A new start!

[Cam]

I thought I'd share my story in the hope in inspires others! Hopefully I'll get to meet some of you as well!

So, in short I am a 29 year old single dad to a nearly 4 year old mildly Autistic son. I was previously working in IT in a crazy stressful job traveling 3.5 hours a day to get to work etc..

One day whilst on my way into work on the train it just hit me, I was sitting there going "this is insane, what am I doing?!". I started to do the sums and see how much money I could survive on, the sums looked good.. So I parted my old AU and sold all my posessions.. I bought an AU wagon, and an old late 70's caravan which I did a heap of 12v work too (320w solar, 150ah, 800w inverter, LED's, 25amp controller etc)..

I am currently in Byron and planning on staying here till after Christmas, then I am heading south.. and from there who knows!

Even after a couple of weeks its been a great experience, meeting some insane people and enjoying the scenery along the way!

If you are on bookface you can follow me at http://facebook.com/gonecaravaning but I will post some pics on here from time to time!

Enjoy!
Cam

[The Monty]

Love it Cam, but next time we have to choose a better beach, lol!

[newi]

That is awesome mate! I bet your little boy is loving life on the road!

It is something I think we all dream about doing but few ever do - good on you!!

[The Yeti]

Awesome love it

[Geez Louise]

I will be following your adventures. Great work

[05_ENFORCER]

One thing I do know about autistic/down syndrome kids is they love adventure, new adventures and challenges.

Great way to bond and live life.

Good onya, have a great time and we'll all be waiting for updates.

You are a divine inspiration Cam !

.

[Vincenzo]

Cam

I don't tweet or face book but you keep us informed here on the forum and you have me for the duration.

Cheers and take care of the young fella and yourself


Vincenzo

[coupxb]

sounds like your a real winner.

[MNM96]

Head north for the colder months. I am sure you can get heaps of FFSupport!

[hawkgirl]

good on you. Just a bit jealous!

[NickyN]

What a great new start for the 2 of you! And just the beginning of making new memories together and of course, the fun and adventure between father and son. Enjoy!

[BENT_8]

Great effort Cam!

Too many people spend their whole lives obsessed with the lure of money and posessions, quite often they overlook the most important things in life, their children growing up.
When i read your first thread about your intentions i was overwhelmed by your situation.
I was so hoping that you would take that leap of faith and embark on your new life for both of you.

I wish you all the very best of luck and good times on your journey.

Steve

[Mickxr8]

Good on you , subbed on bookface , good travels

[Cúl-Báire]

*liked*

Excellent stuff Cam; I recall reading your first thread mentioned by Bent 8 above and thinking the same thing... If anything it got me thinking along the same train of though, that we become slaves to our careers, and material possessions and loose track of the things that are important, subsequently missing the most vital part of our children’s lives.



For me it took being at work from 5am to 10pm and not seeing my 2.5 year old daughter for a few days in a row to say stuff this I need to do something different, even if it does mean less money!.. Haven't convinced the missus we should buy a caravan yet though :-P

Enjoy the trip mate, I'm sure you and little one will have a blast creating memories.

[Cam]

Thanks for the kind words all! It's pretty crazy how quickly it all happened but now I'm sitting in the sun in Byron so its totally worth it! Parting my AU was a lot harder then I expected but I created great memories with it and no doubt will create more great memories on the road!

MNM, believe me any offers of front lawns will be appreciated! Traveling through Grafton, and Port, wagga, dubbo, bathursf, mildura and along the SA, Vic and NSW coasts if anyone can help I can make sure there's cold beer!

Will post an update from my bookface page shortly..

[302 XC]

Its great youve ventured out of the rut many cant escape

Enjoy your adventures,,no regrets .....

[MNM96]

Originally Posted by Cam

MNM, believe me any offers of front lawns will be appreciated! Traveling through Grafton, and Port, wagga, dubbo, bathursf, mildura and along the SA, Vic and NSW coasts if anyone can help I can make sure there's cold beer!

Come north Mate

Always a spot here at mine!

Mike

[Cam]

I would love to come north, but with the hot weather here heading south and staying along the coast for now makes more sense with no aircon in the caravan! hahaha

Upate from facey:

So, it's raining and I have ome time to kill (who would've thought?!)

For those that are interested.. some info on my solar / battery setup.. I am running a single 150ah agm battery, 1 x 120w portable panel an 1 x 200w fixed panel on the roof. I run a 20amp solar regulator with a remote controller and a 800w inverter. I have installed LED lights throughout and outside as well as 10 x 12v sockets ...throughout the van, I am able to run all the mod contis like a 3G router, TV, 2 laptops, an iPad and a phone whenever i like during good weather. My fridge runs on gas except for when I am driving, then it runs on 240v via the inverter. I also have a DC>DC charger (3v input / 14v out I think?) in the back of the car that connects via anderson plug and is ignition controlled as to not flatten the tow rigs battery..

Now some tech stuff..
Because of my awesome positioning skills (and modesty) I managed to park perfectly and I am getting sunlight from 6:30/6:30 on the portable panel (that involves moving it once a day..) and the fixed panel from 7 till 5.
I get between 9 and 14 amp with no fancy positioning of the portable panel.. During overcast periods I am still averaging 6-9 amp but when it is very overcast like today (i.e. Dark skies and raining) I am only geting 1.1amp
Power usage:
Telstra 3g Router *Always on - 1.1amp
TV - *with power for antenna - 2.8amp TV/antenna .3a on standby
Inverter *Idle - .9a
iPad *through inverter - 2.3a / Through USB 12v - 1a
Phone *through inverter - 1.5a / USB - .9a
Laptop charger for TV *Through Inverter - 3.8a
12v charger for Netbook - 1.8a@14v
Frdge on 240 via inverter - 7.8amp
Portable fridge on 12v - 6.2amp via inverter 7.2
LED strips outside .2a
LED lights inside under .1a each
Webcam for video baby monitor 1amp

So, Consiering that I get about 5 hour battery life from my laptop and great standby time, 7 hours use time with the netbook an the iPad gets about a day its safe to assume that the laptops will be charger for at LEST 2 hours everyday. I could still go 3 days as per normal in a low/no light situation. Obviously if the weather looks bad for long periods it'd be easy to triple that to make it last a week or more by minimizing my usge. Slow charging my phone / ipad and turnng off the 3g router and tv on standby alone would gain a substantial amount of run time!

Thats enough dribble for now, I havn't proof read it so I hope it makes sense!

Ciao
Cam

[SSD-85]

Good to see you followed through with it Cam.

You know youre always welcome to park up at my place if youre ever passing through The scenery is great out here.

[MNM96]

I did mention as the weather cools. Follow the sun. I've heard the backpackers do it, and there lies another positive!

[TheInterceptor]

Well done!! I take my hat off to you sir. Enjoy every moment! Id love to do what youre doing! Maybe one day.

Ill be watchin this thread

[Cam]

DJM - So you did, my bad mate!

Eagleheart - Where abouts are you located mate?


Due to the heat inland at the moment I have decided to change my route and head down the coast towards SA. I had planned on doing the dubbo, wagga, bathurst, mildura trip but with so many days at 35degrees plus I've decided to come back inland when its a bit cooler..

So my plans are I leave Byron on the 5th. Will then head to Grafton for a few days to a week, and will then slowly start making my way down the coast towards Sydney where I'll spend a couple of weeks.. So if there's anyone along the way who wants to catch up for a beer and some mindless chatter then feel free to PM me! Especially if you have some grass I can park my van! hahaha

Hope we all had a lovely christmas!

[Franco Cozzo]

Hey mate whats it like living in a caravan? Because I'm thinking about doing it but buying a property to house it on, maybe build a toilet/shower on the property.

[richo77]

Liked as well. Good on you Cam, your boy must be having a ball!

[poppa smurf]

well done you, I always wanted to do this but....well....we want things and we want to go places

up your inverter to a 2,000 watt and you will be able to run your microwave off your battery (much easier for a quick meal)

put an old computer fan in the back of your 3 way fridge to withdraw the heat and it will work a whole lot better, wire it into the 12 volt side of the system at the bottom of the fridge with a switch so you can shut it off at night

anyway, all the luck in the world to you

[dannyxm]

Fantastic news, myself, I have twins, 11 months old.
I worked my *** of before birth and after and missed so much. As financial stable as we are, I almost cost me a marriage. As i thought making money and spending a bit of time with family was ok.

Now I just got back from a 3 day break down the south coast of NSW.

I realized how much I missed and I'm not making the same mistake again.

You did what we all dreamed off, your young bloke must going bananas with joy. God speed mate, take care and enjoy the ride.

Just liked you on fb, looking fw to updates

[OzJavelin]

Good to see another IT person getting a real life. As I comment to people who ask me about my job .. "Slavery isn't dead, it's now called IT".

Hope it all goes well and you have a great time.

[Trevor 57]

My lifes words of wisdom

1st - Family
2nd - Job
3rd - Hobby


Well done on doing what you should be doing - you only your kids for a short time, boys need their dads as significant role models - you are setting him up for success - awesome

[Sam_Boss260]

Yep, another Like on FB.

Also being in IT, you do feel like that little mouse inside the wheel where you just have to keep peddling.

Good on you for making this change. This experience will not only increase the bond between you and your son, but you'll have a ball along the way !!

Well done.

[79FordEsky]

Following the whole thing mate great thing you got going.