Herb farming on the drawbar isn't a good idea in my book - adds weight in the totally the wrong place!

If you want an espresso . . .

http://www.handpresso.com/espresso-machines/

 

Hey schoots,
Just get yourself a nice quiet genny (Honda/kipor...) to run when you are not on power and you can do anything you want with an espresso machine then.
But, if you go that route, be kind to the ears of others around you and turn off at a suitable time.
Cheers

 

Schootsie, hadn't seen this thread... problem with being on the wallaby and out of range (of most things).
2kVa won't run our coffee machine, however we have a small stovetop job which does a proper job (Bartoli brand).
If freecamping is your thing - large water supply - 350 litres minimum.
Gas heater - cheaper than diesel and works a treat.
Fuel capacity - work on 20 litres per 100 for a V10 with 3 to 3.5 tonne van.
Inverter 2000 watt min - we only have a little one (recharging batteries) so can't use micro or elec. jug when not on power (just have to use gas & plan a little.
Lots of solar & battery power. Spare tyre for car mounted on caravan rear.
List goes on... Decent size fridge and freezer. Washing machine a plus (thought we wouldn't need one but it is getting plenty of use.
Full ensuite of course - toilet separate, not a combination.
Helen will add to this in the near future.
Dub

 

Thanks Nooby & Patto, more tips from others totally welcome. Nooby, the herb thing was a plastic device with a light weight potting mix and probably didn't weigh any more than 30kg wet and which I suppose like all things on a trailer needs to be factored into the weight balance. That portable Espresso gadget is funky though isn't it. John

 

Come on guys, there must be a lot more info out there than this. What do each of you do to keep crockery, etc from smashing around on the drawers and cupboards, how do you keep the stuff in the fridge from becoming a Pro Hart painting, anyone use wind turbines to provide extra electricity when plug in power not available, is it worth getting the track on the van to match the tow vehicle, and on go the questions. John

 

Ahh, now you're getting specific

What do each of you do to keep crockery, etc from smashing around on the drawers and cupboards ?
Don't use crockery, use melamine or plastic. Use non-slip matting in the cupboards to stop them sliding around. I've seen some people use foam with cut outs.
How do you keep the stuff in the fridge from becoming a Pro Hart painting?
Transfer perishables to an esky or car fridge when travelling. Even a can of coke can become a bomb on a bumpy road (experience talking)
Anyone use wind turbines to provide extra electricity when plug in power not available?
Use batteries. Solar charger is an option if away for a long period.
Is it worth getting the track on the van to match the tow vehicle ?
This shouldn't be an issue.

There are some great caravaner's forums where you can get lots of tips and ideas.

 

Thanks c4ar, re the fridge to esky bit, isn't it just as bumpy in the car as the van? plus getting ice for the esky could be a challenge, or am I missing something here?
Other sorts of questions (and yes I will look at some caravan forums but I like the company on this one) is a washing machine offered by so many caravan builders now, worth having or just dead weight. Do you use different soaps to say rinse off easier? When free camping do you use open fires much for cooking or stay with what's in the van? How many of you have only an awning, (or not) and how many with enclosed awning area. Satellite tv reception, worth worrying about? or more trouble than it's worth. On extended trips, dried or canned foods a lot? Any of you have the AlKo esc braking set up? So many unknowns. John

 

Hi John,
Yes, I think you'll find the ride is much rougher in the van due there being no shocks. I guess the reason we find the esky transfer a simpler option is that we are usually staying in populated areas with easy access to ice. If we wanted to leave everything in the caravan fridge then I'd need an anderson plug on the car and possibly a second battery and/or a redarc switch. After cleaning up one exploded can of coke I decided it's better to empty the fridge anyway.

I guess the difference here is that we are just trainee grey nomads. We usually only get away for a couple of days to a week at a time. Longest trip has been 3 weeks.

We have a Fiamma awning but rarely use it.

Agree with Steve about not cooking meat in the van. The smell and fat spatter on the curtains will ruin that new van feel very quickly. We usually use an electric fry pan just outside the van door, or a BBQ when there is no power.

 

Caravaners Forum • Index page

A good resource right there schootsie.
Washing machine? We have one, missus hates using laundr-o-mats. Some are so filthy, I wouldn't wash my enemies dog in there.
Washing machine soap powder? Depends on whether you get front/top loader machine. Caravan dealers/accessory shops will assist with this.
generally, we don't cook meat in the van. Smells lingers for far too long. We use a Weber Baby Q. Perfect.
An enclosed annexe is only of value if you intend to stay at a location for an extended period.
Satellite TV can be useful and entertaining. But...we generally watch d'loaded movies, read books etc. On our 5 week holiday last year, tried to set the Sat up, but found that I ran out of time with daylight dwindling rapidly on the Nullabor.
Alco ESC is a no-brainer. get it.

 

 

John, I have a 20ft Compass that I keep making mods to ( wife says playing :-( ). Recently fitted a McHitch Coupling (McHitch.com.au - Uniglide Trailer Coupling) best move for a long time.

I am just about to fit shocks as the default leaf spring setup didn't come with them. It has been a long term assumption that the friction between leaves is enough to damp them, however it does nothing for high frequency vibration, which over time can do significant damage to the Van. Just check out how much "polishing" occurs in a cutlery drawer.

Stuart

 

our van comes with 2 x 95Lt water tanks.

That is enough to live (frugally) for 5 - 6 days. When we plan for getting REALLY serious about free camping, I'm going to source a 200Lt+ bladder to carry in the car. A quick run to the nearest settlement for water, fresh provisions etc, once a week will be in the plans. I'll use gravity to re-fill the van's tanks from the bladder/s (not sure...might get 2)
An example:
Flexible Water Bladder FOR Drinking Water 200 LTRS DW 200 B Postage | eBay

 

our van comes with 2 x 95Lt water tanks. That is enough to live (frugally) for 5 - 6 days. When we plan for getting REALLY serious about free camping, I'm going to source a 200Lt+ bladder to carry in the car. A quick run to the nearest settlement for water, fresh provisions etc, once a week will be in the plans. I'll use gravity to re-fill the van's tanks from the bladder/s (not sure...might get 2) An example: Flexible Water Bladder FOR Drinking Water 200 LTRS DW 200 B Postage | eBay

What a great idea!

 

Thanks all, keep it coming. You probably have heaps of little tips about things I wouldn't even have thought about. There are some interesting new things and confirmation of a few others so far.
The van we are currently thinking of as our most likely choice is the Kimberley Kruiser. Air suspension (with shocks), electric over hydraulic disc brakes, tropical roof, heaps of solar, 2 kitchens, full ensuite, around 300l fresh water + gray water storage, Inverter, diesel hotplate and heating, double glazed windows, insulated etc. but still checking out what else is around. The construction of the Free Spirit vans looks very good as well. John

 

Thanks all, keep it coming. You probably have heaps of little tips about things I wouldn't even have thought about. There are some interesting new things and confirmation of a few others so far. The van we are currently thinking of as our most likely choice is the Kimberley Kruiser. Air suspension (with shocks), electric over hydraulic disc brakes, tropical roof, heaps of solar, 2 kitchens, full ensuite, around 300l fresh water + gray water storage, Inverter, diesel hotplate and heating, double glazed windows, insulated etc. but still checking out what else is around. The construction of the Free Spirit vans looks very good as well. John

Giday John,

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you. The Van's all clean and the Treg gets a spring clean on Tuesday hopefully.

Bugger about your work schedule as we found the caravan shows of some value. After hiring a camper trailer last year for a trip we started looking around pretty seriously at camper trailers and had narrowed down a couple of contenders around the 50 to 60 K range. After further thought we decided it would be likely that we would get over doing the 'origami thing' setting up and packing up the camper trailer and decided to look a little more at full size caravans.
The caravans we really liked included: Kedron, Trakmaster, Bushtracker and Evernew.
Unfortunately all of these were out of our price range, so we had to start to compromise.
After considering that most of the trips we are likely to do, while I am still working would be mainly on sealed roads we decided we didn't need a true 'off road' Van. We saw the Lotus vans (amongst others) early on while looking around and found we kept coming back to Lotus for various reasons.
The Treg Muster we just got back from was certainly a good work out for it. Approximately 1800 Km of corrugated roads and a cupboard door came off (mainly as a result of heavy items on the shelf banging on it) and the microwave came loose. Seafarer28 told me just this morning that a guy he was speaking to the other day with a Trakmaster had their microwave come right out.

Anyway, I would be the first to agree that the Freelander is not an offroad van, however with the control rider suspension on ours, I reckon it did a pretty good job.

The major issue we also had to keep in mind is that the newer Tregs have a max towball limit of 280 Kgs. Your V10, I believe has a 350 Kg tow ball limit.

We saw the Kimberley Karavan at the Rosehill caravan show when it first came out and thought it looked an interesting concept and comes from good genes. I just did a quick search on caravan camping sales and saw this one: http://www.caravancampingsales.com....5572 4294965436 4294887932&silo=1701&seot=1&__Nne=15&trecs=4&__sid=148BE7DDE2FE

This one certainly seems well optioned. One thing that stands out to me with this particular Karavan is that is has a maximum payload of 500 Kgs. By the time you subtract the weight of a couple of 9kg gas bottles AND the total water you will be carrying there isn't much left for all your other stuff. I see Dubby suggested a minimum water load of 350 Kgs. If this Van could carry that much water, you would be left with an allowance of 130 Kg for EVERYTHING ELSE.

You will find this payload issue will come up all the time as you narrow down your choices. Many Van and Car combos on the road today are simply overweight in some form or another.
Further info here on weights: http://www.lets-getaway.com/caravan-complianceplates.htm

We got our Van weighed for the first time as we left Sydney on the recent muster. It was chockers with a full fridge, clothes, generator, and full water tanks (190 litres) and it weighed 3350 Kg. The upgraded suspension on our Van gives us a 850 Kg payload.

Given the type of self contained travelling you are planning, the only real limit to your travels is water. I do like Steve_L's suggestion re the 200 litre bladders. With a couple of AGM Batteries and a couple of solar panels on the roof you will have pretty much uninterrupted power.

I second the motion re full ensuites and a washing machine. There is nothing quite like spending the day on dusty roads and jumping under a hot shower before a beer around the campfire. Our washing machine is typical of those in a Vans. About 2.5 Kg load from memory but we use it a lot when water is available (it does use heaps of water).

You will soon find, I'm sure like we did that purchasing a caravan will likely involve compromises in some form. The payload matter is typical. Just saw in a caravan mag the other day a new caravan retailing for 200K! I really wonder whether it offers 120K more value than our Van but I guess time will tell.

I see from your profile that you're around the Sunshine Coast. You should contact Dubby and check out his new Van when he gets back home (around Feb next year I think). I was very impressed with it and reckon it would be worth your while having a look.

Hope this is of some use.

Regards
Gary


Here's some links that may be of interest:

http://caravanersforum.com

http://www.towingguide.com

www.exploroz.com

http://www.goseeaustralia.com.au

http://www.stonestomper.com.au

https://www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemdetail.asp?cat=123&item=35794

http://www.fridge-and-solar.net/info.htm

https://www.myvast.com.au

http://www.redarc.com.au/products/product/tow-pro/

http://www.dutch-oven-camping.com

http://ampfibian.com.au

http://www.coastrv.com.au

http://www.ciavic.com.au/

http://www.cciansw.com.au

http://www.australiasomuchtosee.com

http://stores.ebay.com.au/autoelecau?_trksid=p4340.l2563

http://thegreynomads.com.au

http://caravanningnews.com

http://caravansplus.com.au/

http://www.bestwaterfilters.com.au

http://www.alkoesc.com.au

http://farcanal.blogspot.com.au

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/on...oducts/Explore-Tandem-axle-Levelling-Ramps.aspx?pid=326651&menuFrom=90307#Cross

 

Gaz, now there is room in the inbox, sorry. That's one hell of a list of links, thank you very much. Dubby (Jeff) & Helen stayed here with us for a few days not long before their run to the GTG and will be back here in January (if we are still here by then) so we have had a fairly good look at theirs but not quite what we had in mind. Same with the Lotus Trooper. Saw the bladders in the new 4x4 on line mag 4x4 earth. They also do Diesel ones. Could be useful. John

 

Schootsie, John
a few questions for you then some of observations

Have you towed a van before, and I don't mean just for an hour or so, and what size was it?
Some people find it relatively easy and some find it quite stressful. Better to find out before you lay out too much so I would suggest that perhaps you look at hiring a van for a couple of weekends or a week or so and see how you go. Try to get one of the same physical size as you are contemplating. This may save some heartache down the track.

Is your partner ready willing and able to drive with the van at the back?
We have encountered so many people where the partner is unwilling or unable to take over if an emergency happens (say you fall and twist your knee/foot whatever, and are unable to drive). Sure many have just the one driver, but it sure as hell is easier if you can both take turns and enjoy the experience. When we take our van out many people we run into are amazed that Helene takes the wheel and I am not shaking in my boots. Generally I am so relaxed that I fall asleep. Helps keep me fresh on some of the boring bits. Even if they are not regularly driving they should be able to take over for an emergency and be confident in what they are doing.

The choice of van will be dictated a lot by what you intend to do. What type of trips do you intend?
Will you mainly be travelling on blacktop with only the occasional well made dirt road or will gravel and dirt roads be your main use, or will you leave the tracks behind and go where noone has gone before. Gazza made some very good points on this point. I support his view that you need to look carefully at your intended use and dont over invest (ie buy larger and heavier than you really need too)
We have heard of folks who tow with a well sorted road van that can handle well made gravel dirt roads, but then have some camping equipment to go to those out of the way spots that you may not take a camper trailer let alone a full sized van. That may be enough at the start.

Are you thinking new or secondhand?
If new dont be tempted by fancy show specials or first impressions, if secondhand get someone else to have a look as well as yourself and better still get a van inspection. One suggestion would be to go and have a chat to people in a van park or camping ground and ask them about their vans. They will generally give a good rundown on the pros and cons of the van, and heaps better than the glorified sales puff you get in the caravan mags here. Also if new be prepared for a wait if buying Australian, except maybe Jayco or a couple of the other big names. The rest is closer to a cottage industry with perhaps an individual craftsman approach (with varying degrees of skill) and long lead times. 6 months is not uncommon, frequently longer.

Some obsevations now

1. The water bladder is a good idea, but as a wise man once told me, build in redundancy, better to have 2 x 100 litre than 1 x 200 because if you get a hole in the bladder you will still have 100 litres available. (I would go smaller than that myself)
2. Icebox with ice, no I would rather go for a compressor fridge such as a Waeco or Engel (I have Waeco but all I know who have Engels are happy with them too). There are other brands too. They can be useful as a freezer too, make a perfect drinks fridge (being top opening they do not lose as much cold air as a vertical door when opening for another coldie) and at other times too. 40, 50 or 65 litres will do the job and they have better temperature control in general.
3. Speaking of that, most caravans have the 3 way absorption fridges which operate on 12 or 240 volts or gas and are very critical to being level and are in my opinion far from satisfactory and next to useless in really hot weather. Get a 12 Volt compressor fridge in the van and have adequate batteries and recharging
4. I must admit I am a bit out of step when it comes to solar panels. Most advocate having them on the roof of the van, but that means you have to avoid shade when you set up camp or the panels wont work. Hence the van gets hotter and the fridge has to work harder and the more solar you need to keep it going and the hotter you will be at night when trying to sleep (as the van will be hotter to start with). My suggestion is to use portable solar panels when you are around camp. Maybe have them on the roof of the car attached to the roof racks which can be parked in the sun. Use a battery in a portable pack (Arkpack etc) that you carry in the car with you (or better still two) and also have a setup to charge from the cars alternator.
5. Take it slowly. Dont rush out and get everything at once, but take your time and only but as you need to and think two three or four times before adding anything to the van. Weight is your enemy.
6. After your first trip away, take out everything from the van and then only put back those things you used. Some other items which I hope you will not use should also be put back, such as first aid kit, fire blanket, fire extinguisher etc. Leave the rest. You can either do without it, bring it next time or if desperate, use the credit card. To this end a notepad to write down things you need, things that need to be explained, things you want to do better and need help with is a good idea. Those around you will be more than happy to offer their help
7. For water lines, make them in shorter sections with joiners, so you only need the minimum amount to reach the tap rather than having coils lying around to trip you up. Also have some joiners to join the pieces, not just then but for traveling, joining the two ends together means no water drips out in your van boot.
8. Dont do the above with power cables, and always uncoil the power cable fully.
9. Consider doing a caravan towing course, if for no other reason than making it easier to back into a park. One of the favourite pastimes for old hands is to pull up a chair and coldie and watch the fun and games of a novice parking (ask me how I know). You will also then get a heap of unsolicited, contrary, confusing and contradicting advice from those onlookers. Believe me you dont want that! A way to avoid this in van parks (at least until you are confident) is to go for drive through parks (glad I found them)

Anyway hope this helps you with your thoughts. Good luck with it
Peter

 

On the water tank ideas, another springs to mind is one of these
Poly Water Tank Footwell 40L | Home | Opposite Lock
Combine that with this mod (can remember where I got it from but it was one of the forums)
View attachment Installing Seat Back Support Brackets (B&W).pdf
and you have a handy use of space behind the front seats when on tour. If you have young kids then leg space is not an issue.

Another problem with the 200L bladder is where in the treg do you put it. Once filled you would not be able to get to the jack if in the back. I think I prefer this one for that reason Drinking Water Bladder FOR Centre Console 105 LTRS DW 105 BC Postage | eBay
105L plus a couple of jerry cans or perhaps a pillow one would be fine

 

Thanks for all that PJOD (Peter), I am used to towing and manoeuvring in tight spaces as well with a variety of trailers, mainly tandem axle one from 2 1/2t boats to 2t tipping box trailers and assorted equipment trailers with excavators, etc on board.
No we have NEVER been away in a van so there is that vast unknown of if we'll enjoy it or not but we are confident we will. We think that there will be quite a bit a fairly serious off road travelling, sometimes pushing the boundaries of ability for both vehicles and self, a fair bit of the usual corrugated pot holed tracks linked with 1000s of k of sealed and well graded dirt.
As far as weight issues I think my hardest decisions will probably be just how much to take in the way of tools as they weigh lots as well as water.
The point about new we have already discovered with long lead times.
I'll review everyones points a few times to make sure I absorb it all and look forward to lots more info from you all.
John

 

Hi John,
After following Gazza's and Dub's vans around for the last few weeks, I can only say that I was very impressed with both of their choices (lotus / sunland). We took on some fairly rough roads and at times were down to around 30kmh and they both came through with no major damage. Unless you're intending to take the van into some real out of the way places, I think that a well built off road touring van is the go for a balance between toughness and comfort. (Note: just re-read your post where you say you intend doing some serious off road work so this may not apply)

I had an engel 40 lt in the back of the Treg coupled with the engel smart battery box which proved to be an excellent combination. We ran the engel as a freezer at around -10 degrees for 2 weeks and did not use mains power at all. I got a 130 AH AGM battery from the eBay link that Gary posted above and it handled running the fridge for a number of days without 240V back up.

We always had an annexe when the kids were around to provide extra bed space, but these days we love nothing more than just an awning and maybe a privacy/ shade screen to enjoy the outdoors when set up. I would definitely have a sat dish with foxtel, but only because I'm a big footy / sports fan. Most people just take their foxtel box from home (even though foxtel say you can't) but you need to make sure it's a satellite setup at home, not cable. If you also have a vast box for free to air TV you should get a quad output LNB so that you can run both vast and fox without having to change cables over.

UHF in the Treg was also a great thing to have, not only to chat to fellow Treggers but also to get info from passing traffic on road conditions or location info. I also enabled video in motion on my RNS 510 and the wife enjoyed watching NCIS DVDs during the long boring bits.

We got smashed with locusts / bugs across the Hay plains and I am still finding dead carcasses even though I spent hours cleaning the car. Tony (Seafarer) had a car bra on his Treg and I would seriously consider having one of these or some sort of screening on the front to avoid a similar bug spray job happening again.

Another tip I've heard is to put a sticker on everything you load into the van and then remove it when you use that item. After maybe six months travelling, anything with a sticker still on it is probably not required and can be taken out to help with weight control. Also definitely recommend having Wikicamps app on your ipad for great info on sites and places to see, and probably need 3rd party off road GPS such as Hema or mud maps (Gazza can comment more as he was our maps man)!

Hope to see you out there soon.
Cheers,
Mick.

 

When you first posted I must admit I was thinking this question should be on a bloody caravan forum but I take my hat off to you and all the other contributors - it's turned into a bloody good thread that even I, a country cottages and coastal villas only man, have found really interesting. Top notch posts, chaps. Well done!!

 

Have we all gone quiet on this now? It's a long weekend so maybe a few more thoughts can come this way again. John

 

OK, to get the ball rolling again...
Have you considered what you'll be using as a jack for the van ?
Caravans don't usually come with one and the car's jack is rarely suitable.
Sounds like you'll be doing a fair bit of off-road work so you'll want something decent.
I've seen many people with the "tail-a-mate". It doubles as a jockey wheel.
We use a good two stage bottle jack, but we rarely go off-road.

 

this is what you meant
Trail-a-mate" TRAIL-A-MATE - Award RV Warehouse

 

Yeah Steve, that's it.
I guess "tail-a-mate" could be a whole different thing.
Don't google it

 

Steve, with the van I'm considering (Kruiser) with the air suspension, I shouldn't need one as you can drop the suspension , chain up the offending wheel and raise it up again lifting that one clear but I would take a hydraulic bottle jack anyway. I also have a 'BullBag' but I need to get something to plug the 2nd exhaust pipe on the car before that would work. John

 

I have a 2013 Touareg R Line with the TDI V8 engine and pull a 2013 19'6" 3 tonne Lotus caravan. I replaced the factory towbar with a 3.5 tonne Hayman Reese towbar but left the VW factory tow plug and wiring installed so all the electronics work OK. The car travels effortlessly and tows straight as a die at 110 kph once I fitted an AL-KO ESC (electronic stability controller) to the caravan. Prior to fitting the ESC the van would start to sway a little when overtaking especially once you reached 110kph (Queensland Australia’s max speed limit). These ESC should be compulsory on all new caravans these days as they totally take the risk out of towing a heavy van. I had it up to 120kph in the western Queensland and its tows without any feel of feeling dangerous. I also bought a spare set of 18" Factory Mags and tyres and fit these when I tow the caravan (instead of the factory 21" mags). I towed the caravan once with the 21” tyres but due to the low profile they start to scrub out on the inner edge of all the tyres – I would only get 15,000klm out of a set of 21” tyres verses around 50,000klm with 18” tyres. The 21” tyres are also a softer compound which would not help. The engine has massive torque and enables you to overtake slow mowing vehicles like a normal car. I use a Hayman Reese weight distribution hitch (WDH) when towing the caravan and it helps the air suspension from adjusting itself all the time, hence why I went with the Hayman Reese towbar. The Touareg averages around 9.2 litre per 100 klms when not towing and goes up to 14.2 litres per 100 klms towing the 3 tonne caravan in an average wind. This is good compared to my brother in-law’s that tows a similar weight / size caravan and pulls it with a 200 series diesel Toyota Landcruiser - he averages 21 litres per 100 klms and does not have the anywhere near the torque the Touareg has. A current V6 TDI has about the same power to weight as the V8 TD Landcruiser so I would estimate it should get around twice the economy of the Toyota. The Germany diesels have it all over the Japanese diesels! I would say the V6 TDI would handle a 3 tonne caravan with easy as well but if you can afford it get the V8 TDI as it takes all the hassles out of towing and you almost forget you have 3 tonnes behind you when driving as it eliminates the need to stay in a queue of vehicles behind a slower mowing vehicle. Just put your foot down and you re around in a flash! The only disadvantage to having the Touareg as a tow vehicle is the price – in Australia the TDI R Line is around $25k dearer than a similar optioned 200 Series Landcruiser, but if you do a lot of towing like I intend to do its worth the extra cash – heaps of power and torque – excellent fuel economy and great reliability.

 

Further to Dave-Power reply I have a 2012 V6 180 TDI that has just done 10,000 km of NSW QLd centre towing a 23.5 ft caravan on a simplicity suspension and absolutely no drama despite towing 3420 kg by weigh bridge before we left
I have the steel suspension and use a HR wdh
Averaged 13.2 litre / 100 km over the whole trip and did not spare the horses
Having the simplicity suspension means that the van sits at 3.2 high and thus a big wind drag effect
On this tris trip we went with my brother in law who was towing a much lower 3,000 kg van with a LR Disco 4 TDI and at every fuel stop he used 4 to 5 litres more consistently
I have nothing but praise for the Touareg 180 as a perfect tow vehicle
FredK