When ya go camping out

Ok people
What do you go camping out in ..... and why
1. Tent
2. camper trailer
3. caravan - what size etc - full van or poptop and towed with?

I want a trailer (bout 12g) .... minister for war and finance wants a bluddy van


Cheers

.

I use a little 12 ft pop top.(why)Because anywhere my wagon can go my van will fit.I picked up a $70000 Geist that was on its first trip when it overturned. $900 on the internet auction.Put all the gear i needed into an old van and now i don't need to worry if its going to rain.You have to watch where you put the solar panels as the roof may drop one end. Rwork

Hi Byronbinalong,

Have tried the tent weekend ( to long to set up, always packed up in the rain and bloody cold in the winter

Much can be said about the camper trailer, but you do have a few more mod cons.

GO THE VAN ( But not to big and I would recommend a 3/4 van with pop up 1/4 roof, easier to tow, warm, dry, can secure it much better than a tent and it will keep you beer cold while you are our finding the Yella Stuff.

GO THE VAN

Pete

i use a heavy off road camper trailer. takes bout 30min to set up. it never gets any water inside when it rains no matter how heavy. comes with a decent awning that provides plenty of shade and protection from the elements for the 2 fridges. nice and comfy king size bed in it with 2 decent water tanks. plenty of storage space for all my camping equipment. its got a big room to store whatever i need in it.
ive got a buggered leg and find it pretty easy going to dismantle it or set it up myself.
once i set this up i use it as my base then travel freely about in the immediate vicinity using landcruiser to areas i wanna detect.

I use a tent and not happy with the length of time it takes to set it up and take it down. Am at present working on a project in my spare time, trying to convert my 8x5 trailer into a camping trailer. It is a slow process but once finished should work a treat. Hoping to get the canvas add on's vie ebay but the bidding is crazy. Might see a local dealer to see what they will do it for.

I like the idea of the trailer as once set up (which should take about 10 mins), it can stay put whilst I head out to detect.

I have taken a tent to store my stuff in but have slept in the back of the car, much warmer and drier if its raining.

I'm in my 60's and have a full on 17'-6" caravan semi-off road type. The type you can take into the bush on reasonably well maintained dirt roads. It has a shower & toilet, 120lt water tanks, King size bed and TV. all with battery back up. There is nothing better after a days digging to have a nice shower in a comfortable van knowing if it is raining outside that you will be warm and dry inside. It take me about 1/2 hr to set up and pack up and I tow it with a 4.2 tubo engine Toyota Landcruiser 100 series.
Byronbinalong I'm not say that you need something like this, but I would say "yes if you can afford it get your self a pop top van or a full on van. Something that will be comfortable to relax in at the end of the days detecting. Just think non of us are getting any younger ,mate.

Wombat

I bought a second hand 16 ft Bushtracker which is built like a brick hit house - I go away by myself, so I have heaps of room. I swagged it for three weeks at Nullagine in my first year of detecting and suddenly realised I was getting a bit long in the tooth for that stuff.

I often will still take the swag in case I want to do a couple of nights in rough country. Nothing like lying back and looking at the stars as you nod off with a skinful of port.

Like wombat, I think it's great to come back after a hard day and have a shower, or stay out of the rain. I am also rather partial to my diesel heater on those zero degree desert mornings.

My old Trakshak camper was pretty useless in prolonged rain. No more wet and dripping canvas for me.

Jigalong.

PS
Having a lock up van is nice when you sleep in those road side rest areas by yourself.






Tent swag - attache one end to bull bar and one to tree - set up time 30 seconds - mesh sides and top with full cover for wind or rain.

This is the setup i use when we go out on an extended stay.... close the awning in if the weather is nasty , very cosy for me , the missus & my two girls ( Great danes )...
cheers gully hunter

That's a good looking setup gullyhunter...would love something like that for myself. Looks like it's small enough to not get you stuck, but big enough to have comfort.

Thanks people .......
I tented for years and still do, but I want to go to out of the way areas and the minister wants to come too, BUT wont tent it any more ... hoohoo ...sorry, heh heh .. been lookin for a 16 - 17ft poptop and the wife seen one that had mods done and bluddy well liked it .... so we go looking at that style of van ... prices vary then she has a look at boggy wheel 19ft van ....NO NO NO NO and says thats what I want .... I said your car wont tow it and by hell neither am I TO BLOODY BIG

Gullyhunters setup is the perfect gold prospectors setup for going anywhere but still have all the comforts for extended periods out in the bush.

A camper of some sort would be great for extended stays, but for the shorter trips into a bit rougher country I love the tarp and swag setup. Its also relatively cheap and you are only limited by your imagination and can "custom design" to suit the weather etc.



Another bonus is it all packs into the back and usually under the tonneau cover. (was delivering a new 70 litre ice box so load was bit bigger than normal.



A little tinnie also fits on top.

Like many, we have "progressed" in our camping gear over the years, We began in tents, then a camper trailer and then a caravan. In a way that changing line mirrors our increasing ages. When younger, we paddled up rivers in a Canadian canoe and Kayaks and camped on the banks, then we progressed to tents etc. The camper trailer was great, but as we aged, it became more difficult and now we are actively looking at another caravan.

However when younger, and full of energy and bounce, a camper trailer is very hard to beat, especially in the prospecting game. It can virtually go anywhere, especially through deeply angled creek crossings, and this is a great advantage.

We found it increasingly difficult in a camper trailer, especially if you had to move on quickly due to heavy rains and flash flooding. That did happen to us in WA. It really sorted us out as it was hard work when in a hurry brought on by rising waters. Had we had a caravan we could have been underway in minutes.

So, if you are fit and energetic, a well-equipped camper trailer is all the go in my view. Easy to tow, goes anywhere, heaps of room, but takes time to set up properly and time to pull down as well.

If your fitness is diminishing and you are slowing down a bit, then a well made off-road caravan would be my choice.



Camping on the gold in WA. We picked up quite a few small nuggets around this area.

Nice looking dirt there C. Nyal de Kaye.

With the weather so good for last few days this was my basic setup for a night out.
No gold found but have a quartz rock that gave off a nice signal soaking in soapy water to soften the dirt up a bit. Fingers crossed

We also use the oz tent RV 4 for short trips & places where we would struggle to get the camper into ... quick set up for quick stays ..
cheers gully hunter

Billy wrote:.... No gold found but have a quartz rock that gave off a nice signal soaking in soapy water to soften the dirt up a bit. Fingers crossed.

Don't forget to write a follow up on the "quartz rock" aka specimen please Billy. If it gave a signal then there's going to be something in it!

Will do C. Nyal de Kaye.
Gave it a bit of a scrub and there is nothing obvious showing so guess in the next few days its smashing time

Hi Guys,

Ange and I just use the Blackwolf Turbo Lite tent, similar to the oztent but packs down into a smaller/shorter bag. I will see if I can upload a pic...

Cheers,

Nature Pete.

Nature_Pete wrote:Hi Guys,

Ange and I just use the Blackwolf Turbo Lite tent, similar to the oztent but packs down into a smaller/shorter bag. I will see if I can upload a pic...

Cheers,

Nature Pete.

We use the same tent, excellent quality, goes up in 5 minutes and packs up just as quick.

Universal1 wrote:

Nature_Pete wrote:Hi Guys,

Ange and I just use the Blackwolf Turbo Lite tent, similar to the oztent but packs down into a smaller/shorter bag. I will see if I can upload a pic...

Cheers,

Nature Pete.

We use the same tent, excellent quality, goes up in 5 minutes and packs up just as quick.

Ditto but uses it as a back-up for a 22' van

If you decide to sleep in the car , I have found that the baby socks that you place on the passenger windows are great for letting in air and keeping mossies out

whats a baby sock?

Gday

Being comfortable in the bush is pretty important, a few days of bad weather and living rough can soon take the gloss out of a bush trip, the older you are the more important it is to have some comfort and keeping yourself out of the elemements for the sake of your health is vital.

The best method I have found for a single person is a well set up vehicle with sleeping accomodation inside, there are many advantages to this, one being that if you want to move on then its only a case of closing the door and your off, the other being that if the weather turns you can get under cover, keep your self warm and dry, and wait it out.

If there are a couple of you then a camper trailer is the way to go, although not as warm inside as a vehicle it will get you out of the elements, more importantly out of the wind, where at times the wind chill factor can make life hard its even worse when you are getting wet and cant dry yourself out, even a basic set up will offer you good protection, and if you have a few mod cons like a gas stove you can make a warm drink or something to eat and wait it out.

Its a thing to consider depending on the type of prospecting you want to do, as a camper trailer will easily tow to most spots where a caravan may be somewhat tricky at times, and then of course there is also the cost of fuel to consider on the longer trips, but its all down to the level of comfort you want and whats in your budget as well, if you are happy to limit your cross country driving to sticking with relatively good tracks and your not that keen on doing the hard bush anyway then a caravan is the way to go.

Its all a personal choice and I have seem some awsome set ups in the bush, but I would have to say that the older you get the more you yearn for your home comforts even when in the bush, and if you are thinking that you could make do with a camper trailer over a caravan then I would suggest that you hire one out and try it first, its not everyones cup of tea thats for sure.

cheers

stayyerAU

A baby sock is a shade cloth material which fits over the window to keep the sun of the babies , also called a window sock in the Auto stores and Baby Socks in the Baby stores

StayyerAU mate your right on the mark there. Good advice.
cheers

This is good people ... keep em coming

ok people ... went to a caravan and camping show today ...... walked out with a bluuuuudddyyy 17ft van ... oooh the minister for war and finance is happy .... wanna be, she bought it

How do ya post a pic??? ... been through the upload from my files, but it dont show it?



Thats the new baby