Hi all . We have just purchased our first van. We have almost completed setting everything up , thanks for the advice out there , and hopefully we will head out of Melbourne for a couple of days to check it's all in working order. As we are first time caravanners , we would like to find a CP first up which has reasonably largish sites in which to reverse .
Was thinking of heading north up the Hume somewhere .
Thank you for any advice you may have .
Pejay said
04:49 PM Jul 22, 2015
Hi Voyager, welcome to the forum and hope you enjoy your vanning around this great land. This is certainly the place to find out what ever you need to know. A suggestion from us, and it depends on how far you want to travel out of Melbourne , and has lots of space, was the little caravan park at Glenrowan. It has a very pleasant bush setting with the necessary ammenities - very clean. $25/nt. Lots of history there too.
Dougwe said
05:50 PM Jul 22, 2015
Welcome to the gang voyager, enjoy here and out in the playground.
My suggestion would be the Nagambi CVP I think a Top Tourist for memory. And overlooks Nagambi Lake. NICE. Nice big sites and some tighter ones, heaps of room this time of year. If you are set up with Solar etc get a powered site but for at least a day unhook from 240v and try out all the Solar etc. that way you have 240v to fall back on if any problems show their ugly head.
Have fun but Keep Safe out there,
-- Edited by Dougwe on Wednesday 22nd of July 2015 05:51:28 PM
Netco said
05:57 PM Jul 22, 2015
Hi Voyager
Welcome to the team, stay safe out there, see ya down the track somewhere.
Col & Annette
Spydermann said
07:00 PM Jul 22, 2015
Recently purchased our first van. 25 years ago we had a camper trailer so the van was a whole new experience. Went to Mildura from Ballarat last week. Reason we did Mildura was that just about everywhere in Vic was having crap weather. Secondly, with lots of shops (Caravan Dealers, Rays, K-Mart, Supermarkets, Bunnings, Cheap-as-Chips etc.) we had the ability to buy anything that we'd overlooked. Just as well as needed a new hose (the one we took broke - I could have fixed it), a snap-on coupling for the park tap, a small extension cord for a heater, a new USB power plug and lead, plus lots of other misc items that could have waited till we got home. We still had a list of things to get but not urgent at the time. And of course those things that made their way into the van and proved just to take up space have been jettisoned.
We could have survived as the only critical item was the snap-on coupling. The lady behind us had a plastic container full of all sorts of connectors so we used a borrowed one first night.
If you overshoot Nagambie (park is great from all reports), there is a park around the lake in Shepparton. Getting nice weather a days travel from Melbourne is not easy this time of year.
-- Edited by Spydermann on Wednesday 22nd of July 2015 07:02:24 PM
Voyager00 said
10:33 PM Jul 22, 2015
Thank you everyone for your replies.
Isn't it funny but the CP at Nagambie was one we were thinking of but didn't know much about .
I'm very nervous about " guiding " my hubby in reversing the van so a largish site would be the go .
Hope the pub is close by as I'm sure I'll need a drink after it .
Dougwe said
04:50 AM Jul 23, 2015
If you go to Nagambie and anything urgent is needed, Shepparton has everything that opens and shuts and is just down the road. The park also has a nice little Cafe'.
Take your own drinks and sit back and enjoy the surrounds, no drink driving then.
When in Mildura, the "Apex CVP" VIC side, down next to the river have some good sized sites as well. Good view of the paddle steamer turning around too.
Keep Safe out there.
-- Edited by Dougwe on Thursday 23rd of July 2015 07:15:21 AM
PeterD said
11:05 AM Jul 23, 2015
Dougwe wrote:
If you are set up with Solar etc get a powered site but for at least a day unhook from 240v and try out all the Solar etc. that way you have 240v to fall back on if any problems show their ugly head.
Good idea. The way I would do that is to hook up to 240 V power and unplug your battery charger. Leave the charger switched off for the time of your stay and note the battery voltage before sun up and after sundown. This will test out the battery system and by noting the battery voltages several times a day you will have a reference to keep a check on your 12 V system in the future.
Steve11 said
10:46 PM Jul 24, 2015
Hi, in regards to guiding the van in, just get on your mobile phone and ring your hubby on his. Put his on speaker or bluetooth. Stand where he can see you and direct him in...more left, more right, back a bit more etc....easy. We are only newbies and find this works quite well.
Welcome to the gang voyager, enjoy here and out in the playground.
My suggestion would be the Nagambi CVP I think a Top Tourist for memory. And overlooks Nagambi Lake. NICE. Nice big sites and some tighter ones, heaps of room this time of year. If you are set up with Solar etc get a powered site but for at least a day unhook from 240v and try out all the Solar etc. that way you have 240v to fall back on if any problems show their ugly head.
Have fun but Keep Safe out there,
-- Edited by Dougwe on Wednesday 22nd of July 2015 05:51:28 PM
Welcome to the team, stay safe out there, see ya down the track somewhere.
Col & Annette
Recently purchased our first van. 25 years ago we had a camper trailer so the van was a whole new experience. Went to Mildura from Ballarat last week. Reason we did Mildura was that just about everywhere in Vic was having crap weather. Secondly, with lots of shops (Caravan Dealers, Rays, K-Mart, Supermarkets, Bunnings, Cheap-as-Chips etc.) we had the ability to buy anything that we'd overlooked. Just as well as needed a new hose (the one we took broke - I could have fixed it), a snap-on coupling for the park tap, a small extension cord for a heater, a new USB power plug and lead, plus lots of other misc items that could have waited till we got home. We still had a list of things to get but not urgent at the time. And of course those things that made their way into the van and proved just to take up space have been jettisoned.
We could have survived as the only critical item was the snap-on coupling. The lady behind us had a plastic container full of all sorts of connectors so we used a borrowed one first night.
If you overshoot Nagambie (park is great from all reports), there is a park around the lake in Shepparton. Getting nice weather a days travel from Melbourne is not easy this time of year.
-- Edited by Spydermann on Wednesday 22nd of July 2015 07:02:24 PM
If you go to Nagambie and anything urgent is needed, Shepparton has everything that opens and shuts and is just down the road. The park also has a nice little Cafe'.
Take your own drinks and sit back and enjoy the surrounds, no drink driving then.
When in Mildura, the "Apex CVP" VIC side, down next to the river have some good sized sites as well. Good view of the paddle steamer turning around too.
Keep Safe out there.
-- Edited by Dougwe on Thursday 23rd of July 2015 07:15:21 AM
Good idea. The way I would do that is to hook up to 240 V power and unplug your battery charger. Leave the charger switched off for the time of your stay and note the battery voltage before sun up and after sundown. This will test out the battery system and by noting the battery voltages several times a day you will have a reference to keep a check on your 12 V system in the future.
Hi, in regards to guiding the van in, just get on your mobile phone and ring your hubby on his. Put his on speaker or bluetooth. Stand where he can see you and direct him in...more left, more right, back a bit more etc....easy. We are only newbies and find this works quite well.
cheers Hammo