Chesters Big Lap The WA Boom is No Bull S##T

[chester Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close chester]

Re: Chesters Big Lap Stage 4 Shakedown Trips

Shakedown Trip No 3 Mentone VIC

Well I suppose pulling it halfway out of the garage is sort of a trip. I wanted to reorganise the front boot as it always seems a mess and move some things around. I moved the pole holder further back as it was hitting my knee when I was getting in the front boot. I also removed the jack from the front boot and put it in a side hatch further back, I realise that it is now a bit harder to get at but for the hopefully no times I will have to use it (fingers crossed) and how much room it was taking up in the front boot it was getting annoying. It is some great big long heavy thing I do not know why I cannot use the bottle jack off the car under the axel I will have to ask about that one. I still have to make up some sort of wine storage rack and get a mozzie net from some where so I can leave the door open. I have seen ones with sinkers at the bottom and you just Velcro it in place so if anyone knows where I can find one there is a beer waiting.

I also have a subcontracting job available if any members in Melbourne want to take it on for me all materials will be paid by me and there will be cash or beer involved for your labour. I am looking to put a storage module in the back for the trip just a basic unit looking something like this

Standard Prado 120 width x height to top of back seat x depth im not sure but seat angle I suppose has to be taken into account, with a divider in place leaving enough room on the right hand side to fit a waeco 80 with slide. and a shelf about 3/4 of the way up on the left, will fit into existing mounts and this is a functional build so does not have to be pretty

[MDS69 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDS69]

Re: Chesters Big Lap Stage 4 Shakedown Trips

Great write ups. It is good reading others peoples experiences both the good and the bad. Some of this has helped me with our trip in July. :wink:

[chester Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close chester]

Re: Chesters Big Lap Stage 4 Shakedown Trips

Shakedown Trip 4 Gentle Annie Whittlsea Vic

Well we decided to go back to Gentle Annie as we liked it so much the last time and the Anzac day weekend was coming up. Also SWMBO wanted to re sort the camper again (hopefully this is the last time) anyway if she was going to repack I wanted somewhere nice to relax at so we packed up and headed up on Friday night.

The inlaws came with us as well and this was an interesting experience, they are fine it was more how would be go with 4 people in this beast. We concluded at the end of the weekend after a bit of rain that kept all 4 of us inside that while even though these camper vans are fine for a family with a kid or two 4 grown adults is a bit to much for us but it was more of just a learning rather than a hassle.

Gave trout fishing a go with the father in law for the first time (well I mainly gave watching trout fishing a go) and learnt that this sport seems to be more about making flys, spending money on gear, setting up and casting rather than catching fish. The old bugger can cast on a dime but there was more snagging and swearing than casting going on as the bank was to steep and he kept hitting the tree behind it

We went for a drive to see what the river is like above the dam however we did not get to far as we came to a hill that looked more like a slip and slide with the amount of water going down it. Watched a troop carrier basically bobsled down the entire hill and then the guy in it proceed to tell us that the rest of the track is fine until you need to cross a creek flowing into the river that was basically over the bonnet, it was funny cause the only thing that he cared about is cause his new IPF spotties are waterproof to 1 meter they are still working, personally if my spotties were a meter under the water I would be having bigger things to worry about regardless of the brand so we decided to give that one a miss and head back down below the dam to try our luck. Not a fish to be had and spent more time in the bush untangling line as far as I am concerned the only good way to fish is like in crocodile Dundee II. A tinny some beer and a few sticks of dynamite (as Clarkson would say result!!)

Couple more learning’s from this trip to share with the punters if interested

1. If your camper or van will not seat on the tow ball properly Hyland hitch (after 5 attempts) let the handbrake off on the camper van as I think it needs to move a little to drop all the way on :roll:
2. The chances of you dropping your underpants on the shower floor while putting them on is in direct correlation to how muddy and wet said floor is. (this is the same principal as if you have just vacuumed the carpet the toast will always land butter side down; try it)
3. If curry night is on at the Whittlsea hotel you either shower very early or very late
4. Those croc shoes are the greatest camping invention for your feet ever made, yes I look like a complete bogan but I am loving them and refuse to take them off much to Gen’s despair.
5 The longer you leave your wood hunt the further a field you have to go. As I did not go hunting till 3pm I just about had to drive back to bloody Melbourne as everyone else has cleaned the place out.
6 If you get a pole holder get one with a screw on lid and a piece of string connecting the lid I tried to go fancy and mine has an endcap with holes in it that you match up to holes in the pipe and then slide a rod in, locking in place with a cotter pin devise. In summary that is 3 things that I will probably misplace ( I have already lost one pin to find it in my pocket 2 hrs later)
7 Do not pack up your camper until you are damn sure you know the location of the prado keys (on the front seat it turned out after we wound the thing half way back up)

Can tell who this family drives for (you should see when we all go to the farm 3 prados,1 landcruiser 100, 1 landcruiser 70, 1 hilux, 1 hiace tipper and a poor Navara that everone bags)


Love a campfire


Yes it really was this big (bastard snapped me off :wink: )


The master at work


Still looking for that one that snapped me off


What the hell do you mean i have to go back to work on Monday

[HGMonaro Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close HGMonaro]

Re: Chesters Big Lap Stage 4 Shakedown Trips

haha! looking forward to reading your BIG trip report...

My Mrs (and me now!!!) takes two rubber shower mats to the showers. One to stand on in the shower (you probably keep those bogan Crocs on!) and another to stand on while your getting dressed... Being rubber/PVC they dry off by the time the next person takes them for there wash.

There are other ways to catch a fish that are much easier than flies. You want a red and gold "Celta" and a nice little spin combo!

regarding the 15-10 amp power issue... you must have missed my solution!

Cheers, Nige

[chester Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close chester]

Re: Chesters Big Lap Stage 4 Shakedown Trips

Yep the crocs stay on Gen recons i will sleep in them soon

I did miss your solution i have heard of one involving a file being taken to the earth pin but as im living in a rental was not sure how the land lord would feel about that if something went wrong (i am having enough dodgy wiring problems at my place as it is)

[HGMonaro Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close HGMonaro]

Re: Chesters Big Lap Stage 4 Shakedown Trips

PM on the way!

[chester Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close chester]

Re: Chesters Big Lap Stage 4 Shakedown Trips

Shakedown Trip number 5 down to the dealers for its 1000k service

Well we took the camper down to the dealers today for its first service. I thought I would post some extra work we got done and a few other tid-bits so others following in our footsteps may be aware.

The van is getting its first service basically the just repack the wheel bearings, re torque the wheel nuts and go over everything else that needs a look. We only had 2 issues that are being handled under warranty and they are minor being 1. One of the stabiliser foot pads is cracked im not sure how it happened, it is being fixed under warranty, I told them it has always been like that, so that is my story and im sticking to it. 2. One of the rivets came out that stops the front bag fly flogging around when it is folded up and you are driving, no big deal to fix on the road I just stuck a screw in there as an interim measure.
We did get one other thing added, there is an aux jack for the ipod on the stereo but no charging facility, and my big ipod with all the music is that old (it has a black and white screen) that its battery life is now about 10 seconds, so we got them to put a cigarette lighter socket beside the radio.

Now I do have a question for all the experts out there, I am thinking of taking one of those mini chainsaws on the trip however the manufacturer has indicated that I cannot store the petrol in the front boot as the battery is there and I do not want a jerry in the car so if anyone has any ideas I am all ears. I do have 2 jerry holders on the rear of the van but am lead to believe that you cannot store fuel there. So lend me your ideas or I am sweating with a bow saw ( I am thinking this may be the solution as im getting a headache)

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Re: Chesters Big Lap Stage 4 Shakedown Trips

I store my chainsaw fuel and oil in approved fuel bottles. Sometimes they live in the car othertimes they live in the trailer. Given your car is unleaded I would get a jiggler/siphon thing and use that to get fuel out of the tank when required and just take some 2-stroke mix. 2-stroke goes off very quick so this is better for the saw anyway as it will get fresh fuel.

http://www.primusaustralia.com.au/pdf/p ... bottle.pdf

[chester Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close chester]

Re: Chesters Big Lap Stage 4 Shakedown Trips

Unfortunatly i would need a chainsaw that runs on diesel for that idea to work

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Re: Chesters Big Lap Stage 4 Shakedown Trips

Unfortunatly i would need a chainsaw that runs on diesel for that idea to work

Oh yeah, for some reason I thought you had a petrol.

[chester Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close chester]

Re: Chesters Big Lap Stage 4 Shakedown Trips

Im thinking of getting a jerry can holder welded on the A frame however i am not sure how a jerry can of unleaded and a gas bottle next to it would go

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Re: Chesters Big Lap Stage 4 Shakedown Trips

Most saws have a fuel tank capacity of 0.5L hence why I carry a full saw and 1L of fuel and 1L of bar oil. That's a lot of cutting on a trip so I wouldn't bother with a jerry can holder just fuel bottles as I pointed out above.

[chester Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close chester]

Re: Chesters Big Lap Stage 5 More budgeting

Well I have been doing some more sums and one of the ones that has amazed me is how much money it actually costs to just get out of the door. I will post some initiative figures below, I will list all mods and spending to the nearest dollar (I will have to guess some prices as I lost the receipts) if you have the mod you can just remove it but I thought I would put down everything so if someone is starting from scratch they will get an idea

The vehicle
Prado 120 GXL TD 1KZT-E 2005

ARB Bullbar $1900
UHF $500
Duel Battery System and HR towbar $800
Replace both cranking and aux battery with Supercharge all rounders $410
Anderson plug brake controller and associated wiring plus duel battery monitor $840
Iron man suspension kit $1240 fitted
Safari Snorkel $510 fitted
Hella 175 spot lights $160 (fitted for a carton I don’t drive much at night so went for budget option)
Toyota heavy duty roof racks $290 (fitted by me)
Rhino Heavy Duty Bike carriers $320 (fitted by me)
Rhino spare wheel carrier $220 (fitted by me)
Home made storage system $175 for materials (plus beer and wine for deeptank for his excellent woodworking skills)
Major service $800 (this was 150k and 160k rolled into 1 as the timing belt would have fallen due while on the road)
5x BF Goodrich Tyres plus 1x speedy Grande rim $1800

Total $9965

Other costs
Some extra tools and spares for the car $250
Good first aid kit $150
Removalist costs plus 18 weeks storage plus insurances $4050 (as we don’t know where we are going to end up it is going in a container if I knew I was definitely coming back I would have just put it all in a kennards shed with the help of the boys)
Mail diversion for 6 months $35
Ongoing costs $3000 (loan, car and health insurances etc for 4 months)
Emergency fund $3000 (just in case or if I settle this can be used for bond or something)
Meat $300 (we have a really good butcher that cryovac the lot for us so we tried to take as much as we could from the start as we felt this would be out biggest food expense)
Waeco 80L fridge $1100 (go the biggest you can fit as there never seems to be enough room)
Books guides odds and ends $500 (e.g. I bought a decent set of hiking boots)

Total $12,385


Now please if your reading this don’t stress and give up as these are just costs we have paid for the way we are doing it there is a lot of money that can be saved some of the big savings are as follows

1. I have no skills on the tools so if you are good install your mods yourself
2. If you are coming back to your original destination move yourself
3. If you own your own place (we don’t) rent it out
4. Our tax checks are going to cover our ongoings and emergency fund

It should also be noted that a lot of the mods to the car have been completed over a 2 year period to spread out the pain, most have actually just come from learning’s etc from other trips. The roof fixings, tyres, rear storage, snorkel, major service, and battery replacement are the only things that have been done specifically for this trip all other mods have been built up over time.

So you can easily knock 10k of the above grand total if your situation is different, why did I post this cause when I started to research this trip this was the sort of stuff I could find the least bit of information on so even it it helps out someone starting from scratch well all is well and good then.

[chester Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close chester]

Re: Chesters Big Lap Stage 6 Sheduling

The schedule

Below is a loose schedule for the trip we have left it a bit flexible in case we find a place we love or a good job somewhere. The below is based if no work is found and we work our way back to Melbourne

Week 1 leave Melbourne cycling in Claire and Barossa valley SA
Week 2 Wilpena Pound and Arkaroola with Gens brother
Week 3 Cooper pedy and Ayres rock area
Week 4 Alice Springs
Week 5 work our way to Darwin
Week 6 Darwin and Kakadu
Week 7 Gibb river road to Broome
Week 8 work our way down through Monkey Mia Exmouth Carnarvon etc
Week 9 we have applied for harvest work around Geraldton so we will look around this area and see if the work comes off if not see remainder of itinery below
Week 10 down to Perth for drinks with Team WA ( I will be looking for a back yard in Mandurah hint hint )
Week 11 if we don’t look for work in perth down to the bottom of WA for a look
Week 12 across the Nullabor back into SA
Week 12 and 14 back to Melbourne via great ocean road to find a job and pay off the credit card

As said this could change depending on work opportunities however unless it is a damn good job we will not start looking for work until we hit the lower west coast of WA cause due to the time we are going if we say find work in Darwin we are probably committed to it for 8 months to see out the wet season.

Anyway we will see how we go any opinions as to the schedule I would appreciate i.e am I kidding myself

[bevwone Member Find all posts View Profile Close bevwone]

Chesters Big Lap Stage 5 and 6 budgeting and sheduling

I would look at spending a lot longer on the Gibb. We spent 3 weeks doing it, albiet we went to Mitchell Falls and Kalumbaru. And could have spent longer but had made plans to catch up with people.

At a minimum I would, 3 days at Kununnara, 3 days at a private campsite in El Questro, a night at Mt Hart, good week doing the Gibb with 2 nights at Bells Gorge just to enjoy it (Mitchell Falls if you can make time - terrible road though), spend as little time in Broome as you can and go to Cape Leveque, spend 3 nights there.

My 2 cents.

Bev