This wait while having the caravan built can
only be called ‘frustrating’. It isn’t Bushtracker’s fault in terms of building
delays, although having all of my emails to anyone in the
company vetted and passed on certainly cuts the level of communication between the client and those
doing the work.
My van is now up to the production stage, but
I don’t know where production itself is up to. During the design stage, I had
frequent and fruitful email exchanges with Philip to clarify points and make decisions. Since then, although I’ve sent emails off to
find out when would be a suitable time to visit and to ask for progress photos
that I believe Bushtracker take, I have had no real contact. I did ask Matt for
reassurance about an issue of rotting floorboards that was raised on the BOG
forum and got a quick and satisfactory reply from Steve, most of which I posted
as part of the BOG discussion. In the end a phone call to Matt indicated where the van was up to and when would be a suitable time to visit. Obviously phone contact is preferable at times.
The various Bushtracker associated websites are a wealth of information, allowing you to interact with other like minded people. I find the BOG website less intimidating than
the forum. Some of the replies from the company on matters raised in the forum
are a little less than diplomatic, often impacting people who are
inexperienced and simply ask for advice. However, the technical discussions on both the forum
and the BOG site are great. I tend to log in daily and either follow BOG posts
in which I’ve become involved, as well as new posts, or I view all posts since
my last visit to the forum and read everything that has been posted recently.
Trawling through back posts on both sites has
been fascinating and very worthwhile. This morning, after reading posts and
getting in touch with Sun Buster as recommended in one post, I received a
‘caravan weight machine’ to measure both LC and caravan gross weights. Not essential, but certainly reassuring when
so much discussion revolves around avoiding being overloaded in either van or
LC. I was chased off what I thought was a public weighbridge the other day when
I was attempting to measure the LC weight. The new machine will avoid such
embarrassment.
I’ve read about batteries and their
maintenance, although with lithium batteries there is less information on the
forums and I still feel ill informed. I’ve read members’ experiences with air
conditioners that caused me to change my mind from Dometic to Air Command
Cormorant. I’ve sought and received advice on where to camp around the Sunshine
Coast when we pick up the van, prior to the first service. As a result of
information on the BOG site, I’m currently researching CGear products related
to shade cloth and their ‘multimat’ that keeps sand and dust below the mat when
parked up for a while.
In addition, Allison and I have been through
all of our caravan gear and decided what will be taken up to the van and what
wont. The gear all sits in the garage blocking space for the LC to be put away.
We will make a visit to the Bushtracker factory sometime in the production
process, hopefully mid December, both to review and fine-tune anything if
necessary and to take one load up to the Sunshine Coast for storage until we
pick up the van.
This will mean we will have a fair bit of
space in the LC when we travel in January to pick the van up. However, I have
ordered a set of Drifter drawers with a fridge slide that will take up some of
the space. While somewhat more cumbersome than the clear rear area of the LC,
the drawers will organise and tie down the LC storage. They also will make sure
things don’t damage the back of the seats as happened on the Arkaroola trip. I’ll have to pull the extra rear seats out prior
to fitting the drawers but, as the kids are coming for Christmas, this can wait.
All this is filling in time while we wait for
the van. I know it will be the best. I
know it will open up a new world of exploration. And, like the kid at heart I
am, I can’t wait to get going. It will be a great after Christmas present for
both of us, won’t it?
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