Campervan and Motorhome Book

Chapter 1 - Choosing the Vehicle
Campervan, motorhome, or converted coach? Every type of vehicle is used for holiday or permanent travelling. Ideally the choice is determined by travelling requirements, but compromise is often necessary - how to evaluate your needs...
Commercial layouts - Storage space is usually sacrificed for accommodation...
Travel lightly - You need little more to travel around a continent than for two weeks up and down the coast...

Weight is the enemy - Excess weight not just causes problems - it escalates them...
Campervans - Easy to drive and park. Cheap to buy run and service ...
Going up in size - Experienced users find Toyota Coasters etc an ideal size...
Large motorhomes - The same space but more luxury than most apartments - but driving and parking in cities can be a pain....
Converted coaches - Rugged as big trucks but too large and heavy to take off a hard surface...
Four-wheel drive - Useful for exploring outback areas, but when a 4WD gets bogged it does so thoroughly...

Chapter 2 - The Choice of Fuel - diesel, petrol or LPG?
Petrol - Cheaper, smoother, quieter, but need more servicing. Uses more fuel...
Liquefied petroleum gas - Smoother running, less engine wear, lower emissions. But cost savings due mainly to favourable taxation - if that changed!...
Diesel - Better pulling power, ultra-reliable, cheap on fuel, but less flexible in city driving...
Turbo charged diesel - Increases pulling power and efficiency. Can be retrofitted but best installed at chassis stage...
Intercoolers - Further increases power (and efficiency) of turbo charged engines...
Fuel consumption - Below 80 km/hr (50 mph), a 4-5 tonne diesel engined motorhome uses about 14 litre/100 km - increasing by about.... Petrol engined vehicles use about 40% more...
The final choice? - For largish campervans, and motorhomes, I'd pick a diesel every time...

Chapter 3 - The Interior
Let life-style determine layout - Will you live mainly outside, mainly inside - or somewhere between the two? Each needs a different approach ...
Structured storage - The space required depends on how well it's structured - big open cupboards and shelves are hugely wasteful -there are better alternatives...
Wardrobes - Waste space and are claustrophobic in small vehicles - acceptable alternatives...
Inside shower/toilet - Most owners find them essential...
Beds - Preferably have a permanent bed rather than a dinette that converts - there are many ways of doing so...
Kitchens - Adequate air intake and exhaust is essential. Consider an inside oven and a second outside two/three burner cook top...
Washing machines - Use one with a low-energy DC motor...
Pop-Top - or Full Height Roof? - Pop-tops reduce travelling height by half a metre, lower fuel consumption, provide good ventilation. But they need a lot of effort to raise and lower...
Awnings - All-but essential but many are more picturesque than practical...
Awnings for Pop Tops - Essential reading if planning to fit an awning to a pop top...
Housing odds and ends - How to utilise otherwise wasted space...
Air conditioning - Not necessarily bad, but must not replace natural ventilation.
Interior heating - Diesel power is one possibility...

Chapter 4 - Building Your Own
Staying within legal weight - A real trap for home builders...
Keeping it light - Various materials, what they weigh and how to use them (powder-coated sheet aluminium really saves weight!)...
Keeping it upright - Locate heavy things low down and centrally between axles...
Wire baskets - Consider using frames and pull-out wire baskets - how to do it...
Wiring/pipes etc - Where and how to install, allowing for future access...
Electrical wiring - Brief resume (but covered in detail in 'Motorhome Electrics - and Caravans too!)'...
Insulation - There are thinner and more effective solutions than thick wool or fibreglass batts...
Registering the vehicle - The local requirements...
Weight of materials - Chipboard, plywood, water and diesel (plus tanks), batteries, solar modules etc....

Chapter 5 - The Electrics - an overview
Staying on site use - Most commercially-built vehicles lack capacity for more than one night away from mains power...
The 'house' battery - The electrical equivalent of a bank - but only lets you withdraw a small part of that deposited...
How much can I use? - Away from mains power - about 3%-5% of that of an all-electric home but this is not nearly as restricting as it might seem. What can and cannot be used...
Refrigerators - Gas, electric or units that run on either...
Inverters & appliances - Consider inverter power for everything except water heating, cooking and refrigeration...
Computers - Big colour screens are energy gobblers - laptops are a better proposition..
Lighting - Incandescent, halogen or fluorescent - how to choose...
Electrical safety - The importance of correct polarity etc...

Chapter 6 - Batteries & Charging
Why batteries disappoint - A standard vehicle charging system will not charge a conventional battery beyond 70%. Nor can that battery be discharged (without damage) consistently below 50%. This does not leave much to use...
Solving the problem - Two ways or remedying the above...
Smart regulators - Also known as three-step regulators - can double effective capacity...
Alternators - There is little to be gained by a high output alternator alone - here's what else needs to be done...
The choice of battery - Starter, marine, deep-cycle, gel cell - or AGM? Their pros and cons...
Measuring the state of charge - Voltage measurement is close to meaningless...

Chapter 7 - Solar & Other Energy
Extending time on site - Three main ways of doing so...
Solar energy - Clean, silent, and reliable...
Estimating system sized - Panel output ratings can be misleading - here's what they really produce...
Panel mounting - Permanently, or carried loose. The pros and cons of each, Does tracking matter?...
Solar regulators - A must, with a few minor exceptions...
Four typical systems - Recommendations for four typical systems...
How much power each day? - The average power obtainable for all parts of Australia...
Mains battery chargers - Many chargers kill batteries stone dead. How to choose one that doesn't...
Wind power - Practicable only for long stays on exposed sites - if its windy enough for the generator, it's too windy to camp!...
Motor generators - An alternative to solar power, but noisy and costly to run...

Chapter 8 - Inverters
Mains power from batteries - Now reliable and efficient, inverters make mains-powered appliances practicable...
Avoid small loads - Inverters should not be used for very minor loads such as an electric clock (only). Here's why...
Inverter size - Pick one big enough for the job - but no bigger/ How to establish the right size...
Inverter types - Square-wave, modified square-wave, sine-wave. Picking the right one is essential...

Chapter 9 - Lighting
Fluoro, compact fluoro, halogen, or incandescent? - Efficiencies and characteristics compared...

Chapter 10 - Refrigerators
Three-way units - Use a lot of energy when running on electricity but economical and practicable (on gas) on site. Current models excellent in tropical climates but correct installation a must...
Electric only - Effective on the hottest days. Smaller ones run effectively from solar panels...
Eutectic - Once 'pumped down' (electric) eutectic refrigerators need to be on only two or three hours a day...
Energy consumption - 40-70 litre chest opening units draw 25-45 amp/hr/day. Large and door opening units use more..

Chapter 11 - Installing Gas
The need for expertise - Installations must accord with relevant Gas Installation Codes (AG 5601-2002 in Australia) and must be done by a certified gas fitter.
Cylinder location - If remaining connected to piping, cylinders must be...
Compartment ventilation - Adequate ventilation is obligatory - here's what's required...
Connecting to appliances - Two legally acceptable alternatives....
Air vents - There must be two permanent air vents (or an area related to vehicle length)...
Gas detectors - There are problems with gas detectors in small spaces...
Gas water heaters (storage) - They sound like an unattended blow lamp in a small cupboard, but they are safe and reliable...
Gas water heaters (instantaneous) - Only a 'room sealed appliance' may be used - but at least one meets the legal requirements. Here are the details...
Gas consumption - If used for cooking twice a day, a 9 kg cylinder may last 4-6 weeks...

Chapter 12 - Water
Water quantity - How much per person/day...
Water tanks - Stainless steel is safer and there's no problem with corrosion...
Water pumps - An automatic pump detects pressure changes in the pipes - work best with a pressure accumulator...

Water connection systems - Snap together systems are neat and quick to install, but lack of standards complicates...

Hose quality - Pressurised water hose is normally made of clear plastic with nylon reinforcement - also specialised hose for drinking water...
Mains water pressure - Add a parallel water inlet with a pressure reducer...
The need for filtering - Guardia (faecal contamination) and crytosporidium are .... Other less-hostile contamination can also cause upsets...
Types of filter - Permanently installed filtering will remove most nasties but not necessarily...
Heating water - Black poly pipe in the sun. Utilising waste engine heat, diesel-powered heaters etc...

Chapter 13 - Preparing For the Trip
Keeping it going - Poorly maintained vehicles a repairer's nightmare ...
Diesels - ... dirty and contaminated fuel and water in the fuel are also a problem - the latter can be dangerous...
Suspect fuel - Cheap diesel of unknown brand may cause the engine to overheat and/or foul injectors ..
Oils ain't necessarily oils! - Dirt build-up is not the only reason for changing oil...
Petrol engines - Most breakdowns are attributable to fuel blockages or electrical problems...
Servicing the electrics - The maintenance required...
Computer-controlled engines - Increased reliability, but problems necessitate seriously expert attention...
Air Filters - A four-litre engine takes in a volume of air the size a medium-sized house every 150 seconds - this air must be clean and...
Avgas - Will not harm engines intended to run on leaded fuel...
Spares - Carrying selected spares saves time and money, here's what's to take...
Common Problems - A well-tested listing of the most likely problems, and how to avoid them...

Chapter 14 - Travelling in Isolated Areas
Fuel availability - Less than 400 km intervals along most outback routes in Australia, but there are exceptions..
Fuel storage - Jerry cans are cheap but storing them safely is a problem, there are better alternatives...
Outback breakdowns - The most common outback problems are...
Ingested dirt/water - An engine welcomes neither hot air, dust or anything liquid...
Oil temperature - Almost as valuable as knowing water temperature...
Bull bars - A need for long distance travellers and country dwellers, but there are concerns about their safety and specific requirements if there's air-bag protection...
Off-road driving courses - Choose carefully - there's some macho egos around!...

Chapter 15 - Mainly About Tyres
Overloading - "With gross overloading, and all-but universal under-inflation, [US] recreational vehicle tyres are subject to more abuse than any other known form of tyre usage ... including mine and quarry vehicles" (Quote for recent US survey)...
Upgrading tyres - It makes sense to upgrade one or two ply ratings...
Tubed or tubeless - By eliminating tubes, tyres run cooler and last longer, but tubes should be carried for emergency repairs...
Retreads - Now more reliable, but care is needed that the casing is sound...
Tyre balance - Particularly important for large wheels and for vehicles with beam front axles. How to fix little-known problems with small diameter wheels with large tyres...
Tyre pressures - Use tyre manufacturers' rather than vehicle makers recommendations - here's why...
Reducing tyre pressure - Dropping tyre pressures may be essential in soft sand. How to do this without damaging the tyres...
High pressure low profile tyres - May not be fully inflatable by out-of-town service stations...
Dual rear wheels - Best avoided if travelling off-road...

Chapter 16 - Communications
Alternatives - Cellular telephones, HF radio, satellite communications...
HF Radio - Still valuable and with romantic appeal, but an increasingly obsolete technology...
Satellite telephone
Small, light, reliable - but costly. But is the way of the future...
Email - Good, cheap and effective way of keeping in touch from virtually anywhere..
CB radio - For chatting and exchanging information, but cannot be relied on for emergency...
EPIRBS - Automatically transmit a position indicating signal that is received by satellite - must be reserved for life-threatening situations...

Chapter 17 - Television
Outside town - With a basic antenna a good picture is usually receivable within 15/20 km radius of cities and most large towns, better antennas will...
TV antennas - No single antenna can optimally receive all stations...
Recommended antennas - If you can live with UHF-only, the log periodic type is a good...
Locating the antenna - VHF antennas need to be as high as possible - but UHF antennas...
Antenna amplifiers - Can only boost signals that are already in the cable, but may assist in 'clean' fringe areas...
Satellite TV - An acceptable picture can be picked up by a 900 mm dish, but 1200 mm is preferable...
Choosing the TV - Any fringe area TV is fine if it's mains powered - otherwise go for a..
Tuning the TV - Essentially simple but often complicated by semi-comprehensible instructions. Here, in plain English, how to do it...
Video recorders - Stick to basic units - or you'll pay for costly but rarely used...

Chapter 18 - Keeping Safe
Avoiding being hassled - Usually just thoughtless drunks - but can be disconcerting - better to avoid such problems by...
Fire - Install at least two dry powder extinguishers...
Sandflies/Mosquitoes - More than a nuisance, and the latter carry dangerous viruses. Various ways of avoiding...
Snakes - Defensive rather aggressive, most prefer to co-exist. Never try to kill one - that's how most people get bitten...
Crocodiles - If you see them smile you are too close...
Cyclones - The sources of information, and what the warnings mean. Protecting your vehicle. Knowing when to leave!...
Bogged in Sand - Not hard to get out, but knowing how is essential...
Broken windscreens - Stones mostly rise and fall. They are hurled towards you. How to avoid...

Chapter 19 - Keeping Legal
Licence update - The various classifications, which is needed to drive what...
Definitions - Vehicle classifications demystified...
Towing - What you can tow with what...
'Camping' defined - You are likely to left alone if you do not raise a pop-top roof, lower steps, have anything outside - and do not let anything drain onto the ground. Also camp well away from commercial caravan parks...
Drinking alcohol in camp - The intent of the relevant Act (Section 25 of the Police Offenses Act) is explained. 'It is unlikely in the extreme that police would take action' etc...
Fishing licences - Take this seriously, one State can even confiscate your vehicle...
Voting - Pre-registering as an 'itinerant voter' allows....

Chapter 20 - Where to Travel
Places to avoid! - travellers have outstripped facilities in many popular areas - but there's ample room if you know where to go. And when...
Travelling on dirt roads - Where it's safe and when...
Maps - Buying up-to-date maps is difficult outside major cities...
GPS - Useful for hiking but overkill for most travellers...
Quarantine exclusion zones - ...illegal to bring uncooked fruit and vegetables into...

Chapter 21 - What it Costs
Average spending - It may be less than staying at home. Average costs incurred by typical travellers...
Reducing costs - Slashing expenditure - most will (in a week or two) save more than the cost of this book!...
Site fees - Ask about discounts - few operators will volunteer them...
National Parks - Attractive and with basic facilities, but becoming increasingly costly. But fees can be saved...
Free camping - Most long-term travellers free-camp over 50% of the time. Tips on how to do it...
Food - Likely to be your largest single cost, Save money by...
Eating out - Often disappointing outside major cities...
Insurance - It pays to shop around....
Concessions - Checking your entitlements can save a lot of money...
Probable living costs - An itemised and yearly updated Table..

Appendix 1
Likely Needs (and their individual weights) - includes: general, medical, kitchen, cleaning, supplies, food, recreation, tools, reference material, VITAL THINGS, comprehensive check lists. Also probable total weight....

Appendix 2
Contact details - Names, addresses, phone numbers etc, of related organisations, companies and suppliers.

Appendix 3
The Campervan & Motorhome Club of Australia Ltd.
About this worthwhile and rapidly growing Club.

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