Australian CamperTrailers Group

national meet Peak Hill 2008

monday

12volt, batteries & solar panel workshop

    Monday was the first official day of the week long meet. Members had volunteered to host workshops on a variety of subjects which centered around camper trailers & camping in general.

    Jamie Hazelden is owner of Dynamic Solar Solutions on Queensland's Sunshine Coast & a keen member of the Australian CamperTrailers Group with his modified Landrover 130. He presented two workshops this year, the first on 12volt power, solar panels & batteries. This is a topic which is debated within the group & very often misunderstood. To get hands on, face to face information from a professional is a great asset to the group members.

    Jamie explained the different types of batteries, their uses in off road vehicles & camper trailers which can be very different to normal everyday car batteries. The usual camping application is a high draw over a number of days using a 3way fridge, lights & perhaps a computer. In these circumstances a 100amp hour deep cycle battery is a minimum requirement.  

    Recharging 12volt batteries can often be a problem when camping away from 240volt power. Solar panels are becoming more common these days as a means of recharging 12volt batteries in the bush. Jamie showed the different types of panels available, setting up a panel to the optimum size for your requirements & how to include a regulator into the system between the panel & battery. It was pleasing to see most had a good grasp on the subject at the end of the workshop.

scoobie workshop

    The kids didn't miss out with Master Scoobie maker Clancy Skinner holding another workshop on this fine art. Scoobies are pieces of scoubidou string that are shaped into different forms and objects. Scoubidou string is basically a piece of thin plastic tube that can be easily manipulated. These scoobies can be made into ornaments, keyrings, jewellery, craft projects, animals or anything that you wish to try and make, they are great for entertaining the kids and have become one of the latest crazes.

gps workshop

    Brian Sommerville is a keen camper trailer owner & member of the Australian CamperTrailers Group who owns Sydney based GPSOZ. Members once again had a fantastic opportunity to receive firsthand information, this time on the use of GPS for navigation. Brain held two workshops, the first being GPS basics.

    With the use of a projector & screen he showed how the system worked picking up satellites to show your location & what options we had as travelers to find our way to a place with the aid of a GPS. There are easy to use Navman, Garmin or Tomtom type GPS units which give audible turn by turn navigation to the more sophisticated handheld GPS units with topographical mapping software.

    There was a large number of members present who use some form of GPS in their travels to find camping spots or as a guide when driving from location to location.     

grand opening

    The trotting track grandstand gave us the perfect venue for the opening ceremony of the forth national meet with bench seating & a grassy area with no bindi's.

    Group co-owner Kevin Phillips spoke of the groups beginnings in September 2001 & how the group has grown to just under 4000 members with the present day popularity of camper trailers. The Australian CamperTrailers Group is the largest of its type on the net. The regular weekend get togethers out of capital cities gives members an opportunity to meet the faces behind the typing in a relaxed atmosphere around the campfire. These meets are hosted by members of the group. He then outlined the itinerary for the week with workshops held by members on a variety of subjects relating to camper trailers or camping in general.

    Group co-owner Ron Dickson told the group gathered how he had stumbled across the Peak Hill Showground during his trip to the second national meet at Copeton Waters in 2006 & felt it had great potential as a location to hold a similar meet. Plenty of open space, flushing toilets & 240volt power available if required set the scene. Ron went on to say the planning had taken place with co-operation from Leighton Davies owner of the Peak Hill Caravan Park who had help set up this gathering through the Peak Hill Showground Committee. 

    Rob Sanderson the groups third co-owner spoke of how the www.campertrailers.org website had evolved to become the best camper trailer database on the net thanks to the kind input by members of the group. With an overall hit rate per month of over 1.5 million, the website is viewed by camper trailer enthusiasts world wide. He then presented a certificate of appreciation to Leighton Davies & thanked him for his efforts in arranging the groups 4th national meet in his town of Peak Hill

    Next a certificate was also presented to Dot Lincoln, Alana Simmonds, Joy Hooper & grandson Adam Boden from the Peak Hill Tourist Information Center who compiled the many tourist information bags that went into making up the Australian CamperTrailers Peak Hill meet showbags. Rob then presented the lucky door prize to Kevin Beckwith which was a family pass to Dubbo Zoo. The pass was donated by Dave & Joy Wilkinson. 

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