Thread: Doing the Big Lap

We are 2 months into our trip, currently in Albany and the plan is to be back in Tassie for chrismas.
cheers
blaze
living the dream

Hi All

Ranga are you doing the outside lap or the greatest tracks lap or both - just interested

To all you guys call in at Adelaide River and say hi. The phone number is under Adealide River Towing and mechanical repairs

Regards Mark

You know the rules... lots of pics, and if your going past, make sure you drop in and say hi.


Enjoy yourselves...

I'm struggling to decide what fitout to use for my tour.

I'm trying to avoid towing a trailer, as I'm worried about the extra fuel, maintenance, rego, and other contraints that come with towing.

I had hoped to get away with having just the 130 HCPU, and a lift-off style canopy like these http://jackoff.com.au/CampingBrisbane.php without the rooftop tent. I like the idea of being able to lift up the canopy, and then drive off. Handy when camping if you want to go offroad, and handy when at home if you need a ute. I don't really want the rooftop tent. Not that practical with small kids I suspect, plus a lot of wight up top, and extra drag. If I can fit in our Oztent I'll take it, or I'll find another tent that will fit (Black Wolf Turbo tent maybe).

A couple of issues:

Size. I was hoping that all our gear would fit in a canopy, thus be safe and secure against theft and damage. I've now got concerns about fitting everything in, including tent, swags, fridge, stove, food, clothing, other stuff. I'm going to try and measure up what we need to take, and play imaginary canopy tetris to see if it's feasible.

Boat. The other thing I hadn't factored in was taking a boat. I'm a pretty keen fisherman, and would love to take a boat with me, but refuse to take a tinny on the roof. I think they're just not practical enough, particularly if I go with the lift-off canopy. Setting up camp before going fishing becomes difficult., not to mention extra drag, higher centre of gravity and manual handling issues.

Another option I'm looking into is a portabote (Home -A Folding Foldable Portable Fishing Boat And Dinghy By Porta-Bote Portabote Porta-Boat Portaboat Foldboat). A friends Dad has one he can no longer handle, so might be able to pick it up for the right price. Not sure how stable/safe it is, particularly with kids, but he's offered to let me take it for a week to see if it fits the bill. At least it would be better stored on the roof than a tinny, provided I can lock it up to prevent theft. Not too sure about being in one up north with those big lizards stalking me though!

Maybe taking a boat isn't worth the trouble. I can always fish off the bank, and if that isn't an option (again, think crocodiles ) perhaps jetties, wharfs and - last resort - charters might satisfy me.

If the canopy is too small for our needs, I think we'll have to tow. If we do, I might as well take the boat and I think I'll look into something like this Belco Custom Trailers. Not the cheapest option though, so maybe a good offroad boat trailer and small tinny would suffice, and I can then carry the light, bulky items like swags and tent in there and have more room in the canopy.

I actually enjoy all this planning - it's all part of the fun! Anyway, I'm always keen to hear recommendations and advice from others, so feel free to weigh in!

Originally Posted by Ranga

I'm struggling to decide what fitout to use for my tour.

I'm trying to avoid towing a trailer, as I'm worried about the extra fuel, maintenance, rego, and other contraints that come with towing.

I had hoped to get away with having just the 130 HCPU, and a lift-off style canopy like these http://jackoff.com.au/CampingBrisbane.php without the rooftop tent. I like the idea of being able to lift up the canopy, and then drive off. Handy when camping if you want to go offroad, and handy when at home if you need a ute. I don't really want the rooftop tent. Not that practical with small kids I suspect, plus a lot of wight up top, and extra drag. If I can fit in our Oztent I'll take it, or I'll find another tent that will fit (Black Wolf Turbo tent maybe).

A couple of issues:

Size. I was hoping that all our gear would fit in a canopy, thus be safe and secure against theft and damage. I've now got concerns about fitting everything in, including tent, swags, fridge, stove, food, clothing, other stuff. I'm going to try and measure up what we need to take, and play imaginary canopy tetris to see if it's feasible.

Boat. The other thing I hadn't factored in was taking a boat. I'm a pretty keen fisherman, and would love to take a boat with me, but refuse to take a tinny on the roof. I think they're just not practical enough, particularly if I go with the lift-off canopy. Setting up camp before going fishing becomes difficult., not to mention extra drag, higher centre of gravity and manual handling issues.

Another option I'm looking into is a portabote (Home -A Folding Foldable Portable Fishing Boat And Dinghy By Porta-Bote Portabote Porta-Boat Portaboat Foldboat). A friends Dad has one he can no longer handle, so might be able to pick it up for the right price. Not sure how stable/safe it is, particularly with kids, but he's offered to let me take it for a week to see if it fits the bill. At least it would be better stored on the roof than a tinny, provided I can lock it up to prevent theft. Not too sure about being in one up north with those big lizards stalking me though!

Maybe taking a boat isn't worth the trouble. I can always fish off the bank, and if that isn't an option (again, think crocodiles ) perhaps jetties, wharfs and - last resort - charters might satisfy me.

If the canopy is too small for our needs, I think we'll have to tow. If we do, I might as well take the boat and I think I'll look into something like this Belco Custom Trailers. Not the cheapest option though, so maybe a good offroad boat trailer and small tinny would suffice, and I can then carry the light, bulky items like swags and tent in there and have more room in the canopy.

I actually enjoy all this planning - it's all part of the fun! Anyway, I'm always keen to hear recommendations and advice from others, so feel free to weigh in!

keep throwing ideas out there Ryan you may be surprised what you may hear...remember there are shops everywhere..except the desert...so food is not an issue, though be expected to pay top dollar, remember you are helping the communities that you visit just pack good staples like flour, rice etc and buy fresh, well as fresh as you can in the outback, though you will be surprised were Wollies are these days


hope this helps

Mrs hh

I would be interested in buying your HCPU tub if you want to sell it...

The slide on camper unit looks the goods. As for a tinnie, I would go a v nosed punt from www.aquamaster.com.au. I had one their 3 metre jobs with a Johnson 8hp outboard which was great for gulf rivers. I regret selling it. From memory the tinnie was about $1000 brand new from Aquamaster at Brown Plains. They weigh about 50kgs.

Include Lawn Hill, Gregory River and Riversleigh area on your travels....great part of world. Especially after all this rain.

If you are into fishing try Manangoora station north of Boorooloola just inside the Northern Territory. Very much a wild frontier, but scenery is awesome. Not to mention the fishing...

Now I am day dreaming...

Cheers
Andrew

Originally Posted by 86mud

I would be interested in buying your HCPU tub if you want to sell it...
Andrew

dont be greedy, you already have one, leave some for the rest of us

You lucky son of a