Thread: Grey Nomads - things I've learnt in the last few days.

Originally Posted by Disco Muppet

Call it the Blazing Saddle.
Paging Mel Brooks

Very good, & moving to the next level, mobile compost! delivered to your house,[ talk about value adding], Must work out a way to stop the horse getting fly blown....... Bob

Fly blown, more like try and stop Mongo!

Sent from my GT-S7500T using AULRO mobile app

Our beloved brother in law let us know about the Grey Nomads blog, thought we may like to comment. We tow a 18.5 foot Ranger caravan behind our Land Rover Discovery Series 1 and we have towed it from Melbourne to the Sunshine Coast twice, never missing a beat. She has done 220,000 kilometres mostly on lpg with a lot of country driving going to clearing sales all over the state. We are strictly speaking not grey nomads because we don't spend all our time on the road but we are with them in spirit. The drivers that think that we are just a bloody nuisance on the road need to take a chill pill or they won't make it to our age to do the same thing, and they will want to because it is impossible to resist the urge to go out there and see our great country. Never been out of Aus and don't much yearn for overseas. Grey Nomads have earned the right to live the life they live and yes we sit in our van and watch TV in preference to sitting outside sucking on a beer, but last time I checked it was still a free country. Recently I was one of those doing 80kmph down the Hume towing the van because my husband was ill. This was the first time and under instruction I did pretty well holding on as the big b doubles went past until all of a sudden the caravan was sliding continually across the two lanes. A b double gas tanker had snuck up behind me sitting on my tail causing it to sway: as he rounded me up the van swayed a lot more and I hope it really put the wind up him as his rig could have ended up a blazing inferno. Bet he needed new underwear. As for me, I was too busy trying to control the thing with my husband yelling in my ear instructions and the both of us trying to hold onto the wheel. That's just it you don't know what is going on in the other vehicle: me a novice at towing and does it really matter that you get that little bit earlier? Get up earlier and take the leisurely drive rather than break neck pace to get there. Believe me all that stress is taking years of your life. And the reason for the bright shiny rig, for us as I polish it each time we go out is that it is the only new big ticket item I have owned and I like to look after things and keep them new looking, just like my husband! Heck even he was second hand but the best! Better to spend the money on what we want than leave it to the kids to spend on overseas trips: Australia is all the better for it as we spread our money around like manure for the small country places to grow.

Well said Patchspal and keep on living

Originally Posted by garrycol

Looking through this thread it is clear that people expect other people to drive and act as they do - that is if they consider that they should drive at the speed limit then all people should drive at the speed limit - those who like to potter along wonder why others drive faster - a generalisation I know and is typical of human nature - likewise if one person wants to be out camping it roughing it they often do not understand why would people would the want to watch TV - we are all different and do things for our reasons.

On the road I do tend to drive at the limit, unless I am late for something I do tend to be tolerant of slower drivers and grey nomads but what does get up my nose a bit is that if I drive slower and hold up a truckie, earning a living I am bad - sorry the roads are for all of us not just for the truckies. What really gets up my nose are not the caravaners but truckies going up who seem to have no regard for others - I drive on the the Hume a lot and have them tailgating when I am doing 110kph and then have them going up hill on a multilane highway - side by side one doing 60kph and the one in the outside lane doing 60.05kph with no regard to anyone else and blocking everone on the multilane highway - give me a grey nomad any day.

Garry

**warning tangent**

Reading this comment of Garry's, I can relate to it quite well, I do a lot of freeway driving, and the Td5 I drive (it's a gutless POS compared to our other one) really needs to be pushed hard to maintain the speed limit on hills.

I drive the Hume quite regularly when I head out to the farm, and quite often am towing, I've also come up on 3 b-doubles abreast on a hill (Catherine hill), and it's quite clear the truckie out in the right lane doing 70km/h really have no recognition of other road users, as could be seen when I suggested he keep left if he couldn't overtake (I was towing so hit the hill at 140 and got baulked by him near the top), the reply was along the lines of "I've got my licence I'll do whatever the **** I want, if that's you in the four wheel drive", quite funny as another truckie got on and said to him "he is towing mate".

I have a lot of respect for trucks that do the right thing, and do everything possible to get out of the way and all that, but the bad attitude is everywhere, from wrinkly old grumble bums in Land Cruisers 'seeing the country, 1 tv channel at a time', to the dickheads in small cars that drive slow for no reason at all, soccer mums in their "SUV's" and any other arrogant, ignoramus.

(Yes throw me in that pile of people that think you should drive as fast as you can comfortably, and if you can't drive at the speed limit when your rig can, bugger off to a nursing home, or at least move over and let me past when I can get past).

Reply to suggestion that slow drivers should go to a nursing home.The speed limit is a maximum not a minimum. Perhaps to appease you we should have minimum signs installed next to maximums then complaints would be legitimate.

Certainly agree.

It is a LIMIT, not a challenge. Within reasonable variance it is fine. Obviously 70km/h in a 110 is a bit of an issue, but come on 90 in a 100??? Some people just need to be patient. Life is too short.



JC

Originally Posted by justinc

Certainly agree.

It is a LIMIT, not a challenge. Within reasonable variance it is fine. Obviously 70km/h in a 110 is a bit of an issue, but come on 90 in a 100??? Some people just need to be patient. Life is too short.



JC

With a big enough hill, 70km/h in my 110 is a challenge!