Edz Fraser Camping Trip things that worked / internet / air / coffee

[edz]

Fair enough you go camping to get away from " Day to Day Life " ..But Sometimes you still have to stay " Connected " for things that cant wait till you return ..
Well Fraser isnt that remote, In the scheme of things, 20km + trip <> along  the beach may or may not get phone Digital reception ...
We bit the bullet and got an RFI Directional antenna to add to the Netgear Nighthawk M5 [ portable home internet ] ..
Set up camp North of the Maheno very limited / to no phone reception .
Setup the RFI Antenna just on an ally tent pole occy straped to the Bullbar, Bingo Full Bars of service [ Will also Boost reception when at home for us ] ..Hardest part was keeping the Nighthawk / two phones and a tablet charged up .. Happy Wife and kid on the relax / wet days / nights .. All good ..
May or may not be the best set up, but hey it worked a real treat and thats all it had to do was work . ..
Especialy for up to date weather ..
Saw this vid and searched it all ins n outs ..Thumbs up from us https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL5GJrSqqGE&t=2145s

[edz]

One thing that P1 Double Ess's me off is the amount of ARB / TJM ETC etc Catalogue fitted out trucks out there, easily the best part of a $100 K and they cant afford a $150 aircompressor to inflate their tyres after coming off the island ..
The entry ways to the servos were traffic jammed with Cheque book Charlies wanting to " Air up " not buy anything and off they go ..
Made it hard to get to the bowsers for the ones wanting fuel or the shops at the servo .
The hard mounted onboard Air set up Cobbled together in the rear tub of the Hilux and the DIY Inflate / Deflate device worked a treat .. No more dodgy hurt knee's / struggling to get off the ground after inflating / deflating truck and trailr ..Thumbs up again, Worked a treat .
150 PSI Aircompressor .. 6lt tank rough nut wired with heavy cable, good rubber hose .. she works .

[edz]

Coffee time .....
Cappuchino to be exact  ..who cannot start the day without one .... Well the wife ...Yup " needs " one each morning no matter what .. I hate the stuff, but as she is limited in mobillity, its my job .
Used to take a Bialetti Mukka and all the associated crud / wash up that went with it ..
Being lazy,  I switched tac and thought 1500W inverter and drag the Piccolini pod thingo from home ..Well it worked in the drive way ..
Saw a test on this vid and thought yep way to go .. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0TFWUBpOuk&t=1s
2 X 100AH Renogy batteries in paralell heavier than supplied cables to the inverter ..thumbs up ..
" Not Quite "
First real world test and the bloody Jaycar circuit breaker that I fitted would klick out [ reference pic only ] ..Grrrr wait and reset klick reset klick reset ...Note to self get rid of the circuit breaker .. has to be a home job for the soldered on lugs due to the wire size ..
Still made Cappuchino's though ..4 resets per coffee ... The Inverter has a cutout safety built in so didnt need the circuit breaker . So a partial worked / not totalt fail ..Still happy though .

[Foo]

Have heard about these phone booster aerials and the bloke that I drive for got one for the harvest last year and was very happy with it. 

Foo

[achjimmy]

Coffee time .....
Cappuchino to be exact  ..who cannot start the day without one .... Well the wife ...Yup " needs " one each morning no matter what .. I hate the stuff, but as she is limited in mobillity, its my job .
Used to take a Bialetti Mukka and all the associated crud / wash up that went with it ..
Being lazy,  I switched tac and thought 1500W inverter and drag the Piccolini pod thingo from home ..Well it worked in the drive way ..
Saw a test on this vid and thought yep way to go .. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0TFWUBpOuk&t=1s
2 X 100AH Renogy batteries in paralell heavier than supplied cables to the inverter ..thumbs up ..
" Not Quite "
First real world test and the bloody Jaycar circuit breaker that I fitted would klick out [ reference pic only ] ..Grrrr wait and reset klick reset klick reset ...Note to self get rid of the circuit breaker .. has to be a home job for the soldered on lugs due to the wire size ..
Still made Cappuchino's though ..4 resets per coffee ... The Inverter has a cutout safety built in so didnt need the circuit breaker . So a partial worked / not totalt fail ..Still happy though .

Are you batteries lithium or AGM Edz ? I’ve just killed two 100ah AGMs in reasonably quick time using an 1800w inverter on them ( not a lot or long either ) they just can’t handle the discharge rate . Going lithium

[edz]

G,Day AJ, yes two 100AH Renogy Lithiums in paralell with 400 W of Solar on the roof of the truck [ 97 Hilux DC ] ..

Will say the Lithium batteries are great..
One thing puzzles me though, At home doing a cold soak with empty fridges .. 20 yro 50 lt Waeco
 set on 0*C and a 3 yro 21 lt Engel  set on max feeze -20*C the battery usage check each morning showed a drop from an average of 98% full charge of roughly 25 > 30 %, so showing 68% +- roughly remaining charge, similar night time temps to camping  ..
Fast forwards almost two weeks camping, everything cold soaked / frozen,  waeco at 4*C and Engel at - 15*C  ..Batteries still showing 98 >100 % most days by 10 am > midday .. thumbs up .
Here comes the " BUT " the last 4 days the overnight usage with everything cold soaked / frozen showed an increase of usage over night of up to 50 %, giving a low battery warning on the morning check with battery at < than 45%. daytime temps were a about 16 > 20*C.... Night time temps were around 5*C
I have a sneaky feeling One of the batteries has dropped out and only running on one .. 200AH should have more than 45% left in it after an over night run . [ Lost the sun roughly 4 pm each day / panels flat on the roof ] checked each day at 7 AM ish..
Might look at a dedicated single 200 AH Renogy  battery [On special atm for about $1200 ] ..  for the fridges and use these tw singles elseware in the camper.
One other plus was an old radio I bought for dad back in the 80's, Solar and a wind up, the 360 AM / FM Clear case radio  ..well the wind up bit needs fixing but she works ok in the sun .. Needs a bigger aerial so it got a length of electrical wire wrpped over the aereial an strung up .. Gotta have those background sounds, The thump and crash of the surf 24 / 7  is good .. but

[edz]

Movie time .. Another thumbs up ..
Well broke out the old Kick Ass projector and ran a few movies from the USB and portable hard drive, Apart from the sound [ Alright to a point when inside a camper, given some movies are very quiet in parts .. ] If the wind is up and its raining ..You do need bigger speakers set up .. getting sorted ..
Picture quality is good even when projected straight onto a dark grey camper internal end  wall .Hardest part was trying to get comfortable while watching, no back rest wile sitting on the bed deck .. Picture was nice sharp and clear [ camera shot of it is grainy ] .
Too wet cold and windy to be outside ..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL95vAkQRJc&t=6s

[Jillsy]

Thanks for this write up edz- super helpful!

[edz]

The other win ..  Offroad beach walker for mobillity impaired not cheap at $1800 +..... .. QPWS Dundaburra has disabllity showers and toilet ..toilet [ not on ground level is a minus ] access ramp is difficult to access with a beach walker [ too bulky ] ..The shower is plenty roomy / has a bench seat with a handheld shower .. nowhere to be able to hang clothing to stay dry and walker could not fit through doorway .
This is a bit bulky but the front wheels can be removed via pins to allow it to store a bit easier .. [ Might soon get mods to take it in half, for easier storage, yellow arrows  ].
First time the wife has walked the boards at ELI or the beach in about 7 years , little bit of hard going on the sand hill up to board walk, especialy with hundreds  of footprints pock marking the sand ..the smile says it all .

[xcvator]

Great write up mate    and special a  for that walker, might seem expensive but that smile made it well worth while   

[Pottsy]

It’s the one thing I really miss when away, the wife’s ability to walk any long distances, particularly if the ground is uneven or hard going. Great to see the innovation with the walker allowing your wife the chance to get out and about.
Kudos to you both.

[edz]

I'm hearing you on the walking bit Pottsy, the wife is struggling at the best of times / ground ... This walker thingo is " Bulky " Personaly, it could have been made more transportable for the cost, Which basicaly is the balloon wheels ..
The wife found it requires a bit more effort than she is used to to change direction and even more on rough pock marked footprinted sand .. normal sand and grass wasnt too bad ...

Still think lightweight Golf pull cart wide footprint wheels would work just aswell on a standard ally walker and be a 1/4 of the weight / bulk ..

[Fizzie]

Still think lightweight Golf pull cart wide footprint wheels would work just aswell on a standard ally walker and be a 1/4 of the weight / bulk ..

Wondering if something like a continuous loop of 3-4" wide stiff canvassy type of material over both wheels on each side would work, by making something similar to a light-weight tank track???

This sort of concept: https://youtu.be/ak9GOJGjiJc?t=229

[alnjan]

It’s the one thing I really miss when away, the wife’s ability to walk any long distances, particularly if the ground is uneven or hard going. Great to see the innovation with the walker allowing your wife the chance to get out and about.
Kudos to you both.

Not wanting to hijack the thread about mobility issues but I'm in the same situation with the bride having mobility issues.   Have looked at one of these but they are a bit pricy.  https://notawheelchair.com/

[edz]

Go for it AlnJan  ..
Whole heartedly Welcome any help that someone may come up with for our mobillity restricted partners who still want to try and get out and about ..
I know my wife is struggling with her dissabillity and lack of being able to do basic things .. I know the extra work loads and stresses we face to accommodate the add on gear to make our trips away bearable ..
I know it makes me cranky at times as  I've lived  the  uncluttered travel light only carry the basics mantra . [ Blame the Army  ] ..

[edz]

Wondering if something like a continuous loop of 3-4" wide stiff canvassy type of material over both wheels on each side would work, by making something similar to a light-weight tank track???

This sort of concept: https://youtu.be/ak9GOJGjiJc?t=229

Offset of front / rear wheels and turning left / right of the front wheels would be the problem with a track set Fizz .. Thats why I was looking at the wide footprint of the gold pullcart wheels originaly ..
The version I was working on before the store bought jumbo came into veiw ..

[Bird]

Not wanting to hijack the thread about mobility issues but I'm in the same situation with the bride having mobility issues.   Have looked at one of these but they are a bit pricy.  https://notawheelchair.com/

Gee they look like they'd help out a Shit load of people... shame about the price for many.. wonder how it packs up

[Pottsy]

Convincing your partner / wife / husband who has been fiercely independent all of their lives that they need some sort of mobility aids (anything from a walker to a motorised chair etc) can be a difficult conversation to have.
Mobility issues are the reason we are going to sell the soft floor trailer and move into cabin type accommodation when travelling.
Like many mobility aids, price can be a real issue when looking at something offering greater mobility on anything other than hard surfaces.

[alnjan]

Gee they look like they'd help out a Shit load of people... shame about the price for many.. wonder how it packs up

They only ship to USA and Canada.  Did see on one of their youtube videos a while back they crate them up pretty good to ship them. 

[edz]

Mobility issues are the reason we are going to sell the soft floor trailer and move into cabin type accommodation when travelling.

Finding suitable places can be a bit of a mission with this too ..The wife has trouble with entry steps.. One or two max for her and angled ground is another ..
All challenges that with thinking and perserverance / adaption can be worked to some degree in as safe a way as possible without rushing ...
The next big issue for us to adapt.. Need to look at a lightweight 2m x 2m folding gazzebo style tent with walls  Current ensuite tents are limited with a bit of space [ soft angled walls dont help those with balance issues ] and have a zippper lip section to step over for entry / exit  also Have to look at some sort of a stabillity rail set up that is easy to set up and light weight  ..The van will not be big enough to have an ensuite setup, while we have young miss with us ..

[xcvator]

something like this might be a bit of a help, just an idea


https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/98298/wagner-commode-chair-folding

[Pottsy]

Finding suitable places can be a bit of a mission with this too ..The wife has trouble with entry steps.. One or two max for her and angled ground is another ..
All challenges that with thinking and perserverance / adaption can be worked to some degree in as safe a way as possible without rushing ...
The next big issue for us to adapt.. Need to look at a lightweight 2m x 2m folding gazzebo style tent with walls  Current ensuite tents are limited with a bit of space [ soft angled walls dont help those with balance issues ] and have a zippper lip section to step over for entry / exit  also Have to look at some sort of a stabillity rail set up that is easy to set up and light weight  ..The van will not be big enough to have an ensuite setup, while we have young miss with us ..

Our soft floor has a flat floor, no tub floor to step over, everybody Is different, Lorraine prefers steps (slowly) than slopes, downhill is a real problem. As for the balance issues, getting in and out of bed caused issues with no solid walls so I used to fit an additional upright pole from the floor to the cross brace in the tent section just to give something to hold onto. One by the head of the bed, one by the port a loo. I also raised the loo on a collapsible wooden frame by about 4 inches. Let me know if you want a picture to copy if it helps

[GBC]

I’m not sure how it translates to mobility issues but in the kayak world we have been home building wheeled carts for sand work for a long time. There is no golf cart wheel that has anything like the mobility in sand that the wheeleez do. I hope this helps someone who thinks they might get away with not paying the tax - they are bloody expensive.

[edz]

Our soft floor has a flat floor, no tub floor to step over, everybody Is different, Lorraine prefers steps (slowly) than slopes, downhill is a real problem. As for the balance issues, getting in and out of bed caused issues with no solid walls so I used to fit an additional upright pole from the floor to the cross brace in the tent section just to give something to hold onto. One by the head of the bed, one by the port a loo. I also raised the loo on a collapsible wooden frame by about 4 inches. Let me know if you want a picture to copy if it helps

All good on the loo side of things, the one Ive made works fine, she just needs a support rail at  standing waist height and a bit more space to manouvere once inside the ensuite tent ..Googgle search has  found a few possible straight sided gazzebo type things .

[DandyD]

Not wanting to hijack the thread about mobility issues but I'm in the same situation with the bride having mobility issues.   Have looked at one of these but they are a bit pricy.  https://notawheelchair.com/

Terrainhopper do something similar. Again, not cheap.

https://www.terrainhopper.com/


Local distributor: https://overlandermobility.com/