Caravanning Camping Touring
Let me share some of our stories with you. I'll try to keep it fun and interesting, with heaps of photos, hints, tips and reviews all relating to life on the road.
15th August – 8th September 2024
Needless to say, we were very excited to pick up our new car; a Meteor Grey, Ford Ranger Platinum, and we weren’t disappointed, which is a good thing because we hadn’t really had a good look at it.
😉
There is a lot to love about this car, and three weeks after the purchase only one thing that disappoints. We should be able to connect the camera from the rear of the caravan so that it displays on the infotainment screen, meaning we won’t need an additional monitor stuck on the dash. To date we haven’t been able to achieve this. Still trying though.
The car drives beautifully, it’s quiet (we didn’t realise how noisy Big Ears was until we’d been driving the two cars one after the other). Arni is very comfortable, he pulls chunky Bum with ease and he has a fantastic 12” infotainment screen and all the tech that goes with it including pretty blue lights at night. Hey…it’s the little things. The Platinum is set up as a towing vehicle as delivered, and includes a lot of features specifically for towing.
We were concerned about fitting all our goods and chattels into the back of the Ute, but as it turns out, everything fits nicely. It’s snug, but nothing gets squished in, we have easy access to what we need quickly (tables and chairs,) without moving things around and the auto roller cover keeps everything safe and clean. When we remember to close it. 😊
So, why Arni? Well, I’m a big fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger and just like Arni the person, Arni the car is intelligent, good looking and super strong. All the things we need to tow Chunky Bum. Ok, we don’t need it to be good looking but hey, why not.
After picking Arni up, we went cruising around Redcliff and stopped for a celebratory lunch before taking Arni home.
Putting aside our excitement for a moment, this period has been very messy. The logistics of trying to sell a car while on the road is complicated enough but it’s been made even more so by the difficulty in finding accommodation. It’s been really hard to get into any caravan park in SE QLD; they’re all booked out.
We were lucky to get in at the Caboolture Show grounds, (the twelfth park we tried). Even then, we’ve had to move sites four times and leave the showgrounds for a single night, which we spent on the side of the road with upwards of a dozen homeless folk, before they could fit us back in. Crazy! (No, that wasn’t an exaggeration – that really was so!)
We had booked Big Ears in for his service, and at the same time his roadworthy certificate. Riddle me this Batman. Ford ticked the box saying that they replaced the brake fluid yet failed his roadworthy because the Brake Fluid needed replacing. 😏 Don’t get Peter started on Ford Service Centres.
Side Note: I was given a couple of destinations for bird watching, (thank you Rae) One turned out to be a bit of a bust, Sheep Station Creek. I could hear lots of birds in the canopy but didn’t see a thing, the second, Buckley’s Hole, was much more rewarding.
There was a bird hide there and it didn’t take me long to realise I was witnessing a barn raising, well, the bird equivalent of that, a nest building. I wasn’t much help but enjoyed watching as the Welcome Swallows worked.
In between building I got a good look at some of the residents at Buckley’s hole. I was thrilled to see a Comb-Crested Jacana. Never seen one before so that’s always a thrill, what a pretty little bird it is and just look at the size of its feet.
Finally, everyone’s favourites, the good old Australian Pelican.
Peter had gone for a walk along Red Beach while I was birding, when I’d finished, I walked back to the car along the beach. On the way I saw a Brush Turkey doing his thing, an Osprey on the beach, some busy little soldier crabs and a Spoonbill cruising by.
Ok, so it was a bit more than a side note, but hey…we had to have our bird fix. Now back to the main event.
Arni was pretty much ready to tow when we picked him up, but he needed wiring to connect the camera from the van, which would be shown on the infotainment centre, doing away with the need for an additional monitor. After a lot of calls, we found a business, Bashi’s who had worked on a Platinum before and said it should be an easy half day job, so we booked in on a Wednesday. We also booked in at ARB to have an air compressor installed (Wednesday and Thursday) the same week.
Oh boy, what a mess around! Long story short, the half a day job turned into a two-day job. This of course meant that we had to cancel our job at ARB. We couldn’t reschedule as the Showgrounds have a three-week maximum stay, and we were out of time. Luckily, ARB returned our deposit. We got Arni home from Bashi’s, after paying nearly $600, to find out that the camera didn’t work. Friday morning found us sitting outside Bashi’s, with Chunky Bum in tow to see if they could fix the issue.
Three hours later, and after trying everything they could, while Peter called Ford Australia, the manufacturer of the camera, and some other mob dealing with the cabling, Bashi’s team gave up. They were very apologetic, offered us a full refund, and we got to keep the cabling that, as yet, doesn’t work. Then we went home. Well, we took our home with us and went back to the Showgrounds.
We have two more nights here then we’re heading back to Kingaroy, me, Peter, Arni, Chunky Bum and Big Ears. Quite the growing family.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
1st August – 15th August 2024
Kingaroy, as always, was wonderful. It was great to catch up with the family and we ended up staying longer than planned.
Hazel, (my sister-in-law) took me to a fantastic garden centre, though to call it a garden centre is a bit of a misnomer. It’s like walking through a village in Middle Earth, or, if you’re not a Tolkien fan, some sort of elven grotto. It truly is amazing and well worth the visit. This is just one small section of a living breathing, work of art, and the biggest chooks I have ever seen.
We even did a spot of sightseeing while we were in Kingaroy. In all the many years we’ve been visiting Kingaroy, we’ve never been to the lookout. Below is the view of Kingaroy from Mount Wooroolin.
Now, to answer the question on everyone’s lips:
“Did they weigh Big Ears and Chunky Bum?”
The answer is yes, and the news is not good. Even though both Big Ears and Chunky Bum were well under their individual GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass). When weighed together, they still exceeded the GCM (Gross Combined Mass). With no water in her tanks Chunky Bum was still 80kg overweight. Put the water in the van and we’re suddenly 240kg kg over. By the time we topped up our groceries, maybe a slab of beer and some wine, we’d be close to 300kg over the limit. ☹
This is one problem Jenny Craig cannot fix.
We have stripped down to the essentials and cannot, without impacting the way we travel and live, remove any more. Besides, we can’t fit anything else into our storage room.
So, it is with sad hearts, and shrinking wallets, that we must find a replacement for Big Ears. We need a vehicle with a bigger towing capacity, and more power and more torque wouldn’t be wasted either. It really is quite sad because Big Ears has performed remarkably well, and the canopy is just perfect. We’re not sure what the solution will be, but we will have to seriously rethink the way we operate.
We had planned to travel inland (New England Hwy) back to Port Macquarie when we left Kingaroy, but in a last-minute decision we took the coastal route (Pacific Hwy). This allowed us to overnight with my brother in Kingscliff. Only the overnight turned into four nights and led to us buying a new car. Talk about impulse buying! No, not really. We’d been pretty sure what the outcome of the weigh-in would be so had been researching possible vehicles for some time. Without going into all the details, we had decided that a Nissan Patrol was our best option, mainly due to its 7 ton towing capacity and buckets of grunt.
The Nissan Patrol is a great car but there were a few negatives. It’s huge inside and super comfy, but it just didn’t feel right. On top of that, everything from our canopy would have to be carried in the back of the station wagon. We’d hear every rattle and bang as things moved around, and it would be hard to stop the interior from getting damaged as we dragged boxes and tables and chairs and God knows what else, in and out all the time. On top of that, the car’s on a constant pump crawl. The big V8 petrol engine wants to call in for a drink at every servo it sees.
Then someone had a bright idea. Let’s see if Ford has a more suitable vehicle. Guess what? They did. The newly released (2023) Ford Ranger Platinum. It has a 3 ltr V6 turbo diesel engine, (Big Ears is a 2.2ltr bi-Turbo) 600 Nmtrs torque (ours, 500) and GCM 6.4 ton (ours, 6 ton). In short, the new Ranger Platinum has a lot more towing power and fits our spec.
Now, you might think that the 6.4 ton towing capacity is still a bit lean considering we are currently at 6.3 ton. But consider this. The Ranger Platinum doesn’t have a canopy. So, when we deduct the weight of the canopy inc. solar panels, (approx. 300kg) the 70ltr water tank, the 2 x AGM batteries, battery management system and inverter (65 kg,) 40 ltr Engle (24 kg,) and the long-range fuel tank (an extra 60 ltr), and 25kgs of canvass, we are shedding over half a ton. Carrying what we have now, we approximate the GCM of Chunky Bun and the Ranger Platinum will be around 5.9 ton. And yes, we’ll go back to Kingaroy to weigh in…hopefully for the last time.
Our big question was, would we be able to fit everything into a Ute? After a good look at what was in the canopy, and discussions over what we could or could not live without, and decided that, even though we would greatly, and I mean greatly, miss the convenience of the canopy, we could indeed fit what we needed in the back of a Ute. More importantly, if we wanted to continue to travel, and do so safely, we had no choice.
One of our catch phrases is “Nothing’s ever easy.” Finding a Ford Ranger Platinum came under that category. They are rare as hens’ teeth. Peter spent days while at Kevin and Gabriela’s place calling dealers and brokers to see if he could find one. We were told, six to twelve months wait. Or they could be in by November. Or we’re not sure. But nobody had one.
We finally contacted a Ford Dealer in Caboolture, who had a couple in stock, both had been sold, but they said we could come and look at one. We thought…why not. We hadn’t seen one in the flesh yet so off we went.
When we arrived at Nova Ford we were met by Mandy, who I had spoken to on the phone. At first, there seemed to be an issue with locating the cars and we began to think, hello, they don’t have any. All this way for nothing. Then we hopped into Mandy’s car, and she took us for a short drive to Ford’s pre-delivery area and there, two rows back and squished amongst other cars, was a Ford Ranger Platinum. We were able to open the door a bit and have a look in. The interior was still fully wrapped in plastic, fresh off the boat, so we couldn’t see too much detail. Even so, we fell in love with it there and then.
Back in the showroom with Mandy, we were wondering how long the wait would be, and if we should indeed wait until they became available. Then a gentleman walked over to us and declared… “The sale just fell through on the dark grey Platinum, so it’s available if you’re interested.”
We left there an hour later, paperwork signed, deposit paid and elated. This was on the 5th of August, the following day we left Kevin and Gabby’s place, and made our way to Port Macquarie for my checkup (all good again 😊). On the 13th we were back in Caboolture and waiting to pick up our new car at 11am on Thursday 15th August.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
12th July – 26th July 2024
Leaving the locals to Lake Keepit, we made our way to Split Rock Dam and from there, a campsite on the Gwydir River at Bingara.
We’re pleased to report that there were no incidents with the car, the van, the terrain or us. Halleluiah!
We finally found the relaxation we had been searching for at Split Rock Dam. Our friends (Jenny & Ralph) from Tamworth came out to visit us and we were able treat them to a camp oven meal.
But of course, before camp oven cooking, there’s camp oven wood hunting.
We really detoxed there, it was quiet, peaceful and quite lovely. But again, we were disgusted with the rubbish left behind in the picnic area. Camping isn’t allowed in the picnic area, so it’s a local problem. Split Rock is a popular spot for day visitors, for swimming, picnicking and boating – and I’ll leave it at that. Our camp was a kilometre away, so our cleanup didn’t get that far. We did clean up for a couple of hundred metres in each direction from our camp.
Rubbish aside this was a really pretty area, and I think we’ll be back again. We even had a chance to wet the kayaks. Split Rock dam is huge, and we only saw a small part of it; much more to explore, and a good excuse to return.
There weren’t many birds there, but there was one very curious Whistling Kite. We must have been camped in his territory as we saw him several times a day. Each day he came closer, and I was able to get some lovely shots.
The only other bird shots I got were of an Australasian Darter and a parrot I had not seen before, a Musk Lorikeet. I couldn’t get many decent shots, but these should show how pretty he was.
I saw a Sea Eagle chasing a Whistling Kite. I couldn’t figure out why, then I saw the fish clutched tightly in the Whistling Kites talons. They disappeared from view and I don’t know who ended up with the meal.
We spent five nights at Split Rock Dam then started to make our way north to Kingaroy. We camped by the Gwydir River in Bingara, and it was so nice we stayed two nights. If time would have allowed, we would have stayed longer.
I think in the right season, this place will be full of birds. As it was I saw a few, including this stunning Azure Kingfisher who spent quite a bit of time fishing near our camp.
From there we drove through Glen Innes and Tanah Merah for four nights, and our regular stop at Rodney’s Rest before reaching Kingaroy on the 26th.
There we’ll catch up with family and run Big Ears and Chunky Bum over the scales…again.
Now that’s going to be scary.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
11th July – 12th July 2024
Eleven kilometres out of Tamworth we heard an unnervingly loud BANG! from under the bonnet. we quickly pulled off the road and popped the hood.
It was immediately obvious what was wrong. A 100mm high pressure air hose had popped off, (technical term). Peter tried to replace it, but it just didn’t want to fit back on.
After a while he had limited success, so we decided to try to limp the 11 kms back into Tamworth to see our friends at JT Fossey. Alas, as soon as Peter applied pressure to the accelerator…BANG! Off it popped again.
We called JT Fossey and told them what had happened, and they immediately offered assistance. Within twenty minutes a technician arrived and discovered that the clamp meant to hold the hose in place had either dropped off when the hose popped, or hadn’t been fitted in the first place. The young bloke didn’t have a spare but knew where he could get one; he hopped back into his car and headed into town.
Peter and I settled down in the van and made ourselves a cuppa, but we hardly had time to drink it before Jay returned, spare part in hand and with a bit of brute force got the hose back in place and tightly secured.
We’ve visited a lot of Ford dealerships over our four years on the road, (yes, come August it will have been four years,) but this was the first satisfactory outcome we have experienced. Even with the minor stuff up, they fixed us up quickly and without question. Maybe the ‘thank you slab’ Peter dropped off at the workshop after their earlier work had something to do with that.
Anyway, we finished our cuppa, got ourselves stowed away and back on route to Lake Keepit ready for a few relaxing days by the water.
They say things come in threes; Lake Keepit was our third. We were following the route laid out by WikiCamps. From our direction it led us around the north side of the lake. At first, the road was good, after awhile it turned into a dirt road, which was mentioned on WikiCamps so we kept going. Then the road turned into two tyre tracks with grass between. It was wet and slick, but manageable. Then the tyre tracks became less distinct, and wetter but with a Ford Ranger in 4WD it was still ok, although getting questionable.
Then we got to the bog and the questioned was answered.
It may not look that bad, but the water was a good metre and a half into the grass on either side of the track, and it was very slippery. Just a couple of weeks earlier you might recall we lost traction in a similar bog without the van and Peter had to dig us out!
While Peter assessed the situation, I sloshed my way through the water and checked out the road around the corner. There were two gates, one marked, KEEP OUT, the other was the track to the camp area. This was that track.
So, question answered, we were going back. However, this led to another problem. There was nowhere to turn around. Peter had found a potential area three-hundred metres behind us to get off the track and do a three-point turn but…we had to get back there first.
By this time the treads of all the tyres were caked with mud and we were running on slicks and the Chunky Bum had her own idea of where she wanted to go.
I’m not if you can imagine what happens when you push a three-tonne van backwards over slippery ground so let me tell you: The van just goes where it wants to, assuming you can get enough traction on the car wheels to get the six-tonne rig moving at all. We struggled to keep the van out of the much wetter, much boggier gutter at the edge of the road by adopting the, one step forward two steps back system.
Adding to the difficulty were the bends in the track, so it took some time. Well, we got there in the end.
Now, there was one more little complication that made this task extra difficult, but I’ll have to flash back briefly so we won’t appear complete idiots. Years ago, we discovered that the handbrake on the caravan was useless for forward motion, but good at stopping the van moving backwards. It was also very difficult to release, often resulting in skinned knuckles and strained fingers. As a result, we stopped using the hand brake and relied solely on the chocks. Never had a problem.
Unfortunately, Gary our tow truck driver, was unaware of this and he very kindly put the handbrake on for us when he dropped us off at Tamworth. You can see where this is going can’t you. 😉
We arrived at our turn around point and got out of Big Ears to check the ground and plot our course. It was then that Peter exclaimed, “Ookaaay! This wouldn’t have helped.” I followed his line of sight and saw that the handbrake was on.
Actually we handled the whole experience well. Maybe we’re getting a bit too relaxed, but it didn’t bother us at all. Back onto the bitumen we discussed Plan B.
As far as this lake is concerned…the locals could Keep it!
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
26th June – 11th July 2024
We arrived at the Paradise Caravan Park at Tamworth in style. Though Big Ears I’m sure, was a tad embarrassed at having to be carried…again.
Gary, the tow-truck driver was great. He reversed us into our slot, then promptly took the car to JT Fossey a Ford dealer, or should I say the Ford dealer in Tamworth.
The initial investigation to the breakdown wasn’t reassuring. There were multiple error codes, leaving the technicians scratching their heads. They sent the error codes to Ford Australia to see if they could narrow things down a little and so began the… “We’ll let you know tomorrow,” game.
After many tomorrows had passed, we decided to settle in for the long haul. Our roadside assist through RACQ gave us five options, all within specific dollar values, which were quite generous.
The three that were most useful to us were:
- They’d cover accommodation
- They’d cover accommodation and car hire
- They’d relocate the car, van and us to another area should the need be
However, we were reluctant to make our decision, at least until we had a diagnosis. You see, once we’d made the decision, we couldn’t change our mind. So, if we chose option 2, but it turned out we needed option 3 (and the way things were going that was a possibility,) then we’d have to cover the cost of relocation ourselves. Luckily RACQ were very understanding and did not force the decision.
As usual we made the most of our time. We had many walks into town, visited the Tamworth Country Music Hall of Fame, and some of Tamworth’s music legends.
Speaking of legends, an old RAAF friend of Peters’ lives 20 kms out of Tamworth. He and his wife came to visit us as soon as they heard of our predicament. We spent many a happy hour with Ralph and Jennifer, they took us sightseeing around the area. Including the Woollen Mill at Nundle.
The mill is one of the last working spinning mills operating in Australia, and still uses some traditional spinning machinery (almost 100 years old) and dye techniques. Whether you’re into woollen crafts or not, it really is quite an interesting place to visit. As well as being able to see the wool mill at work, there is a huge range of knitted products for sale.
Not far from Nundle is Hanging Rock. An easy drive will take you to the Lookout there and you will be rewarded with stunning views over the Peel Valley, though the last image in this slideshow was taken from the Oxley Lookout. It shows how expansive Tamworth is and with a population of over 80,000 it truly is a city on the move.
We’re often asked, How do you cope with medical check-ups when travelling? Well, this is perhaps a good example. I had my eyes checked in Brisbane on 15th March and was given a new script for my glasses. However, I couldn’t get the script filled until after my specialist appointment, back in Brisbane on June10th. Port Macquarie was our next stop, so I selected my new glasses/sunglasses from there. This brings me to Tamworth. On July 28th I explained my situation to OPSM, (we were stuck here) and they arranged for my glasses to be transferred to Tamworth. So, it’s not always easy but…given time and a little patience, you can keep up your regular check-ups.
More importantly, I got a new pair of hiking boots. It turns out that they are the same (only a different colour) as my old ones but with one important difference, the new ones have treads.
As I said to the sales assistant, if these were tyres, I’d be unroadworthy! She agreed.
But I digress, back to the car. We were settling into life in Tamworth when we got an unexpected call at five thirty on a Monday evening, twelve days after we arrived in Tamworth. JT Fossey had found the problem!
Peter asked cautiously. “What was the problem and how long will it take to fix?” The reply was. “You can come and get it now.” Forty-five minutes later, Big Ears was back home.
We can’t blame Big Ears for this breakdown. It was a result of the repair work done when he broke down in Kalgoorlie. (Peter you can fill in this bit).
Peter filling in… I must say, given the reputation of Ford Ranger gearboxes, I was expecting the worst. The gears just wouldn’t engage. So, it was a relief to find out this was the result of bad workmanship!
It turns out that when our fan-belt pully/bearings failed while we were in Kalgoorlie, the mechanic had not correctly routed the cabling loom and it had been chaffing against another surface. Finally, it had worn through and shorted out multiple wires in the loom. It sent the CAN bus into such a spin that the computer just said, “That’s enough, I’m not going anywhere until you guys get your stories straight!”
But in the end, it turned out to be an easy fix and a reasonable cost. Two days later, we’d bought groceries and booze, (all the essentials) and were ready to hit the road. One more short stop before we drove out: I dropped a slab of Great Northern off for the workshop guys to say thank you.
Eleven kilometres out of Tamworth we heard an unnervingly loud BANG! from under the bonnet. we quickly pulled off the road and popped the hood. It was immediately obvious what the issue was but…
…To Be Continued.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
26th June 2024
When I wrote last, Peter and I were driving along the Oxley HWY talking and laughing, happy in our ignorance of what was about to happen. About forty minutes into our drive, we came to the junction of the Oxley HWY and Wollun Rd. We slowed down, checked for oncoming traffic and…stayed there.
Big Ears refused to move. After ten minutes of encouragement, he managed to limp almost around the corner but not quite – and that was that. So, there we were, stuck on the Oxley HWY with Chunky Bums big butt almost touching the double white line and we were going nowhere! Nor was anyone else travelling our direction on the Oxley Highway! At least not on our side of the road.
Flash back; you may recall that for some time we’ve been concerned about the Gross Combined Mass (GCM) of Chunky Bum and Big Ears. This was in fact, the main reason we came back to the east coast.
We did shed some weight, but didn’t think it was enough so, you can imagine are pure joy when a NSW Roads, Safety & Compliance vehicle, pulled up just minutes after we broke down.
I didn’t want to annoy them by taking a photo, but this is what the vehicle looked like.
For those of you who aren’t aware, these are the guys who can pull you over at anytime, to check the GCM of your car and van. Scary Dudes!
As Peter wandered over to chat to them, I hid in the car and watched through the mirror. I said to myself, “Oh dearie me. We are in trouble now.” Except, I didn’t say it in such a lady-like manner. Anyway, both Peter and I could see they were giving Chunky Bum a good look over, all the while Peter kept an outwardly calm and jovial demeanour. After about ten minutes the Safety and Compliance chaps, got back in their car. Phew! They wished us luck and went on their merry way.
That crisis averted we got on the phone to RACQ. They, as always, provided very good service and promised us a tow truck within the hour. Soon after we had arranged the tow truck, a police vehicle pulled over to see what was happening. We told them the same as the Safety and Compliance guys, except now we had a tow truck coming for us. The police chatted for about five minutes, then wished us luck and went on their merry way.
I reckon about eighty percent of vehicles on the road, stopped to see if we needed a hand. Nineteen percent passed us by, reassured by our smiling faces, and one percent honked their horns and shook fists at us through their windows. I think they thought we’d stopped for our morning tea.
Forty-five minutes after we had called RACQ, another police car pulled up to see if we were ok. They stopped and chatted for about five minutes, then wished us luck and went on their merry way.
But…a couple of minutes later they returned to help with traffic control. We were very thankful to them for that as it was a surprisingly busy road – cars, caravans and big stock trucks. I had a lovely long chat with one of the officers, it turned out that they were partners in life as well as the police force, and they were dog lovers. In fact, she spent a lot of time trying to convince me to take a puppy… or two, but I resisted.
It took about an hour twenty minutes for the tow truck to get to us, that’s pretty good considering where we were. Half an hour later, Big Ears was on the truck. Chunky Bum was hooked on behind and we were sitting in the cab with Gary. We waved farewell to our friendly officers and we went on our merry way.
Next stop – Tamworth.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
