Tuesday, September 1, 2009

It’s time to talk about the new Camper Trailer

4 September
This trip pivots on the new rig, in large measure. Last year we purchased a Tvan without any research really, except that the word going around was that they are “up there”. We bought it from an architect and he seemed suitably reluctant to part with it, so it must be good, yes? Well it was good. Until we reached the Clare Valley and in three nights we experienced a wholly different side of the travelling routine; we froze. You can’t do this touring thing and get it all right first off, but we got close. The story of our finding the VistaRV Crossover has been touched on at the front end of this blog, and I have been holding off making any comment until we have really experienced how we get along with it.

OK, we haven’t had rain yet, apart from a few millimetres on our first night at Hay, and nor have we had very cold weather, because we are travelling three months later than last year, but we both know that the Crossover has addressed our main concerns. Canvas for us is a pain, and there is none to worry about. OK, when the Tvan was opened right up there was a little living room, but as with all the hard floor camper trailers that space costs you half an hour every day and with the Tvan, for us anyway, barked knuckles and irritation. There was so much moving of containers from here to there we found it very boring.

The pleasure of cooking and living outside is the big attraction, and this is the difference between a camper trailer and a caravan. At the moment we are at a fantastic caravan park called Seawinds, on the beach at North MacKay. People here have been repeating their bookings for twenty years, and there are a lot of Victorians. They are mostly into fishing, and 9kg fish are landed here regularly. Where do they all go after 8pm? Helen and I are out here blogging away or reading a book in cooling fresh breezes and the place may as well be a morgue! Take a turn around the park and you will see the flicker of Kerry O’Brien or his commercial equivalent gathering each soul into the bosom of his or her Franklin, Viscount, Jayco Expanda, or if you are of that bent, Wild Tiger (in which case you will not appear at happy hour but will be found polishing the wheel nuts of the Ford 200 wide track tow-all). Caravanning is a different thing all together. But they are great when it rains or it’s blowing a gale, they just can’t go off the black top.

Most of the attractions for us are to be found in the National Parks and that often means rough roads. We want something that takes the minimum amount of time to set up, will keep us warm and dry. And go where the Tvan would go. The Crossover does that very well. You do have to experiment with the storage because some of it is under the benches that the bed sits on. We have found making up the bed every day a chore so we have had to rearrange our kitchen utensils and place little used items under the bed, which is fine. We now have all the utensils in a plastic tough box that slides out of a side locker. When we cook the whole lot comes out and whatever you want for food prep is there in front of you. There is a bit of dust getting in, but with some careful play with the sealant gun that will easily be minimised.

There are minor things that we will talk to the manufacturer about, and hopefully he will help us out with some of that, but all in all we are really pleased with the purchase. This morning a lady came over to us and said that the Crossover had been featured on TV. Paul Hogan Crocodile Dundee and his wife have been given one to take up to Cape York. Or so the lady would have it. Wouldn’t it be nice to be showered with largesse like that! Perhaps he could call me and I can tell him where to put his utensils.

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