Were do you keep your portable bbq and other things

Submitted: Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 14:45
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So we are packing the van and car in preparation for our trip around Aus.

In the front of the van is were the annex and poles are kept as well as the two gas bottles. We have a large tool box on the front also which is holding our tools for work. So my question is were do YOU keep the webber Q/portable bbq????.
We were thinking about making a box to go ontop of the roof rack of the car to keep the bbq, drop nets, tackle box's, snorkle gear etc. Whats your thoughts and suggestions??
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Reply By: Member - Joe n Mel n kids (FNQ - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 14:55

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 14:55
kinda like asking us all how long is it going to take to pack, everyone has vastly different ideas BUT......
Keep all HEAVY items down low as possible and pack according to frequency of need, the more you plan on using it, the easer it needs to be got at.... and packed away ....
You will, well we do... re-pack everything time and time again to get it right, you will find out that some things you thought will be used all the time you never use and other stuff you use a lot .......
Alos factor in to your travel plans a day to re-pack stuff as it makes it better for the rest of the trip...
Cheers
Joe
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Follow Up By: Liveit - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 16:15

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 16:15
Thanks for your thoughts Joe.
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Follow Up By: Member - barry F (NSW) - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 17:56

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 17:56
Yep I agree with Joe. Do you have under bed/bunk storage? there is usually heaps of storage space in these, but can be a bit of a pain at times to constantly access, so this is where items least used are stored by us.

Tools, for instance, are a good example, (IMO) because for me I take a fair number of things "just in case" but not very often, if at all, do I need to use them. So these tools go out of the way, under the bed whilst other regular used tools go in the van boot where I can easily get them when needed. So it is a bit of sorting your priorities out, which you will quickly come to terms with once you hit the road.

I agree with comments made about the versatility of twin cab utes as we have one, but I did not get the impression that you were looking for advise on the "most appropriate" vehicle, rather you want a few pointers on the best way to pack your existing vehicle/van combination? The only other comment I would make, is look very very hard at the things you pack "just in case" & then decide not to take these might be handy things, particularly clothing & food stuffs.
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Follow Up By: Liveit - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 19:26

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 19:26
Thanks Barry, your correct ;-)

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Reply By: Nomadic Navara - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 15:40

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 15:40
Your dilemma is the reason so many of us have now gone to twin cab utes tor towing.


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Follow Up By: Member - Heather G (NSW) - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 15:54

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 15:54
Hi Peter,

Ditto for us.

The dual cab is fantastic for carrying fuel, boat gear and motor, generator, portable fireplace/BBQ and so much more. We have a tinny on roof, and tow a van. The rear seat area is usually not too full and we can carry one or two passengers occasionally. Works well for us.

regards,

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Follow Up By: Liveit - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 16:14

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 16:14
Yer duel cab is not suitable for us with two children, i dont think they would be happy with the legs around their neck, but thanks for the input..
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Follow Up By: Member - Joe n Mel n kids (FNQ - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 16:34

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 16:34
Hey "Liveit" ... if you are seriuos about travels with kids and the "need" for room check out what we have, Amy, our 5yr old girl could stand up in the rear and NOT hit the roof and legs out barly hit the back of the front seats, it also has a roll bar built in, yes heavy in weight and fuel but that is far compensated for the room and happy kids/missus ....
It is a Toyota 75 seris 1HZ diesel with about 500mm in the chassis and a set of doors/roof/pillers made and fitted, the existing rear window and "rear is simply moved back, done by TL Engineering (Perth) most probally at new (1996) and would have cost an extra $15,000 plus ..... i purchase in WA about 2 1/2 years ago ..... they are x mining and still heaps around in WA ....
Why a 1996 Toyota...
Heaps of parts anyware in Aust
Reliablity un-questionable
Re built g/box with tr/case about $3000 and get anyware in aust.
Motors available still ok anyware

Custom made for us and our life style with 3 kids

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Follow Up By: Nomadic Navara - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 17:25

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 17:25
Liveit - I think you are confusing four door DUAL cab utes with the two door king cab/space cab types. In my 1990s Hiluxes I regularly carried adults from Sydney to Canberra. They were a little cramped. My current D40 carried my wifes rather large sister from the Central Coast to Bathurst, Canberra and back home. Are your kids accustomed to the back seat of a Statesman or Customline?
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Follow Up By: travellin - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 17:33

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 17:33
I've tried every dual cab on the market for the last 4 years with my kids - teenagers who are tall - and in all of hem their knees stick into the back of the front seat! Most also have very upright, uncomfortable seats in the rear!!! This has been my dilemma too. Would love a dual cab but can't find any designed with growing families in mind.
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Follow Up By: Member - Joe n Mel n kids (FNQ - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 17:47

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 17:47
yep "Travellin" ... that is where we were.....
Tried every unit on the market, even the 80/100 series and still not suitable for long distance comfort, through my employment over the past years i have been able to test out most new models on the market and they simply have gotten smaller in room ...
It was at the stage where we had the lastest Hilux duel cab a few years ago, kids 1, 5, 7 and we had to make up our minds as to what we do as we could not continue doing the "remote" work with bigger kids.....
Problem now solved
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Follow Up By: Scott C (Coolum - QLD) - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 17:49

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 17:49
No problem with room in the back seat of my dual cab. It is definetely an option to look at if you are travelling with kids
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Follow Up By: Liveit - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 19:20

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 19:20
Glad im not the only one with the leg's cramped and hitting the back seats. We have had a hilux duel cab in the past and its not for us, each to their own tho right. We have a 100 series landruiser and have found comfort wise, fuel wise, and fwding it is the best for our needs. Plenty of room to move and to grow. I see your cars are custom so would be ideal for your situation and its always good to be happy with what your travelling in.
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Follow Up By: landed eagle - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 22:58

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 22:58
Try the Triton dual cab for back seat room. I'm 6'1" and can easily/comfortably fit in the back seat. My teens are about 5'10 and 5'8 and still growing! They have done 15,000kms in the last 12 months in the back seat without a single winge or 'are we there yet'.
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Reply By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 17:49

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 17:49
Well we dont have a heavy Weber We have a 2 burner stove and a plate.
Both go under one of the seats in the van.
If you have a toolbox full of tools on your Aframe it would pay to do two things.
1 When it all full weigh the van and see what the ball weight is. You may be surprised.
2 check your A frame is actually strong enough to accomodate the extra weight

In the recent thread "how safe is your van" and the link in it

Have a look at the broken A frames due to poor weight distribution

Some thing to think about.

Also remember the ballweight is part of the cars load so you cant just fill it up and hook the van on.

AnswerID: 437906

Follow Up By: Liveit - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 19:24

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 19:24
"heavy webber" ???? Our webber is not heavy at all. It is the same weight as any portable bbq.
Will check the posts about the broken A frames, Thanks.

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Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 19:33

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 19:33
A Baby Q or the next size up is quite a bit heavier and takes up much more room than our 2 burner camp stove and a flat plate which all goes in a drawer.

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Follow Up By: On Patrol & TONI - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 20:06

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 20:06
Hi Guys

while the baby Q may be a bit heavier than some small BBQ's it's versatility is not to be overlooked, my wife does more with it than her beloved Cobb and it cooks almost everything, so reducing weight buy eliminating other items, they are a must have IMHO.

PS mine is stowed under the bed and it's sooo easy to get out for regular use.
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Follow Up By: Member - Christopher P (NSW) - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 21:22

Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 21:22
Well i don't know about anyone, but i have on occasion repacked a trailer or the ute half a dozen times, to get it just right. that comes from experience.

What you need and where are you going, should dictate what you pack and how you pack.

I.e. if you are rocking up late to a camp site, then you need to pack in a way that you get all your cooking equipment and cleaning, lights and chairs/ tables ready.

If you get to a camp site early ie roughly 2 hours then you can pack with everything you are going to use to setup your site.

Like i said it comes with experience. sorry if this is not what you are after.
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Reply By: Motherhen - Monday, Dec 06, 2010 at 00:32

Monday, Dec 06, 2010 at 00:32
Hi Liveit

Having a caravan with a gas stove with small oven, we cook on that. Any heavy and/or bulky cooking gear stays home. We carry our old two burner camp gas stove with a small gas bottle for times when we camp away from the caravan (eg Purnululu in the Kimberley), should we want to cook outside, and as back up if something goes wrong and we run out of gas (like when we had a problem with the second bottle). We have an F250 with a large tray for camping gear such as this cooker as well as tools and spares, however prior to this we towed with a Nissan Patrol, and these were carried in the rear behind a cargo barrier. Fishing gear travels under the bed.

I don't know what size or type your caravan is, but unless engineered to carry that weight on the a-frame, i would be cautious about a large toolbox of tools being carried on a caravan.

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Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Monday, Dec 06, 2010 at 13:41

Monday, Dec 06, 2010 at 13:41
Hear Hear Motherhen Just what I said and fully agree.



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Reply By: landseka - Monday, Dec 06, 2010 at 11:27

Monday, Dec 06, 2010 at 11:27
Hi Livit,

To answer your question - we too have a Baby Q and wouldn't leave home without it :-)

We too have a Triton MN Dualcab (biggest rear seat area in it's class and comfortable rear lean on the backrest) and our Webber travels on a square of 3mm MDF occy strapped to the top of a milk crate - which is a storage container - just inside the tailgate where it, along with the camp table can be the first things out of the car at a campsite.

I have now had a gas bayonet installed to the side of the van so we now can leave home the gas bottle that was used with the Webber.

Hope this helps
Neil
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Follow Up By: Liveit - Monday, Dec 06, 2010 at 14:39

Monday, Dec 06, 2010 at 14:39
Thanks Lanseka,

We too love our baby Q, SO much more options than your plain bbq, as our van only has a griller and 3 gas hotplates and one electric. So no oven, but there is a HUGE variety that can be cooked in these as you would no.

Thankyou so much for your idea.

Cheers
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Reply By: RoryW-Q - Monday, Dec 06, 2010 at 13:52

Monday, Dec 06, 2010 at 13:52
As a long time Weber user (last 25 years), we bought our first Q a couple of years ago for camping and will never leave home without it.

I now have Kimbereley Kamper and spent yesterday fitting the new Q into the front storage box with points for tieing it down. On my previous Kamper I kept the cast iron plate and griddle inside the Q during travel but am now having a canvas bag made to store both the griddle and cast iron plate separately from the Q as these are the heaviest bits and it makes it a lot easier to remove or pack the Q (the box on the front of the Kimberley was not designed with ergonomics in mind).

It is not a light item with the cast iron parts in position so I don't think the roof rack is ideal but it all depends on how fit and strong you are I suppose. My is set up for easy access/packing as we do not spend more than 2 or 3 nights at one spot.

Enjoy!
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Follow Up By: landseka - Monday, Dec 06, 2010 at 14:56

Monday, Dec 06, 2010 at 14:56
Hi Rory, since I bought a bbq liner from the Big B ($13) I leave the cast iron plate home now! I cut it to fit and use it to cook marinaded meats on, fry eggs etc. It even gives the nice 'scorch' marks on steak & bangers just like the bare grill plate.

For anyone with space issues wanting to take a Baby Q, be aware that by simply removing the 2 lid hinge pins, placing the grill plate UNDER the Q body and inverting the lid into the body it takes up much less space. I don't need to do this but it is a simple process if required.

Cheers Neil
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Reply By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Friday, Dec 24, 2010 at 14:38

Friday, Dec 24, 2010 at 14:38
This post has been read by the moderation team and has been moderated due to a breach of The Trolling Rule .

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Reply By: keviny6 - Monday, Dec 27, 2010 at 18:10

Monday, Dec 27, 2010 at 18:10
stuck for space so i left the bbq out and in its place have a plate that goes over a 3 burner stove
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