G’day all. This is my first post. But far from my first log in. I have been stalking you lot for ages. Now it’s time to share.
I’m not sure I will be as avid a poster/replier as so many of you good folk but let’s see how I go. Most of you hard floor Jedis probably thought the same before you got hooked.
Bit of an introduction first, married with 2 kids 7 & 10. Always camped with my family as a kid and went right through scouts from age 7 till I was 25. Safe to say I have tried many different ways to do it from under the stars, nylon K-mart tents, huge canvas family tents, our old FJ45 troopy, the Cub Campomatic( old school version with baby alloy 12"? wheels tucked under) towed behind my faithful old V Dub, then the Hilux, then the 120 Prado. This turned into a Mario softfloor behind the Prado which evolved into a Jayco behind a 200 series Landcruiser which is where I find myself now.
So the Jayco, ’05 Outback Hawk, good unit but not quite suited to our style of camping, yet.
First to go was the kitchen, replaced by a shelf unit to take Nally style 45l tubs with lids. We have camped out of these tubs for years. Everything from clothes to food to toys to wetsuits, fishing gear goes in them. They stack, they nest, you can leave them outside with the lids on and your gear stays dry. You can sit on them, stand on them, even bath the kids. They rock. My old man has had a couple on the go for 30 + years. (beware of cheap imitations)
We found the Jayco kitchen was not really suited to our needs. The cupboards too small and awkward to access, sink too small and too low, good stove but who wants to cook inside and the microwave simply wasn’t going to get used enough to warrant keeping. Not often do we have mains power and its position down on the floor, really?
The brief is to streamline the setup so better suited to side of the road lunches and quick overnighters while maintaining creature comforts for long term setups including 2 weeks or so at Christmas and the already booked trip to Kangaroo Island next school hols.
Other minor mods already undertaken include LED’s all round and electric water pump, Sureflow, mounted underneath.
On the drawing board and underway is
• Enlarge rear access hatch on annexe side to accommodate slide out kitchen.
• New Drifta kitchen. Anyone in the market for a DPOR?
• Re-wire. (did I say that out loud?) Setec goes out the door. New battery location under the small rear facing lounge over the axle with C-Tec DC-DC etc. Box will be vented to outside with computer fan.
• New switch panel/dash board arrangement incorporated in new shelf unit with knobs, buttons, gauges, power outlets and AV.
• Suspension upgrade, maybe squeeze rims and rubber under to match the car.
• Relocate spare wheel under to make room for the ….
• Bike rack on the back. (controversial I know)
• Ditch the factory stabilisers, replace with Alco drop downs.
• 2 pantry boxes that will stack and secure just inside the door and then come out and hook onto the side of the van above the wheel arch side by side to create bench/pantry. Doors on these to be piano hinge along the bottom edge.
• Modify side door so it can be opened without lifting the roof, and still keep out rain and dust. Anyone managed this before?
• Install new access hatch on annexe side between fridge and bed for, access. Maybe a sliding basket style storage that can be accessed from inside or out.
Due to the fact that I work mostly 6 day weeks and do not have a shed to work in most of this will be done by others whom I will have to pay money, that’s how it works. To get money I need to sell off a few items, including the soft floor. These items have been posted on Gumtree. Please pass this info to anyone you think may be interested. I will try and post these on Myswag for sale page too, seeing I have never advertised anything online before and i just lost my online forum posting cherry just now, be gentle,
FOR SALE
• Mario Trailers Extreme Offroad camper trailer. As new, very little use. Fully galvanized, Extended drawbar for Prado rear door to swing open fully with trailer on, axle and rims custom to match Prado so wheels interchange, tool box on the draw bar, gas struts, jerry, gas bott etc.
• Drifta DPOR kitchen. Will slide into the Mario, or not. I don’t need to tell you how good kitchen is.
• Stove from Jayco
• Sink from Jayco
• Roof basket from Jayco
• Cargo Barrier suit 200 series Landcruiser
Future fantasy mods include
• Air bag suspension that will have the van ride high on the road and then drop to the ground when parked like a bad boy Hilux ute. Ok I will never do this but would like to plant the seed for someone else to have a go.
• Tonneau style cover. Fixes to roof via a rail run along the outside edge of the roof racks. A ridge is created down the guts with a pin located centre pole on short verticals, OR ute tonneau style removal ribs like on a ute. Creates a safari style roof to keep inside cooler, can keep the roof hatch open in the rain and helps the van cover shed water when stored.
• Cut back the rounded front storage and replace with ally box with fridge slide on the annexe side and storage for genny, chainsaw etc on the off side.
• Remove the existing fridge. Replace with another storage, maybe sliding baskets that can access from inside or outside. This was high on the list earlier on when I had only run the fridge on 12v and 240v (disappointing). When I later found out how well it works on gas I changed my mind, for now.
