Ciao traveler! With this post we will like to explain and help you on how to get your vehicle and yourself ready for the open road. A van trip in Australia, as good as it sounds, could be tough and full of unexpected situations.
Roadside Assistance
This is the most valuable advice that we can share, it has saved our life twice! We got caught in two unpleasant situations and the Roadside Assistance literally saved our asses. The first time happened with a friend’s car, we were driving from Esperance to Perth (we bought our van in Esperance and we were driving two vehicles back to Perth) approximately 150 km from our destination the clutch of the car broke down and the car didn’t move an inch. We called lots of towing companies but the prices were very high (almost 1000AUD) to bring the car home. What saved us was one guy (literally an angel) from a towing company that suggested us to make the subscription on RAC – Roadside Assistance and to purchase the most expensive plan “the Ultimate Plus” it costs us 335AUD.
But all glitters is not gold, the roadside assistance subscription is active after 48 hours, so we couldn’t use instantly (damn it!). We called back RAC, they told us that by paying an extra 150AUD we could activated instantly, so we did.
All this to explain that the best thing to do is to activate the RAC as soon as you get your car/van (they are not paying us for saying this, we truly believe it).
The second time that we had to use RAC services was when we drove from Perth to Exmouth and the day after our arrival the engine cooling system started leaking. Once again we called RAC, they sent a mechanic to check the van and towed it to they’re garage for a full inspection of the damages.
The problem wasn’t the radiator or cooling system but the cylinder head and the repairing is going to take two to three weeks, so we had no place to stay/sleep (what a nightmare). Fortunately the Ultimate Plus Roadside Assistance covered us with 5 days in a resort and in the meantime we had the opportunity the find job and accomodation.
The point of the story is get the freaking Roadside Assistance!
Check your car
Engine oil
One the most important thing to check before setting up everything for a road trip is to check the oil. Remove the oil dipstick, clean it with a cloth or tissue paper, reinsert the dipstick and remove it again and now you can check the real level of the oil and the color. If it’s to low you’ll need to add more and if it is too brownish you probably need to change oil and filter
Coolant fluid
Australia can be a very hot place and the distances are very long so the engine can be put to the test and overheat easily. It is important that your cooling system works at its best, so check the level of the fluid (only when the engine is cold) and if it’s low buy some coolant and refill it. A malfunction or lower level of this fluid can really damage your engine, and we don’t won’t that to happen.
Tyres
Driving with aging or bald tyres could be very dangerous, the roads here are in very good conditions but things can change when you’ll go in remote areas. You could find irregular and slippery roadsides, rocks, dead animals, etc… So it’s important to have good tyres and in good conditions. We have heard lot’s of stories about bursting tyres and with bad consequences. So check your tyres and keep in mind that the legal tread depth is 1,5mm but to drive safely is better to have at least 3mm. Also important is the pressure of the tyres, we cannot tell what’s the right one because you need to know how much your vehicle weight and the suggested pressure of the tyres. So as we did ask a professional.
If you are unsure of the state of your vehicle and want to feel safer you can request a thorough inspection trough a mechanic or contacting a professional to do it (you can even google it and check for this type of service) the cost is around 130AU$ and it worth doing it.
Equipments
Jerry Cans/Petrol Containers
When you are travelling around Australia you will notice that the distances are very long and sometimes there ir no petrol stations near your location, you might drive 400-500 kms without seeing one, so it’s fundamental that you get a Jerry Can or two. In our van we have one petrol container secured on the roof rack with some straps tie down and it has saved us a couple of times.
Let’s do some simple math: if your vehicle runs 100 kms with 10 litres of petrol/diesel with a full jerry can of 20 litres you can travel for 200 kms.
These two 20 litres cans are very solid, with some nice features: they have a vented breather cap that allows continuous pouring without glugging, the pouring spout is under the main cap and the most important thing is that this cans have australian standards approved and certified. You can check the products by clicking the links below.
Water containers
While travelling you will need some extra water to wash your dishes or to take a good hot shower. Yes hot! If you place your water tank on the roof of the car, at the end of the day the water will be hot or warm even if the tank is not black. We bought this container with tap from Bunnings.
We added a garden hose, some cable ties, white teflon tape and a spray gun. We unscrewed the tap and wrapped the faucet connector and screwed again the tap. We connected the hose to the tap and secured with a cable tie, after taking the right measures we cut the hose and plugged the water gun. That way we were able to wash the dishes in the small sink on the back of our van, and take some short but warm showers (muchly appreciated). While traveling bathrooms and showers are like petrol stations, you can drive plenty of kilometres without finding one and there’s nothing better then go to bed after a nice shower.
Cooking
What’s more important then being able to cook while traveling? Us you might know I’m half Italian and half Brazil and Magdalena is from Chile, three countries with strong culinary traditions, this makes cooking in our campervan one of the most valuable things. We had a simple 2 burner gas camping stove that stopped working after a couple of times using it, so we upgrade to a 2 burner and grill.
Why choosing the camping stove with the big tank of gas between the others with little cans of gas? Simply because it’s more common to find places where you can refill or swap your tank instead of buying gas cans. You can swap your tank in almost every petrol station, a 4.5kg tank may last one month and are way cheaper than gas cans. If you choose to get the tank consider that you have to buy a connector that goes from the tank to the hose provided with the stove.
