Some people who go to caravan shows end up buying stuff that they won't use, don't need or isn't suitable.......

uhmmmm

uhmmmm

(guilty as charged Your Honour)

Thanks so much, looking forward to Sandown and Caulfield shows

If I was going to be in Caravan Parks most of the time, I'd definitely take the bench-top Turbo Convection Oven. You can make absolutely anything in it except may-be Ice-cream.
Cakes, Biscuits, Bread, all types of Baked Dishes, it Toasts, and even cleans itself.

You can buy them for as little as $60, and these work just as well as the $200. ones.

Cheers,
xina.

Hi Caron, welcome to the forum.
When we first started, we bought heaps of "must have" stuff.
Most of it is still in the original packaging in the shed.
My suggestion would be to take the bare essentials from home and then buy later if you think you really need it.


Johnw

If you buy it all now, you will have a great time. But once you've been travelling you will have it all,and there's no reason to go out and check the shops.      Its always fun to go out and get that buzz again just from buying one thing for the van. Retail therapy!!!!    

xina wrote:

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If I was going to be in Caravan Parks most of the time, I'd definitely take the bench-top Turbo Convection Oven. You can make absolutely anything in it except may-be Ice-cream.
Cakes, Biscuits, Bread, all types of Baked Dishes, it Toasts, and even cleans itself.

You can buy them for as little as $60, and these work just as well as the $200. ones.

Cheers,
xina.

---

Pity about the ice cream, maybe they're still working on that one???  Perhaps if one used a reverse cycle microwave to chill it, it would work ok????

Seriously though,  I use my turbo oven a lot, both on the road and at home,  they're great.  My little rig doesn't have an oven other than the microwave (no it's not a reverse cycle ).  My other must-have when travelling (and at home) is a bread maker as it's usually very difficult to buy bread, although one can usually purchase a poor substitute at the local supermarket.

Re the 240 volt fridge, I'm assuming you mean a normal home type fridge here, you would need to indicate what size fridge you're talking about as the power consumption of a medium to large one would be more than say a small bar fridge.

The arrangement you would need to have, would be a battery of adequate capacity to supply the electricity to the fridge around the clock (day and night) via an inverter (a device that converts the battery dc voltage the 240v ac) and solar panel(s) (and a regulator) of adequate capacity to recharge the battery.

Although I have a technical background I don't have "hands on" experience with solar so maybe if you indicate the size of the fridge you have in mind some other GN members with practical experience may then be able to answer that question.

Check out www.caravanandmotorhomebooks.com for some excellent books on the subject of solar and 12v power as it applies to caravans etc. 

 

Thanks everyone. We intend to do minimal caravan park stays, however will stop occasionally. To start with we will be making smaller trips then venture out to further afield.
We are now looking at getting a generator and that should ensure we have power wherever we go.
Most of the time though I will rely on gas or a campfire.


Cheers
Caron

Hi Caron welcome to the forum, we do most free camping and keep our gear to a minimum, we have a pair of fold up chairs, an aluminium folding table, a portable gas stove and we run that off the main gas bottle from the van, the usual assortment of pots pans and cutlery/plates

we have a solar heated shower bag and a pump setup and we carry a Coleman insta set shower tent, an Engel 40 ltr fridge freezer and of course "slurpy" our porta potty

this is the basics for short trips, when going for extended travel we take "squeaky" our 5 X 3 camping trailer which has full cooking facilities as well as fuel. large gas bottle and extra water plus a fully operational kitchen, we can fill it with firewood on the way, inside is all cooking equipment as well including a sandwich cooker and Cobb and furphy camp oven

if you wish any more info then just ask, if we dont know the answer to something then we will make something up that could sound plausible!

caron wrote:

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Thanks everyone. We intend to do minimal caravan park stays, however will stop occasionally. To start with we will be making smaller trips then venture out to further afield.
We are now looking at getting a generator and that should ensure we have power wherever we go.
Most of the time though I will rely on gas or a campfire.


Cheers
Caron

---

An inexpensive alternative to a Cobb, is a Kelly Kampa Kooka.
  You probably have most of the components at home already.
If you google it, you can see the post I found it on, and get more of an idea.
Cheers,
xina.

 

-- Edited by xina on Saturday 6th of February 2010 02:58:28 PM

wow I love the KKK. Am going to have a go at making one tomorrow

Popeye wrote:

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I would not be without my Shuttle Chef. Or my two burner gas stove. For cooking out side.

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Me Too!    On both counts,  both on my list of useful gear.

The inner pot in the Shuttle Chef is a very good quality "billy" that can used by itself as well as with the SC....the larger one has two.  Like the turbo oven above I use the SC regularly at home as well as on the road.

I also have a hot-plate that neatly fits my two burner stove. I use it outside, just hook it up to the van's spare gas cylinder, it has its own regulator.

Using a fry-pan (240v) with a solar/battery/inverter combination is for all practical purposes quite out of the question as, like all heating appliances, they are very power hungry.  Likewise a microwave unless you have a seriously large system installed.

PS: Dream Pot is just a variant of the Shuttle Chef, probably much of a muchness as to which would be the better choice.

-- Edited by jimricho on Saturday 6th of February 2010 07:06:37 PM

Hi Caron, just my thoughts on your original questions,we have a Hot Ozi bbq and it is the best easiest cooking thing we own, about 1 minute to set up and sells for about $60-65. I have a folding 100W solar panel and it's happy to run my waeco but I' msure that a 240V fridge would be too much, even for twice the solar capacity, they are really only for powered sites. Deflappers are a yes as you'd find out on a windy day. As to the turbo oven, got one too and the 'minister for everything' loves it. Go to Colin Rivers site , I think it was put up earlier, and you will learn alot about solar. Also a very good site that has alot of info about setting up electrics or solar is Exploroz.com.au, definitely worth a look


-- Edited by Di-n-Gary on Saturday 6th of February 2010 09:38:41 PM

Looks like most grey nomads place food preparations fairly high on the list of needs we all like our food

Ok Jimricho what's number 1 is it Water