How did I do it for all those years ?

Gazz, you are spot on.

A lot of the stuff we think we need we don't.

I've just come from an electric vehicle forum where people are complaining about all sorts of things arising from the complexity of these software driven vehicles. My question there was exactly the same as yours - do we really need it?

Have the "conveniences" modern technology has bestowed upon our everyday lives actually made ordinary life better? There's a good "no" case, IMO.

And this is coming from a bloke who has an electric car and responds a lot to posts about navigation apps!!!

I'm a techie by nature and have embroiled myself in all this stuff. I easily fall into the trap of "I know it can do this but it's not happening for some reason" and will spend hours trying to figure out why. I enjoy that. But I can tell you I have drawn a line in the sand. I will NEVER allow my fridge to tell me when to go shopping, despite Harvey Norman telling me this is essential in the 21st century, LOL.

I can happily report that when I throw my swag on the rack and go bush I feel I am in a much better space.

Good topic, Gazz. I hope you get lots of replies.

Cheers

Gazz,you are scaring people.
A lot of people these days cant make a cup of coffee without grands worth of equipment.
Camping to some is hooking up the 150 thousand dollar caravan full of all their home appliances not to forget the satelite TV dish and parking in a caravan park 20 miles away.
You will give them nightmares.

Two most usefull things in my 4WD is the compass and the windows so I can see the shadows, the GPS is a warped sadistic bitch that hates me being anywhere on time.

I thought you can't go bush unless you have the ARB catalogue bolted to your car? You certainly can't even find your way there without the latest electronic GPS . Roughing it means using last year's product range.

Great post Gaz

Only ever had a swag and up to a couple of years ago the old type that you just throw over your head, got a flash one now it’s got hoops in it.

The only cooking gear we have is a Bedourie, Biji , two Billy’s and cast iron jaffle jigger.

21 year old vehicle, but it does have electronic injection.

Instant coffee

But, there’s always a but.

Don’t go anywhere without …..ExplorOz Traveller

Regards

TrevorDavid

I think one of our modern problems is that there are many who want everything done for them, one way or another.
Buy a machine and it just should do what they want it to.
Buy a computer and it should just work for them.
Buy a program it it should just be easy and work the way they want it to.
Everything should be easy .

We don't have any extra canvas for our camper.
Don't have built in toilet and shower.
Don't have heating ......... or hot water.
Don't have a microwave or 240v appliances.
Our fridge is the original 3 way, which works fine for almost all of the time. Struggles over 35 degrees, but the freezer always stays frozen, and we never worry about flat batteries.
We do have a waterproof and dustproof camper with a comfortable bed and simple kitchen, all inside, which is rather nice when the weather is crap.
Our guiding motto is " Simple is best".
I know that everyone has to work out what's best for them, but keeping things as simple as possible is a good start.
Outside cold shower ( in togs if necessary), works almost all of the time. Hot water splash in the camper when below 0 degrees !!!

We use ExplorOz and its mapset , Google and Applemaps, and find there are very few places not shown.

Keeping it simple works for us.

Cheers
Jim

The forum these days is more like questions and answers for the traveller app .
although there is it own page for that .
I'm a big fan of doing it basic setup , much more like camping for us
No induction cooking coffee makers massive great flood lights coming off very expensive battery setups for us.
Happy travels for however you want to do it

.
Gaza, I agree absolutely.

Like Frank, I am a "techie". Such was my life's work...... technology, data acquisition, automation. I designed it, I installed it, and maintained it. And I loved it! But always I aimed to keep it as simple and uncluttered as possible. It was my hallmark.

And this is the way that I conducted our treks into the Outback. Paper maps and a compass were all for many years. The advent of digital maps with GPS and 'snail trail' provided some safety of not getting hopelessly lost on uncharted tracks. But I certainly did not want a display screen adorned with a preordained route determined at home to guide my every turn!! Where is the adventure in that?
Sure, if I need to be at some place by a particular time I would predetermine approximate waypoints but no more than that. Sure, there is a PLB and a satphone on board. However they sit quietly out of the way but available if things go badly wrong. Our Troopy rig was simple but eminently reliable and competent.

I do acknowledge that there are people, the 'Young-uns' probably, who are submerged in technology and not at ease unless staring at a digital device screen, be it a phone, computer or TV. That's fine, but I am dismayed that it has swamped my esteemed 4WD forum. Alas, they seem to confuse "ExplorOz Tracker" with the ExplorOz Forum and so we are inundated with endless requests for assistance in managing their mapping app. For my own part, I tried "Tracker" but found EOTopo or OziExplorer more to my liking.
I doubt that Michelle & David could make a living from the EO Forum alone hence the development of the Tracker product, and accordingly, the exposure of Tracker on the forum is not a disadvantage to them. So be it, but I am sorry to see the Forum muddled by requests for Tracker assistance.

Postings asking for advice on road conditions seem to be on the increase also. Not just obscure tracks but also established roads. It seems that we have a rise in drivers who will not take the slightest chance unless being reassured before leaving home. There are sites dedicated to this information but maybe it's just "easier to ask" on the EO forum.

For me, the distinction of this forum was its "campfire" manner. For the most part, we chatted to each other and frequently roamed 'off-topic'...... with benefit.

Ahh, It's not like "the Good Old Days" anymore.

I can't believe most people doing blogs and videos these days seem to be using Wikicamps as their main navigation source. People will literally do a lap of Australia thinking that they are seeing all the sights.

They use the terminology too. It's not a camp by the side of the road anymore. It's called a "free camp", which I guess is not the default for some people.

We use to say on this forum as a joke that we would only get Wikicamps as a tool for knowing where not to go.

My two cents

Totally agree Gazz.

I think the forum should be renamed the Travellers App Q & A

The forum used to be a place for a chat and exchange ideas, now it seems every question is how do I …….

The EO forum has a single board, perhaps it is time to have topic specific boards? I must admit I sometimes grit my teeth and think RTFM! Most of the issues raised were things that I grappled with when I started using the Traveller app, but I knew the answer was likely in the manual so persisted. Perhaps some find it difficult to read technical writing, but there are videos as well as the manual.

Thanks Gazz this is the best read I've had this century I recon. So many comments on the money. Can't believe how many ask about roads on various forums, get out there & find out. do the CSR & Gibb , the rest will be easy. I like ExpolOz Traveller to see what is in the area I'm in & have been to some great places I would other wise have missed.

I came here for the intelligence of the forumites. I am not going to tell you where I came from, but you could guess. I am a former 4wd owner, and would be again, if I could find a good 2001 Vitara, in reasonable nick. I do have a much later one, but it is only a 2 wd., but that was intentional. Sold the big 4wd and caravan, and went all the way back to a 1980 mod, Hardfloor camper, with nothing more then a tent, a base and a queen bed. The better half and I have not looked back. To run this set up is a quarter of the cost of the last. We have paper maps, and my old army compass, and no GPS. Have been offroad a bit with this car, like we did with a Sigma Galant in the remote outback of WA in the 80's. Ex-army T109 driver, so I can go anywhere with anything. We use a $20 Bunnings kettle BBQ, for our cooking most of the time, and the way we run today, is a full circle, on our early years and we are loving it.

2 fridges & a butane cooker……..and 12v oven for the midday pie, or two!

Bob

G'day All

Thanks for the replies - thought I might have copped some flak but good to see there are people who still understand what getting away from the hustle and bustle of modern day living is all about !

I understand everyone is different and what one person thinks is a fabulous camping trip / holiday someone else will say why on earth would you do that or go there ? Each to their own.

I put this post on here after someone asked me to plan a trip for them - recently retired friends who just purchased a hybrid camper / caravan and doing a two week maiden trial run. Ffs I said - just fill the fridge with beer and food - head north for warmer weather and south for the colder weather whatever you prefer and just drive and enjoy the journey !

I've been on this site for ten years and there are a couple things that I roll my eyes at - when people ask
" where's a good camp spot ? " .... well my idea of a good camp spot could be someone else's camp spot from hell and vice versa ! Just go I say and if the spot you find one night is not good then bad luck and if it's nice then that's good luck.

Then there is the common " what are the track conditions ? "….Well - if you are in a Hyundai I30 and never driven on dirt before then they are going to be atrocious - but if you have a million k's of outback driving experience up your sleeve and in a HJ75 with 35's and fitted with ten grand worth of Kings race tuned suspension then the track will be a walk in the park. Just go I say and you will work out in no time flat how fast you can safely travel !

Planning ! Yes you do need to have some sort of plan which will depend on what time frame you have, where you intend to travel and the reasons you are heading away but apart from the serious remote stuff I believe most people plan way too much. I learnt that many years ago when I was asked by another company to take an overseas family away for three weeks. The company had pre booked all the accommodation along the way for the entire trip.

Well what a nightmare - the bikes they supplied broke down daily along with some hospital visits due to some minor get offs. Then there were the guest comments about the location of where they were staying the night, which we thought they would enjoy but they hated it and asked if they could go elsewhere but I had to explain to them that we are booked in for two nights ! The next spot which we thought they would not like was booked in for one night - well guess what, they asked if they could stay there two nights as they absolutely loved it ! Not the best trip I have ever done but somehow they liked it and wanted to come back and see more of this vast land.

I had suggested they contact me next time and I will do it differently - no pre bookings, no fixed itinerary and new bikes. This is how I told them their next trip will go - camper trailer for their elderly parents and swags for the rest so if they can't get into a motel they can all have a bed somewhere. We made a rough itinerary prior to them landing in Australia and they understood that it was only a rough guide and once here we would look at the map and pick the places we all thought would be good over the next few days. We tried to keep out of civilisation as much as possible but usually after 3 to 4 days we would stay in a town where they could have a night in a motel to shower and rest up along with we could service the bikes and resupply with food etc as well as giving my support crew a night off from cooking. This way of travel worked perfectly for six weeks and ten thousand kilometres. This family who have travelled extensively around the world said “ this was the best holiday they have ever had ” and to this day I am still good friends with them and they keep telling me how much they enjoyed the trip.

The boys have been back since without their partners and have ridden across the Simpson with me and when we got to the Birdsville Hotel you should have seen their faces with the excitement of doing something they can’t do back home. For some strange reason their faces the following morning looked quite different from the previous days ten hour rapid spending spree in the front bar LOL.

Myself – I hate caravan parks with a passion and only use them when I have to. I understand that caravans need power etc and not all have showers but I doubt you will see me towing a three tonne wobble box and pulling into a park full of mobile mini houses ten feet apart filled with all the same things that one has at home – it’s just a mini suburb with mini houses. Might as well stay at home and talk to my neighbours over the fence LOL.

Some of my friends say I’m getting soft in my old age as I purchased an old rear fold Campomatic camper trailer last year but I just explained to them that I did that for the missus for her comfort and privacy – but don’t tell them I’ve been away in it four times and she has only come along once LOL. Funny thing is I just seem to be towing a queen size bed around as I have all the camping gear I need in my ute but I will admit it was a blessing to have it all set up with the awning etc when it rained for three days.

Look forward to more of your replies

Cheers
Gazz

This thread is reminiscent of a tale told to me by a gent from Yorkshire called Monty. Back in the day before rampant consumerism, the wife and I used to go camping pushing a wooden wheelbarrow I fashioned myself from discarded packing crates. Times were tough, but we were tougher. We couldn't afford shoes so we walked barefoot everywhere hauling our provisions in the barrow. The soft floor campers and billy's people talk of today seem like such an extravagence by comparison. Our provisions included a candle for heat and light, and a packet of Jatz biscuits. We did have the luxury of dessert made from the preserved sawdust left over after making the barrow, soaked in sugar water. We slept standing up with upside down garbage bags over our heads and pulled down to our knees in case of rain. (I invented holes for breathing). Now speaking of invention, we couldn't afford a lah-de-dah round wheel for the barrow, so I made a square one from the same wood. The square wheel is a much maligned invention, but it's damn cheap. There are those on here who profess a scientific bent and seem to have access to advanced scientific theories and postulations. I wonder if they can ruminate on whether my barrow with the ability to have four flats from a single wheel, is comparible with the normal occurrence of one flat from four wheels....mathematically speaking of course? Like I said, times were tough, but we were tougher.

For a lot of people the idea of "getting out there" is more important than actually doing it. Each to their own.

Reminds me of a 12V page/forum/something I'm on where people are asking "what do you recommend for my 4x4 with fridge?" The pics of people's setups blow me away! "You have a smart alternator so you need a 200A Lithium, 50A DCDC charger, 40A solar controller, bluetooth this, battery sense that, 3000W inverter etc etc." All the electrical gear takes up 1/4 of the canopy, just blows my mind!!!! My Ranger has a smart alternator - thick wire and a voltage sensing relay has worked perfect for the last 4 years...

G’day all,
GPS navigation has made me lazy at times,and I don’t rely on it too much, but it also has it’s good points.
This is my head for home ride on friday , just wanting to get home reasonably quick. But picked a couple of towns I wanted to go via, and clicked mininmise distance on my Garmin 680t , and it took me on a lot of dirt roads from Sedan To Burra. Much better on the bike than the tar!

I want to camp like in the Lotto advertisement where the couple arrive by helicopter, the butler( in a tuxedo) runs their spa bath and hangs the chandelier etc.

Beats my usual setup by a country mile.

Luv it! You have really encouraged some great responses.

Just pointing out the bleeding obvious though, I expect all responders operate Exploroz Traveller (including me) with varying degrees of competency. If, like me, are not tech head gurus and need a hand, then asking for help is not an unreasonable thing to do.

Lamenting that the forum is being used in a manner that doesn't suit their 'perspective' (and on multiple occasions) is as annoying to me as apparently it is annoying to our tech heads when the lesser abled ask for assistance.

I am sure Harold Lasseter would be on the this forum if it existed in 1931 (Has anyone seen my camels?)!

And I still haven't thrown my maps away just yet.

Right, you can't get a good glass of Chateau du Chasseur, ey, Josiah?

Hey- Right there ya', Hobodeiah.

Who'd a' thought 40 years ago we' be sitting here drinking chateau du chasseur?

Aye.

Them's days you'd be glad to have the prize of a cup o'tea.

Aye. A cuppa' cold tea.

Not milk or sugar!

Or tea...

in a cracked cup and all.

We never had a cup. We used to drink out of a rolled up newspaper.

Best we could manage was to suck on a piece o'damp cloth.

But you now we were happy those days, but we were poor.

Because we were poor.

My old dad used to say to me: "Money doesn't buy you happiness, son."

He was right! I was happier then. We had nothing-- use to live in a tiny old, tumbled down house with great holes in' err roof.

A house? You were lucky to have a house! We used to sleep in one room, 26 of us. And half the floor was missing. We were all huddled in one corner, for fear of falling.

You were lucky to have a room. We used to live in corridors.

Oh...We used to dream 'a livin' in a corridor. Woulda' been a palace for us. We used to live in an old watertank on top of a rubbish tip. Got Woked up every mornin by havin the lot of the rotten fish dumped all over us.

House? Why woulda say house? It were only a hole in the ground, covered by a couple foot o torn canvas. But they were house to us!

We were evicted from our hole in the ground. We had to go livin in lake.

You were lucky to have a lake.There were 150 of us, livin in shoebox at middle o' motorway.

Cardboard box?

Nay.

You're lucky. We lived for three months in a rolled up newspaper in a septic tank. We used to hadta get up a'six in the morning, clean da newspaper, eat a crusta stale bread, go to work down the mill, for a 14 hour day, week in week out for 6 cents a month, and when we got home, our dad would thrash us to sleep with his belt.

Luxury. We used to hafta get 'out the lake, 3 am, clean the lake, eat a handful 'o hot gravel, work 20 hours a day at mill, for a penny a month, and dad would beat us about the head and neck with a broken bottle, if we were lucky.

Well o course we had it tough. We used to have to get up outta shoebox, in middle of night, and lick the road clean with our tongues. We had half a handful of freezing cold gravel, worked at mill for 24 hours for a penny a year, When we got home, our dad would slash it in two with bread-knife.

Right.. I used to get up in the morning at night at half-past-ten at night, half an hour before I went to bed, Eat a lump of freezing cold poison, work 28 hours a day at mill, and pay da mill owner to let us work there. And when I went home our dad used to murder us in cold blood, each night, and dance about on our graves, singing hallelujah.

Yah, you try an tell the young people of today that, and they won't believe you...

Sorry I'm late to the party. Looking forward to a big year of adventure in 23 Gaz. Just retired, bought a new Jacksons Camper (analogue , not digital lol) and the CanAm side by side arrived this week. Yes I know...creature comforts. With that payload capacity, I should be able to stretch the expeditions to 2 weeks.....and still walk at the end of the day! See you out there next year. Mick.