Caravanning Tips.

Here are a few tips for the newer caravanner!   
Getting ready for the trip  Make a checklist
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a checklist of all the things you want to take, all the things you need to take. And a very important one -The things you have to check and do before driving off every time. Don't think you won’t forget things, Murphy's Law says you will.
In a caravan park I once, very cleverly, reversed up to the van, no helper,stopped exactly under the tow bar. Hooked up, closed the door, wound up theback legs and drove off with a flourish, aah pride. There was much shoutingfrom some of the other campers. What did I forget? To wind up the jockeywheel. A list is so important.
So before leaving.

• Hook up the tow vehicle
• Attach the chains
• Attach the power plug to the van
• Let off the hand brake
• Wind up or take off the jockey wheel
• Turn off the gas bottle (never drive with the fridge on gas)
• Check the lights (all of them)
• Are the car mirrors on?
• Is the pop-top locked down?
• Is the power plug unplugged?
• Water hose unhooked?
• Any towels on the back rail?
• Is the step in?
• Check cupboard doors shut.
• Everything put away inside.
• At least kick the tyres and do your usual checks on the tow vehicle, they tend to use oil and cootant when they are towing.
• Also whatever you are driving don't forget to check the place you have just left for things like wheel ramps, buckets, hoses, and odds and ends that may have rolled under the van.  I once saw a nice annex mat in a bush camp that somebody had forgotten.

Loading the van

If you are planning a long trip you want to take only what is necessary.Excess stuff, costs you in fuel and gets in the way. I found a good checkis to load the van up then go through the stuff and throw out anythingthat is duplicated or not needed. Then go away for a shake down trip for afew days. Anything you didn't use, will you need it, you have to be hard on yourself. Also don't forget if you are heading north it gets hotter, anddown south and Tassie can be very cold.

With food it is best to carry as little as possible if you are in placeswhere there are lots of towns and outback you need to try and get yoursupplies from big towns, as the food is usually cheaper. The same goes forfuel. Unleaded you can get most places, LPG some places. There is a website   www.lpgaustralia.com.au which can tell you where gas is available.Also remember that the weight on your car towbar should not exceed onetenth of the loaded weight of the caravan. It should also not exceed thetotal weight recommended in your car handbook. 
Diesel is available in most places and on a lot of cattle stations.  Fuelprices can go very high as much as over $2 a litre. LPG up to $1.20.I usually carry half a tank of water when I am on the go but now with thewater shortages it can be hard to get water in the smaller places. Outwest fill the tank. Remember 1 litre of water weighs one KG

Another thing is the phone, I take a Telstra next G phone which has thebest coverage of all.  I tried the other carriers and where they work wellalong the cost, out west they are useless.
Don't forget your camera as well; the scenery is amazing there is nothinglike it in the world.

If you go out on the lesser-travelled roads in the outback, always letsomebody know where you are going. And if you break down in the back ofbeyond DON'T leave the vehicle. I hope this never happens to you, it hasnever happened to me in 38 years. I think the secret is always keep yourservices up to date, and look after your tyres. Especially on the van. Newones are recommended at least every five years.  I remember changing awheel at the side of the freeway near Cooroy in Qld in the driving rain,up against the guard rail with trucks flying past a couple of feet away at110km per hour, causing the van to sway. All because I 'saved money' bygetting second hand six ply 90% tread. And later found they wereover 10 years old, Beware! I now run new 8ply light truck tyres made in<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Australia. And you know what, they weren't even much dearer.And don't procrastinate, do it. Remember the things you will regret later in life are not so much the things that you did, but he things you didn'tdo.

Caravanning will open a whole new world for you.  The people on the roadare great,  more relaxed. The country is great. Whether you go with arugged four wheel drive and off road caravan, or whether you stick to the black top. Our country has so much to offer, and all it asks in return isthat we all leave it the way we found it, or if needs be, better.JH

• TIP

 Many people dread connecting the caravan to the car, the cause of manymarriage upsets and a plethora of gadjets attached to towbars and expensivereversing cameras etc. There is however a simple and inexpensive solution. Make a mark, a small circle, (I use a sticker) in the centre of your backwindscreen in the car and about 5 cm from the bottom.Then stand your house broom against the tow ball connector of the caravanA frame.  Then reverse the car, lining up the broom handle with your markon the window and do this looking forward into your in car reversingmirror, and SLOWLY reverse. When the towbar of the car reaches the A frameit will knock aside the broom handle, go a further three cm and your towball will be in the exact right place. You can do this from just about anyangle as long as the broom handle and the mark on your back window arelined up.Drifter