All bases covered?

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

All bases covered?

yobarr · Guru

Good luck for your holiday, Graham. Truck and boat look great, and Im sure that you and Clare will gave a great time. Take care. Cheers

Possum3 · Guru

A great looking set-up - Wishing you safe and happy travels.

Whenarewethere · Guru

I think you could shoehorn a Robinson R22 on the roof!

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

Not b_ _ _ _ _y likely! We are pretty close to maxed out on our GCM with needing to run the yacht close to empty of water and fuel to stay within this with all the rest of the stuff we are carrying. We already have an inflatable dingy with outboard, stand up paddle board, back packs and tents and a variety of other stuff hidden away in various spots! biggrin

-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Saturday 20th of May 2023 09:05:06 PM

-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Saturday 20th of May 2023 09:08:22 PM

Blues Man · Guru

Looks like all bases are covered ,land and sea . Good luck.

hufnpuf · Senior Member

Where's your plane? :D

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

hufnpuf wrote:
Where's your plane? :D

Does a drone count for that? biggrin

hufnpuf · Senior Member

well, yes, land sea and air covered. You're good to go.... :D

Cupie · Guru

Looks like a fantastic set up.

Going through the center then ? LOL

Whenarewethere · Guru

Cupie wrote:
Looks like a fantastic set up.

Going through the center then ? LOL

Lake Mungo!

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

Cupie wrote:
Looks like a fantastic set up.

Going through the center then ? LOL

Yep smile Via Alice, Mount Isa and Townsville as walking part of the Larapinta on the way to the Barrier Reef leaving the camper and yacht in a secure storage yard in Alice. We are coming back via the East Coast to catch up with friends and family there!
Dont worry we will pull over if we see you in our rear camera caught behind us!
It is a bit outrageous to be dragging about two kitchens, two toilets, four showers, four dining areas, two tvs, beds for 8 people, 3 fridges, 1.6kw of solar and 860ah of batteries, 17kgs of bottled gas and all the rest of the stuff. biggrin

We may never go home!

Cupie · Guru

You'll certainly turn heads & get lots of comments as you go thru The Alice et al.

But there are loads of fantastic spots to dunk it in the water all down the NSW coast.

Lots more if you go up as high up the Qld coast as the top of the Whitsundays at Bowen. Perhaps put the Yacht in there & cruise in a loop from Gloucester down thru the islands.

What an adventure .. don't now about all that effort walking a bit of the Larapinta though. Perhaps just a little bit.

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

We have now arrived at the Coral Sea Marina Airlie Beach having towed the yacht from South Australia through Alice Springs, Mount Isa and down to Airlie.

-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Tuesday 25th of July 2023 09:44:08 PM

Bicyclecamper · Guru

What would be your average speed on the road, and also up hill?, plus avg litres per hundred fuel economy I'm intrigued

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

85-90kph generally and careful to pull over when encountering following traffic. Up hills we are in the truck slow lane batting it out with the heavy haulage trucks dragging slowly uphill.
Our average fuel economy is under 20litres per 100klms despite reaching mid 20s on occasions when battling both ferocious headwinds and climbing mountains. We have had fuel tank refills record 16s in more ideal conditions.
The 3 litre turbo diesel Isuzu NLS AWD is still under warranty but as soon as this expires I will get the engine remapped for more power as its got a lot more hiding there from others experiences.
My previous towing vehicle a 3 litre diesel VW Touareg was a vastly better tow choice with 600nm of torque, supreme comfort and the ability to accelerate up the steepest hills whilst towing. It also averaged under 16 litre per 100klms towing the yacht. Its amazing that two 3 litre turbo diesel engines have such vastly different power outputs!
The Touareg was however just exceeding its 6380kg GCM towing my nearly 3.4 ton fully loaded yacht and my new partner is a mountain walking enthusiast and we wanted something that could also get us well offroad and out into the inland wilderness areas to accommodate her passions.
Both early retired now the slightly slower towing journeys dont worry us and its easier on the yacht on trailer at slightly lower speeds as well. The lower speed and shelter behind the tall slide on camper also allow much of the cruising equip on the yacht to remain erected saving the previous huge deconstruction and reconstruction project at the beginning and end of each tow to a remote cruising ground.

Towing purists are also happier with the weight ratios being a much heavier truck towing a lighter yacht than the lighter Touareg towing the heavier yacht. I contend that the Touareg with its ultra modern trailer stability control systems, huge power reserves and air suspension is actually the vastly superior tow vehicle but others will disagree.

-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Wednesday 26th of July 2023 07:28:52 AM

Cuppa · Guru

I recall reading long ago a list of names some outback facility called a variety of tourist vehicles. All related to food & I cannot remember them all, but the one I do remember would be attributed to your setup I think.

Burger with the lot :)

watsea · Guru

I had similar thoughts as Cuppa, more like the Scouting motto, "Be Prepared", or maybe are being ready for the rise in sea levels.
Certainly the structures with the cruising equipment look like that there would be time and effort required for the erection and dismantling.
Impressive looking travelling combinations in both forms, ie when with Touareg or with the Isuzu.

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

Yep definitely burger with the lot! Either that or the ultimate apocalypse escape setup!
We just need to add a reverse osmosis water maker to be able to escape the ravaging hordes for many months at a time!
Between fishing and the volume of produce and various meats my partner has dried herself we have enough food for a long time out there!
I am just not sure how long our 30 litres of alcohol in various formats will actually last! :)

-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Wednesday 26th of July 2023 10:55:36 AM

rmoor · Senior Member

Great setup.
I will think of you with the fishing kayak and my light rod.
Good luck, looks a fantasic setup.

yobarr · Guru

Trailer Sailer wrote:
Yep definitely burger with the lot! Either that or the ultimate apocalypse escape setup!
We just need to add a reverse osmosis water maker to be able to escape the ravaging hordes for many months at a time!
Between fishing and the volume of produce and various meats my partner has dried herself we have enough food for a long time out there!
I am just not sure how long our 30 litres of alcohol in various formats will actually last! :)

Great set up you've got there Graeme. Well done! Just saw that you plan to install a reverse osmosis system. Claire seems to be well "on to it" with regards to health and fitness, so I imagine that you're both familiar with the negatives of reverse osmosis?

"Dead" water comes to mind, but I'll say no more.

There no doubt are members on here, Cuppa maybe, who can give good advice on water purification methods. Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Wednesday 26th of July 2023 12:21:23 PM

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

Hi Yobarr Yes thanks and we are aware of the issues with both distilled and reverse osmosis water but we are intending to be out for three months next year without resupply and water sources in The Kimberleys can be hard to source without a big croc deterring dingy which we cannot carry. We already have a power hungry emergency salt water distiller but it is very slow and a bit messy.
We have 140 litres of onboard tanks and a further 90 litres in portable containers. The 140 litre tanks run the kitchen sink, freshwater hot cold water internal and external showers and the toilet hand basin whilst we use the portable containers with a hand pump for drinking water.
We also have pressure seawater tapped to the sink and washdown/anchor wash hoses and an external cold water shower. I am still toying with the extreme expense of a reverse osmosis watermaker mainly for unlimited personal and clothes washing purposes and as a fresh water supply backup generally.
We shall see how we go in the much tamer Great Barrier Reef cruise over the next 2/3 months.

I think we are currently the smallest cruising boat in the Coral Sea Marina here at Airlie Beach and now have my old white water paddling partner Bryan onboard for a week as well squeezing two 6 foot 2 guys and Clare into our relatively small yacht!

Craig1 · Guru

biggrin biggrin " I am just not sure how long our 30 litres of alcohol in various formats will actually last! " wrote Graeme

A small still would be simple for a man of your talents. biggrin biggrin

Cuppa · Guru

In regard to 3 months out without resupply.
We (with a great deal less -A Patrol ute/canopy + Tvan) have often managed 2 months without resupplying, & that is getting to some seriously remote spots. Mostly we do manage to find limited fresh fruit & veg in small outback/aboriginal communities. We could go longer if travelling from home with dehydrated stuff, but several years away from home such things run out after a while. Water is our limiting factor, but we have never once had to move on because we were running out. We have found good water supplies in the most remote of areas. We filter & are choosy about water quality, and always top up when we find good water. We carry chlorine in case, but have very rarely needed to resort to it. When we do our filters stop us getting it in our drinking water. Without topping up we can last 3 to 4 weeks, ( we can carry 220 litres in 2 tanks) but as I say sources of water are in even the most remote places generally. We do however always travel in water saving mode unless certain where our next water supply is.

Not sure where you are planning to be so off grid that you need to have so much with you. The reality is that having so much may well be what prevents you getting to the truly remote places..

However if your plan is to find great spots & stay self sufficiently for 3 months at a time then you will be very well set up!

Did you consider UV water sterilisation?

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

Hi Cuppa I am talking sailing out into the waters, islands and rivers of The Kimberleys not land based travel.:)

Its really bloody remote out there compared to anywhere you can get too even with the most serious 4x4 rig. I am talking so remote that only shallow draft trailerable sailing yachts can even reach these places as they are too far for motor boats to carry enough fuel, too shallow for conventional keel boats to access and are very extended walking distances over very rough terrain to reach by land.

Water supplies in these areas where available are from remote streams and waterfalls often protected by crocodiles so its no easy task to access some of these when we only have a tiny 2.3 metre inflatable dingy otherwise known in the Kimberleys cruising fraternity as a crocodile teething ring!

We are not the first to do this as I am following in the footsteps of good friends who have been doing it for many years in their slightly smaller trailerable yacht. They however tow a hard dingy full of supplies behind their yacht and our particular yacht has capabilities beyond theirs but also the constraint of being unable to tow a big dingy. We carry our small inflatable dingy on deck out of harms way but its more vulnerable when actually in use.

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

Hi Craig Prefer my alcohol in reasonable quality wine format or high end liquors not rougher grain alcohol via distilling which I actually have the equipment onboard to do but it is currently used to produce distilled fresh water from salt water. biggrin

Cuppa · Guru

Trailer Sailer wrote:
Hi Cuppa I am talking sailing out into the waters, islands and rivers of The Kimberleys not land based travel.:)
Its really bloody remote out there compared to anywhere you can get too even with the most serious 4x4 rig. I am talking so remote that only shallow draft trailerable sailing yachts can even reach these places as they are too far for motor boats to carry enough fuel, too shallow for conventional keel boats to access and are very extended walking distances over very rough terrain to reach by land.
Water supplies in these areas where available are from remote streams and waterfalls often protected by crocodiles so its no easy task to access some of these when we only have a tiny 2.3 metre inflatable dingy otherwise known in the Kimberleys cruising fraternity as a crocodile teething ring!
We are not the first to do this as I am following in the footsteps of good friends who have been doing it for many years in their slightly smaller trailerable yacht. They however tow a hard dingy full of supplies behind their yacht and our particular yacht has capabilities beyond theirs but also the constraint of being unable to tow a big dingy. We carry our small inflatable dingy on deck out of harms way but its more vulnerable when actually in use.

TS. Now I am truly envious! Years ago a young friend of ours accompanied Malcolm Douglas on a boat trip along the north Kimberley coast as his cameraman. The episode is still available on YouTube I think. I recall the remarkable Rowley Shoals, Montgomery Reef & the whirlpools they dodge. Experiencing that coastline is stuff of my dreams, but I think the only way I could do it would be via one of the hugely expensive cruises, & that is the last way I would choose to experience such a truly wild & beautiful environment.

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

Despite our recent paid stint in a Marina at least most of our camping spots are free on the trailer sailer.:)
Unlike many here our on water platform has a myriad of uses beyond just fishing which we also do from it.
Currently we are living onboard and also hosting an old friend of mine from Perth just for six days/nights before we go off exploring on our own.
As originally posted here grey nomading via trailer sailer brings a whole other dimension to travelling in retirement.
Concerns about difficulty and fitness can be allayed but starting as young as possible as even in later retirement it is still feasible as proved by friends now over thirty years of trailer sailing cruising and them still doing it when he is 86yo.
I can only dream of still being up to it at his age.:)
Our last cruise together for around six weeks ( he and his partner cruising in company on their 25 foot yacht with us on our 28 footer ) didnt see him step ashore frequently but all else was handled superbly. :)

Cuppa · Guru

I would be most interested if you are able to go ashore on the island among the Buccaneer group that is said to still have all the infrastructures, still intact, of the community who lived there before it was abandoned. I cant recall the name of the island, but heard a variety of stories about what remains there whilst we were living on the Dampier Peninsular for a while a few years ago. Would love to see some photos of what is there to see if it matches up to my imagination.

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

Get me a name and details and I will add it to our wish list! Its already pretty long!