. But you can still do a lot with it and it is a lot easier to carry than a laptop.
Finally completed the Jerry Can Holder for our Outback Sturt camper trailer.
All painted and welded to the A-frame.
Made sure there was enough room so as to be able toopen and lock the toolbox without hitting a jerry can.
Overall, I'm happy with the end result, other than the paint colour for the holder not being as dark as the remainder of the camper trailer.
Having bought two lengths of angle iron we were reasy to start making the frame for our triple jerry can holder.
Deciding where to put the upright
Mockup of the positioning of the jerry can holder
At the campertrailers.org website was a tip for creating a 12 volt camping light. To make the light we bought the following items:
Arlec Light - $9.80 (Bunnings)
Nelson ELV 12 volt Fluorescent Lamp - $10.00 (Bunnings)
Cigarette Adapter - $3.95 (Jaycar)
We removed the 240v plug from the Arlec Light and replaced it with the Cigarette Adapter. The connections were silver soldered and the cigartette adapter was then reassembled. The Nelson ELV 12 volt lamp was then fitted.
The light was then plugged into a 12v socket and tested. We were pleasantly surprised with the brightness of the light.
For less than $25 we now have a good 12 volt light for the Camper Trailer.
Having hitched the Outback Sturt camper trailer to the Pajero earlier in the day, it was time to take the camper to my father's place in Adelaide.
We will be making the jerry can holder for the front of the camper as well as purchasing an inner spring mattress to replace the thin foam mattress that is currently in the camper.
Economy
We drove 225km and used 44 litres of LPG.
We drove at 100kph (highway).
This equated to 19.56ltr/100km.
LPG cost was $0.541c/ltr.
Total cost was $23.81.
We took the 4WD and Camper Trailer out to Martins Bend for a photo shot.
To remove bird droppings try a stiff bristle brush. If it still remains grate some sunlight soap & add some hot water & stir into a paste. Then add a heap of cold water. Wet the canvas down & using a soft brush rub the area over & hose off.
To remove dust on canvas first brush down with soft brush & then hose off. If still there you could then rub over with soft brush & sunlight soap & hose off.
Don't use detergent as it could remove the waterproofing qualities of the canvas.
I've just bought three
jerry can holders off of e-bay using my "20% off" voucher if I pay using Pay Pal. Using the voucher I saved about $15.00.
These holders will be fixed to a frame which will then go across the front of the camper trailer.
Pictures will follow.
Last night coming home from Renmark we hit a kangaroo.
The kangaroo jumper out in front of the car we were following. That car hit the kangaroo and we had nowhere to go but to drive over the kangaroo. In doing so the plastic bumper of our car cracked and split about six inches on the drivers side.
Looking at the car, the whole plastic bumper bar appears that it will need replacing.
To say the least, I'm not impressed as the car was only delivered at the end of March!
It's only a small split .......
.... but it will probably be over $1,000 to replace.
We have booked our
Outback Sturt camper trailer in with the original manufacturer for some modifications.
These modifications include:
- Gas assisted strut for the tent bows.
- 12v/130amp battery pack.
- Mud flaps.
- Stoneguard.
- Electric brakes.
- Hand brake
- Gas ring for 4.5kg gas bottle.
The modifications will be done in June 2010.
This is a
link to the Outback Campers website for the Sturt CT.
We just purchased a solar panel kit from Mandrake (Solar Steve).
This is a
link to his website.
Once we have set the panels up we'll take a few photos and post them to this blog.
We've added a
Contact Us page where anyone can complete an on-line form and once they send it, an email will be sent to us.
We also added an
About Us page. This page includes a slideshow of our
Outback Sturt camper trailer.
We''ve decided to enter the world of blogging and will be using
Blogger for our blogging.
As I didn't like any of the default layouts offered by
Blogger I googled the web and found what I consider to be exactly the layout that I want. It shows that we enjoy travelling and that we are Australian.
Enjoy the journey with us.
