Saturday 31 March 2012

Going, going.......GONE!!!

Lil went to a car boot sale today and didn't do too well, but she is also having a garage sale so hopefully we will get rid of a lot of gear.Most of the motorbike gear is gone, the washing machine is gone and the other big items are listed for sale on various sites.
We are now mapping our route and calculating the cost of fuel. I think we will be heading up the coast and spending a great deal of time exploring the places we have not seen.
I'm not really a beach person as I don't sunbake or swim, however my new 12ft surf rod is going to get a hammering and Hamish and I will be on the beach fishing and crabbing.

Ive mounted a fishing rod holder to the camper so I can carry the rods without them banging around in the trailer.
The trailer is beginning to look like an adventurous bit of kit now with all these add ons.
We have bitten the bullet and bought a compressor fridge too. We have our 3-way fridge which cost us $299 from Aldi and so far its been amazing.
When living full time on the road we have been thinking about food storage and our Aldi fridge will be our general fridge for everyday and the new 45lt Evakool will be our freezer.
Lil is great at buying in bulk and saving heaps. The vacuum sealer she bought recently will be put to great use! She is also a very good cook so the menu will be very varied as she experiments with her camp oven cooking.

I will get around to posting up a list of our gear, what we use and the general cost.
There is a great deal of gear snobbery and debate over Engel vs. Waeco and the very heated Landcruiser vs. Patrol argument.
We are not made of money and cant justify spending $1800 on a fridge. Our home fridge was about $400 and its now 7 years old...........
We will be aiming for a very tight budget on our gear and travelling. We will see the things we want to see as memories are priceless........
Hopefully we can give an alternative lifestyle without the big brand names.......
I'm Scottish ........ did you guess that already?... !!!!!!

Stookie

Wednesday 28 March 2012

We've never had to worry about weight...until now!

I've spent a bit of time reading forums regarding weight/overloading/GVM of vehicles. After googling, I have just read that the Jackaroo has a payload of only 475kg. I'm pretty sure I understand that to be the weight we add to the car. I guess it's lucky the kids are little and we're taking the dog, otherwise the potential for overloading would be huge! As it is, there's around 160kg of humans and 45kg of dog leaving around 270kg max for us to put in/on the car. The roof racks and Prorack basket would add a significant amount to that as well as the awning (of course, there are no weight figures listed for these). I want to take the pushy...16kg, we will need the pusher and buggyboard...10kg, kids car seats...20kg.  Fortunately we had already planned only light stuff for the roof basket....

We will definitely have to be careful of how we load both the car and the trailer. Unfortunately, there don't seem to be any public weigh bridges close by for us to be able to weigh before we set off.

Lil :)


Thursday 22 March 2012

Kids stuff we have to take!

I've spent a couple of days writing a list of what we need to take. It's been hard deciding what we need vs. what we want! I've also tried to assign a location to each item - in the Prorack basket on top of the car, in the drawbar toolbox, in the storage box or kitchen in the trailer, or in the car. We have to allow for things like a pusher and booster seat, dog food and study equipment that many others travelling Australia probably don't need to consider.

I decided on a Valco Tourer Toddler buggy board for behind the pusher for times when Hamish gets tired while we're out and about. This clips onto one of the lower bar on the pusher so he can be pushed along as well.





I also have my very favourite baby accessory - the Ergo baby carrier! I can carry Matilda on my front, back or side while having two hands free. It is SOOOO comfortable, spreading the weight nicely, and I never end up with a sore back or shoulders. The added bonus is that she loves being in it and is a guaranteed settling tool when she's cranky! It's rated up to 18kgs, though I think I'd have to be desperate to consider carrying Hamish in it.
I also looked into feeding restraint options for Matilda. We already have a fairly compact swing tray booster seat similar to this:




Doing some research, I came across these Totseats. They would be perfect IF they fit over a camp chair and were made of some sort of PVC or similar for ease of cleaning.




If this was just a short trip, we could have just used the pusher to feed her, but as a more permanent setup I think it would be horrible - too messy and probably end up sticky and smelly. Booster seat it is!

For their sleeping arrangements, Hamish will be on a single camp stretcher with a mat on top to keep the cold out and make it more comfortable. We'll have his doona as well - he doesn't sleep well in a sleeping bag, though we'll have the sleeping bag in case he needs it or if Stookie decides a bike camping trip is in order. We had a conventional portacot which, as people who've had them would know, are very heavy and bulky. For Matilda, we've ditched the bulk and bought a Kinderkot. Dutch designed, they weigh only 3kg and come in their own little carry bag about the size of a serving platter, and include a self-inflating mattress and a sleeping bag and sheet to fit the shape. I'm so pleased with it!! Takes a minute (literally!) to set up and maybe 2 minute to pack it all away.




We still need to source organisers for the back of our car seats, where I'm hoping I can put most of their books and small toys. Something similar to this looks perfect!



Last week I bought a stash of MCNs (modern cloth nappies). We'll be able to wash these easily enough and will minimise our environmental impact (i.e. stinky rubbish!!). After much research, I decided to buy 20 Hippybottomus Bamboo Charcoal nappies. Bamboo charcoal is antibacterial, helps prevent smells, stays dry against the skin and feels really soft. They seem to be less bulky than many other nappies I've tried and seen, so I hope they are comfortable for Matilda. I've started toilet training Hamish this week in the hope he'll be daytime trained by the time we leave. In case he's not, these nappies will (just!) fit him. One of my requirements with choosing a suitable nappy was that both kids would be able to wear them - that really limited my options (as well as price...some nappies are expensive!).




I think we have the kid's essentials sorted!! I'm really pleased with the decisions I've made with these items, though time will tell....

Lil :)

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Around 4 weeks now until we have to be out of the house...eep!!

I handed in notice to the agents yesterday of our intention to vacate. Today has been spent sorting through the kids clothes and taking photos of the big stuff. The lounge suite, washing machine and kayak have been advertised on Gumtree and eBay as well as our Garage Sale, which will be on Saturday 31st March.

This is becoming so real! I have butterflies in my stomach even as I type. Fingers crossed that we are able to sell our things for good prices and feel comfortable about the money side of things for a while!

Lil :)

All wired up.

So I've had a busy weekend. I have installed 2 100amp circuit breakers, one in the dual battery system and one in the camper trailer. I have hooked up an Anderson connector on both batteries also which now gives us a great deal of options.
We can run the fridge whilst travelling on 240v which will allow it to run cooler. We can also recharge the Camper battery whilst driving. To monitor all this I have a projecta dual batter monitor that tells me all my charge rates on the dual battery system. Whilst we are setup I have an 80w solar panel to top the battery up on the camper.
The deep cycle in the camper also has an Anderson lead and allows us to plug in the laptop and recharge the camera too.

I think we are done for the moment !

Stookie :)



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Thursday 15 March 2012

Projecta IP-600 Pure sine wave inverter.

Our Projecta Pure Sine wave inverter has arrived and I'm looking forward to setting it up.
My plan is to hook the leads up with an Anderson lead so it can be swapped between the car and the camper. I already have an Anderson lead on the Camper which allows us to hook up the inverter and then use our laptop and camera.
I'm going to wire up the aux battery in the car with an Anderson lead and some 6 B&S cable so we can charge the laptop whilst travelling and run the fridge on 240v which will keep it running cooler.

The unit also has a separate controller which allows you to see voltage draw and current rate whilst on the move. The unit also has built-in cut off and alarms for low battery and short circuit protection.
I will be wiring in a 100amp circuit breaker at the battery to protect it and us from any dramas.

My weekend projects are starting to mount up.......

Stookie :)

Wednesday 14 March 2012

The Jackaroo overhaul

Well the Jackaroo has returned from the Holden Dealers after having all the belts replaced, the water pump replaced and the clutch and brake fluids changed.
I could not believe the difference in the way the car drives, its like a different car.
The ride is far smoother and the engine just purrs........
The brakes and the gear change is so silky smooth , its like a new car !!!!
The mechanics at Holden have done a great job and we both feel very confident in taking the Jackaroo around the country.
Time will tell but its always been a reliable car so far so fingers crossed it takes us where we want to go.

 We have been told that the front hubs need new wheel bearing and seals so that another job for me on the weekend..........another dirty weekend under the car.........excellent.

Stookie ;)



Holden Jackaroo 3.2lt V6 Manual.

Tuesday 13 March 2012

Can't forget to keep the study motivation up!

I finally completed my first two units towards my Accounting Diploma!! I intend to keep studying while we're travelling, though I can see it will be hard at times. I'm hoping that I'll be able to work some jobs that are related which would be very helpful for cementing my knowledge.

I've just received my text books for two of my next three units....best I get off the computer!!

Thursday 8 March 2012

Sad day today

The chooks are going to a new home today :( . Our funny feathered friends are going to have a boyfriend and maybe even babies! The beautiful eggs we had each morning will be sorely missed. I did think about finding a way to take them with us, but decided it would not be fair on them. Chooks stress out quickly and travel would not be conducive to happy girls.

This will also give me time to tidy up their part of the yard. There is some beautiful compost in there I think I'll offer to the neighbours.






Bye bye girls!!

Wednesday 7 March 2012

Quick Fist


I'd seen this little rubber holder called a "Quick Fist" which is like a clamp that you can use to hold items like a shovel, hi-lift jack, axe and a whole host of other things.
Lil and I went to Bunnings with neither of us game to ask for a "Quick Fist". So we took the search online. I remember seeing the advert from a company called OVESCO in the Camper Trailer Australia magazine so went through my copies and found the advert. At $8 a pop these little clamps are brilliant.
We have now managed to put the Axe on the tailgate of the camper so its out of the way on a space thats normally unusable. Next is the broom and the shovel and we even have one that will mount the fire extinguisher too........brilliant.
I think I will be back online to get some more.


Busy!

Started the selling process. Online ads placed for the big baby things and Stookie's studio gear. I've also applied for a couple of temp positions in the Far North. Things are on the get-go now! Now to start crossing fingers, toes and boompsydaisy everything sells quickly and I hear back about a job!

Tuesday 6 March 2012

The tedious tasks continue in preparation...

Sorting through files and getting rid of paperwork. I have a box full to destroy yet seem to have the same amount as I started with in the files?! How does that work?? Some will need to come with us, some will go into storage. Lucky I'm reasonably organised!


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Monday 5 March 2012

More bits that will come in handy...

While the rain keeps tumbling down, what is there to do but browse eBay for bits!! Looking at high lift jacks and mounts and recovery hitch and shackle. Also need MCNs (modern cloth nappies) to limit our rubbish and not have the added expense of disposables. Even if we're eating grass and bark soup, the kids will be clean!


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Thursday 1 March 2012

Today has been a day to season all my new camp iron cookware. We bought a 10 piece Wild Country set which comes with two pans, one camp oven, jaffle irons, a flat griddle and some extra accessories. They all come in their own wooden chest which should hold up well and make for easier packing.

We've also bought two fire extinguishers, one for the car and one for the trailer. We still need one fire blanket as well.

Stookie has fixed the water leaks in the home made water tank.

I'm starting to freak a little thinking about the things I would like to take and how little room we have!! Fortunately, things like bedding and the camp chairs will live in the tent, so only have to worry about clothes, food, tools, dog food, toiletries and toys! Sounds easy, right?!