Australian CamperTrailers
national meet at Glen Innes 2014

thursday

brake controllers

Redarc's Stewart Peddle spoke on the recently released unique Tow-Pro brake controller which incorporates both the pendulum & delay brake controller operations built into the one unit.

In automatic mode the controller is in inertia sensing mode, also known as pendulum style, & is best suited to road and highway conditions. The Tow-Pro brake controller is enabled by the vehicles brake pedal switch while a pendulum circuit senses the vehicles stopping motion and applies a proportional voltage to the trailers brakes. This allows the trailer to decelerate at the same speed as the tow vehicle.

The user controlled operation of the Tow-Pro is solid state activated, also known as time delay, & allows the driver to set the level at which the trailer brakes are applied at a pre-determined braking rate. This can be a big advantage in some road and terrain conditions or off-road situations.

Moving between the automatic and user controlled trailer braking modes is a simple procedure by applying the vehicles brakes & double clicking the knob. Emergency trailer braking is applied by pressing the remotes dial.

Stuart gave everyone an insight into the difference between both braking systems via the Redarc visual display board.

origami   

Jayden Skinner hosted a kids workshop on origami. After a trip to Japan Jayden became very interested in this craft.

pamper session for women

A large number of ladies and girls joined in on Carol's Camper Pamper session, a trained Mary Kay consultant. On arrival everyone had a satin hand smoothie, hydrating facial, eye spa & then ending with a foot spar & facial. There were several prizes with the best dressed buckets went to Helen Trew & Rhiaan Wheatley.

camper vehicle standards

Alan Everingham, a technical & compliance advisor for Caravanning Queensland, hosted a workshop on the safe operation of towing a camper trailer. Towing a camper trailer is not just a simple process of hooking up & taking off for your favourite camping spot. As a duty of care to other road users there are a number of rules & guideline limits you need to be aware of, otherwise you could be breaking the law, voiding your vehicle warranty or insurance in the event of an accident.

Points discussed included trailer dimensions, legal towing weights & limits, ball weight, trailer lighting, hitches, towing chains, safety shackles, trailer brakes & safety in general.

A vehicle & camper trailer must compliment each others maximum capacities making for a safe combination in all situations. This especially applies to lighter vehicles and soft roader 4wd’s which have lighter tow capacities. If the ball weight is too heavy, the tow vehicle's rear suspension will be forced down affecting braking and also the vehicle’s steering when it is most needed like during an emergency situation.

You can find a summary of the discussion here

heat induction cooking

Pamela Seymour Gough demonstrated induction cooking where the energy is supplied directly to the cooking vessel by the magnetic field with almost all of the source energy getting transferred to the cooking vessel & the food itself which radiates some of its heat into the cooking area, but compared to gas or other forms of electrically powered cooking, induction makes for a much cooler kitchen.

With gas or conventional electric cooking the energy is first converted to heat & only then directed to the cooking vessel with a lot of that heat going to waste heating up your kitchen.

info on towns, festivals, events, places to stay & jobs

Mark & Fiona from Outback Now presented a workshop outlining the service their website presents. The site lists everything you want to know about outback towns to help you plan your trip including town by town listings events & attractions. Accommodation is well covered from B & B’s, caravan parks, cabins, hotels, motels, country pubs, lodges, farm or station stays, serviced apartments or national parks.

One of the biggest advantages in becoming a member of the Outback Now website is the listing of jobs to help travellers on working holidays. There is also an E-newsletter.

movie night

Shane Adams from Jamies Touring Solutions presented the movie 'Jamie, the Australian Bushman' which was the first time the movie had been shown in public. Jamie travelled to the Cape exploring some out of the way country with 4wd & quad bike.

kids movie night

Colin & Natalie Hopgood provided a projector to entertain the kids with a movie in the committee room under the grandstand. 

 

introduction
attendees
monday
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thursday
friday
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