Our Gear

Vehicles

You spend so much time in the car that it needs to suit your needs.

We drive a 1999 Toyota Landcruiser 105 series. She’s an old girl but has served us well and has taken us to some amazing locations.

We have done quite a number of modifications since purchasing her in 2015, including adding a bull bar, rear drawers, a removable cupboard where the center row of seats used to be, dual battery system to run the fridges (we now have a total of four batteries!), a GVM upgrade, and upgraded suspension for all the towing we do. She looks very different from when we first picked her up.

Features include:

Redarc DC to DC charge system
Redarc electric brake system
2″ lift kit with heavy duty suspension and air bags
Kings Titan rear drawers
The Bush Company Black Series Max Rooftop Tent mounted on a Cane Toad aluminium roof rack
The Bush Company 270 XT Max awning
300W solar panel to charge two 130AH batteries to run the fridge
Waeco CFX 95DZW mounted on a MSA95 drop slide (and sometimes also our Waeco CFX 50 as well)
GVM upgrade
Bullbar
Clearview Next Gen towing mirrors
UHF radio
ARB Intensity Solis Driving Lights
…and more lights for camping and everything else!

Living quarters

This is our first caravan, a 2008 Jayco Sterling, 24 foot. We upgraded from a camper trailer in 2015, which was upgraded from a tent a couple of years earlier. We still have an OzTent RV5 which we use when we don’t feel like taking the caravan somewhere, and we also have a Kings swag for when we really want to be minimalist.

Like the Landcruiser, the caravan has undergone quite a few changes since purchasing, including a grey water tank, chassis lift, sullage system modifications, water filling modifications, and a hefty solar upgrade to increase battery storage (we now have three house batteries on board).

Features include:

400W solar system feeding into three 130AH batteries (one day we’ll convert to lithium, but not quite yet)
Extra 12V connections throughout the interior and exterior of the van
110 litre grey water tank
GVM upgrade
Two 95 litre fresh water tanks
Easy fill points for water tanks
150mm chassis lift from factory standard
Trail-A-Mate MARK II Hydraulic Jack to replace the standard jockey wheel.

Scroll through to see our timeline of camping accommodation

Stage One - the car

The Early Days camping was in the back of Al’s work Renault Traffic Van (and before that, the back of an VX Commodore)

Our first camping experiences together were in the back of our Commodore station wagon. They were cramped trips, to say the least. Moving onto the Renault van was a definite step up in luxury. This was a mid-wheel base van used for work during the week, transforming into a camper on the weekend. All we had to do was to throw in the mattress, some food and drinks, and away we went. The only fancy accessories we had was the extra battery for the Waeco CFX50 and a portable 120W folding solar panel. We purchased an OzTrail Gazebo with all the walls to give us shad throughout the day and cover if it rained.

Camping in the Commodore

Renault Van and Gazebo

Stage Two - the swag

The Swag

With the Landcruiser, we needed a new setup. We purchased the Kings swag which has been fantastic. Originally purchased for a trip to Fraser Island, it has been used both Queensland and NSW camping trips. It is great for those quick weekend getaways where you just don’t want to have to pack a lot of things.

Swag at Lions Road

Stage Three - the tent

The 30 second instant up tent – OzTent RV5

A good tent is a godsend, especially in inclement weather, so we made sure we got a good tent. And I have to admit that this tent makes tent-camping that much easier than the old days.

OzTent at Cobb and Co

Stage Four - the camper trailer

The Camper Trailer

Upgrading from the tent, the next progression was the camper trailer. Don’t get me wrong, we still use the tent and swag, but we thought the camper trailer was pure luxury at the time. However after setting it up and pulling it down I realised something important…I’m bloody lazy (ha, ha, ha). So after doing this a couple of times in the stinking hot sun (we are in Queensland after all), I have to admit that I was over it. We also have a tendency to leave early in the morning to get to our next destination nice and early, and folding up the camper with damp canvas is not a good idea.

Camping in the camper trailer

Stage Five - the caravan

The caravan!

This was one of the most exciting upgrades we have done to date. And whether smart or not, we purchased the first caravan we saw (and yep, the dealer closed up shortly afterwards, never to be seen again). While we know we went into the decision completely naive about some of the things we should have know about, it has been a fantastic caravan and has taken us on some amazing adventures. We have done many, many modifications to the van to make it ours.

Chevallan Archery Park

Our Travelling Essentials

We have many different essentials that we use while travelling, but the two most important are our Waeco CFX 95DZW which lives in the back of the Landcruiser, and our Weber Baby Q barbeque. We also have a Waeco CFX 50 which spends time either in the Landcruiser or the caravan, or in one of our other cars when we are not travelling.

We also never leave home without our Ryobi One+ system. Having multiple tools using just the one battery type is invaluable. We have the drill, chainsaw, angle grinder, vacuum and fans. We also have a leaf blower that we take if we think we will be somewhere that will need it. Being able to charge the batteries off either 12V or 240V is fantastic, so we can charge them as needed.

We love our tech, so tend to have a bit of it. Our iPhones and iPads keep us connected to the world, and our laptop is used when we need a bit of extra grunt, such as editing videos, photos and writing.

Photographs and video: