Travelling in a camper trailer

the camper trailer is great having only 1 rm to cleanup instead of a house, and you don't need to spend as much money to fill a 60ltr fridge compared to a 500ltr.
But if you go to a 40ltr fridge you can save even more.

you need to reaccess the neccessaties. You don't need 3mths supply of food with you at all times. Have you actually used your camper yet? If it rains you might spend a bit of time in the camper, otherwise you'll be outside! YIPPEE!!!!!

Hi John,
Maybe see the great outdoors as your living room and the fact that you have a small fridge reason to eat fresh produce as you have plenty of time now to prepare it.
Just a different perspective on how to view what some might see as limitations as benefits,

We spent 3 years travelling in a trailer with 2 kids aged 3 and 5 when we left. It was amazing. My wife wasn't to sure how it would all work living in a trailer with 2 kids but we all loved it. We followed the wheather so winter was up north and summer was in Tassie. We only had about a total of 5 weeks rain all up in 3 yrs so as mentioned most of the time is spent outside, trailer is used for storing stuff and sleeping. If you want to see more about our trip have a look at
http://www.kidsandall.webs.com/
It is our website detailing our trip with photos, fuel, accom, and where we went in 3 yrs. You don't mention how long you are going for but how ever long it is it won't be long enough and there will always be more to see for the next trip lol.
Have fun, my feet are getting itchy just thinking about it.

Josh

Iand SWMBO travelled 3 months last year in my 97 Camp'o'matic.
You tend to do things differently than at home.
We have a 40 litre Engel and rarely had a storage problem.
EG Milk is available just about anywhere , and the 1 litre plastic bottles are most practical as they can be resealed. We carried UHT milk also which now is just about indistinguishable.
Every day I would replace the beers/soft drinks wine drunk the night before. You only need 1 day supply in the fridge. The most bulky food items are chips and salad vegetables so Pringles can replace the chips and I dio not know what you do with the veges as my wife insisted on stuffing our fridge with lettuce..

BTW we tried vacuum packed meat but SWMBO didn't like the green fat. In any case contrary to some on this forum we found excellent butchers in many places. Some that spring to mind are the Katherine mall, Cloncurry, Longreach, Alice Springs, Broome and most will vacuum pack cheaply for short term.

You are not going to Siberia and even some unexpected places have a great Coles or Woolies. MT Tom Price was a surprise with an excellent Coles as was Kununurra. Quorn has a good IGA and Derby has a great Woolies. Even little Mataranka has a good supermarket, as does Borroloola , Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, and even at Rabbit Flat you can /could get the basics.

Most road houses sell milk and bread , even if frozen.
Just go and enjoy , and don't hassle the details.
Regards Philip A

You can always use an eski with ice for the other stuff like cool drinks etc if you find you don't quite have enough room in your fridge.
I'm talking about a decent eski like Evakool, they keep ice for 3 days or more depending on the weather, and as you know ice can be purchased at most fuel stops.

Yes we have a big fridge at home and we are now in a 4 bedroom house, being on the road is different to just staying somewhere and living there. When we moved to this current town to settle down yes I couldn't quite imagine living out of an 80L engel and in the camper trailer full time with kids going to school etc, to me it's just different when you're on the road I guess you live a bit differently and like others have said you don't tend to carry 3 weeks worth of food, whereas if you're settled you tend to acquire more stuff in general!
And speaking of the fridge at home I would actually love a smaller one (not the side by side variety) with perhaps a chest freezer full of meat (half a cow etc) because in reality my fridge is rarely chock a block unless we have visitors or on special occasions etc. But I guess we're the kind of people who don't like keeping stuff that doesn't get used too often.
And I guess that's the point as well, when you're camping you won't have a need for the non essentials, and well if you do then you'd go and buy it at the next shop you come across.

It would certainly be a good idea to do a few short trips to get used to what you need to carry because with every trip you tend to find a way to improve on something, get rid of or add something in etc.

G'day John, I'm perplexed that you seem to think you have to live under the confines of your C/t & annex, when you have about 3 million sq miles of space.
We tour regularly with a C/t & rarely enter it, except to sleep or shelter from
crook weather. We only have an annex roof & rarely put poles under it unless
staying for several days ,or for shade. We live,eat, relax,drink, chat, cook & so
on in the open air. We use a 40 L 3way fridge for food & a similar sized good ice
box for grog & drinks. In the event of prolonged bad weather we carry a big silver
tarp that covers everything with a 2m overhang. This gives good shelter & drainage & allows room to move around. Dont carry tons of food, water, clothing & stuff you dont need. I dont include tools,spares, recovery gear etc as part of
that stuff. Be happy to pay more in the outback for everything...that is the
only way such businesses survive the high costs of transport & tourists like you
are their lifeblood. Just go...& enjoy it....cheers.....oldbaz.

Your post reminds me of those adverts for BCF -"that's not living ..."

Not wanting to travel because you miss the comforts of home! Take a cement pill sunshine.

Just stop being a sook and hook the damn thing up and give it a go for a weekend, then a week, then longer. If you never try you'll never know.

Sounds like you would rather stay at home.

John,

There is a wonderful sense of freedom and liberation in leaving what we imagine to be the "essentials" of modern living behind (and all the chores that go along with them). You quickly come to realise that all you really need is a comfortable bed to sleep in, somewhere to prepare and cook your meals, and somewhere to go if the weather is less than perfect. Your camper trailer will provide all of that. A 60/80l fridge will be heaps big enough if you think through how to organise your food in advance.

For the rest, the great outdoors is your living space and your entertainment. I see from your profile that you have done a fair bit of travel, so the next step should just be one big adventure.

Enjoy it!

Val

Hi John

We have just returned to Gladstone after a 13K trip to Broome, Kimberleys, Kakadu, Savannah Way etc. It was our first trip. I callled it the suck it and see trip.
We have a soft floor trackabout trailer, 50l Waeco.
Our only problem was we took far too much clothes and other items we didnt use. This included food as we found we could purchase it in most places we visited.
We did cop a bit of rain while at Home Valley Stn but what the heck. Dried out in Kununarra.
Mate I have just retired from work, people I met in Van Parks and free camps made my mind up. I intend to do one of these trips every year.

Cheers

Howard

Thank you all for your very helpful and interesting replies. Thank you also for sharing your experiences.
I think i'll cancel the ratchet straps to pull the 500 liter westinghouse!
John