The Gray's - 16'49'1 Outback Expanda
- Thread starter zerosecta
- Start date
Just WOW 
I am sure the pathfinder would have buried to the axles about half way through those tracks!!!!
Good effort on getting through but I hope you took a spade
....
I am sure the pathfinder would have buried to the axles about half way through those tracks!!!!
Good effort on getting through but I hope you took a spade
....Forgot to pack the spade this time but 4 maxtrax strapped to the roof so not worried about getting stuck, although I am very impressed with the prado so far in sand... Even when she's gone as far as she can to the point of stopping, just reverse and hit it again a little quicker 
. Never bogging
. Never bogging
A couple more pics of our little break to Robe - We stayed in the Long Gully Camp Ground in the Little Dip Conservation Park - Not really the prettiest Camp site by any stretch of the imagination but its only a few hundred meters off the most Beautiful Beaches accessible only by 4x4 and we usually have the whole place all to ourselves.
A pic of the Campsite
Second Closest Beach
And A few pics of our toilet shower setup - We have a HWS with the External Shower setup and a Porta Poti.... The tent is a Coleman Inta-Up Duo that I picked up for $79 off Ebay, an absolute bargain, not to mention its very rare as they have been discontinued here... Its very Spacious as well
I set it up so that the left side door zip is almost flush against the van where the shower is. So the access it from the right side door only and to shower you just have to open the other doors zip a little to pull the shower through and access the taps.
A pic of the Campsite
Second Closest Beach
And A few pics of our toilet shower setup - We have a HWS with the External Shower setup and a Porta Poti.... The tent is a Coleman Inta-Up Duo that I picked up for $79 off Ebay, an absolute bargain, not to mention its very rare as they have been discontinued here... Its very Spacious as well
I set it up so that the left side door zip is almost flush against the van where the shower is. So the access it from the right side door only and to shower you just have to open the other doors zip a little to pull the shower through and access the taps.
Attachments
Yip, Sure is... Must say I was very surprised at how big it really was when it turned up, I really was expecting it... Love it though, and it is very quick and easy to put up\down as well - pity they don't sell em here any more - they only do the single version here now
Hi Burnsy - Not really Mate, It tends to just either seep through the floor into the ground or run out through the sides. Never had any issue with water pooling and the site was relatively flat as well... Obviously we not really having long showers, amazing how quickly you get through two water tanks with a shower... I had two 20L jerries and would have to fill them up pretty much every day when going through town to keep the water flowing, not really a hassle. Of course come winter, showers will only be a once every two days story with some wet wiping in between
hahaha
picked up a 130w panel with mounts today... Plan is to glue the mounts to the roof and screw the panel to each of the mounts...
Panel will be connected to the already installed BCDC1240 Whitchurch is now the single source of battery charging in our van.... That's right folks, no 240v charger at all, only car when towing and solar when parked....
130w enough? I guess we'll see
. I was going to take a 200w but changed my mind and figured I would take the gamble on the smaller panel and just add another one later if needed.OK, That was relatively Easy really..... Mind you I already had wires run to roof and regulator (BCDC1240) Installed....
So Thats it - The Gray's Expanda is now 100% off Grid with no 240V Transformer or Charger
First up a before pic
Then you lay your Panel and Junction box on the roof to make sure you are happy with position before drilling\glueing etc.
Happy where its all laying the next step is to drill hole through the roof where the cables will go through
Dont forget to pull the cables through your junction Box before applying glue (i used Sikaflex 11fc)
Now this part is a little hairy if you have a large panel and are on your own... Turn panel upside down, apply glue to all relevant areas (sorry forgot to take pics) then ------ NOTE - you only really get one shot at this SO GET IT RIGHT.... Turn it over and lay it down in the exact spot you want it to rest, all corners sides etc. together at once, geltly...
REMEMBER The trick with the panel is to apply a tad more Glue to the corners than to the side\middle mounts as the roof isnt flat... Also once you have layed it down, dont press down on it to hard. Just let it rest and that way the glue will form at different thickness relevant to the shape of the roof and your panel will stay nice and flat.
Note, I changed my mind from original layout
Then Wire her up - and BOB's your Uncle - hahaha if only life was that easy...
And this is what the electrical Hub now looks like minus any 240v transformers or chargers.
Enjoy, Cheers Folks
So Thats it - The Gray's Expanda is now 100% off Grid with no 240V Transformer or Charger
First up a before pic
Then you lay your Panel and Junction box on the roof to make sure you are happy with position before drilling\glueing etc.
Happy where its all laying the next step is to drill hole through the roof where the cables will go through
Dont forget to pull the cables through your junction Box before applying glue (i used Sikaflex 11fc)
Now this part is a little hairy if you have a large panel and are on your own... Turn panel upside down, apply glue to all relevant areas (sorry forgot to take pics) then ------ NOTE - you only really get one shot at this SO GET IT RIGHT
.... Turn it over and lay it down in the exact spot you want it to rest, all corners sides etc. together at once, geltly...REMEMBER The trick with the panel is to apply a tad more Glue to the corners than to the side\middle mounts as the roof isnt flat... Also once you have layed it down, dont press down on it to hard. Just let it rest and that way the glue will form at different thickness relevant to the shape of the roof and your panel will stay nice and flat.
Note, I changed my mind from original layout
Then Wire her up - and BOB's your Uncle - hahaha if only life was that easy...
And this is what the electrical Hub now looks like minus any 240v transformers or chargers.
Enjoy, Cheers Folks
Nice one Zero. I reckon you'll be right. I went for 240w (2x120's) and it's definitely overkill unless maybe if I propped in the shade for a fortnight. I actually get a trickle charge as long as there's daylight.
OK, here how we went over the weekend in our one of a kind Van that has no 240V battery Charger
So we camped in Wye River, Weather was mostly cloudy on Saturday and Sunday.
According to my battery monitor from the time the solar panel stopped supplying any goodness to the next morning at around 08am - we have used a total of around 25amps... thats on lights, extractor fan above stove top, TV, Heater on all night (Gas E2400) and water pump...
Key message out of all of this is that our little 130Watt solar panel had Batteries back to 100% SOC by no later than 11AM. perhaps earlier but thats when I checked...
All this on bad weather weekend so I am now officially sold on the idea that once you have at least 130w Panel and in my case 240AH (2 x 120AH) of battery - Then you can comfortably rip out and sell your 240V charger
I have 40Amp redarc regulator (BCDB1240) so just to be safe I am going to break the bank with $240 and add a 200W panel to the mix.
Once thats done, I am planning on getting a 2000w inverter so that we can use microwave and electric frying pan when not on powered sites.
So we camped in Wye River, Weather was mostly cloudy on Saturday and Sunday.
According to my battery monitor from the time the solar panel stopped supplying any goodness to the next morning at around 08am - we have used a total of around 25amps... thats on lights, extractor fan above stove top, TV, Heater on all night (Gas E2400) and water pump...
Key message out of all of this is that our little 130Watt solar panel had Batteries back to 100% SOC by no later than 11AM. perhaps earlier but thats when I checked...
All this on bad weather weekend so I am now officially sold on the idea that once you have at least 130w Panel and in my case 240AH (2 x 120AH) of battery - Then you can comfortably rip out and sell your 240V charger
I have 40Amp redarc regulator (BCDB1240) so just to be safe I am going to break the bank with $240 and add a 200W panel to the mix.
Once thats done, I am planning on getting a 2000w inverter so that we can use microwave and electric frying pan when not on powered sites.