Am excited about the next week, can't sleep waiting for the new day to begin so here I am at 3.00AM typing on the blog and forum.
This is the plan.
Wednesday morning set off to Maroochydore after having said good bye to Marj whose company i have enjoyed here at Kumbia then having a look round Kingaroy, Nanango, Kilcoy and Beerwah before going to Aussie Batteries and Solar in Maroochydore to buy a solar DIY kit:-
then continue on to camp at Brown's Creek Rest Area Camps6 #168 2kms past Yandina.
Thursday go to Gin Gin to visit Jack Mac who has invited me for the weekend and set up the solar panels.
Monday set off north first stop Calliope heading towards Townsville and those camps that I so enjoyed last year. Will visit Sheba at Rockhampton on the way and catch up with Doug in Townsville and hopefully Bill in Magnetic Island if he has returned by then.
How good is that? What a life on the road and just had a great week at Bowenville with this to enjoy over the next week.
There can be no doubt that the membership of this forum has enriched my travelling experience with the friendships that I have made over the past 2 years and I hope many years and friendships to come. John
Sounds pretty exciting John. The van seems to be coming together nicely. More comfortable? I went across to Kilcoy and stayed at a beautiful spot in the Jimna Forrest. It was a pay spot but we could not get anyone to answer the phone to pay. Wasn't much to camp there anyway so willing to pay for such a beautiful grassy spot on the creek if I could only have found someone to pay! I have not been so lucky with the meeting up. I just missed Spida unfortunately and no one else seems to be in the Darwin area right now. Never mind I did have a surprise and welcomed catchup with Norma and Rob n Heather in the middle of nowhere. That yellow bus was a welcome sight. Happy travels John. Tess
Just yell out John when you hit the area and I will call in for a chat mate. I am looking forward to seeing the finished rig. I saw it when work was in progress back in Melbourne but not finished.
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Live Life On Your Terms
DOUGChief One Feather (Losing feathers with age)
TUG.......2014 Holden LT Colorado Twin Cab Ute with Canopy
DEN....... 2014 "Chief" Arrow CV (with some changes)
And if I'm still around in Townsville maybe I'll get to meet another gn and put a face to the typing. Met Dougwe yesterday and had a lovely tour of T'ville, chat and coffee. Love meeting people who have just been names on the forum. Chris
Good on you John, it's great to see you are enjoying your nomadic life so much. Can't wait to catch up with you and check out your new rig. Must admit, I am a bit jealous, as much as I love my Winnie, a Coaster would be a lot easier to manage.
All went well the first day, in fact i did get further towards Gin Gin than expected pulling in to Chatsworth Park just above Gympie. Been here a few times as it is a good first and last stop when going to and from the Gold Coast.
I now have all the bits and pieces to install 200 watts of additional solar to my roof, can't wait to get stuck into the job with Jack Mac. I expect that positioning the panels once they have been dosed with the adhesive will be a job better done with a second pair of hands, once in place there will be no room for change.
Yes Doug I will contact you when in Townsville and I hope that bowlerbear Chris will still be there for a meet up. I am looking forward to catching up with Sheba again and I do remember that she has lots of parking space but I may need a jog to the memory to find the house again.
Am pleased that Tess caught up with Rod, Heather and Norma. I caught up with gypsy rover last year in Townsville and Paronella Park but I expect Chris will be far away when I get there this time. John
What a beautifull sunset John. Glad to see you are so excited - all that time in cold old Victoria was worth it wasn't it?
Oh yes it was worth every cold hour. I am amazed that I have been in cold Qld. inland whilst I have been missing the warm coast. Today in Maroochydore it was tee shirt warm whilst yesterday and previously I have been cold.
Looks like I will be following the coast and staying this side of the great divide.
Hope to catch up after your family business has been completed. John
That solar setup looks great. How easy is it for an amateur to install??? Would love to hear how you get on installing and getting the solar up and running!!!
That solar setup looks great. How easy is it for an amateur to install??? Would love to hear how you get on installing and getting the solar up and running!!!
So far so good the problem is the camber in the roof but tomorrow we will see how it has bonded.
Expect to have no problems other than that, the electrics seem easy enough, further update tomorrow.
Friday was a rainy day so we didn't put the second panel up but today Saturday it is all up and running.
Putting the solar panels on the roof and bonding them to the surface was the part that took an extra pair of hands, especially since my bus has a curved roof so nothing could be just put there and stuck down.
The electrics was not so hard but then I have done a lot of 12 volt work on the bus myself and understand it fairly well, how you would go depends on your level of expertise.
So now I have the 120 watt old panels feeding the bus batteries and the new 200 watt feeding the house batteries so I expect to have permanently solved my lack pf energy problems.
Just a bit of extra bonding to be done and tucking away the cables under the panels tomorrow and off to Calliope on Monday. John
Hello John, you sound like me in Tassie busy busy. Have met some lovely people up that way. St Lawrance was great. Say hi to Doug when you see him. Ring ya later in the week :) Keep up the good work.
Friday was a rainy day so we didn't put the second panel up but today Saturday it is all up and running.
Putting the solar panels on the roof and bonding them to the surface was the part that took an extra pair of hands, especially since my bus has a curved roof so nothing could be just put there and stuck down.
The electrics was not so hard but then I have done a lot of 12 volt work on the bus myself and understand it fairly well, how you would go depends on your level of expertise.
So now I have the 120 watt old panels feeding the bus batteries and the new 200 watt feeding the house batteries so I expect to have permanently solved my lack pf energy problems.
Just a bit of extra bonding to be done and tucking away the cables under the panels tomorrow and off to Calliope on Monday. John
Hi John
Just wondering why you've hooked up solar to the bus batteries?
Just wondering why you've hooked up solar to the bus batteries?
Cheers Pete"
When I bought the bus the internal lights were spliced from the tail lights and when I put a 12 volt socket it also came from there. Not sure where the splice is and that was all the 12 volt in the bus.
Since I have put in the 2 deep cycle batteries from the Hi Ace on the opposite side and seperate. Now I have the option of using either side for power and the bus side has a fully charged seperate battery isolated from the driving one.
With seperate sockets and seperate anderson plugs I can use power or add power from or too either side so I can use the TV or charge up the laptop from the side that has the most voltage.
So if I add solar to the bus side it allows me to use power from that side if I decide to. I also have the option of joining both sides if I am driving continuously in the rain.
All in all I am happy with the current set up but have not had the time to put it into practice so it is theoretical for the next few days.
