The Camping Thread

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Spending the weekend camped at Barmera's fabulous Lake Bonney for the annual Carp Frenzy that has been a tradition for us and something we're continuing in memory of my best mate Jerry.

Arrived Wednesday evening and the weather has been nothing but sensational with mid to high 20's and sub 10knot winds.

Have to travel light these days with my new toy taking place over a 6x4 trailer of camp luxuries so tenting it is.

https://i.postimg.cc/MZd37QV8/20230303-112134.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/5y7Pbhbt/20230303-112102.jpg

As you can see from the dead grass/dirt along the foreshore at the caravan park, the flood water came up a looong way and we're lucky to be able to be here at all as the park closed for 3 months and only reopened mid Feb.

https://i.postimg.cc/90F83m3S/20230303-112613.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/G2RgQPXb/20230303-112624.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/13gd53g1/20230303-112634.jpg

And one of my new toy, what a blast
https://i.postimg.cc/NMxJPynm/20230303-112745.jpg

How were the mozzies there?

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by blueoval

How were the mozzies there?

Not a mozzie in sight to be honest and considering im sitting 20m from the waters edge and its dead calm, if they we're about, they'd be out right now.

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Not a mozzie in sight to be honest and considering im sitting 20m from the waters edge and its dead calm, if they we're about, they'd be out right now.

Thats good to know.

[BENT_8]

Another glorious day in paradise.

https://i.postimg.cc/P5ndkySw/20230304-132650.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/zGw8DhQP/20230304-132710.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/q7k0NRVB/20230304-132659.jpg

The last few years the weather on competition day has been either stinking hot or blowing a gale and whilst its around 33* today its nice to be able to get out and enjoy it.
The park has been closed for 3 months due to the lake flooding so the weather has encouraged the masses and the park is pumping again.

[BENT_8]

Hard to believe its been almost 4 months since any activity in this thread, whats going on guys, too cold?

When I bought my ski it had a bit of damage on one blade of the prop, spoke to the servicing dealer about it before purchase and he said it may cause a slight drop in performance but as I hadn't ridden it prior, I wouldn't notice it really.
Managed to get it up to 93k/hr which was plenty fast enough for me.

When I got back I took it to an independent for a second opinion, they reckon it was definitely down on performance based on appearance and my feedback, so I had them replace it with a Solus upgrade unit, what a difference.
We spent Easter in Barmera again with the ski, little lady wasn't too keen on tenting, so we booked into the lake front motel for 4 nights.
Did a rescue during the weekend, a fellow ski rider forgot to put his bung in and was clinging to a post half submerged when I got to him, dragged him back to shore.
Managed to get 105km/hr out of it this time.

Weekend before Kings Birthday a group of us got together for a trip up to Rocky Paddock, again I was tenting it.
Was a great weekend but I came home with the realisation that at 47 my days of lying on the cold hard ground was limited if not over.

Sat down with the little lady and discussed our options and decided to re-enter the RV world with a wind-up camper of sorts.

A few days later our Son was rear ended in his FG XR6 which from initial inspection would be a write-off due to the boot floor being caved in and rear door misalignment.
He needed a car for work, so I gave him my FG which he offered to buy once his car was paid out. I planned on selling it soon so agreed.
This left us with a dilemma though as we now only had the Ranger and Wifes Mazda2, a bit hard to tow a van and ski with only 1 tow car so we decided to buy her an SUV and Id use the Mazda for work for now.
Ended up getting her a nice low K Outlander with the bigger 2.4l for towing the ski.

With vehicles now organised it was time to look for a camper.
We we're looking for the Jayco Eagle/Swan type of outfit of around the 2015 era for our budget.
Looked at a 2017 Swan that had water damage so that was ruled out, had a look at an Eagle outback which was housed outside and whilst in good condition considering I decided whatever we bought needed to be able to fit in not only our current garage but in the one at our new house when its built.
After doing a bit of research I discovered that the Jayco Lark would be big enough for the 3 of us whilst small enough to fit comfortably in both garages, so we set about looking for a good Lark.

As luck would have it we stumbled upon a 2021 built example with full annex, roof rack and bed end fly conversion that had only been used a few times.
Story goes that it was originally ordered new in 2021 but wasn't delivered until mid 22. The buyers decided after using it a few times that they wanted a pop top instead and decided to move it on, so we got it with 12 months warranty left and presents as new still.
Got a few little jobs I want to do to make it more user friendly like a drawbar tap, external gas bayonet for the Baby Q and a pole carrier to free up boot storage space.
Got 2 weeks holidays coming up so hoping to do those jobs and take it away for a few nights.
Haven't decided where we'll go yet but will post up some pics when I get back.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Hard to believe its been almost 4 months since any activity in this thread, whats going on guys, too cold?

.

Cost of living having a massive impact. Had to cancel our Easter plans.

Off to Uluru and Kings Canyon in 2 weeks. Went down to our favourite spot, Naracoorte caves national park, on kings birthday weekend just to make sure everything is sorted.



Can't wait to see the iconic Aussie outback.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Hard to believe its been almost 4 months since any activity in this thread, whats going on guys, too cold?

Just spent a week over your way in SA, and yes, wee bit cold at times, in fact it poured rain on our last day in Tailem Bend CP.
The highlight of this particular trip was at Birdwood car museum, the next trip I have planned will the Oodnadatta track, minus the caravan.

Cheers

PS: My rig & van

[Honest Gaza]

We took our Penguin to Patonga (Central Coast NSW) a few Weekends back...beautiful in the day, but certainly a bit chilly at night.

[raised by monkeys]

Our caravan resto got to about 3/4 through, started using it, now wet weather has set in and theres a leak damaging the rear wall and bottom bunk i rebuilt. When i got the van i spent weeks removing silicone, resealing the roof/side wall with new seals with plenty of sikaflex, then removing windows and resealing and replacing water damaged timber. It seems ive missed where water is getting in somewhere and my best guess is the rear of the van where there is plenty of pressed tin to form the rear end, and maybe holes made in the side wall for the tracks for the annexe. Either way, it means i cant really attend to it until wet season eases off and means a small demo. My advice for anyone considering a retro van repair is take all the internal walls out. I attempted a half demo where we just repaired what was damaged but this has lead to maybe msising somehting hidden. Its all time and money at the end of the day and with other priorities it gets a bit hard. Unfortunately the shed roofline is too low and theres no car port to store it under

[Honest Gaza]

Originally Posted by raised by monkeys

...Unfortunately the shed roofline is too low and theres no car port to store it under

Yes, I'd love to be able to leave our Penguin set up while I add electrical options and mods. Always find the time limited when allowing for wind-up / wind-down at the end of each day.

[prydey]

Just got home after roughly 4000km time trip. Went to Uluru and Kings Canyon. A couple of nights in coober pedy on the way through as well.

Epic trip. First time out there for me and thoroughly enjoyed it. Landscape constantly changing and those iconic places lived up to the hype.

Will put some more pics up in the next few days.

Here's a small selection of our adventures

[blueoval]

Amazing stuff mate. what a trip. Thats a trip I'd love to do again one day. Havent done Uluru since I was 11 in the late 80s. How did the rig hold up on the journey?

[prydey]

Originally Posted by blueoval

Amazing stuff mate. what a trip. Thats a trip I'd love to do again one day. Havent done Uluru since I was 11 in the late 80s. How did the rig hold up on the journey?

Yeah it was great. I would definitely go back.

Car and van went without issues. 4000km. Ave 13.6L/100km. Pretty happy with that. It was nudging 16L on some sections and 12L in others. Wind played a big role.

I don't tow over 100kmh either.

I wouldn't do it in summer though. I would die. I'm well and truly acclimatised to Adelaide weather. Got to 24 deg out at kings canyon and I had the a/c going in the van.. Haha.

[prydey]

Last 2 pics are just overnight stops at Marla and Glendambo.

[fordomatic]

Ok, so looking to buy a caravan for the family, 4 of us, kids are 6 and 4. We've done a lot of camping as a family but I want to be able to travel more and be more comfortable, so a cheap caravan it is. Another reason is that with accommodation at the snow being so expensive now, we can put the van on our friends property in Jindabyne in the winter and use it on the weekends.

Looking at 16-20ft vans in the 15k price bracket, must have an alloy frame. I've been keeping an eye on the market for 6 months, noticed vans that were selling for 25k 6 months ago are sitting around at 15-17.5k for months. I'll fit a bunk in it for the kids and a diesel heater for the snow. Will use our SYII Territory to tow it. Ultimately I don't want anything heavier than 1750kg.

Should be fun and i'm in no rush, will buy in the next 8 months or so. If something was to pop up tomorrow though, i'd grab it. Looked at 4 so far, just to get a feel of what i'm looking at.

[ford71V8]

Originally Posted by prydey

Last 2 pics are just overnight stops at Marla and Glendambo.

Great stuff.
Jealousy kicking in.
You will have to go further on next time.
We've done the full run to Darwin couple of times now and its never long enough.
And you picked the perfect time of year

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by prydey

Last 2 pics are just overnight stops at Marla and Glendambo.

I tried ordering a beer at the bar in Glendambo and the women behind the counter looked at me like I had 2 heads.

That place is usually a must stop section between Coober and Pt Augusta.

Marla isnt too bad a stop either to stretch the legs.

This time of year is perfect for this trip.

[buggerlugs]

Originally Posted by prydey

Just got home after roughly 4000km time trip. Went to Uluru and Kings Canyon. A couple of nights in coober pedy on the way through as well.

Epic trip. First time out there for me and thoroughly enjoyed it. Landscape constantly changing and those iconic places lived up to the hype.

Will put some more pics up in the next few days.

Here's a small selection of our adventures
image

image

image

image

image

image

image

I remember when riding around Oz on a trail bike, us and the bikes in the underground motel at Coober Pedy, Climbing the rock and being told there was a Bar at the top, getting Chicken Burgers at the shop at Kings Canyon and one of the locals knocked the chicken out of my burger........

[prydey]

Originally Posted by blueoval

This time of year is perfect for this trip.

Originally Posted by ford71V8

And you picked the perfect time of year

Yeah, I wouldn't do it in the warmer weather. There'd be a lot less people but I struggle with the heat these days.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by prydey

Yeah, I wouldn't do it in the warmer weather. There'd be a lot less people but I struggle with the heat these days.

Heat does not worry me; but the flies will.

[BENT_8]

So last fortnight we we're supposed to take our Jayco Lark on its maiden voyage up to Mannum caravan park for 4 nights from where we'd travel to Tailem Bend for the Supersprint.
The plan was to head up on the Thursday afternoon, set up camp, hang around Mannum on the Friday, off to The Bend Saturday for quali and the first race, down to Semaphore for a mates Birthday drinks that evening before a return to Mannum for the night and off to The bend again Sunday.

Had our site booked, however, when I got home from a 4 day away trip with work I discovered the weather was meant to turn ugly with high winds.
Normally this wouldn't worry me, but with spending 16hrs away from the camper on the Saturday my concern was coming back at midnight to the camper damaged or flooded.
Discussed it with the Wife and decided to give the camper and Mannum a miss this time and find a motel room for the weekend
Ended up at the Goolwa Motel Thursday for 3 nights, so we shopped in Victor Harbor Friday and continued the weekends itinerary as originally planned albeit from Goolwa.
During the 1.5hr drive to The Bend on the Sunday morning we spoke about the limitations the camper has and eventually decided that perhaps a pop top would have been a better option, problem is, finding family vans with bunks or a pop top with lounge big enough to convert to a 3rd bed isnt so easy.

Got back to Adelaide and with a weeks holiday began looking at our options.
Spoke to a mate who owns a caravan yard who suggested we check out the 14' Paramount Extenda he had in his yard. Its basically a Jayco Expanda/Windsor Rapid type setup with foldout bed one end and the benefit of bunks at the other, so we went down and had a look.
The van he had was a 2019 model and still smelt like new inside, off road and fully kitted out with annex, A/C, diesel heater, TV/DVD, hot water system and Stereo with internal and external speakers.
We fell in love with it instantly as its basically hook it up and go, so we worked out a changeover price on our as yet unused by us camper and went home to give it more consideration.
Didnt take us long to come to a decision and so by the Friday we we're dropping off the camper and hooking up the poptop.
Cant wait to get away now.

https://i.postimg.cc/cHXXyGvy/20230826-172456-1.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/zBgKpmTF/20230826-172515-1.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/NFGGFmG2/20230826-172617-1.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/JzNF6g5m/20230826-172639-1.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/sf50DqbW/20230826-172648-1.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/qR7wXBLh/20230826-172721-1.jpg

[buggerlugs]

Picked this up last weekend. I'm over swags...........

[prydey]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

the 14' Paramount Extenda

https://i.postimg.cc/cHXXyGvy/20230826-172456-1.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/zBgKpmTF/20230826-172515-1.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/NFGGFmG2/20230826-172617-1.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/JzNF6g5m/20230826-172639-1.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/sf50DqbW/20230826-172648-1.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/qR7wXBLh/20230826-172721-1.jpg

Basically the same as ours. Identical principle just slightly different layout and newer.

We're actually looking to move ours on due to my ongoing back issues. Setting up and packing up is fine and living in it is fine, just crawling in and out of the master bed end is a bit difficult. Plus I'm 188cm so the bed isn't wide enough.

Looks good. I didn't realise they even existed. The 14.44-4 jayco like ours are incredibly popular. Keeps resale high.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by buggerlugs

Picked this up last weekend. I'm over swags...........
image

Very nice!!

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by prydey

Basically the same as ours. Identical principle just slightly different layout and newer.

We're actually looking to move ours on due to my ongoing back issues. Setting up and packing up is fine and living in it is fine, just crawling in and out of the master bed end is a bit difficult. Plus I'm 188cm so the bed isn't wide enough.

Looks good. I didn't realise they even existed. The 14.44-4 jayco like ours are incredibly popular. Keeps resale high.

Thanks Rob.

What sold us on it in the end was the space around the table. We find the Jayco's too tight to squeeze into whereas the Paramount is easy.

[prydey]

I like how they open up between the fridge and the sink, rather than the traditional galley style of most vans. Means even with 2 or 3 in a small van you don't feel like you are getting in each other's way as much.

I like how it's got drawers under the rear cupboard. Ours just has a lower hatch with 2 full length doors above. Shelves one side, hanging the other.

I think they are a good design. Like I said, very popular.

[Beastie]

Took the bride out for a day trip to Lady's Well...

[thefargo]

just back from 4 days at Warrens Gorge, just out of Quorn, Flinders Rangers SA.
relaxing time - did a lot of nothing. billy tea and cooked meals on the hotplate over the fire.
No one there; no school holidays or long weekend. just us and a fair few yellow footed rock wallaby's

[raised by monkeys]

Originally Posted by thefargo

just back from 4 days at Warrens Gorge, just out of Quorn, Flinders Rangers SA.
relaxing time - did a lot of nothing. billy tea and cooked meals on the hotplate over the fire.
No one there; no school holidays or long weekend. just us and a fair few yellow footed rock wallaby's

Snake season, Wouldnt catch me out there Sep-March

[BENT_8]

Dragged the new van down to West Beach for the weekend for its shakedown, so far so good.

Swapped out the old gas bottles for some new ones and LCC27 pigtails which are much easier to connect.
Picked up a 3m bayonet hose for my Baby Q, so much easier to hook into the van than muck around with loose bottles.