Back in February before we left on this next leg of our journey around Oz I wrote a post saying that in the previous 18 months of travelling I had never used our washing machine in the caravan. Well didn’t that spark a few comments?
👉Washing Machine, critters and dust: So ladies and gentlemen I have succumbed, yes I am now a devotee to my little washing machine and love using it when I can. It all happened one fateful day when I entered a laundry at a Caravan Park we had arrived at and the park’s two washing machines were absolutely disgustingly dirty. It made me think that the washing would come out dirtier than before it went in. 👕👚🥼
So I went back to the van and told Graeme “Ok it’s time to use the washing machine”…..the look on Graeme’s face initially was shock, horror……..’oh no not the washing machine’!!!!!!😱🤐…….see pics for more…..
👉Extendable Broom: 🧹Next remember that extendable broom I bought for only $30 to help sweep out the crumbs from those hard to reach corners. 🤫Well what an absolute useless piece of equipment and a total waste of $30. It now lives silently under the bed where it will stay until I can think of something better to use it for.
Sirocco Fans: We installed a couple of Sirocco fans in the van before we left. Initially we weren’t that happy with them, but I quite like them. Graeme is not a ‘fan’ pardon the pun 😂🤣, mainly because there is no easy way to clean them once they get dirty. Anyway we had one installed around the kitchen area and then the other is on a board on the extendable TV arm in our bedroom. We don’t have a TV in the bedroom so we can turn it around to face into either the living area or bedroom….actually they both do. Graeme actually likes the Aldi fan we had on our previous trip far better and a lot less expensive.
Here are some tips – some I have learnt from others and some are just what we do.
👉Fly Nets: 🦟Don’t leave home without them as doing a lap of oz you will certainly travel through areas where it as the ‘must wear’ fashion item of the day.
👉Fly Swot: 🦟 I remember as a kid my Dad always had the old fly swot on hand when cooking….no not for us kids hahaha … well now we do too in our van. There is nothing worse than flies inside the van when we are cooking or worse spraying fly spray to kill them and contaminate the food……so the old fly swot has been an absolute gem to have on board ($2 for a pack of 2 at Woollies).
👉Moisturised Baby Wipes: These are the best especially when you have been around a fair bit of red dirt. I use them all the time when we are free camping to wipe legs, feet hands whatever 😉. I also keep a packet in the car (Aldi – $2 for a pack of 80)….They stay moist for a very long time and remember to only dispose of them in the rubbish and never into any sewer or septic system because they do not break down and will block the plumbing.
👉Saving Water While Free Camping: 💦It’s great to be able to have a quick hot shower when you are free camping in your van. But we all know how precious water is. A lovely lady said to me to be sure to put a bucket under the shower head when you first turn it on and capture the cold water before it turns hot. That has been a great idea. I then use that water to clean down benches etc.
👉Auto Laptop Power Supply: 🔌💻We found a great little device in one of the Jaycar outlets that recharges our laptops when we are not connected to power. It allows us to convert 12V to the 19V that laptops require for normal operation. But make sure your 12V supply has the ability to recharge from an external source (example from solar or your tow vehicle while travelling).
👉Induction Hot Plate: ☕️Instead of using our gas while we are on a powered site in a caravan park we use an induction hot plate. It is so quick to bring the kettle to the boil. Our van has a cook top with three gas burners and a small electric hot plate. But the hot plate is quite useless for cooking with a large pan and the induction cooker is quicker than a gas burner. This then leaves our gas for when we are camping without power.
👉Convection Oven:🍗 I think we have only ever used the oven in the van twice. Instead our Convection Oven lives in there (the oven) while we travel. Again when we are on a powered site it lives on our table outside the van. It does a great roast and vegies and also makes our Sunday pizzas.
👉Microwave Oven: We don’t always use our microwave but it’s a great place to store our bread and sealed wraps.
👉Tyre Pressure Monitoring: Who has had a tyre blow on their dual axel caravan without knowing it was about to happen? We have and we ended up with a destroyed tyre. The van stayed perfectly steady and there was no indication of what was developing. Actually it was not until someone pulled up beside us and started waving that we realised something was wrong. It’s not unusual not to feel something has happened we have been told especially because the van’s electronic anti-sway system was working efficiently.
The last one for today comes from Graeme.
👉Don’t camp under trees they will Kill you 🌳🌴🌳🌴.
They drop things like heavy branches and limbs, tree sap, bird droppings and bat crap and sometimes even possum poo. You can LIVE with each of these EXCEPT the heavy limbs, they will KILL you. So before you rush into a campsite to grab that shady spot under the spreading branches of a nice looking tree, stop and ask yourself ‘Why has nobody else grabbed this great spot’? Take a look at the tree and ask yourself….. Are there any signs of old hollows in the trunk? Are there broken or dying limbs higher up? If it is early in the camping season is there a bonus supply of firewood under the tree? Why is this great spot still vacant?
👉👉Sometimes it is a simple item that helps improve life. These are just a few of our caravan tips and tricks and if you want to ask us about anything then just make a comment below. We try our best to answer you all. Or do you have anything you would like to share.
Safe travels everyone.
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Happy Aussie Caravanning Lifestyle
Dixie and Graeme