Australian CamperTrailers
national meet at Nyngan
2009
monday
12volt,
batteries & solar panel workshop
Monday was the first
official day of the week long meet. Members had volunteered to
host workshops on a variety of subjects which centered around
camper trailers & camping in general.
Jamie Hazelden is
owner of Dynamic Solar Solutions on Queensland's Sunshine Coast & a
keen member of the Australian CamperTrailers Group with his
modified Landrover 130 & flipover camper trailer. He presented three workshops this year,
the first on 12volt power, solar panels & batteries. This is a
topic which is debated within the group & very often
misunderstood. To get hands on, face to face information from a
professional is a great asset to the group members.
Jamie explained the
different types of batteries, their uses in off road vehicles &
camper trailers which can be very different to normal everyday
car batteries. The usual camping application is a high draw over
a number of days using a 2way fridge, lights & perhaps a
computer or Cpap machine. In these circumstances a 100amp hour deep cycle
battery is a minimum requirement.
Recharging 12volt
batteries can often be a problem when camping away from 240volt
power. Solar panels are becoming more common these days as a
means of recharging 12volt batteries in the bush. Jamie showed
the different types of panels available, setting up a panel to
the optimum size for your requirements & how to include a
solar regulator into the system between the panel & battery. It was
pleasing to see most had a good grasp on the subject at the end
of the workshop.
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campertrailer walkabout
Dave Cook hosted the
first camper trailer walkabout to be held at a national meet. This is a Sunday
morning event at the Queensland & Victorian weekend get togethers. Members give
a brief talk on what they like about their camper, points they don't like &
modifications they have done or they would like to do to make camping all
that more enjoyable. There were a number of camper trailers who had been build
by their owners.
scoobie
workshop
Jessica & Sherri Cox
&
Sue Christie-Cox hosted a Scoobie workshop for the kids. What's a
scoobie???
Scoobies are pieces of scoubidou
string that are shaped into different forms and objects. Scoubidou string is
basically a piece of thin plastic tube that can be easily manipulated. These
scoobies can be made into ornaments, keyrings, jewellery, craft projects,
animals or anything that you wish to try and make, they are great for
entertaining the kids and have become one of the latest crazes.
getting the
best from a digital camera
Carlisle Rogers, editor of Campertrailer Australia Magazine
was along again this year giving tips on how to get the best
from your digital camera, carrying on from last years talk
of what the magazine looks for in submitting an article. He
explained how the controls worked in both automatic mode &
how to take advantage of manual settings & he encouraged
those attending to get out & experiment a little, using
various settings to grab that perfect photo.
He told a few secrets in
getting the once in a lifetime image, focusing on early morning or late in the
afternoon as the prime times when light & colour presents more favorable
conditions to those during the day when the light is very harsh.
dream
pot
Donna
Zwerus held another workshop on the
use of the Dreampot
The Dream Pot consists of a
double layer insulated outer pot with one or two stainless
steel inner pots & lids which can be used as saucepans.
The
cooking process is very simple. All you need do is
place the ingredients into the inner pot & gently
boil on your stove for the required short time based
on the recipe. Then place the inner pot directly
into the Dream Pot & close the lid.
The
thermo cooking process now starts by cooking the
food in the residual heat. No further monitoring is
required during this process allowing you the
convenience of going about other tasks or while you
are travelling. Your meal cannot burn, boil over or
overcook. After the necessary thermo cooking time in
the Dream Pot the meal is ready to serve up to eight
hours later.
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