2 Month trip from Melbourne - Brisbane and back. Anything we should know?

[laxation]

Wife and I are planning a 2 month trip early next year, going from Melbourne - Brisbane and back. Up by the coast, down through the middle(ish).
We will have a 1yo and 3.5yo with us, plus a dog.

We've done plenty of camping before, but only out of a tent. Longest trip before this was 3.5 weeks to Adelaide and back, which we did with a 1yo.
That was 1500km round trip, we're looking at 4200km+ this time.

Not only is it much longer, this will be the first time doing a decent trip using a camper trailer (Outback Sturt). Xtrail to tow.

Is there anything in particular we should know/have ready for the trip?

We're planning on staying mostly at caravan parks, but hopefully staying at some free campgrounds along the way. (Unfortunately all the good free camps seem to not allow dogs though)
Looking at 2-5 nights at each place.

We are planning 2x 1 week trips before the long one to sort things out.

Electrics is one thing I'm really not sure about. We've done purely unpowered camping to this point, or if we use any power it's at a caravan park.
Right now I have 75l fridge, 100ah calcium battery, 180w portable solar.
Will be testing to see how this setup goes. I assume I'll need to upgrade the battery - but will avoid it if I can.
Don't really mind running the battery dead a few times if need be, on the basis I plan to upgrade to lithium eventually.

[Mace]

How has your fridge gone in the past?  If your setup has worked for you previously all good, however a little more battery capacity would be better.

When we were camping with young children we limited our traveling to two hour stints, but in the big picture, youre not going that far, and there are plenty of things to see and do on the way up and down.  No need for long hauls.

Do you have WikiCamps? Good for recent feedback on camp sites and caravan parks.

Have a good first aid kit..  and when the kids get older, and particularly if they're female  , download a free public toilet locator App....   

And dont pack anything that you think you "might" use.  Only take what you will use....

 

[Mace]

Oh, and dont make the mistake, as we did, of saying "we will do that next time".

Life moves on, things change.  On one long east coast trip we made the mistake of by passing Fraser Island as we thought we would do that on a later trip.  25 years later, still havnt been there..

 

[laxation]

How has your fridge gone in the past?  If your setup has worked for you previously all good, however a little more battery capacity would be better.

When we were camping with young children we limited our traveling to two hour stints, but in the big picture, youre not going that far, and there are plenty of things to see and do on the way up and down.  No need for long hauls.

Do you have WikiCamps? Good for recent feedback on camp sites and caravan parks.

Have a good first aid kit..  and when the kids get older, and particularly if they're female  , download a free public toilet locator App....   

And dont pack anything that you think you "might" use.  Only take what you will use....

 

Thanks!

Fridge is completely new. Got the 75l aldi one - knock off of the Kick Ass I believe.
Only just got the camper few weeks ago - will be taking it out for a week in November for a test, giving us time to fix up anything we need to (like the battery)

Have got wikicamps and have been looking through there. Not sure yet if we'll plan the trip or wing it.

[Mace]

Fridge is completely new. Got the 75l aldi one - knock off of the Kick Ass I believe.
Only just got the camper few weeks ago - will be taking it out for a week in November for a test, giving us time to fix up anything we need to (like the battery)

Good idea.  Check out the current draw in the Manual.  I expect it to be somewhere between 3 &  5amps/hour.  Keep it in the shade so it doesnt have to work so hard..

Its all a balancing act, on working out how much current they use a day, how much solar energy you get to recharge your battery, and how hard they are working to keep things cold.  A test run is a good idea. 

 

[Mace]

Have got wikicamps and have been looking through there. Not sure yet if we'll plan the trip or wing it.

We usually winged it, between a few definite booked in dates..  If you wanted to definitely do something around a certain time(boat trip. theme park, etc) then book ahead and know you definetly will have a site...

 

[Fizzie]

If you wanted to definitely do something around a certain time(boat trip. theme park, etc) then book ahead and know you definetly will have a site...

Especially NNSW / SEQ if you're going to be here during school holidays!

[OldPaj]

Make sure your suspension is up to scratch for when you reach Vic as maintenance of roads does not extend beyond Melb.

[laxation]

Make sure your suspension is up to scratch for when you reach Vic as maintenance of roads does not extend beyond Melb.

We are booked in for an upgrade already!

As for school holidays, we're timing it to miss them by going just after Xmas holidays finish.

[Fizzie]

As for school holidays, we're timing it to miss them by going just after Xmas holidays finish.

So back home by Easter (Sunday 9 April)

[laxation]

So back home by Easter (Sunday 9 April)

Thats the plan. We always go camping at Easter, so finishing up with the same group on the way back.

[Fizzie]

OK, because that would be a time you would definitely need to have somewhere booked!

[manchu]

Electrics is one thing I'm really not sure about.

It's not the easiest thing to understand and varies from person to person and trip to trip,  but you'll get the idea once you test it all out.     I'll just mention a few things as food for thought. 

To work out your ELEC system needs you need to understand:
 - 12V consumers.   To know average Ah consumption and also the peak Amps to allow for.  An inline  power meter is very handy to help understand
 - Charge methods available  (mains power,  tow car,  solar)
 - Anticipated duration off grid. 


If the CT battery charges while driving you can be pretty sure  of a full change when you arrive at a campsite, and I guess a full charge will give you  ~2 days without any top up from solar or getting too low on your battery.     Hopefully solar tops up, but if not you can run the car.   

If you're planning on a lot of off grid camping over coming years I'd suggest  biting  the bullet and upgrade now  if time and $$ permit.   It's probably not necessary for this trip, but it might give you a bit more flexibility/options and eliminate the need for any powered sites.     

FYI I reckon the minimum spend for upgrading to 100Ah lithium is around $1K   DIY.   You'll probably need  a new chargers or two that supports  lithium.     Doing so will give you about double the useable capacity and save ~15kg weight.     

An  alternative to upgrading the CT system is to supplement it with a separate standalone power station.    eg. 

https://www.anacondastores.com/camping-hiking/power-cooling/generators/ecoflow-river-600-max-power-station-576wh48ah/BP90173897-black

Could be hand if you head off on a day  trip with fridge in the boot and and want to keep it powered.     

[Chesapeake]

Laxation, enjoy your trip. It's a bit off topic but my biggest tip to anyone travelling is if you are not a member of RACV,NRMA or your states equivalent roadside service you should look into it. A lot of people have a basic roadside type membership with limited benefits. You will get a tow to the nearest depot,and a few other things. If you have a major breakdown you can wait for days, or even weeks for repairs.If you have total cover or the top cover, accomodation, hire cars etc.. are usually covered. I've been doing roadside service work for a few years and know how much the pain factor is reduced if you have the right membership. You can have your car and van towed home if repairs cannot be done done in so many working days. Could be the best couple of hundred bucks you ever spend. Luke.

[Fizzie]

if you are not a member of RACV,NRMA or your states equivalent roadside service you should look into it. A lot of people have a basic roadside type membership with limited benefits. You will get a tow to the nearest depot,and a few other things. If you have a major breakdown you can wait for days, or even weeks for repairs.If you have total cover or the top cover, accomodation, hire cars etc.. are usually covered. I've been doing roadside service work for a few years and know how much the pain factor is reduced if you have the right membership. You can have your car and van towed home if repairs cannot be done done in so many working days. Could be the best couple of hundred bucks you ever spend. Luke.

Yep!

DaveR mentioned this a little while back.

He's now driving a car transporter & a fair bit of his gig is recovering broken cars from remote spots, which, if you're not covered, can easily cost $000s , then the same again for your van / CT, especially if you've got a fancy tow hitch, that the tow truck probably doesn't have fitted

Even in populated areas like the East coast, teh standard towing limits of usually only 10k won't do much if you're between towns, so up your coverage to Premium! (or whatever it's called with your group)

[manchu]

If you have total cover or the top cover, accomodation, hire cars etc.. are usually covered.

excellent advice.   

For me it actually works out cheaper to have Total Care because it also covers the policy holder in any car they're driving,   so I was able to drop roadside care on my daily driver.