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with a caravan or RV in Australia
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Caravanning
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| My Mercedes Sprinter Project |
Spending
three months in Europe last year using a lovely little Peugeot
motorhome was the catalyst that has inspired me to buy a 2005
ex-ambulance Sprinter 316 CDI to convert into a budget motorhome
with all the comfort and convenience needed.
As I'm on my own these days,
the fit-out will cater just for me and an early change was building a
bed base to take the new 2'6 inner-spring mattress that will make sure
I get a good night's sleep.
My daughter Sue and husband
Shaun did most of the work on the bed and lot's of other things as
well. I'm lucky they live quite close and are keen to help. The bed now has gas struts making it easy to get to the spacious storage area underneath.
Another lucky stroke was
finding a Sprinter Forum on the net and through it making the
aquaintance of Eric - a Sprinter whiz who has helped so much with
removing unwanted and potentially dangerous ambulance wiring from
its former life. He has done much, much more and has helped me climb a
very steep learning curve. Even luckier is the fact that Eric lives
less that an hour away from my home at Mornington.
Work in progress...
And so - after a lot of
hard work - the Sprinter had a bed for me to sleep on - and a few days
later a pair of gas struts made lifting the hinged bed to get at the
under-bed storage area very easy indeed.
The next pictures show
the 80litre Engel compressor fridge in place near the passenger side
sliding door.It's
a stand alone model and I used it on a recent weekend away. It was
running on 12volts all weekend - Friday evening till Monday morning and
my house battery was still well charged.
The battery is a 95ah AGM charged
from the alternator through a relay or from a battery charger if on
power. I also have a 80watt solor module set-up but haven't used it yet.
More changes:
Since putting in the fridge, a number of things have been done - and there will be more pictures when it's finished.
There
were unsightly holes along the wall next to the bed where equipment had
been mounted but these are now neatly covered with carpet and looks
great besides being warmer if I poke my toes out of bed.
The
large box that held 'Body Bags' has been removed in preparation for
fitting the sink and kitchen unit that is nearly ready for fitting.
I've purchased a Coleman Hot Water on Demand unit and this is mounted
behind the sink and will be operated with the sliding door open -
ensuring adequate ventilation. This will also provide water for
showering and I've made a frame that slots into supports fixed to the
outside of the vehicle to support a vinyl 'curtain' to keep my vital
parts from public view!
A folding 80 watt solar system fits
neatly behind the drivers seat and a fire extinguisher is mounted on
the passenger side sliding door step. An unsightly swivelling cupboard
has been removed to make way for a three drawer unit that will have a
drop-down table attached and also provide a hanging space for shirts,
etc.
The seat cover on the passenger seat of my Falcon was
unworn so is now is fitted to the rear seat in the motorhome and makes
it quite comfortable. Moving the head restraint gives a better view out
the back windows when reversing.
A friend has made a lovely set
of blue curtains with sun blocking outside and these look really great.
The kitchen unit, drawers and table will have cream laminex and the
cupboards and doors will be finished with Tasmanian Ash veneer.
My
satellite dish and tripod fit very neatly in a cupboard near the entry
door and the telly will sit on the fridge when its not travelling under
my bed covers for safety. The 'VAST' decoder will also sit on the
fridge when in use.
When I scraped the black film off the window
of the drivers side sliding door, I found it was clear glass and not
tinted so a quick visit to a local tinting firm fixed that and now all
the windows match. The door had been unused when the Sprinter was an
ambulance and couldn't be seen until we removed some lockers and a
panel.
I'm now looking forward to the kitchen unit being in
place early next week and then I think the drawers unit will complete
the conversion. I can't wait for its first outing in its finished state
when we go away for Easter.
Pictures to follow soon of the completed project.
Here's
a view of the kitchen unit nearly ready for installation - it should be
installed tomorrow (1st.April - not a very good day!)
Yesterday
Eric fitted a folding step to make getting in and out easier and it's a
big improvement. He also hard wired the TomTom so the battery will
never be flat.
The kitchen unit is now in place as you can see - I'll get another pic later.
Here's the drawers unit assembled and ready to be put in. Hinged table up on left and down on the right.
And Jane - one of the two Lazo dogs!
Nearly finished
It's almost finished although I'm sure there will be many little improvements over the years.
The
water tank is now fitted on the driver's side, the cupboards and sink
are in place and the sink drain installed, suit bags take care of
hanging clothes and extra water is carried in jerrycans. A little
powered antenna get's me telly - the telly lives in bed while I'm
travelling but goes on top of the fridge for viewing.
Here are some pics taken over Easter while enjoying a lovely bush camp on the South Gippsland coast near Yarram.
There's
an outside shower that works really well but the shower curtain still
needs work - I showered au naturel this trip as there was no-one about
to see me.
Did
I mention that I have 2 x 40 watt folding solar panels? That's to
supplement the charge put in from the alternator while travelling.
Latest additions are a satellite phone to use in emergencies if I'm in
a remote area and something goes wrong - either with me or with Yemmy.
I've ordered a 12 volt water pump to make transferring water from jerrycans into the water tank easier.
I upgraded my sat TV dish today (28th April) - bigger and better for the new VAST system that's only been going this year.
Planned date for the start of my round Australia trip is the 9th of June - just six weeks away.
7th May
(Four and a bit weeks to go)
I've
installed the 12volt pump and it works a treat. No more lifting heavy
jerrycans! I've also fitted an insect screen made of hanging plastic
strips to hook on the gutter of the passenger-side sliding door. I'd
already adapted insect screens for the driver's side sliding door and
one side of the back doors. When I finally get to where it's warm I'll
need the ventilation but not the bugs!
Because
I will be out of normal mobile phone range for much of my trip I've
bought a satellite phone just in case of emergencies. I qualified for
the Government subsidy so it only cost $800 including 100 minutes of
talk time that stays current for two years.
As
I'll be heading west across the Nullarbor this time it will be very
cold for the first few weeks so I've ordered a catalytic heater that
runs from disposable propane cylinders. I've also bought a 400 watt
12/240 volt inverter as my 150 watt one was a bit small for what I'll
ask of it with running and charging my MacBook Pro plus TV and the VAST
decoder.
26th May
(less than two weeks before lift off)
Last
weekend saw Yemmy on his final camping trip before we leave. (We being
Yemmy, Murphy and me - plus Tom the voice in my GPS).
We
spent a lovely couple of days at Turton's Creek Scenic Reserve in the
Gippsland hills alongside a murmering river with lovely falls a short
walk away.
My
communications gear is pretty complete: Next G mobile phone with
auxiliary antenna that also works with my Big Pond Wireless Gateway for
the Internet, satellite phone for any emergencies when out of range of
Next G coverage, hand-held UHF CB radio and a statellite TV system so I
can watch any free-to-air TV channel in Australia wherever I'm camped.
I've also bought a pre-paid BigPond Internet 'dongle' for quick
hook-ups along the way.
I've got 'Camps Australia Wide' for free
and budget camping spots, Internet access to 'Independent Camping' - an
excellent site for free spots not covered by Camps - and the RACV
Tourist Park Guide for Caravan Parks. The CPs are also listed on
various sites on the Internet. My TomTom GPS will guide me on my way.
I've
just had a state of the art battery monitor installed and this will let
me keep an eye of what's happening with the battery. Charging will be
from the vehicle alternator through a relay when driving, from solar
panels when camped somewhere sunny and from a 'Smart' charger when on
mains power in caravan parks.
Heating will be taken care of with
a Coleman Catalytic heater and a 12volt fan heater. If it's still cold
I'll get under my duck-down doona! Cooking will be with my Coleman
single burner camping stove and my Gasmate Hot Ozzie BBQ. My Coleman
'Hot Water on Demand' unit will supply hot water to the sink and shower.
Because
I'll spend a lot of time with the sliding doors open when camped, we
have replaced the button on the passenger side that puts the courtesy
lights on with a switch and disconnected the driver's side courtesy
button.
Yesterday I had a 240volt inlet and safety switch
installed together with two double outlets so I'll be legal and safe
when plugging into caravan park power.
Total cost of the project is still under $27,000.
