Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Yeah bigger seems better.. Ok, greater running costs, but the comfort and usability makes up for it. Just the dog and I, so space is going to be luxurious.. Initially it would be used for short trips around the state for a few days at a time, but then I'd like to go across the paddock, get down have a look at Tassie, and from there who knows..

Plan would be to have a good level of self sufficiency, enough solar on the roof to keep going indefinitely, reasonable water holding capacity. Mobile phone antenna/signal booster for internet access, so I can answer arbe's questions.

Minimalist open plan interior seems good, something like this looks very comfy.. More like a luxury little unit than a camper.







Nice tip with the tables chainsaw, hadn't thought about that...

I travelled around Europe in a beat up combi for nearly a year.
You dont need much more than that in my opinion.
Easy to drive and park, somewhere to sleep,cook,eat sit and store your clothes.
The idea of travelling is to see/experience stuff you dont normally see, its not going to be in your van.

My wife and I want to "upgrade" from our Nissan Patrol with Tray Top Camper

to this...
http://www.trakka.com.au/trakkaduint.html

Regards - Colin

Have a look here EB.

http://www.robgray.com/graynomad/wothah ... /index.php

Rob Gray is the builder of "Wothahellizat" Mk 1 & 2.
He kept a detailed blog of both builds right from the start.
Mk1 was the largest offroad motorhome in Australia before he converted it into Mk2
Even made it onto the money show on TV with Paul Clithero.

The construction diaries go through in detail each problem and how he sorted it out.
Happy reading!

Back in the mid '90s I got hold of a 1985 4 cylinder diesel, 22 seat Nissan Civilian bus so that I had a vehicle large enough to move my family around and also to go on some long trips. Before one big trip - Canberra to Perth and back - I partly converted it to a campervan/motorhome, reducing it to an 11 seater but it slept seven and a dog with reasonable comfort. I had seven kids back then (two missed out on the Perth trip) but the bus was even more valuable when the brood swelled to nine kids and all seats were taken up.
It was a delight to drive around in this vehicle, either cruising on the open road or commuting in city traffic, and I always claimed that it would have been an ideal touring vehicle for a couple. My conversion only provided beds, bunks, a table and storage whilst cooking, washing, showering, etc had to be performed external to the vehicle. With just a couple travelling in the Civilian there would have been room for these extra conveniences, with or without the dog.
The really large motorhomes are sensational but one is virtually obliged to tow a small car (4WD?) as part of the package to ensure access to a lot of places. I reckon if there is a car in tow then the boat is in danger of missing out, and that would be unAustralian, unacceptable or at best very, very bad.

Wow, thats a big truck... Love the pic of the pantry stocked up.



How was the 4 cylinder diesel PLJ? I'd heard they can be a bit slow off the mark.

Id imagine it would have been a turbo'd engine. My pootrol has the 3L turbo and Ive found it to be a grunty engine and travels well at speed. Not sure what the older models had and with all that extra weight I too would be interested to know how it faired.

Naaaa, the mid 80s had I think it's a 3.4L with no turbo... Some may have had turbos, but certainly not all... 5 speed split box, so 10 gears all up, often a sign of either a really big load or little power, or perhaps both.

I found this one which claims its a 3.3L turbo with a 6 speed. Mind you it is a kiwi site, possibly where Rupe buys his stuff from..

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/caravan ... 417057.htm

You crack me up, Chalrie!
Oops, missed your question EB.
My Civilian had an ED3300 engine, ie 3.3litre but no turbo. It was recognised as a bit slow off the mark so that engine was replaced by the 4.2litre one from the Patrol in later models. With the split box, ie power and economy across 4 gears plus overdrive - total 10 gears as you said - I never had a problem with it's lack of speed/power. Despite having only a relatively small motor it had plenty of grunt for towing a small boat, etc. It was, however, better suited to WA landscapes with its general lack of hills. I well remember the workout the gearbox used to get when we visited the south coast of NSW from Canberra via the mountains. The family and I just got used to appreciating the beautiful scenery as we chugged along, and I would let the buildup of traffic behind me pass when the opportunity arose!
It was economical for its size at 19mpg on the open road. 110kph was no problem if the road was long enough to wind her up. I only sold it last year, but it was little more than a bamboo delivery vehicle for the last couple of years that I owned it. The kids still talk of it fondly and a couple of them are still sad that the old girl has gone off for a new life as a fair dinkum campervan with a travel hungry couple.

Well I did it...

A '93 coaster.. Yay..


Lots of underneath storage, 4 x 80 watt panels, on the roof.


Satelite dish


All the bits and pieces you'd expect inside in really good condition..


tv comfy lounge etc.. I've already ripped out the wall behind the cab, that's opened it up a lot and I couldn't see the sense in the dividing wall. though now I have to find a way to remount the tv.



shower and toilet



There are a few things I'll need to do, the electrical system isn't the best, 4 batteries but they are all truck batteries and all tied in together, starting and house system.

The fridge is quite big and uses a fair bit of power, but there can be more battery capacity from the testing I've done. No inverter either, but I'm not going to need a lot of AC load, tv and laptop charging will be about it really, everything else is 24V, lights, fridge, stereo, pumping.

No A/C, sux with summer here... Dunno what I'm going to do there, fitting standard vehicle AC or perhaps roof system, still weighing up options..

Still, pretty happy with it, the people I bought it from had it for 10 years and they'd looked after it really well. Time to plan the first trip....

Cool! It looks like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo but bigger

Think I should jazz up the paint job a bit..?

Bring it in to work and we can all get our crayons out!!