The Camping Thread

[roKWiz]

Far north Coast of NSW had a few blitzes, doing the same in recent years.
They reopened a couple of "non used" roadside inspection bays to do it.

Put a few overweight winter migrating "Snowbirds" on their way to QLD off the road.

[Tonz]

i agree with this so many (not all !!!!) yobs have their 'van loaded like a tank and its swinging its sweet as se on the road.

but if your 1000K from home and get 'put off the road' what happens then.
send half your gear home by courier/aus post
try and reload which might be OK until next stop then you pull everything our again...

every complex issue and please dont fine them a paltry amount, smack the wallet hard.

[prydey]

It's good to see some activity in this area. The whole industry is largely unregulated and the more owners that get proactive with looking at their weights the better.

There's been a couple of exercises similar to this in Qld but with the promise of no fines. Just an education event.

The problem is, in the big scheme of things there isn't really that much money to be made so the police would struggle to justify the resources to really ramp up weighing vans.

They generally only pull in the obvious looking ones as well, which does skew the stats a bit.

[Honest Gaza]

Had our Maiden Voyage a couple of weekends ago to Nelson Bay (Halifax)
Ford Everest with Jayco Penguin (Camper Trailer).

Everest performed brilliantly...plenty of power for our needs.
We had a 'powered' site but took the opportunity to test BMPRO 12V system by turning off the power for a couple of hours.
3-Way Fridge switched successfully to Gas bottle, lights all working.

Even our 'bagged' awning and annex survived the wet and windy conditions.

[naddis01]

Is anyone looking for an Ezytrail Lincoln LX dual fold camper? We are thinking of selling ours.

[Trevor 57]

We just spent 2 weeks on Fraser Island, got home last Friday evening

[Trevor 57]

some pics

campsite


an old abandoned airport on the western side


Champagne Pools


a beach on the western side


A beach on the eastern side


One of the many inland freshwater lakes

[stefcio007]

What's the better option here?
Are they the same quality really at this price point?
Currently using the old battery out of my MK3 Focus I had not sure of capacity since it's not a deep cycle.

Kmart 80 Ah AGM $149
https://www.kmart.com.au/product/rec...-12v-42963905/

Jaycar 100 Ah AGM $199
https://www.jaycar.com.au/12v-100ah-...=12V+relevance

[Trevor 57]

I just bought a 105ah deep cycle battery for the caravan $275, be careful of quality

[stefcio007]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

I just bought a 105ah deep cycle battery for the caravan $275, be careful of quality

My issue is if I spend about $300 then I would sell my 20 A, 600W PSW Solar Charger and inverter and replace it with one of those lithium power stations from EcoFlow which would be a modern all in one unit.

[Tassie f100]

I don’t know the best way to know the quality of batteries,but I have tended to go on the theory that the heavier the battery,the more lead,so on that basis a better battery.Maybe I’m right maybe not.Don’t know what the technical way of picking a good lithium from a not so good.As we all know different sellers put very variable markups on price,so is a $900 better than a $500 or is it different retail rather than wholesale price

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

I don’t know the best way to know the quality of batteries,but I have tended to go on the theory that the heavier the battery,the more lead,so on that basis a better battery.Maybe I’m right maybe not.Don’t know what the technical way of picking a good lithium from a not so good.As we all know different sellers put very variable markups on price,so is a $900 better than a $500 or is it different retail rather than wholesale price

You're on the right track. I believe a 100ah should be about 30kg.

There is also a 20hr testing standard I believe. Some cheaper batteries claiming higher capacity aren't tested to this standard, so you aren't comparing apples with apples.

I get a lot of my stuff from this guy.
https://www.batteryvalue.com.au/#NPP

It's a pretty basic website but he is genuine and very helpful and there is good info on there about knowing the good from the bad.

I've used the NPP batteries and they last many years.

[stefcio007]

Decided to take the plunge and get the JayCar 12.8V 25 Ah lithium battery which is a drop on replacement as the battery itself has an internal BMS. What attracted me was low weight so easy to move when camping, drop in replacement, no need to reconfigure my existing gear. Being able to more accurate determine battery SoC being a lithium battery.

The other part was managed to convince the wife that this will have a ROI since we won’t need to book powered sites

[prydey]

So, finally got around to getting the solar panel, solar controller and inverter fitted to my van.

I got it done at a place called Dario here in Adelaide. Good pricing and workmanship although they did leave the van in a bit of a mess.

Solar panel up front


Mppt controller


Inverter, fitted under dinette seat


And single powerpoint from inverter to run the small coffee machine


All Bluetooth too so turns on and off via the victron app.

I gave the coffee machine a quick test, making the equivalent of 2 drinks one after the other, plus some flushing etc and all seemed ok.

Nice to have that all done ready for our trip to Uluru in July. Just the folding mattress to address now. Don't want to spend much on this van as it's not a long term van so likely just go with some sort of mattress topper.

[BENT_8]

Is the panel only stuck on?

[prydey]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Is the panel only stuck on?

That's how most panels are done these days. As long as the prep is done right, it's not going anywhere.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by prydey

That's how most panels are done these days. As long as the prep is done right, it's not going anywhere.

https://www.caravancampingsales.com....arning-126938/

Im not so sure Rob.

A very recent article on the subject.

And this.

https://rvdaily.com.au/flying-solar-...your-rvs-roof/

Chris told RV Daily that it is very important to use both a mechanical and a chemical form of connection to secure a solar panel to the roof of an RV. “In layman’s terms, they must be both screwed and glued to the roof.”

[Tassie f100]

Originally Posted by prydey

That's how most panels are done these days. As long as the prep is done right, it's not going anywhere.

There was an incident here couple of years back where a panel unstuck from the roof and flew into the path ofva following car which swerved to miss the panel and hii an oncoming car resulting in deaths.pretty sure it is a requirement that panel have to have a mechanical fixing ( screws rivets or bolts)and glue to affix panel now.And for your own peace of mind you should insist on having more than glue

[Honest Gaza]

Originally Posted by prydey

I gave the coffee machine a quick test, making the equivalent of 2 drinks one after the other, plus some flushing etc and all seemed ok.

Were you able to identify the A/Hrs the machine took from the battery ?

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Honest Gaza

Were you able to identify the A/Hrs the machine took from the battery ?

Not accurately. Solar feed in makes it difficult to see exactly what the before and after readings were. Will do some homework and let you know.

[Tassie f100]

Originally Posted by prydey

Not accurately. Solar feed in makes it difficult to see exactly what the before and after readings were. Will do some homework and let you know.

If you are using Victron there is provision to down load an app which gives input volts and amps. and also output volts and amps etc

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Honest Gaza

Were you able to identify the A/Hrs the machine took from the battery ?

So I figured out how to turn the solar charge off in the app, so I could read pure battery volts. Before use it was reading 13v which is basically fully charged. I made the equivalent of 2 drinks and then turned everything off and let it sit for an hour. Battery voltage read 12.93v.

I'm aware it's not overly accurate but it's the best I have without adding a shunt to the system to read voltage in and out.

So very little drain on the battery.

During operation voltage dropped to low 11v which is to be expected. Like starting a car.

[buggerlugs]

Originally Posted by prydey

So, finally got around to getting the solar panel, solar controller and inverter fitted to my van.

I got it done at a place called Dario here in Adelaide. Good pricing and workmanship although they did leave the van in a bit of a mess.

Solar panel up front
image

Mppt controller
image

Inverter, fitted under dinette seat
image

And single powerpoint from inverter to run the small coffee machine

image
All Bluetooth too so turns on and off via the victron app.

I gave the coffee machine a quick test, making the equivalent of 2 drinks one after the other, plus some flushing etc and all seemed ok.

Nice to have that all done ready for our trip to Uluru in July. Just the folding mattress to address now. Don't want to spend much on this van as it's not a long term van so likely just go with some sort of mattress topper.

We have 2 panels on the roof of our Mercedes Sprinter Van and they were glued down with the you beaut sikaflex stuff. 30ks out of Goondiwindi , on a very rough and bumpy road ( that nearly bounced us out of our seats ) one flew off and near took out the car behind us. Since had them reinstalled, glued and screwed in to the roof. I'm a big fan of sikaflex, but that was a scary incident.............

Coffee machine set up looks good. Definitely a necessity..............

[prydey]

Originally Posted by buggerlugs

Coffee machine set up looks good. Definitely a necessity..............

I'm a bit snobbier than that but I got sick of taking the house set up with us (grinder, espresso machine etc) and it took up a lot of bench space so I looked around for a pod machine that had a proper steam wand, and now have that just for the van.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by buggerlugs

We have 2 panels on the roof of our Mercedes Sprinter Van and they were glued down with the you beaut sikaflex stuff. 30ks out of Goondiwindi , on a very rough and bumpy road ( that nearly bounced us out of our seats ) one flew off and near took out the car behind us. Since had them reinstalled, glued and screwed in to the roof. I'm a big fan of sikaflex, but that was a scary incident.............

Coffee machine set up looks good. Definitely a necessity..............

You must be trolling too I guess..lol

The problem with using any adhesive is you're fixing a rigid panel to a flexible surface so when the surface flexes the panel doesnt and the joint, in this case Sikaflex, is stressed and fails.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

You must be trolling too I guess..lol

The problem with using any adhesive is you're fixing a rigid panel to a flexible surface so when the surface flexes the panel doesnt and the joint, in this case Sikaflex, is stressed and fails.

Most of these sikaflex products are actually designed for that purpose. They allow movement while maintaining a strong bond.

[buggerlugs]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

You must be trolling too I guess..lol

The problem with using any adhesive is you're fixing a rigid panel to a flexible surface so when the surface flexes the panel doesnt and the joint, in this case Sikaflex, is stressed and fails.

You must admit you do have form and have been banned before because you can't help yourself.......

[blueoval]

Im missing the open fire and camping, so Im gonna just leave this here. Its a shot of my last trip to the local camp spot in Mclaren Vale. Pink Gum Campground.

[prydey]

Great spot Shav. Been there a few times but only camped there once.

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by prydey

Great spot Shav. Been there a few times but only camped there once.

Thanks mate, I agree. Such a great location and close to home but still has the country vibe. One of my favorite spots if I just want to do a sneaky overnighter.