Hints, Tips and Great ideas

Boroma577 · Boroma577

After reading the recent threads on the water hose bag etc and the info on the Generic Nappy Soaker, I thought it might be good to have a thread specific to various hints and tips etc.We are all quiet clever at coming up with ideas to make our lives on the road better in one way or another so now is the time to...

Webmaster · Webmaster

Hi all, We’ve collected a huge amount of hints, tips and great ideas from members since the ‘hints, tips and great ideas’ thread started approximately 18 months ago. It’s a great resource but it has become quite difficult to navigate and several members have suggested breaking it up by topic. I wi...

Craig1 · Craig1

Very handy if you forget to put out in time. This one is a repurposed heat sink, (part of) from a Grundfos Pump Panel. So may be heavier than store bought, but works well for us. Takes at least an hour off defrost time on chops or chicken or steak. Dont know about tofu.

Mike Harding · Mike Harding

As you pump water into your caravan tanks the air must escape in order to allow the water to fill the tank, to this end all tanks have breather pipes and in many vans these pipes terminate in the filling nozzle area, in my van that is a small (5mm) hole at the top (12 O'clock) position of the fill inlet, you'...

Mike Harding · Mike Harding

I tend to camp in tucked away spots in forests and such so giving my location to others can be an issue. It occured to me that if an emergency occured (heart attack, tree falling on the caravan etc) then it's quite likely I'll be in shock at that point too and I recall the couple of times in my life when I have e...

Craig1 · Craig1

Make sure it is stored upside down After use, then also spray it upside down till it runs out, maybe 3 seconds? Then, wipe the nozzle with some thinners on a rag and restore upside down.

Paintar · Paintar

When your rides is so high that you need a drop hitch for your trailer but adaptors are so much cheaper!!

Craig1 · Craig1

The Sidchrome is a rotator as well as conventional ratchet. The handle will twist to rotate the bolt or nut if you are in a tight spot. The black ring rotates to change direction. Red button to easily emove socket.

Whenarewethere · Whenarewethere

I have 6 (2 spares) Pirelli all terrain plus tyres, to date I had only done 1 swap putting the 2 spares on the front to share the wear between the 6 tyres. The front tyres were still extremely quiet to date. I swapped the tyres to the opposite sides of the car & front rear, while putting on the 2 used spar...

Mike Harding · Mike Harding

I keep a $100 and a $50 banknote in the top drawer of my caravan kitchen drawers such that the notes are on full view when the drawer is opened, my theory being that if a thief enters the van he'll probably find the money fairly quickly and make off before wrecking the van or finding other stuff of greater va...

archy · archy

Looking at taking a trip from Adelaide eventually, crossing the snowy mountains via the great alpine way, looking for advice, is the road suitable for a caravan, and is the last week of October okay, meaning will the roads be clear, towing with a ford ranger , not a big caravan 18 ft thank you

Duh · Duh

I had been looking for bigger windscreen shades both for my Outlander and Ford Transit. The ones I had were not tall enough at the top to be held in place by the sun visor and kept falling down. Yesterday I came across these in a Repco store in Morley WA, although the size is 145cm wide and 97cm high they com...

Whenarewethere · Whenarewethere

I photographed a ruler, scaled it exactly to fit the phone's screen.

Mike Harding · Mike Harding

Few, if any, of the containers in which we purchase foodstuffs today are airtight once opened. For many foods which are consumed quickly this doesn't matter but for long lasting items such as stock powder, cooking sauces and the like it does. If exposed to air (oxygen) for a long period many of these it...

Trojan · Trojan

Hello, we have black checkerplate on the front of our caravan. Over time it has become quite dull. What suggestions are there for polishing it to make black and shiny again. So far we have tried Tyre Black (looked good but washed off with first shower of rain, WD40 (attracted dust), Nu Look Once a Yea...

Bobdown · Bobdown

Anybody have a good solution to keep a knife sharp or a really good sharpener? We have the usual knife block for carving, slicing, vege knife etc, and have a sharpener that you drag thru and a small steel to hone. I can get an edge that's okay, but just doesn't last more than a few days. Have tried a stone in t...

PeterX · PeterX

If you get the pension and intend to travel around AU and also maybe if you intend renting out your home this may interest you ...... My husband and I are thinking of renting out our home so we can travel in our caravan for 12 months. Both of us are on the Age Pension. We think we could earn $450 a week in renta...

Whenarewethere · Whenarewethere

My car was pretty good acoustic wise, but I wanted to improve it regardless. Still going to do a bit more when I find the time, but it is really not absolutely necessary. I have added about 1.8m2 of butyl, you don't need it everywhere. So far about 5.4m2 of acoustic foam & have about another 1.8m2 read...

thalls01 · thalls01

Hi Nomads, Have you ever removed the grill to expose the rear of your 3-way fridge? Well I had reason to today on a relatively new 9 month old 21'6" van only to find the 240 volt cable running from an internal cupboard was resting against the flu. Fortunately for us we have not used the fridge on gas as yet. ...

PURCY · PURCY

Here are my hints and tips to help you get the most channels with a camping antenna. https://www.foldawayantenna.com.au/ If you travel to remote areas like Wooli NSW you will notice that there's very little reception and trust me you will pull out your hair over it! I've tried the lot from post antenn...

Topic		Started By	Replies	Views	Last Post
	STICKY: Hints, Tips and Great Ideas ( 1 2 3 4 5 … 19 ) (Preview) After reading the recent threads on the water hose bag etc and the info on the Generic Nappy Soaker, I thought it might be good to have a thread specific to various hints and tips etc.We are all quiet clever at coming up with ideas to make our lives on the road better in one way or another so now is the time to...	Boroma577	548	309223	07:29 PM Jan 14, 2022 by Dee_Tony
	STICKY: Welcome to Hint, Tips and Great ideas (Preview) Hi all, We’ve collected a huge amount of hints, tips and great ideas from members since the ‘hints, tips and great ideas’ thread started approximately 18 months ago. It’s a great resource but it has become quite difficult to navigate and several members have suggested breaking it up by topic. I wi...	Webmaster	1	17229	09:48 AM Aug 11, 2018 by montstbarli
	Defrosting Plate (Preview) Very handy if you forget to put out in time. This one is a repurposed heat sink, (part of) from a Grundfos Pump Panel. So may be heavier than store bought, but works well for us. Takes at least an hour off defrost time on chops or chicken or steak. Dont know about tofu.	Craig1	4	537	07:07 PM Dec 8, 2022 by Plain Truth
	Keeping water tank breathers clear (Preview) As you pump water into your caravan tanks the air must escape in order to allow the water to fill the tank, to this end all tanks have breather pipes and in many vans these pipes terminate in the filling nozzle area, in my van that is a small (5mm) hole at the top (12 O'clock) position of the fill inlet, you'...	Mike Harding	19	1509	11:35 AM Dec 8, 2022 by Mike Harding
	Providing your location to emergency services (Preview) I tend to camp in tucked away spots in forests and such so giving my location to others can be an issue. It occured to me that if an emergency occured (heart attack, tree falling on the caravan etc) then it's quite likely I'll be in shock at that point too and I recall the couple of times in my life when I have e...	Mike Harding	3	300	10:43 AM Nov 14, 2022 by Mike Harding
	Spray Can of Paint- Maintenance (Preview) Make sure it is stored upside down After use, then also spray it upside down till it runs out, maybe 3 seconds? Then, wipe the nozzle with some thinners on a rag and restore upside down.	Craig1	2	489	09:24 AM Nov 6, 2022 by Craig1
	Tow Hitch Two High (Preview) When your rides is so high that you need a drop hitch for your trailer but adaptors are so much cheaper!!	Paintar	2	636	02:15 PM Oct 10, 2022 by Greg 1
	Two, too handy things (Preview) The Sidchrome is a rotator as well as conventional ratchet. The handle will twist to rotate the bolt or nut if you are in a tight spot. The black ring rotates to change direction. Red button to easily emove socket.	Craig1	4	908	09:27 AM Sep 21, 2022 by KJB
	Reducing tyre noise swapping left right (Preview) I have 6 (2 spares) Pirelli all terrain plus tyres, to date I had only done 1 swap putting the 2 spares on the front to share the wear between the 6 tyres. The front tyres were still extremely quiet to date. I swapped the tyres to the opposite sides of the car & front rear, while putting on the 2 used spar...	Whenarewethere	7	888	10:04 PM Aug 27, 2022 by CrashHD
	Anti theft, sort of (Preview) I keep a $100 and a $50 banknote in the top drawer of my caravan kitchen drawers such that the notes are on full view when the drawer is opened, my theory being that if a thief enters the van he'll probably find the money fairly quickly and make off before wrecking the van or finding other stuff of greater va...	Mike Harding	11	1432	09:44 PM Aug 24, 2022 by oxleigh
	the alpine way (Preview) Looking at taking a trip from Adelaide eventually, crossing the snowy mountains via the great alpine way, looking for advice, is the road suitable for a caravan, and is the last week of October okay, meaning will the roads be clear, towing with a ford ranger , not a big caravan 18 ft thank you	archy	9	1064	05:17 AM Aug 13, 2022 by Mike Harding
	Large Windscreen Shades for bigger vehicles (Preview) I had been looking for bigger windscreen shades both for my Outlander and Ford Transit. The ones I had were not tall enough at the top to be held in place by the sun visor and kept falling down. Yesterday I came across these in a Repco store in Morley WA, although the size is 145cm wide and 97cm high they com...	Duh	16	3752	08:24 PM Aug 11, 2022 by maids
	Ruler on mobile phone (Preview) I photographed a ruler, scaled it exactly to fit the phone's screen.	Whenarewethere	4	823	06:53 PM Aug 9, 2022 by Whenarewethere
	Making food containers airtight (Preview) Few, if any, of the containers in which we purchase foodstuffs today are airtight once opened. For many foods which are consumed quickly this doesn't matter but for long lasting items such as stock powder, cooking sauces and the like it does. If exposed to air (oxygen) for a long period many of these it...	Mike Harding	1	715	02:05 PM Jul 31, 2022 by Possum3
	POLISHING BLACK CHECKERPLATE (Preview) Hello, we have black checkerplate on the front of our caravan. Over time it has become quite dull. What suggestions are there for polishing it to make black and shiny again. So far we have tried Tyre Black (looked good but washed off with first shower of rain, WD40 (attracted dust), Nu Look Once a Yea...	Trojan	7	2270	03:06 PM Jul 29, 2022 by Stormy1
	Knife Sharpener ( 1 2 ) (Preview) Anybody have a good solution to keep a knife sharp or a really good sharpener? We have the usual knife block for carving, slicing, vege knife etc, and have a sharpener that you drag thru and a small steel to hone. I can get an edge that's okay, but just doesn't last more than a few days. Have tried a stone in t...	Bobdown	31	3564	05:19 PM Jul 27, 2022 by woolman
	ON the pension, travelling around Au , and renting your home (Preview) If you get the pension and intend to travel around AU and also maybe if you intend renting out your home this may interest you ...... My husband and I are thinking of renting out our home so we can travel in our caravan for 12 months. Both of us are on the Age Pension. We think we could earn $450 a week in renta...	PeterX	9	1193	09:02 AM Jul 26, 2022 by Nevd
	Car acoustic insulation (Preview) My car was pretty good acoustic wise, but I wanted to improve it regardless. Still going to do a bit more when I find the time, but it is really not absolutely necessary. I have added about 1.8m2 of butyl, you don't need it everywhere. So far about 5.4m2 of acoustic foam & have about another 1.8m2 read...	Whenarewethere	18	3760	02:40 PM Jul 16, 2022 by Whenarewethere
	3-Way Fridge Fire Waiting to Happen! fire 3-way fridge fridge flu (Preview) Hi Nomads, Have you ever removed the grill to expose the rear of your 3-way fridge? Well I had reason to today on a relatively new 9 month old 21'6" van only to find the 240 volt cable running from an internal cupboard was resting against the flu. Fortunately for us we have not used the fridge on gas as yet. ...	thalls01	2	982	07:06 AM Jun 26, 2022 by Mike Harding
	Best aerial for TV reception tv foldaway fold away reception HD camping (Preview) Here are my hints and tips to help you get the most channels with a camping antenna. https://www.foldawayantenna.com.au/ If you travel to remote areas like Wooli NSW you will notice that there's very little reception and trust me you will pull out your hair over it! I've tried the lot from post antenn...	PURCY	10	3970	04:37 PM Jun 25, 2022 by goldenyears
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