Fitting out... the finer details

 

Whilst our dash to Birdsville might still be a couple of weeks away, the time at home available to prepare for the trip can be measured in hours. 

And the list of little jobs I want to get done on the truck doesn't seem to get any shorter... but there is always time for a little play! 

Rocky shows the limitations of an independent front end!

One of the many little things to do was a maintenance run on one of the local RFS trucks.  The boys love to crawl all over the BRT (Big Red Truck) - and declared that travelling around Australia in a dual cab 4WD truck would be a great thing to do.

After becoming acquainted with the capabilities of these trucks last year, I would be inclined to agree, that they would be a fantastic way to get around the country, with enough space for all the comforts of home. They can crawl up and down just about any mountain... however the thought of getting one stuck in sand sends shivers down my spine!

Whilst the boys were agreeable to the concept of buying an old 4WD fire truck and putting a camper body on the back for our trip around the country, the requirement to sell Rocky in order to fund such a plan was met with absolute horror.  Rocky stays!
 

The main project over the weekend was adding an aluminium fold out bench to the kitchen area in the back.  Thankfully it all went on smoothly, and a little pinch weld from Clarks Rubber has protected small heads from sharp edges (not shown). 

 

Sharp eyes will also spot a new fridge in the back area.  Well it is more an esky with a small refridgeration component rather than a real fridge, but for a bargin price from Aldi, it is well worth giving a go.  The basic concept we had was that we would travel with an esky in the canopy, with lunch supplies and a freezer block.  Now this 'esky' has a small compressor, and whilst it may chew power when we're driving, the battery in the canopy is isolated from the starter battery.  If it draws too much power, well we can pull the plug and use it as an esky as originally planned.

 

I didn't get around to fitting the new reverse camera to Matilda, nor adapting the Coleman Hot Water On Demand to enable 12v input - there is never enough time to do it all.  However I did get to spend some great time with the family.  We caught up with some friends during the weekend which was very pleasant, watched the kids play soccer, and I did get the opportunity to introduce the family to Jaycar... my new favourite shop!

Sometimes you've got to live life, rather than plan and prepare for it!