More Camping Tips from the Pros

DON’T THROW THAT OLD BARBIE AWAY

Ed and Donna Zwerus of Quakers Hill, NSW had an old Weber barbecue kicking about and have begun taking it camping where it’s gained a new lease on life as a camp fireplace as well as somewhere to cook. It all works very well.

MINTY CONDITION

Got a hole in your fuel tank or jerry can? Scott Heiman from Canberra, ACT uses Minties as a temporary fix. He’s not mad on lollies, but always throws a packet of Minties in the glove box in case a fuel tank or jerry springs a leak. If that happens, he’ll chew the Mintie until it’s soft and sticky, while cleaning around the leak until it’s as dry as possible. The lolly then goes into the hole, where it moulds like putty and goes hard quickly as it cools and chemically reacts to the fuel. It’s a good temporary fix and will suffice until you can get near a decent mechanic.

FINDING HOME BASE

To find the way back to their Jayco at night, Denman, NSW campers Colin Tidey and Sharon Small installed an LED light strip above the camper’s step. If they have to make a night-time journey to the facilities they can turn on the step light to guide them home with a remote that functions up to 30m from the van. The remote control cost $7 off the Net and the LED strip light was $6.50. The green colour of the lights limits the chance of attracting insects.

A LIFESAVING BACK-UP

Have you thought about where you’d find water in a breakdown emergency? While we all know about keeping adequate stores of water in water jerries, bottles, etc, we don’t necessarily do that every day. In an emergency, Scott Heiman from Canberra, ACT knows that the few litres of water in his car’s windscreen wiper reservoir could save his life. That’s why he never puts detergent in there. He keeps it nice and clean — and topped up — and finds plenty of opportunities to hit the windscreen with the suds at fuel stations or when he routinely visits the car wash.

Magnetic Appeal

John Eller, from Paxton, NSW loves his rare earth magnets, which can be purchased at modest cost from EBay or other online sources. John uses them to mount such items as an exterior light over his T-van’s kitchen or a fan inside. He purchases those with a countersunk hole in the centre for easy attachment to the appliances.

Check out the full feature in issue #83 December 2014 of Camper Trailer Australia magazine.