16' Series New to posting on the forum

[Pilchards]

Hi all,
We've had our 16.49.2 outback for a bit over 1 yr now. Have been following the forum for a while but have only just gotten round to actually joining and posting. Currently living the dream and half way through our trip around Australia for 3 1/2 months with wife and 3 girls (7, 5, 3yrs). Made a few modifications to the van to suit our needs including

tool box on the extended draw bar
relocated the spare wheel to up under the rear of the van
added external access hatch for the BBQ
put in external speakers
installed 1000w inverter
swapped all the internal lights to LED
made our own waterproof bed ends (keeps the kids ends dry when they sleep up against the canvas)
water and battery monitors
draws under the bottom bunk

and probably some other things i can't think of at the moment. All in all we are pretty happy with our set up and love using our van as much as possible.
so many great ideas and info on here.

Cheers
James

 

[leesy]

Welcome! Sounds like a blast of a trip!,

 

[Burnsy]

Hi James, welcome mate, I envy you being able to do a trip like that! You must have heaps of pics you could post up of your mods and your trip....Enjoy mate!

Cheers.

 

[Big Gee]

Welcome James,

I hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[relgate]

Welcome James and family
Sounds like a dream trip.
Would love to hear about some of your experiences

 

[mfexpanda]

Hi James and welcome

 

[cruza driver]

:welcome: James I look forward to seeing some pics of your trip when you get a chance

 

[coled1970]

Welcome to the forum. Can't wait to see some pic's of your travels. Enjoy your trip and the forum

 

[Brad]

Welcome James. Very jealous of you for sure.

 

[Bushman]

:welcome: James

 

[Jennymay]

Welcome James and family. awesome trip....so jealous
Jenny

 

[MolongMick]

Welcome, sounds like you're having a ball.

That will be a trip for us later on in life.

Looking forward to seeing some photos.

Take care.

 

[Stan Lee]

Howdy gang ... i'm new to all this too ...

how did you waterproof the ends?

cheers

 

[macca]

Hi James, luv to see pics of some of your mods.

Welcome, Geoff

 

[Holden_man]

Hi pilchards,
Welcome, we're newbies as well and love the forum. It's addictive. The info is brilliant, and the members super helpful.
Also interested in your water proofing, but also the inverter. Can you shed some details on the inverter install, I would like to do the same when our van arrives. Would be good if Jayco offered as an option!

Thanks

 

[relgate]

Sounds like a great trip. Our Kids are exactly the same ages but we wont be doing a trip like that for a couple of years yet.
Looking forward to hearing more about your experiences.

 

[BUSH PALACE]

Hey guys welcome sounds like your havn a blast enjoy

 

[Xpandafan]

Welcome James. What an adventure, and an education for your girls. Did a big trip with three kids nearly 30 years ago in first van - an second hand ACT Consort camper that you really had to lift the roof up. Kids still remember it.

 

[Pilchards]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. We are currently just south of Perth and it is getting cold. Missing the warm weather of the north. Will try and post a trip report with pics when we get back home in roughly 4 weeks or so.

Stan Lee and Holden_man we actually made our own waterproof bed ends as our youngest loves to sleep up against the canvas. We had a friend come out and quote to have some made and whilst we were thinking about it we decided to play around with a big tarp, some velcro, some eyelets, some stay puts and the sewing machine. They are connected by the stayputs to the underside of the lid and then seal with velcro down the sides which tucks in to ensure the water runs down and away from the beds and not inbetween. Turned out quite well and at a fraction of the cost. They fold up with the privacy screens and have been fantastic not only for the rain but also the cold. Will have to take some pics and post up later.
The inverter we purchased from Jaycar is a 1000w inverter and is hooked up to the battery in the van. I also added two extra powerpoints in the van that run off the inverter as we have been doing a lot of free camping. I installed the inverter myself it was pretty easy, there were instructions on the box if needed, and then ran wires to the new powerpoints in the van. Hope this helps a bit

Cheers James

 

[Holden_man]

Thanks James,
Thanks for the info, enjoy the last few weeks, and safe driving.

Jas