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Home > Camping, Caravanning and Holidays > Aussie caravaning part 2
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quentin



Member Since: 23 Jul 2012
Location: on tour
Posts: 119

Australia 2004 Defender 110 Td5 SW Alpine White
Aussie caravaning part 2

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After the Jayco which is a cheap mass produced van suitable for the budget conscious, we knew what we wanted in a van so went to the other end of the market and got a caravan built to suit us.
We chose Trakmaster because they have a great reputation as a tough dirt road van, (The do not build any on-road models) All their vans are custom built to the customers requirements so there is nil stock, its at least a 6 month wait to get one built, and they very rarely hit the used caravan marketplace.


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They are built on a single piece galvanised chassis, all wood construction with foam insulation and aluminium cladding.

Like the old Jayco its also 1600 kg & 160 kg tow ball weight, 13"6 long (6" longer) and 6'6 " wide

They come supplied with 6 stud toyota wheels but I specified Landrover Defender pattern

Weve had a few small shakedown trips, probably about 3500 klm total but nothing serious off road, biggest problem was the matress was horrible, we swapped it for a Latex gold which is very comfortable.

2 x 120 litter water tanks onboard and factory fitted with 2 jerry can holders, I added 2 additional Jerry holders, white pipe is my long range phone /modem antenna holder.

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I modified one jerry can so I could store my heat beads in there for my Cobb Cooker, as I didn't want to store them inside the van

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After troubles with dust ingress on the Jayco I decided to fit a Clean Air pressure system on the new Van ,

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I added a stone guard under the Donaldson housing because the bottom got pummelled on the old one. The ducting is pvc pressure pipe & protected from rocks with padding or a guard

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The pipe goes from the air cleaner & enters a storage space under the kitchen seat where I have mounted the 160 cfm marine bilge blower

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switch & clean air vent, the fan is powered from the 12v circuit of the 3 way fridge, so it only runs when the car is running & switch turned on

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hot water supply

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external shower

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external storage locker

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slide out battery, (I wish the Defender had this )

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suspension (its brilliant)

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3000kg trigg hitch fitted ( the supplied hyland hitch was too noisy)

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front boot

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inside looking forward

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inside looking rear

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130watt panel

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Last edited by quentin on 19th Aug 2012 6:20am. Edited 5 times in total
Post #161272 11th Aug 2012 12:12pm
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Pam W



Member Since: 25 Oct 2011
Location: North Yorkshire
Posts: 1169

England 1998 Defender 90 Td5 SW Auto Oslo Blue
Thanks for posting quentin - making me reallllly jealous though! Oh well, hopefully only 18 months until we hit the outback roads again Smile

The combo in Part 2 is MUCH better (and not just cos of the Land Rover!)

I think I mentioned on another thread that friends of ours in Oz have recently got a Trekmaster. They are not on the road in it yet, but currently in heading north through Queensland with a roof tent for a while before heading back to collect the van. They are some of those lucky people who are retired and are just travelling around!

We originally thought we'd do our trip with a hired off-road trailer (probably this one http://www.discoverozcamperhire.com.au/camper.htm ) towed behind our competition truck (which has very little storage space so hence a trailer would be required).

The trailer would have been very comfortable but expensive for the 6 months we are looking at doing, especially with the truck being a petrol V8. Other factors also crept in so we had a re-think and decided to covert my V8 90 hardtop V8 LPG daily drive to a Td5 to extend our fuel range (with extra tanks). That meant we could then use the loadspace (where the LPG tank had been) for fridge, spares, water, other kit, etc and go with a roof tent. So back in November 2011 the transformation started and it is getting there bit by bit! By not having a trailer we will also open up more route possibilities and hopefully save a bit on mpg.

There are so many ways to 'do' the outback and I guess everyone's needs are different. Thinking though if we ever win the lottery our plan is to build our ultimate off-road truck, get an off-road camper trailer and a block of land somewhere in the Blue Mountains area to park it all on. Then we can do our summers in the UK, and then in winter head down under for a few months and so on!

Thumbs Up Thumbs Up Our blog - http://landytravels.com/

Yorkshire Off Road Club - http://www.yorkshireoffroadclub.net
Post #161282 11th Aug 2012 2:17pm
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quentin



Member Since: 23 Jul 2012
Location: on tour
Posts: 119

Australia 2004 Defender 110 Td5 SW Alpine White
Hi Pam,

you have done your homework
Agree that you will be a lot better off with the Td5 in the 90 than the V8, we try to have a safe range of 1000 klm btwn fill ups. for example Canning Stock Route is 1185 klm between fill ups, ( I would not take a caravan there) Otherwise its expensive & takes a bit of planning to get fuel dumped somewhere . We have 170l fuel capacity in the 110 without resorting to Jerry Cans & that is good for btwn 500 - 1400 klm depending on conditions.

Also agree with rooftop camping philosophy. A lot of places a trailer is not OK at all, eg Bungle Bungles & Simpson desert , Cape York and most of the Vic high country , So our option is to leave the caravan in a caravan park & go for tenting side trips.

Will keep an eye out for you, you dont see many 90's (I havent seen any actually) touring the outback.

something to whet the appetite, (sorry there not LR's) funny seeing it from a English journos perspective
Post #161377 12th Aug 2012 2:08am
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GREENI



Member Since: 22 Aug 2010
Location: staffs
Posts: 10352

United Kingdom 
Quote Mrs Greeni (about your air system to stop the dust)
''That's 'positive pressure' they use them in hospital treatment areas to manage infection control''

See, a SWMBO who takes great interest in what is put up on here...

Love the whole set up, and the tip about cutting a jerry can....I'm glad I didn't throw one away that has a duff filler neck....now I have a use for it, I just need go get a Cobb Thumbs Up

Fab photo's Cool
Post #161528 12th Aug 2012 9:34pm
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