My brother-in-law recently purchased a pure sine wave inverter via eBay. In the supplied information the inverter looked like the perfect replacement for his modified sine wave “Xantrex” brand inverter (that has performed flawlessly for a number of years).
The inverter purchased is currently selling (on ebay) for $579 plus $135 shipping
When the inverter arrived, it [...]
A list of some of the questions we often get asked about our Hobohome lifestyle…
Where do you get your drinking water from?
In most part of the country, drinking water is not difficult to obtain. Many parks and public toilet blocks have taps. If you ask at a petrol station (normally when buying fuel) you [...]
This is Part two of How to Find Free Camps in Australia.
Part 1 can be found here.
In part one we looked at places where you might just find a spot to camp for a night or two, in this the second part we take a look at some places to avoid and some security and safety issue. [...]
How to find Free Camps in Australia
This is part one of a two part article discussing how to find “Free” camps in Australia.
Those of you that regularly read our travel blog will know that as we travel Australia in our motorhome, we spend much of our time staying in free and nearly-free camps. We do [...]
Motorhome and Caravan Toilet Chemicals – which is best?
This is an age old question for almost all travelers, motorhomers and caravaners alike. At many gatherings and ‘happy hours’ the conversation invariably turns to “What toilet chemicals do you use?”
There are two main types of toilet treatments for portable and inbuilt motorhome / caravan toilets:
Bio-Stimulants
Biocides
Bio-Stimulants (Eco-Friendly)
These [...]
When we took to the road in 2003, we did so with our two Burmese cats. Some people have dogs and we have met people who travel with a bird. In this article we discuss the benefits and limitations imposed when travelling with pets. We lost one of our cats (she was hit by a [...]
Regular visitors to the Hobohome site will know that we use the mobile satellite internet system designed and operated by Australian Nomad Technologies (ANT). This has proved to be a fantastic addition to our motorhome; we have been able to setup camp in some very remote places and still stay connected to the world.
Due [...]
Almost every motorhome and many caravans use an inverter. These clever electronic devices take the low voltage direct current (DC) power from our batteries and convert it to the same high voltage alternating current (AC) that our household sockets deliver.
This allows us to have 240 volt mains power with us no matter how far we [...]
Every vehicle has an alternator, we know that it is responsible for keeping the starting battery from going flat. But can we use the alternator to charger our motorhome house batteries too? What is the best way to do this?
Before we look at the options, let’s look at the issues:
Crank batteries differ in their construction [...]
Most people who have anything to do with solar power know that a solar regulator is necessary. Not too many of these people understand the exact function of a solar regulator or how it does what it does.
For the purpose of this discussion and unless I state otherwise, I will be talking about the excellent [...]
I’ll admit it, I’m a data freak. I like to store and analyse all kinds of data.
Right from the time we left Sydney back in 2003, I have been recording data about every aspect of our travels. I have detailed fuel and mileage data, the costs of everything we have purchased from food to postage [...]
I was browsing some motorhome websites yesterday and I came across the Ozbus site (http://www.ozbus.com – Note 29/09 – this site has now gone!) an interesting site that features a lot of information about building you own motorhome. I was very interested to read that they had decided not to use LPG gas in their [...]
As we travel, we often meet people who are in caravans and mobile homes. It always surprises me how many people continue to have issues with the electrical systems. In most cases the conversation starts with “why does my fridge cut-out during the night” or perhaps “my caravan lights go very dim by about 10pm”.
Almost [...]
We often get asked “how many solar panels do I need?”. The person asking the question normally expects me to look at the size of their caravan/motorhome then immediately offer a valid technical opinion.
To offer any kind of meaningful answer a number of factors must be known:
Average daily power consumption (normally measured in amp-hours).
The size [...]
For someone wanting to equip their motorhome or caravan with solar panels to collect free power from the sun, there is an almost endless list of technical terms rumours and myths to wade through.
Terms like polycrystalline, amorphous and temperature co-efficient to name just a few.
Sales pitch aside, how is the average person supposed to decide which [...]
Setting up a motorhome electrical system for long term travel
Having now lived in our motorhome for over 6 years, and during that time almost constantly tweaked and tuned the electrical system, we feel that we have got it pretty much right. So what makes a good electrical system in a motorhome?
The answer to this question, [...]
For many years there were a number of issues with most wind turbine systems that prevented them from being seriously considered by the average traveller.
The turbines we have seen did nothing to make me want one … they were:
Large and heavy
They required gale forced winds to have them produce any useful power
They were very expensive
Worst [...]
Our motorhome is a 1968 Bedford bus. At the time of writing that makes it 40 years old. Having a vehicle this old has many advantages and just as many disadvantages. On the plus side I count the fact that the bus was designed and built at a time when the majority of roads were [...]
Some thoughts on how to setup a motorhome for free camping
Written June 2008
Before beginning any discussion about setting up a motorhome for free camping, it is perhaps important to define what is meant by the term “Free Camping”.
What is Free Camping?
Quite simply, I use the term free camping to describe any type of camping that [...]
This is a Step-By-Step Beginners Guide to setting up a portable satellite TV system for motorhomers and caravaners.
Introduction
Setting up a portable satellite TV dish is simple and quick … if you know exactly how to do it and you have done it 10 times before. For those who have never been shown the basic principles or [...]