bruce t

Kirk we would have loved to take you further into the bush and shown you "real" boondocking. But that would have required more time and a "real" setup. Next time! For those interested in what is now quite common in Australia Google ' All Terrain Warriors Australia' on Facebook. Another source of what is common in Australia is Molly Dixon on YouTube. Ignore Molly if you can but look at her setup. No her RV setup! Yeah I know it's hard to take your eyes off Molly but her rig is a very typical setup. No a/c. No shower. No toilets. But lots of fun. Keep in mind that just like food, we all like something different.

Years ago when I was involved in the RV industry I got a lot of questions from new folks wanting to know the "best" RV and the "best" setup. My stock answer was "I don't know". Simply because everyone has a different set of expectations of what the RV lifestyle is. In our last RV, a 20ft B class, 40gal of water would last us about 8-10 days. Navy showers helped a lot. Our 200amp batteries and 200watt solar would never run out. 12volt fridge and propane only for cooking and hot water. In 4 years we never turned our TV on. Used only led lights. My point is that we went RVing for the "simple" life. Friends or ours have a 40ft pusher. They never turn off their 3 a/c units. Have 3 TV sets on all the time. She loves her hair dryer. It's nice to see what others have and how they live. Be it in a resort or boondocking up a dirt road. It's what makes us all different. At 73 and bad health I do a lot of dreaming. An 8 ton 4x4 truck with a roof top tent goes around and around in my head. Camped up a dirt road smelling the smoke from our camp fire just staring at the stars. Mind you a big DP in a resort sounds fine to.

We joined SKPs around 1996. (No my number doesn't reflect that as we rejoined years later). Health forced me to hang up the RV keys 18 months ago. But every day I dream of hitting the road again.

Remember it ain't illegal to be dumb or stupid. Just look at our politicians!

Is it a "good" idea to drive a 24ft rv down into Yosemite? It has been a while since I've been there and wondered about parking/camping etc.

How would a propane toaster inside be certified?

Every answer will give you a different opinion. We are all different and have different needs and interests. Don't glue yourself to a set plan. Hit the road with no preconceived ideas. Relax and let your journey evolve. There is no right or wrong way. Goodluck.

We had a safe in our rear closet in the motorhome. It was a PITA. I doubt even the crooks would go to the bother of trying to open it. One of those smart dumb ideas.

I recall a well known wealthy businessman stating that paying too much tax for politicians to waste was a bigger sin than avoiding, legally, paying tax.

Something to consider! As we head towards less reliable renewable energy and the increasing likelihood of power outages reliance on cards becomes more risky. Plus with the ever growing number of scams the risks increase using any sort of technical funds transfers. The need for electricity will be our downfall!! Yes im dramatising. But just look at what happens when you cant charge your phone. We have all seen the chaos at the checkout when there's an outage. Storm damage and power outages tell me that cash will be king for a long time to come.

I think a lot of it is a generational thing. Our daughter wouldn't know what cash looks like. She puts everything on a card. We've seen here buy a bottle of water and flash the card to pay for it. Where as we only use a card to pay our bills. We also worked in business where cash was king. So cash is what we know. If you're my age you will remember the days before ATMs. Days before cards. Days before the 24 hour 7 days a week trading. Where the weekend was for relaxation and family. Oh but I long for the good ol days.

Er I win. 😊 we once carried a six figure sum, in cash, from Australia to the USA and paid for our Country Coach with it! Long story for another time! But let me say our trip through customs at LAX was "interesting". But re carrying cash. We always carry cash. But now the ATM'S are charging fees for non customers that are higher than credit card fees. So taking cash out as you go can be more expensive than card fees. We had our Australian credit card "used" by someone else while in the USA. Our Australian bank had a replacement card in our hands in under 48hours.

Shouldn't a standard pressurer regulator be used on all hoses? I would be ok using it to fill a water tank but I would never leave one lying on the ground in the sun full of water. Yuck. No hose should ever be packed away with water in it. That's asking for nasties to multiply in a warm dark environment.

I guess the point I'm trying to make "Is it worth the effort?" Im aware of the amount of driving you need to do to charge a standard battery let alone an EV battery. Is it a problem that needs a solution? If it was me I would be plugged in and fully charged before leaving.

Is this a case of over thinking the issue? Problem - charging a toad. EV, Hybrid or whatever! Solution - run a dedicated cable from tow vehicle to toad. From alternator, (smart alternator?), via dc2dc unit to toad battery. But in reality how much charge would be put into a toad system while being towed? Is it worth the effort?

Have you thought of Sikaflex?

Just an observation - Over the many years of travel in the USA and watching way too many home shows on the TV we noted the many many lakes in the USA that were built out with cabins, holiday homes and fulltime homes right on the shoreline. Many had boat houses and driveways, all a source for poo lution. Now here in Australia you wont find a building within sight of any water storage facility. New dams could be paid for with subdivisions as happens in the USA. But no we Australians say it would potentially pollute the water. So my question is - Why the worry about drinking out of a stream in the forest when city water often comes from a lake surrounded by human activity? Yes I know about treatment plants but!!! And why the worry when cities like London and Paris actually drink what was once human waste. Now I've opened a can of worms!

Full or empty to travel? Unless you know how well your water tank is baffled then I wouldn't recommend travelling with a half full, or half empty, tank. Fifty gallons of water sloshing around can't be good.

Lappir I agree. I'm a farm boy and we irrigated the heck out of the dirt. Times have changed for sure. My point is that paying for bottled water isn't good for your bank account or gut. Not dismissing common sense but I think folks do need to toughen up a bit. Too many folks trying to live in a non existing sanitised bubble. Sorry I got away from the OP. In all our years on the the road and storing our motor homes for many months at a time we never drained our tanks. Just turned everything off. Caveat - we forgot to drain the lines one winter. Now ask me how much it cost to replace all the water lines in a Country Coach Intrigue!

I grew up on a farm with rain water tanks without lids. You didn't want to know what was in those tanks but we survived!! It's the bugs in the system that gives us our immunities. As time has passed we are becoming more and more sanitised. As a results we haven't the "bugs" in our systems to toughen us up.

Interesting. Another Google maps story. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-30/grazier-makes-sign-trust-me-not-google-after-maps-confusion/103142386

Re insurance. Here in Australia your vehicle registration and insurance are all the same thing. (One payment with a component going to what is know as "compulsory" third party insurance). Then there is the optional insurance. The "compulsory" covers public liability etc. The "optional" covers your own vehicle. In the USA registration is just for registration with no insurance component. The insurance is required to get the registration. The flaw, as I see it, in the US system is with monthly insurance payments. Ie you get your insurance with a monthly payment then use that insurance to get your registration. Then make no further monthly insurance payments. Driving a registered vehicle with no insurance! Whereas in Australia your registration payment means you do have insurance. Yes the above is brief and misses a few details!!

Don't blame others or the system. We have all become addicted to technology. Many folks simply haven't learnt to think for themselves. It's not a new trend. IQ has been around since Adam and Eve. Schools are adverse to teaching critical thinking or simple logic. Anyone wanting proof of the decline of IQ only has to look at our politicians!

Yes but that's the problem. Before you can start you need to calculate what you want to take out. It's easy to charge a 100amp house battery. But will 100amp do the job for you? If you want to just run some led lights then great. But what if you want to run more than just the lights? You cant keep your house batteries 'charged all the time' without knowing what you are taking out and what is required to replace what you are taking out.

Expectations. As long as you can manage your expectations from solar charging all will be fine. Too many folks install solar then expect their RV to act just like the electricity from their outlet in their sticks and bricks. 99% of the time it won't.