First Trial Run

We had bought the majority of our equipment, had completed most modifications and we were itching to test our camper out somewhere.


Joel wanted to mix his love of motorbikes with the first trial run of our camper so we invited a few friends and decided to head to manar park. Manar park is a 4wd, motorbike and camping tourist park in the middle of nowhere really (somewhere near Proston). Joel also picked this spot because to get to the park you have to go on unsealed and corrugated roads, perfect for testing his new off road chassis.

The trip out to manar was long but the camper held up well and Joel was surprised that nothing went wrong with the camper! (nothing like a bit of confidence)

Set up took approx 1 hour, I know this because I sat and watched Joel and his mate put it up while I sat back with a glass of wine. In my defense Joel's mate works in a caravan repair shop and knows everything about them and how they go up so I thought I would just leave them to it.

We decided not to setup the annexe as it would be slightly unsociable to sit in the annexe for three days. That will have to be tried on our next trial run. After the setup of the camper the tide pretty much turned to be all about motorbikes for the rest of the weekend!

We made a great dinner for everyone using our camp fire cooking skills. We cooked a pork roast with crunchy crunchy crackling and veggies. And I could even make gravy on my stove in the camper...now you can't do that in a tent! We even remembered the apple sauce, so it was a great meal and I think everyone enjoyed it! Now I just need to learn some desserts that work in a camp oven.... (guess I will have plenty of time to trial recipes soon!)

I would have to say that the greatest thing about the camper on this trip was the fact that it was the middle of winter and inside the camper at bed time you wouldn't have even known. I was really surprised at how warm it was compared to a tent, I guess being off the ground makes a big difference. So when it got too cold at the campfire I actually had somewhere to retreat to!

Overall

Trip was great, Good little trial without too many problems. From this trip we learnt that we needed a UHF in the car to make sure that when the other cars we are traveling with are calling us grey nomads, we are able to retaliate! We learnt that we need to create a proper list to make sure we don't forget anything, eg. Chopping board, sharp knife, peeler. We also learnt that we needed to pack the kitchen items better into the cupboards and build some sort of separators in the cupboards so we don't end up with stuff everywhere! We learnt that if there is no sun the solar panel is useless and have decided that from December on there will be great sunny weather for 12 months. We learnt that Joel shouldn't drink xxxx cans as it gives him a headache in the morning and a restless nights sleep too. We learnt we need a step to get into the camper because in the early morning or late at night it is a long way down. I claim we also need a portaloo to avoid late night dashes to the public toilets.

"Go Out - Make A Difference"

 

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