The Nissan has its turbo fitted, and according to Ian - it goes like a rocket!
He drove it home from the workshop at Yandina, hooked on the caravan and then drove it to Gympie for an insurance assessment on the annex.
The Patrol kept pace with everything on the road, even with the van on the back, and went up hills like a dream.
Ian came home unstressed and very happy with its performance.
Bonus -the annex repairer had no hesitation in recommending replacement of the annex, as in his opinion it was definitely damaged in the storm. If the insurer agrees, we might just manage to get it replaced before we planned to leave. If not - no matter. We don't have a strict timetable and a new annex roof is worth waiting for.
Thursday 24 April 2014
Monday 21 April 2014
2 weeks to go.
We're beginning to get a little bit excited!
Up until now, Ian has been solving problems with wiring and adding plugs and connectors so that everything works from 4WD to van as well as having independent power in the Nissan when we leave the van behind and go tenting.
We had some excitement the weekend before last when we took the van down to Bribie Island for a wonderful weekend catching up with friends from the 70's. On the evening we were to get together, Bribie experienced a wild thunderstorm - three waterspouts, 100 kph winds and very heavy rain. It uprooted tress all along the waterfront just over the road from the caravan park, tore down powerlines and flooded roads. Tents and camper trailers were flattened, and annexes torn off vans. Fortunately for us, our annex was away from the wind, and the van was somewhat sheltered by the 4WD. It was still pretty scary!
After it passed, we found we couldn't leave the park to go over to join our friends because the boom gates at both entrances were down, and without power, couldn't be opened. It took a while to find the caretaker who opened a padlocked gate to let us out.
The only problem we found next day was that the van fridge had shorted out. Handyman Ian has bought a new element on-line and fixed it himself. My hero!
Now we find that the annex has weakened along its top join and the struts are out of alignment, so we are hoping we can claim it on our insurance and get it replaced before we leave.
We are refining our storage inside the van and making sure everything fits and is stowed for good balance. I'm loving the plastic shoe boxes I found in Bunnings. They fit so neatly in the wardrobe for keeping our 'smalls' neat and tidy.
It's hard to know what clothes to pack - will we be cold? Will we be too hot? Layers are the go, so time to start sorting and culling.
Up until now, Ian has been solving problems with wiring and adding plugs and connectors so that everything works from 4WD to van as well as having independent power in the Nissan when we leave the van behind and go tenting.
We had some excitement the weekend before last when we took the van down to Bribie Island for a wonderful weekend catching up with friends from the 70's. On the evening we were to get together, Bribie experienced a wild thunderstorm - three waterspouts, 100 kph winds and very heavy rain. It uprooted tress all along the waterfront just over the road from the caravan park, tore down powerlines and flooded roads. Tents and camper trailers were flattened, and annexes torn off vans. Fortunately for us, our annex was away from the wind, and the van was somewhat sheltered by the 4WD. It was still pretty scary!
After it passed, we found we couldn't leave the park to go over to join our friends because the boom gates at both entrances were down, and without power, couldn't be opened. It took a while to find the caretaker who opened a padlocked gate to let us out.
The only problem we found next day was that the van fridge had shorted out. Handyman Ian has bought a new element on-line and fixed it himself. My hero!
Now we find that the annex has weakened along its top join and the struts are out of alignment, so we are hoping we can claim it on our insurance and get it replaced before we leave.
We are refining our storage inside the van and making sure everything fits and is stowed for good balance. I'm loving the plastic shoe boxes I found in Bunnings. They fit so neatly in the wardrobe for keeping our 'smalls' neat and tidy.
It's hard to know what clothes to pack - will we be cold? Will we be too hot? Layers are the go, so time to start sorting and culling.
Wednesday 9 April 2014
Getting Set Up
So much to do!
We have the van; we have the 4WD, but before we leave, we had to fit it all out and customise the van to suit us and where we're going.
First job was to get rid of the awful mustard-yellow curtains and replace them with pale green block-outs. Of course, I had to buy new bedding to match :).
New crockery, cutlery, utensils and appliances, although we had quite a bit from our camper trailer, which we sold to buy the van.
Then, a new table top to replace the black one which the previous owner had scrubbed so much, she'd worn the surface off and every time you wiped it, the cloth turned black. We solved the problem by buying a 2nd-hand coffee table, removing the top and sanding and resealing it. Lovely - and it matches the cupboard timber.
We've also replaced all the lights with LEDs and added another deep cycle battery to the 4WD, so now we have 3 to collect the power from our 2 x 100 watt van-mounted solar panels, and the 120 watt portable solar panel.
The big items to be budgeted for were an 'axle-flop' for the van (the axle is underslung so it's below the springs instead of above them). This raised the van by 10cm, which stopped us dragging the hitch on speed-bumps, and will give us much more clearance on dirt roads. Then we had to get a pull-out step fitted so we could get in and out of the van at its new height.
Next big-ticket item is to fit a turbo to our 4.2 diesel Nissan Patrol. It will pull anything, but labours on the hills. A turbo will make it into a Beast!
New front tyres, a BabyQ Weber barbecue, a DreamPot (more later) and a halogen convection oven, and we're nearly set up.
We have the van; we have the 4WD, but before we leave, we had to fit it all out and customise the van to suit us and where we're going.
First job was to get rid of the awful mustard-yellow curtains and replace them with pale green block-outs. Of course, I had to buy new bedding to match :).
New crockery, cutlery, utensils and appliances, although we had quite a bit from our camper trailer, which we sold to buy the van.
Then, a new table top to replace the black one which the previous owner had scrubbed so much, she'd worn the surface off and every time you wiped it, the cloth turned black. We solved the problem by buying a 2nd-hand coffee table, removing the top and sanding and resealing it. Lovely - and it matches the cupboard timber.
We've also replaced all the lights with LEDs and added another deep cycle battery to the 4WD, so now we have 3 to collect the power from our 2 x 100 watt van-mounted solar panels, and the 120 watt portable solar panel.
The big items to be budgeted for were an 'axle-flop' for the van (the axle is underslung so it's below the springs instead of above them). This raised the van by 10cm, which stopped us dragging the hitch on speed-bumps, and will give us much more clearance on dirt roads. Then we had to get a pull-out step fitted so we could get in and out of the van at its new height.
Next big-ticket item is to fit a turbo to our 4.2 diesel Nissan Patrol. It will pull anything, but labours on the hills. A turbo will make it into a Beast!
New front tyres, a BabyQ Weber barbecue, a DreamPot (more later) and a halogen convection oven, and we're nearly set up.
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