September Update

We have had a few crazy weeks and left off on a bit of a downer with the weight of the vehicle, since then:

  1. The camper flooded;
  2. The canopy of the ute flooded;
  3. Jodi fell out of the camper (this did help lighten the mood);
  4. Jodi’s dad was flown to Brisbane due to his heart (all good now);
  5. Two days after Jodi’s dad returned, Jo’s grandma didn’t like the attention he received so she decided to have another stroke and was admitted back to hospital (she’s doing ok).

Written down like that, it’s doesn’t look good (except point 3 was pretty funny).  We decided to fix the camper ourselves and in the process Tim ended up stripping the entire camper and enhanced it to suit us a little more. It looks and feels fabulous now and we love it as the entire interior is neat and tidy. Tim hard at work

It was good to still be in Rocky when the family’s health was down. As the saying goes, many hands make light work. 

ETD: Late October – hey, we’re in no hurry. This is our trip, we can start it and end it when we like. The beauty of having no time restraints.

A massive weekend in Rocky

It was a weekend of highs and lows and it ended with us consulting a few mates in whiskey… We couldn’t see if we would leave Rockhampton or not.

But I will start with Friday and work our way through.

So Friday Tim and I went to a Relay for Life event. It was great to kick back and have a few beers all for a worthy cause. To top it off – Tim won a meat tray!!! We were so excited as we had planned a big weekend.

Saturday morning was no different to many others as Tim went off to work. The good thing about today was that I knew he would be home come lunch time as we had some good times planned with the Halens!

Al and Hailey are old mates of Tim’s and now good friends to us both. So we had planned to go to the movies (FYI we were 20 minutes early – CRAZY I know) to see the new Transformers and then to dinner that night.

We had such a great night and it was the first time in a long time that we all just sat back and relaxed. Even after dinner, the lads lit a fire and we just chilled.

Why the celebrations??? WE HAVE OUR CAMPER!!!! Well, we have most of it. It’s been in at Swains getting repaired and they gave it to us to test out. So we set up the camper in the Halen’s backyard and slept there the night. RESULT!

It was great. It felt like we were so close to leaving.  With all the planning and preparation we’ve (mostly Tim) has done over the last 12 months was starting to pay off.

Sunday morning came and went after a lovely fry-up! Then Sunday afternoon hit like an unwanted bomb strike and it hit us both hard. Tim spent the day installing the final leaf spring for the suspension (I know a little about this as I helped to install the leaf suspension on the Colorado) and we took it for a test drive. On the drive, we had the opportunity to weight the car and after our recent GVM upgrade, we were devastated to see it was at 3.22t empty and our limit is 3.33t. So not many words were spoken.

We previously opted to reduce the fridge from 120L to 60L. We have yet to fit out for Tim’s tools (so we can earn some money on the way), as well as fill the 120L water tank, the diesel tank and add on the many little extras we need to include. On top of that we’re no longer sure we can use the current tray and are now researching alternative options.

Needless to say, when dad suggested a drink last night we both welcomed this idea! We had some Johnny green and also tried some Scottish and Japanese scotch. It was needed.

Now, to re-group and figure out what the next move is. For many this may end the trip, but for us, we just need to find a hack! Once found, I’ll let you know what the next step is.

ETD: September

April Update – creating the tray

Sadly Tim has been busy organising the canopy and sorting out everything needed for the tray. As such, I can only load the photos without much of a description sorry. Once he has a sec (most likely when we leave) I’m sure he’ll be online and explain the process in detail. Until then, I hope you’re happy with the slideshow I did showing Tim hard at work creating the tray. Enjoy!

February Update

bull barJust had the front bar, side rails and side steps fitted by ARB. Also got the underbody protection and rated recovery point. This should give a bit more secure feeling when going bush. One downside to all this gear is weight. It dropped the front end 40mm and that is without a winch yet.Under body protection

 

January Update

Update on the Ranger. Just got the new tyres fitted. Got a Ranger with new tyresreasonable trade in for the highway terrains so opted to get the tyres early. We have gone up a size for the tyre which puts the speedo spot on now. For some strange reason car manufacturers seem to think it is a good idea to build in an error into the car at the factory. Unfortunately the odometer is now out a bit. I chose to go with the Toyo Open Country MT as I have run this tyre now for a few years on my other utes and it performs brilliantly off road and gets good mileage.
Tim fitting out the car seatsWe decided to try and protect the interior a bit in the new car so a set of MSA seat covers has gone in. With snow going in the back seat, leaving the seats uncovered was not an option. You almost expect to find gold in these seat covers, the price they charge you. Just make sure you are sitting down when you get a quote.

An early Christmas

Well Christmas came early for Jo and I in the form of a new truck (well not quite truck worthy yet). With lots of researching we decided to settle on a new ford ranger. A dual cab so there is plenty of room for the three of us and plenty of power to tow a camper trailer and haul my tools. This is my new canvas. With 6 months to finish it, I better get into it.

It was so exciting!
Tim picking up the new car