How much notice do you need?

[Hairs]

How much notice do you need to head off for the weekend?
Our camper sits ready to go except for food, drinks and clothes. Everything is prepared in readiness after the last use. I guess most swaggers would have their camper at the ready for when the opportunity arises to head off. Water tanks filled, batteries always charged, gas bottles are monitored, we always make sure there is enough gas for the fridge and cook top for at lest a couple of nights.
If it is decided the night before we will turn on the 3way fridge in the camper and just use the smaller 33lt 3 way for drinks, two nights away is easy. Or if it is just for the night the big 50lt 3way can be fired up.
This is what we bought the Swan for, it's ease of use and ready to go.
With the weather slowly starting to warm up, we will try and get away once a month for the weekend to a quiet spot somewhere on a river bank, this will depend on whether the kids have sport as well.
When daylight saving kicks in, Friday arvo is enough notice for a two night stay somewhere close, within an hours drive of home and after arriving at the chosen spot, twenty minutes later we can be setup with a coldie cracked.
What makes it quicker these days is the kids are bigger, they have their own jobs to do in setting up. last year while traveling for a month, setting up and packing up became very organized. The slowest part was guiding the bed end flys into the sail track. This we are going to change when we re canvas the tent section soon. Might look at a bagged annex roof as well.
Life is good 

With longer stays of up to a week or more, the only difference is the wait before leaving, Now that's the killer

 

[MarkGU]

Jon
our Swan is always primed and ready. 
hardest decision we have in the Clarence Valley WHICH camp spot to choose.   



P.S we are heading out to Sandon river fri arvo if you guys are keen 

[Hairs]

Nah, sorry mate.
We have Soccer in Yamba this Saturday morning.
And I'm planning on doing some work on the camper this weekend.
 

[Mallory Black]

I think ours is in a better state of readiness than NORAD

[Smoko]

The misses picks me up on a Friday afternoon on the way home I'll say lets go camping get home put food in the fridge which lives in the back of the truck put the dog in and gone.

The ct and truck are at home ready to go at anytime don't use the truck as a daily drive


 


Smoko

[DannyG]

We generally plan the week leading up to a weekend away but as a rule everything is ready to go or handy, so its only a matter of packing grocerys, checking off the 'camping' list and away we go. We keep all the beds made up and even the kids swags made up under the tent cover.

[Bird]

All depends on kids sports/parties/this/that..

If there was nothing on, I'd say 2 days would be sufficient.

[LJs GU]

Us? At the drop of a hat.*
Just got to fill the water tank, take out one of the rear seats of the Patrol & put the fridge in the back, pull CT into garage, unload stuff we don't need, load stuff we do need, pack food clothes footwear, kids toys, pillows, alcohol, maybe charge the CT batteries, double check the alcohol, organise for the dog and fish to be fed, fill the Patrol, get some cash from the ATM... apart from that, ready to go at a moments notice.
LJ

(*Hat dropped from Rialto Towers, Melb CBD with strong up draft)

[Eureka]

With kids- about 5 days - 30 minutes for the boys, 4 days, 23 hours and 30 minutes for the girl. Mum - about 15 minutes- me, about the same.


With out the kids, about 45 minutes total. Mainly it is getting the extra annex pulled out of the CT and stowed in the garage.  Food is in a basket stored full in the house hold chest freezer, milk, bread included. Lift basket out, drop into CT fridge, kick start fridge (old 3 way Evacool - I have no idea what the litres are) . Clothes - change of underwear mainly for a 2 day, a week away or longer the missus packs the clothes, I hitch the CT and lug the food out.

With kids - the Territory is the mule, without, the Falcon ute does the duties.
With kids- there is a destination in mind as we leave, with out - where does that road go? The hardest part is deciding which way to go when we hit the highway. More than once a flip of a coin has been the decider

[Matto]

With an 8mo, nothing happens quickly. We're currently running at about 2 weeks - the first is spent convincing the good lady wife that it's worth going, given the little one will scream the whole time. The second week is spent packing the portacot, bottles, extra rugs, toys...

Seriously though, ours is like Hairs' - it stays packed and ready to go. For me, it's the biggest advantage over a tent. We recharge/refill/replace everything when we put the camper away from it's previous outing. Only thing we're typically bad on is food, because if we run out in the house, we'll raid the camper rather than go to the shop. Means you're liable to get away and realise that you pinched the flour or oil a week ago and forgot to replace it...

Once bub is sleeping a bit better, we want to start doing more weekenders - knocking off at 3pm Friday, and being set up somewhere by 6. Also, I want to start taking the dogs away with us. Currently I get sad if we have to leave them home by themselves more than a couple of weekends in a row.

With the weather slowly starting to warm up,

What's this "cold weather" of which you speak?

Cheers!
Matto

[2003gxl]

Usually plan the week before, but the other thursday when I got home I said to the missus I think i'll ring in sick 2moro and we'll head off for the weekend thn went and fillled the water tank up and put a few clothes in a bag tea, coffee an beer in the camper. Up earlyish friday rang in sick went down the local shops and got meat and bread and we were off for 2 nights.

[Bird]

Us? At the drop of a hat.*
(*Hat dropped from Rialto Towers, Melb CBD with strong up draft)

GOLD! 

[Campa]

We head out in the camper once a month.  We usually start to get organised a couple of days before.

Even though the camper is always packed ready to go, the few days before we go I check the camper and make sure everything is ok (wheel bearings, battery charged, count poles, pegs, ropes Spare tyre pumped up etc. just in case)  And while i do that i usually take things out we wont be needing for that trip if it's free camping or Caravan Park. Then give the Patrol a quick look over too and check all is ok.

Clothes food drinks etc takes around and hour or so to load it all in the Patrol. Then were off.

Bnk

[Hairs]

What's this "cold weather" of which you speak?
Cheers!
Matto

LOL, I've been keen the last few weeks, but with Saturday soccer and a few other things popping out we haven't been able to. I was amazed how warm it was in the Swan the first time we used it in the middle of winter 09, admittedly it was at the coast, Brooms Head, but the southerly blow ice cold.
It's actually pretty good in the cooler months, it just to be very warm inside of the summer months when there is no breeze.
Next weekend we will be heading to Nymboida for two nights. Take the kids out of school for one day doesn't hurt, especially when they do achieve pretty well at school. About the only thing that I'll do a couple of days before is get the 3way down to temp on 240V.
It's something we should do more often, with all the great camping spots around the Clarence.
 

 

[BigJules]

With an 8mo, nothing happens quickly. We're currently running at about 2 weeks - the first is spent convincing the good lady wife that it's worth going, given the little one will scream the whole time. The second week is spent packing the portacot, bottles, extra rugs, toys...

Yep  . Used to be quick but no so fast these days.

[D4D]

Almost 2 years and still not ready...

[Matto]

Almost 2 years and still not ready...

You win the prize! 

[Bill]

Usually we just need to grab food, clothing and bedding and off we go say 1/2 an hour.
But at the moment I'am adding a second battery to our setup which will be a couple weeks or so to finish, ( I can't rush these things)
Bill

[crackacoldie]

10 minutes and we can be gone.  Pity it never happens like that though!

  Cracka

[Kit_e_kat9]

Of late, we've been deciding where to go last minute (ie: the night before) ... but I have a list of places we can go at the ready.  For us (since we don't actually live together), I get the camper and my stuff ready ... he gets the ute and his stuff ready ... I spend the night at his place so we decide what we are going to eat and where we are going to go ... I go home an hour before he lobs at my place ... we take 1/2 hr to load things once he lobs ... and we are on the road.

We are both in charge of food, but I keep the permanent pantry items maintained.  I fill the water after last trip so it's always full and keep the batteries charged on the alternate weekend.  He's in charge of the loo, the camping tool box (which goes on his ute), his fridge and loading the dog box.  I take home his clothes and pillow and ensure it's stowed before he arrives.  We both remove security from the camper and add the finishing touches (gas, chairs, panels, jerry-bins) as well as running through the mental list.

If we aren't on the road by 0800, he gets peeved.  If we have to make any diversions (for things we forgot) he gets peeved.  If we aren't set up and drinking by lunchtime, he gets peeved. 

If we don't go camping, I get peeved.

Kit_e

[gqcamper]

If needed probably 2 hrs max,while i get camper from my parents which is only 15mins away the missus would get food organised and the few little bits and pieces that don't live in the camper.
Hey navara04 might have to catch up out at sandon sometime,we have been there with friends that live at Ashby. We visit fairly regularly up that way.