Confessions of a "traitor"

[ForumMod]

G'day All,

We've just come home from a 2-week trip to the lower central NSW region, to soak up some of the Autumn colours, and to have a bit of a look-see around the area.

Our first night stop-over was at Gundagai on the Hume Highway, and the Autumn colour didn't disappoint...




The Gundagai Tourist Park has an interesting layout for caravans, etc. There are three rows of undercover parking for vehicles/vans...




Here's our Windsor van tucked away for the night...




We ended up at Narrandera for a week, and based ourselves there while we did day trips around the countryside. One of the vans that came into the park one day was this 1974 Viscount with a tropical roof fitted. The fella said he'd owned it for 20 years, and put the extra roof on when a leak sprung in the hatch...



He also said that when they go bush camping, he collects rainwater off the roof by fitting a removeable guttering to both ends of the tropical roof.



One thing we noticed during our day trips was that a lot of country towns are now just a shadow of their former selves...






Came across this gypsy wagon in the caravan park we stayed at in Canberra on the way home...







All the improvements to our Windsor van worked really well. The LED light strip across the front above the sink is a big winner. So too is the porta potty relocation; and the table is a heck of a lot more stable than it was previously.

I even got to use one of the timber blocks I made, to level the van on uneven ground...




Looking forward to the next outing.

cheers,
Al.

[ForumMod]

I meant to say in my post above that one job I do have to do, is to make a sash belt to keep the TV bracket from opening up on bumpy roads. During the trip, the bracket would open up and the TV would be hanging out at the end, rather than be neatly against the wall. It would end up looking something like this...




I remember somebody on this forum doing something about stopping their TV from moving while travelling, but I can't remember who it might have been. I'm thinking I might make like a seatbelt sash type arrangement, with some elasticised webbing, and connect it to a couple of hooks above and below the TV.

cheers,
Al.

[drylander]

jeez Al you have no imagination ...a 4 inch nail will keep it in place and cheap too. You probably have some in your shed
Pete
PS just waiting on some 240v bayonet leds to add to the house to reduce power use. The leds in the van including the outside light are very bright even inside the cover

[ForumMod]

G'day Pete,

Yeah, I was actually thinking of the 4 inch nail option, but I wasn't sure whether to hammer the nail through the centre of the screen, or put it closer to the edge.

[drylander]

I reckon 2 through the edges ...a centre nail would be in the way while watching tv
Pete

[Caprinut]

Al I simply fitted a hook discretely behind tv in corner and looped a bungee cord over tv to hold tight to wall. Pete

[bobt]

Hey Al

Sounds like you had a good trip. How did the car go?

Last time we stayed at Gundagai we stayed at the other park. Will give the Tourist Park a go next time.

Ya gotta love the gypsy wagon, rather innovative, would love to get a look inside.

bobt

[ForumMod]

G'day bobt,

The Prado is more than adequate for towing the Windsor. No complaints about power/torque and the smoothness of the auto transmission in these things. We still get the "numb bum" syndrome, but it takes longer in the Prado than it did in the Mazda. Maybe both our bums are not designed for long distance travel. We might have got in the wrong queue when the travel bums were being handed out.

Petrol consumption is higher with the Prado towing the Windsor, than it was with the Mazda, but that's to be expected with a heavier car I guess. We seem to use around 20 litres for every 100kms with the Prado when towing, which adds up to a fair few dollars spent on petrol when we do a long trip. Luckily this Prado model is the one with the two 90 litre tanks in it, so we can travel for a fair distance before I have to stop at a community bank and ask for a loan to fill them up again.

cheers,
Al.

[bobt]

Hey Al

Let me see assuming the following is correct.

Cruised on average at 100kph, went up hill and down hill without the slightest whimper, just kept doing happily all day..

Based on my experience 20L per 100 is good. My last trip away. getting to be a long time ago I averaged 20L-100K got down to 29 (that hurts when ya only have 70l tank). The trick is to stay away longer, then it costs less.

bobt

[ForumMod]

G'day All,

We've just come back home from a week's R&R down the coast in the van. Only a couple of hundred kms from home, but a nice relaxing week we had.

Just before leaving, I thought I'd better get my act together to make a strap to hold the TV in position while bouncing along the highway. A few months ago I came across a ladies belt buckle while fossicking in a local Salvos store. The two parts of the buckle interlocked, and I thought they had some potential for the idea I had for the TV strap.

I sewed a short length of elastic to one buckle, and a length of bias binding tape to the other buckle...




I screwed a couple of small cup hooks above and below the TV position. Hook the buckles into the cup hooks, and it looks like this...




The TV never budged from its position over the 400 kms round trip, so I'm happy it worked out pretty well.

And SWMBO likes it because it's very easy to hook and unhook the strap.

cheers,
Al.