New Trackabout Camper Trailer

Over the past few years we've been saving up for a camper trailer. We had a couple of competing priorities though. We wanted it to be a Trackabout. But we also wanted an Extenda-style camper with the front walkway - a configuration that Trackabout didn't offer. So when Johnny from Trackabout started showing around some photos of their new Safari Extenda model - we knew we'd found our camper.

A couple of trips to Bris to finalise the configuration, 2 month's wait and a big drive later, we're now proud owners of a brand new camper trailer!

Man, are we happy with this camper - it's an amazing piece of kit, and is built like a brick out-house. But to live in it, it's wonderfully functional. Personally, I've got no idea why anyone doesn't buy one of the extenda-style trailers - they are just SO user friendly to live in.

First thoughts:

• The trailer's huge! Coming from a canvas tourer tent, plus a home-made awning on the car, it's ridiculous how much space we have under-roof now. Inclement weather is no problem.
  
• The design of the trailer, and the canvas work in particular, is very good. A lot of attention to detail has gone into the design, and it really shows through. We can have the main tent + annex set up in around 15 mins currently, but we've only done it a couple of times. The way it folds out, and folds back up again is excellent.
• It's a heavy mo-fo. No getting around that. Tare weight is ~900kgs, plus 80kg of water, plus plus plus. The poor little Pathfinder did struggle in a few spots with the extra weight on behind. Flat to the boards up the Toowoomba range, and the best the poor old girl could make was 40kms, 2nd gear. I might need to learn to slow down and enjoy the roses along the way.
• The 10" electric offroad brakes are EXCELLENT. JT warned that they might take some time to bed in properly, so we were expecting them to be a little disappointing straight out of the box. But what I wasn't expecting was how quickly they came good, and how effective they are now. Even with the extra weight of the trailer, the car+trailer combo stops just as good as the car itself, if not better. I've not yet had a chance to tune the Prodigy P3 brake controller to the weight of the trailer, so we're using pretty conservative max voltage settings, so I've no doubt I can get it stopping even better.
  

SO - what did we end up with? It's a Safari SV Extenda, with a few extras plonked on. JT did us quite an unbelievable deal on the package, so I'd encourage anyone who's thinking of getting into the game to give him a call and twist his arm a bit ;D.

Extras include:

• Upgraded toolbox - it's huge, and is a really good size for us.
• Battery mounts and electric-ready - we decided not to go with the 12V setup out of the box, but to DIY it up further down the track. JT was more than happy to accomodate this plan, and ensured that all the battery cradles, access holes and conduit holes were all pre-cut in the trailer before being powdercoated. So all the hard work is done, and we just need to wire it up in the near future.
• 16" wheels and tyres - Since we were in the process of fitting brand new tyres to the Pathfinder, we took the opportunity to match the wheels and tyres on the trailer, so we can swap spares. Consequently, she wears a set of 245/75r16 KM2's, mounted to 16" white sunnies. Instant off-road bling!
• 8-Leaf Alko springs - upgraded from the standard 7 leaf setup for better weight carrying
• Provision for the second water tank - this is something that will come in massively handy for us down the track
• Fancy white Trackabout mudflaps across the front - again, instant bling!
• Carpet to the trailer - makes life so much easier!
• and probably a host of other stuff - John must have gone a little crazy when fitting accessories to it!
  

Once we had picked up the trailer our plan was to head up to Teewah Beach for a few days. Unfortunately the storms that had smashed SEQ the week prior put the kibosh on that - Teewah beach and Rainbow beach had been smashed, with a lot of erosion, and the access tracks were (from all reports) very sloppy and in generally poor condition. So we made the decision to push a bit further north. Originally we were thinking of Fraser Island, but the reality was that by dedicating the time to get away from our main route home onto and off the island, we were selling ourselves sort on relaxing time.

So we ended up at Agnes Waters. I'd never been there before, but was pleasantly surprised. We were trying to get into 1770, but the caravan park there was booked out. As it turned out, I believe the Agnes Waters park was much nicer anyway, and in a much better location. Our original plan was to camp up in Eurimbula NP, but the local NPSW office couldn't tell us any information about the state of the tracks in or out, and the only info we could find on the 'net indicated that it could get very boggy after rain. So we took the safe option, and lived it up with the nomads at the van park.

OK - on to the pics!

Camper all set up:







View from our campsite:

Friendly locals:



Who knew Butcher Birds love cheese so much?

After a couple of days of doing Not Much At All, we decided to take a run up into the NP, to check out the campsites and general road conditions.


There was still a fair bit of water around the place in spots, even after a few dry days. The road changed from hard clay-style soil to sand and back again a few times. The road into Bustard Beach campground started off nice and wide...


... but soon closed in around the track. I remember thinking "Gee, I wouldn't like to be squeezing a Jayco through here", as in a couple of spots there were quite large trees bordering the track. When we arrived at the camp ground we had a quick chat to some other people who were just leaving with their Coromal, and ended up following them out. It was certainly a tight squeeze in places, but they got through without any trouble.




Bustard Beach is the "close" camp ground - on the way in you have the choice to branch off to Middle Ck, which is further into the park. Bustard Beach however has good facilities, and nice large campsites. Each site is numbered and booked individually, and there's a description on the NPWS website as to what each site is best for - some sites are listed as "camper trailer", whilst other ones have a big tree right in the middle of the site, and thus are listed as either car + tent, or just tent camping. All in all it was a pretty impressive campground, with good amenities, just back from the beach, and a big sandy expanse on the river mouth for the kids to play on. Probably 4-5 groups set up in there, and seemed to be mainly families.

That said, as you enter the campground there *was* a big, new warning sign stating "be aware - recent crocodile sighting in this area - be on the lookout for estuarine crocodiles - danger!!!", and so on. Maybe not so family-friendly after all! ;D






Typical surroundings/site in the Bustard Beach camp ground - just across from the good composting toilet block.

From Bustard Beach we headed back out the main track, and took the turnoff to head north to Middle Ck. We had been warned about the Middle Ck road and campground. The NPWS site lists the campground as "not suitable for trailers", and the signs at the turnoff state the road is closed during any heavy rain, as it becomes impassable. We certainly encountered more water over the track on this road, but found it to be in generally pretty good condition.

As for trailers, well, EVERY car that was in at Middle Ck had a trailer of some sort. Most of them were boat trailers (there's a makeshift ramp right into the river), but there were a bunch of camper trailers there as well. The scenery was quite spectacular, and I think I'd be tempted to go camp here, instead of at Bustard Beach.








View from the lookout up top. A very short low-range climb was needed to get up here, but the results were well worth it. Not sure you'd drag a trailer up the loose, rocky incline, but a tent up here would be brilliant! One thing I did learn is that the new KM2s like to climb just about anything!






Now, remember when I said there was a bit of water over the track in places? Looks like fun to me!








Lesson learnt though - when diving into deep water, make sure the sunroof is closed. I didn't get a drop, but someone else did, and she didn't let me forget it for a few days. I think that's how long it took her seat to dry out... ;D

Back at camp we had the Pathy backed right up to the awning of the camper, which let us open the tailgate under the awning, and have perfectly easy access to the fridge in the back of the car. It also let us hang a 12v fluro from the camper and have it plugged into the aux battery panel on the car, giving us heaps of light without any electrics yet on the camper.


After that strenuous day of actually Doing Stuff, we settled back down to the beach camping lifestyle, and just enjoyed the atmosphere of the place for a few days. It's driven home to me that I really need to learn how to surf one of these days.










And that's the story of how we picked up our camper! 5000-odd kms in 2 weeks, and a flying trip up and down the coast. Suffice to say we're very happy with it, and can't wait to get out and about in it more. It's a superb piece of engineering, and I can't recommend it highly enough. We've already given JT's details to a few interested parties over the week at the van park. Looks like Trackabout have another hit on their hands. I really need to get some brochures to keep in the kitchen, so I'm ready for the inevitable "where'd you get this from, sonny???"!!!

We even managed to back the camper down the side of our house, so it's nice and secure and out of the way. It got a bath on Saturday, and Sunday's entire afternoon went towards restoring the Pathfinder to something approaching cleanliness again. Good times!

Some photos of the camper all packed up and ready for it's next adventure. There's not many pictures floating around of the Safari Extendas just yet, so hopefully this will encourage anyone who's considering one. So far, I couldn't recommend them highly enough.


You can see the drop-down hatch on the front of the walkway - once the tent is erected this simply unlatches and folds down, becoming the interior step up into the trailer body.


Rear view, showing the HD wind-down stabiliser legs.


Big drawbar, with the OzHitch and front mudflaps


Passenger side front, showing the new design square pole box, complete with battery mounts for the future 12v. The front tap is amazingly handy for washing hands once the camper's all packed up, or for a quick drink by the road. The big alloy section on the front of the camper body itself is the interior walkway - it gives you a good idea of the size of it inside.


Offroad Bling. As mentioned above, sized to match the car on the same sized wheels. Much thanks to JT for ordering the tyres for me, and sorting the matched wheels. I believe it was a lot more trouble than he admitted.


And, to quote the bank ad, "we finish on the logo". Plus it's a good chance to show off the two-tone Aztec Silver powdercoat! ;D


That's all for now folks - hopefully we'll have some more piccies of it soon, set up out and about!!!

Thanks!
Matto :)

Outback QLD floods

Whilst driving down to Bris to pick up the new Camper Trailer, we decided to go the back way from Rockhampton down and out to Miles, and back into Toowoomba via Chinchilla. This turned out to be a great idea, the roads were clear and in good condition, and we have a very trouble free run. Well, apart from rounding a corner to find a cow standing in the middle of the highway, looking at us. I'm not sure who got the bigger fright.

All of QLD had copped a LOT of rain over the past week, and everywhere we went the rivers had broken their banks are were in flood. Unfortunately the only pictures we took was at Theodore when we stopped for a driver change. It's a shame that you don't get a sense of scale in these photos, but that river is currently a couple of metres over the normal council rest area, which itself is ~1m above the normal river "high water" level. It's not even the depth so much, as the width that the rivers run to when they break their bank. Looking at the tree lines, that river is normally ~5m wide. As shown there, it would be closer to 50m wide. A truly awe-inspiring volume of water.

In other spots the rivers were only a foot below the bridges, and there were entire trees carried away, only to be left high and dry in the branches of sturdier trees as a reminder.

As it turns out, we were actually very lucky with the timing of our run. We drove through water over the highway between Miles and Chinchilla, but it was only 1'-2' deep at the most. When we arrive in TWB, we discovered that the previous day had seen the highway closed all day, due to the depth of water over the road. While we stayed in TWB, the rain continued to fall out west, so the rivers would only have kept rising.

Camping at Cobbold Gorge

Apologies for the lateness in this post - things have been extremely hectic around here for the past few months, and unfortunately blog posting is something that has been squeezed out. This will just be a quick one, but hopefully it will be worth sharing!

In July, we headed out to Cobbold Gorge for a long weekend. This wasn't really the smartest idea we've ever made. You see, the first step is to drive half-way across the gulf till you hit Georgetown. then you turn south, and keep driving... I think it took us ~7hrs to get there. Not great when you've only got 3 days break, and you've just committed 2 of them to driving... Oh well!

So we got there late, and the campsite was crowded...

...which annoyed me. We were able to snag what was basically the last site. it wasn't great, but it was do-able. People continued to stream in after we had set up though, with one thoughtful mob setting up their camp encircling an abandoned tent. When the occupants of the tent returned from their bushwalk, they had no choice but to pick up their tent and walk it somewhere else. I think one of the other mobs took pity on them, and made some room. Why they pack you in this tight (or overbook so much) when they boast of having a 10,000 sq km property, I'll never know!

It's sounding like it was all bad, but in reality, it wasn't as bad as it sounds. Once we were settled in with a good fire and some dinner on, things got a lot better. No one in the camp ground was rowdy, and everyone was just content to enjoy the evening.




The next day we made the financially painful decision to go on the gorge tour. It was expensive, but why go all that way if you don't see the gorge itself? And this was when it all started to make sense.

The 4WD buses took us on a tour of the property, and told us the story of the history of the area and the early settlers.




We then split into two groups, with one group heading directly for the gorge, whilst our group climbed up the escarpment to the top of the range. On the way we stopped to look at an early settler "shelter" made in a rock cave, as well as the home of a colony of butterflies.

Who knew butterflies lived in large colonies, and called one particular spot home? There were thousands of them there. These butterflies eat the leaves of some plant that is apparently highly toxic to humans, and most other animals as well. If you or your cat was to eat a butterfly, you wouldn't have long to live, due to the high concentration of the toxin in their body. No one quite knows why they like to eat it, or why it doesn't harm them.
















After a brief rest at the top of the escarpment just watching the view, we headed back down to the start of the gorge, ready for the river tour. The river tour is run on a pair of aluminium launches, powered by an electric motor at each end, and charged up via solar panels up on the top of the escarpment. The width of the launches was dictated by the narrowest gap in the gorge, and they are custom built to these specifications! They have an electric motor at both ends because the gorge itself it too narrow to turn around in. When you get to the end, the driver simply swaps ends, and drives home backwards!


































Wow. What a place.

After the tour, we headed back to camp for dinner. We packed up and pulled out for home the next morning.




J was on driving duties, since I burnt my hand pretty badly whilst putting the camp fire out. Should have known better - I poured a jerry of water over the coals to make sure they were out. Obviously, as soon as the water hit the coals it turned to steam, which came straight back up towards my unprotected hand. Trust me, I won't be doing that again.

Unfortunately there was nothing for it than to head home - it's not as if there was a hospital within a couple of hour's drive (or flight) anyway. We jury-rigged a make-shift cooler using the green towel, a bucket of water and the AC vents on the car. It actually worked very well - a little too well even, as I had to regularly remove my hand from the cold, as it was turning blue. It certainly worked better than the instant-cold icepack we had in the First Aid kit, which turned out to be complete rubbish. Thankfully I got out of the situation with no lasting damage, other than a very sore hand for a couple of weeks. Very lucky indeed.

I probably wouldn't recommend a trip all the way out to Cobbold Gorge from Cairns, especially not just for a couple of days. But if you were heading past, you'd be silly not to stop over for two or three nights - it really is a very special place.