Trip in our Cameron: Melbourne to Central Australia

The dream of escaping to see Central Australia was finally a reality. Our 2007 Camper Concept was the perfect family home for our annual beach holidays and numerous other weekends away, but our setup needed modification for this extended driving holiday. Our vehicle is just a FWD Kluger and our camper is a Cameron Concept On Road. Our modifications included:

  • New cabling from car battery to camper battery, so the camper battery could be charged whilst driving. Our 105 AH battery comfortably meet the power needs of our Waeco 50 fridge and LED lights.
  • Hand pump added beside jerry can. This was a quick alternative to adding a proper water tank.
  • New bedside cupboards, including TV + dvd player allowing us to watch a movie in bed each night with the kids.
  • Carpet on swing over steps.
  • Portable toilet, which we stored in the toolbox (thanks Bronte for the suggestion). The toilet was used extensively on those long gaps between towns and at night when toilets weren't close by.
  • Stone guard, which we ordered from Cameron Campers and had fitted as we passed through Adelaide. Although we had an on road vehicle, we clocked up 450kms on dirt roads mainly between Marree and Coober Pedy.

All up we travelled 6,800kms averaging 13.0l/100kms. We setup in 19 different locations, mostly around sunset. Initially it took around 15 minutes to unpack, but soon we got into the rhythm and by the end we'd set a new record of 3 min 50 seconds. Our only incident was when the camper blew a tyre on the highway. The kitchen, fridge and pantry worked fantastically well and made stopping roadside for a coffee or meal break quick and easy.

The framed dust cover surprised me most. Having always set up the annex on our other holidays, the idea of just using the framed dust cover left me feeling naked. Anyway, it was quick to erect over the kitchen and we found it simply marvellous. In addition to providing sun and rain protection, we used it to hang tea towels, lights and washing. It seems silly now, but we lugged the annex roof and accompanying poles all that way and never used them!

Some other things we took but didn't use included; Weber Baby Q, gum boots and laundry wash bucket.

We had a wonderful holiday together, ultimately made easy by the time saving nature and liveability of the Cameron Concept design.

What would we change? Only take what we really need, especially big things like bbqs. Consider upgrading to the new integrated trailer design with its extra bells and whistles.

Will we do it again? Absolutely!

Our kids wrote a great article about some of the highlights of the trip. View it here.

Provided by Hill Family 28/08/2011
previous | next