Our Victorian trip with the camper-trailer had only one problem. Rain. Rain equals wet canvas. I really didn't ever want to go anywhere with the camper-trailer again. Folding it down while the canvas was wet meant the bed got damp, even if we covered it with tarpaulin and plastic sheeting.
It was the only problem though, we saw some lovely places on fine days. And it provoked us into buying the caravan, so that now if its wet we can prepare and eat our dinner inside!

-- Edited by Gerty Dancer on Wednesday 29th of May 2013 07:17:27 PM

On another trip coming down from N/T into WA a big bull decided to wonder out from the long grass that grows almost to the edge of road in places up that way and BANG lucky I was only going slow but buggered the radiator and fan and a head light ,no other damage, but , the hassle and drama of it all .Had to leave wife with tug and van I had to hitch a ride into next town 50k away ,as no mob service or for that matter no service of any kind ,had to BEG tow truck driver to come and tow us into town Money up front out there mate. No waiting for insurance company to pay up .Then the insurance mob we were with only had the assessor out there ,so would have to wait another 2/3 weeks before he would be back out that way, so I had the gear flown in from Darwin over night and payed for all the repairs myself ,just to get mobile again. But it was like almost $2000 just to get the bloody radiator flown in. So I just cannot under stand how these people who rely just on the pension from week to week can travel I maybe weak but I just could not even think of doing it ,Just because in our travelling in 13 years I know how and what can go wrong ,even if it is not your fault...Not so bad if you are only travelling in major built up areas ,but a whole lot of factors to take in when away from all the mod cons of life.

 

 would be back out that way.

-- Edited by herbie on Wednesday 29th of May 2013 09:39:54 PM

I guess the majority of us want to stay positive. The bad times have been mentioned but we find the good times far outway the bad times. Only the other day we heard about the folk who wrote off their car and van on the Nullarbor. And Kandagal had an accident this last weekend. The 'true' stories are there but let's concentrate on the positives.

RD, yes there are some negatives to travelling...but they become the most memorable moments....ok here's our negative stories:

1. On a major road, a semi turns onto this road from another street, failing to give way, making the lady in front of us brake, with the old caravan behind we ran into her. Luckily she had no damage, we had cracking of the paint on our front bumper from her tow bar. Les got out and wanted to kill the driver...luckily he didn't. The memorable side, hardly any damage, and the microwave that Les had built into a cupboard didn't move.

2. Driving into the city, a car behind us was beeping his horn, Les pulled over, and he told us our caravan door was open and blowing in the breeze. Luckily nothing fell out. The door lock had broken, we don't know how, but we tied it up until we could replace the lock.

3. Travelling interstate, Les notices something is flapping in the breeze on the caravan, so he pulls over. Luckily it was in a town and he parked in front of a beautiful park. I made lunch and a cuppa, while he repaired the edging strip on the caravan, in the rain...poor Les. It was lucky that Les forgot to remove the sealant gun when we started our trip.

4. Again travelling on the long straight road from Morgan in SA to ? Burra (I think thats the town we were heading to). We were running out of petrol, we had a head wind and we knew we weren't going to make it, so Les unhitched the caravan in a layby, leaving me and my daughter there while he hurried up and got petrol and came back for us. My daughter was worried sick, I wasn't, it was nice away from the traffic, under some trees in the shade.

Ok these are just a few. They are not as bad as others have had, but as I said they become more memorable than the good stories.

Lynn

Hi Red dog, yes we need to be realists, we are one of those you mention "heading of with stars in our eye's". We are definitely hoping that everything goes well, we never break down, never get hassled for parking in the wrong spot, never get robbed as Yeoeleven did last week, but reality is that sh#t happens. I think that most of us have earned the right for the sh#t to happen on our terms.

Paul

Gee this thread reminds me of when we left Darwin in 2007, bought a 1983 millard van $7000 and a 1990 landcruiser ute also $7000 and drove off into the sunset..........five a nd a half months and 18,000kls later we arrived on the Gold Coast, we had 3 flat tyres and never saw one accident in all that time, I realise now how lucky and blessed we were, but I have to say it was the best five and a half months of our lives and we still have the tug but have updated the van, 1990 model LOL.

I understand your post Red Dog regarding people only reflecting on the good times ,but in reality being on the road is a hell of a big gamble regarding travelling our big country.I realise we all get in that she will 'be right mate'...attitude. I always allow for the unexpected to happen .One cannot control weather/ camps/ vehicle/tug/ health/ ..some of the out back places these days do not even have a Dr any more ,the closest one might be hundreds of kilometres away .If problems happen regarding vehicle and it needs parts shipped in to fix it ,it might mean weeks in a caravan park where the price each night can be big dollars,if you happen to be in a place that is a hot spot for tourists. I  know a few people who have had problems with their motor home for one reason or another in out of the way places and had to get a cabin to stay in until vehicle was fixed,it cut their trip away very short as they did not factor in any of the extra cost of cabin and repair bill to fix the motor home. We got stuck in N/T once for a week due to the only servo having broken bowser pumps and only one useable ,so was only dishing out $60 per vehicle in fuel.Only time I ever let this happen letting both tanks run almost dry.I always top up at least every servo or depending how far between every second. So I guess that was a learning curb for me way back then. And the poor people who had the accident travelling the Nullaboor as they mentioned a lesson learned by not over insuring their gear. The other thing is cost of fuel is becoming dearer and dearer and the further outback one heads the more likely it will become dearer.So I for one never just reflect on the good aspect of travelling , because if you have that mentality you are living in dream land.

Yep - the further you go, the more likely it is that something will go wrong. That is just part of travelling, and I think most people can take it in their stride, and overcome.

Thorough research and preparation BEFORE setting off for the first time can prevent a heap of possible mishaps. It is much better for the stars in the eyes to be due to happy informed anticipation and not just ignorance.

Can't do much about the poor driving of others, unfortunately.

We towed our van over 100,000kms - about a third of that on unsealed roads.

We had some flat tyres, but always had a good spare to put on; actually two spares, because the van had same wheels as Landrover. One time, though, had 2 flats, before we could get to a tyre dealer - that was not a nice feeling, going along on a little used dirt road with no usable spare left. But we made it.

We "dropped" some brake magnets on the van - once a couple of hundred kms west of Ayers Rock. Not too much traffic out there, so we made it into Yulara ok. Had to sit there and wait for spares to be posted up - but we got in some great walking in the area while we waited. And the Driver learned to carry a spare set of magnets - and how to fit them. Learned that it was safest to change them every 30,000kms or so.

We had some breakdowns of the Landrover in its 350,000km time with us. Got it bogged a few times. Just part of life on the road and being a bit adventurous. Got a few different colonies of ants in the van.

BUT - we also saw lots of wonderful country, did some great walks through incredible scenery, met amazing fellow travellers, lived years of adventure that will provide sustaining memories for the rest of our lives - yes, even the memories of the bits that didn't go quite right.

Don't buy cheap or mass produced crap and look after your gear and you should have minimum problems.
Who cares about the negatives?
Maybe you could start your own doomsday forum Red Dog.
And if someone complains about the price of fuel, what is your solution?
Just as I thought....bugger all you can do about it!
If you worry about something that will most likely never happen, then stay home.
If you can't afford fuel, then stay home.
If you can't afford a decent caravan/motorhome/camper etc, then you can't afford fuel, and stay at home.
If you think that I will engage in a banal argument after I post this, forget it, stay home!
Have a positively great day Red Dog.

herbie wrote:

---

I understand your post Red Dog regarding people only reflecting on the good times ,but in reality being on the road is a hell of a big gamble regarding travelling our big country.I realise we all get in that she will 'be right mate'...attitude. I always allow for the unexpected to happen .One cannot control weather/ camps/ vehicle/tug/ health/ ..some of the out back places these days do not even have a Dr any more ,the closest one might be hundreds of kilometres away .If problems happen regarding vehicle and it needs parts shipped in to fix it ,it might mean weeks in a caravan park where the price each night can be big dollars,if you happen to be in a place that is a hot spot for tourists. I  know a few people who have had problems with their motor home for one reason or another in out of the way places and had to get a cabin to stay in until vehicle was fixed,it cut their trip away very short as they did not factor in any of the extra cost of cabin and repair bill to fix the motor home. We got stuck in N/T once for a week due to the only servo having broken bowser pumps and only one useable ,so was only dishing out $60 per vehicle in fuel.Only time I ever let this happen letting both tanks run almost dry.I always top up at least every servo or depending how far between every second. So I guess that was a learning curb for me way back then. And the poor people who had the accident travelling the Nullaboor as they mentioned a lesson learned by not over insuring their gear. The other thing is cost of fuel is becoming dearer and dearer and the further outback one heads the more likely it will become dearer.So I for one never just reflect on the good aspect of travelling , because if you have that mentality you are living in dream land.

---

 Herbie, you are right  breakdowns or accidents  or troubles can be waiting

around the next corner when out in the back blocks.

I have wrote off my car  out there in the middle of no where  ,

had to call on the radio for two days before I got any help .

and a  wait of  nearly three weeks before I could get a tow  and transport for the caravan.

 Having a well thought out disaster plan  is esential .

I had everything I neeed on tthat trip extra fuel , water tyres  wheel  batery  tools  etc 

 but what I needed on that trip was a spare motor. for my  two year old car.

 A interesting challenge that trip was.

Starting as a mechanic in a country workshop in 1966 I have seen the other side of roadside accidents and breakdowns. Working in garages with RACQ breakdown service is always interesting.
What's equally as fascinating is the reaction and attitude of travellers who get caught up in events beyond their control.
It would be easy to fill a book with the number of call outs, the different ways people handle being immobile on the side of the road, sometimes for a considerable time under conditions of wet or really hot weather.
One thing is clear to me, those that travel lightest and don't travel too fast have very few problems. These days of laminated windscreens, good tyres and good roads make travel so much easier.

-- Edited by Red Dog on Thursday 30th of May 2013 08:50:38 AM

-- Edited by Red Dog on Thursday 30th of May 2013 08:52:30 AM

Howdy Red Dog, I have been very lucky on the road compared to many I spose but I did mention a near disaster the other day and February 2012 I told about being stranded on the side of the road for hours due to lack of help from a Auto Club. You only have to look at the very unlucky Kiwi-as and Kiwi Rainbow, those two great people have had so much bad luck with their tug YET they both stay very positive and don't complain.

I agree with a few others and stay positive, we are so lucky to be out in the playground.

Ok i can see this is pointless and no one is really listerning, all i am trying to point out is people are just to free and easy about the way they go about things and this doesnt mean camping on the side of the rode for a week while you wait for a new radiator or wheel the real mistakes cost you your life , if anyone feels i am saying it wrong i do apoligise in advance, but anyway injoy your happy hour and cheers to you all.