home made gear

Ta Shane. Well Im lucky again, the bride loves to camp and loves to camp in a tent. So what we now have is our luxury. Have fun bulding the rig and I hope you get to use it heaps all around OZ. Regards Tony.

nice setup also mate. your one lucky man if your wife loves the tent and camping too. Mine is not that keen. I was dragged up in the N.T. and army life and could think of nothing better than a life in the bush, but we have to give and take ( i do all the giving and guess who does all the taking.) when we become family people. i lived for over twelve months on army ration packs, wife will not even try one, makes it real easy to go bush if we eat the same.
cheers Shane.

Hi matt, a lot of work has gone into your setup. looks good, do you get away much? I don't seem to get the time, but am going to make a real effort for the rest of this year.
cheers shane

Hi Shane,
Mate, spent about 1000 hours in 12 months getting the rig ready for the "big trip". Another 2 years saving the $$$ to pay for the trip and mortgage, car loan, etc while we were away.
We actually did Oz on a budget of $100 per day - including everything. Got the travel log to prove it!
To answer your question, we dont get away as much as we'd like too, not so much from the money side of it, but work commitments and a 22 month VERY labour intensive boy. After winter we'll introduce him to the camper trailer for the first time (locally - in case things go "pear shaped"), with the view of a trip to the Flinders later this year.
Our trip around Oz was a highlight - I'm glad I didn't have to wait for retirement to do it!

It wasn't good luck - it was good planning!

Email me off line if you want to natter further.

Cheers, Matt

hi again Matt, I have not done the big trip yet but have lived in all states bar W.A., hope to get there one day. just hope we don't have to mortgage the house for the fuel bill. i think the best memories have to be the N.T. top place and never got tied of all the great things to See and do. but in later years the heat started to slow us down, getting older maybe.
we bought the van in 2004 but don't get much time to go away and when you get the time you have to watch the dollars. the van still has that new smell in it and the wife has still on the don't do this don't do that crap encase you scratch something.
I think back at some of the trips we have had and i think some of the best days were when you had the old banger and the army tarp with the branch stuck up the middle to keep the water off. every body slept in the 7x4 on top of each other, everything you cooked was in the same billy and it all had sand in it. the good old days.
I don't know about you but i think about how to make things some times for months, i would rather make it than buy it.
my next project is going to be a rear bar with swing away tyre. i am a mould maker now and was thinking about moulding both sides of the back bumper then reshaping them so they fit around a new bar running straight across the back above the towbar. the steel that the normal ones have back to the wheels just does not look right to me. after this i will have a go at making another fuel tank to replace the main.
cheers Shane.

G'Day Shane,
I share many of your sentiments mate. Using hoochies to stay dry and trying to cook over a hexamine stove! Memories of 5 day "adventures" with 6 hours sleep are still vivid. Especially when followed by the BEST night's sleep I've ever had - 14 hours straight!
You will love WA - it was the pick of the States for us. In fact, we spent a total of 2 months there and didn't want to leave. Karinjini NP was a great, but we really loved Marble Bar (quiet & secluded), also, Derby, Wyndam & Mt Tom Price. Do the 90 minute mine tour there - it was fully $10 and hosted by a couple of miners - fantastic. If there were places we couldn't really warm to, it was Broome and Coral Bay. With Broome, maybe we hit it at peak tourist season (it took us 4 caravan park to find a vacancy - and then we were pushed up against the perimeter fence with all the traffic from the Port roaring by).Coral Bay would be home (at that time, anyhow) to rudest caravan proprietor we've ever met. No pleasant memories of the place, though the scenery was spectacular.
Building Stuff. If I spent 1000 hours making stuff, then I spent at double that long planning/designing it. Among my files I have plans for the wheel carrier I made for the Hilux - I'll see if I can find it for you. Hey, it survived getting airborne on the Cape - but that's another story! The only mods that I paid someone to do for me was the Safari Snorkel and the Toyota bullbar and towbar.
I could go on, but not tonight!

Cheers, Matt