Well I’ve done a few months on the road now (mostly, I had a couple of weeks off for Christmas with the family), so my equipment has had a pretty good workout.
I discovered a few more camping essentials I can’t do without. You might not agree that they’re essential, but I like to make life comfortable on the road. After all, just because you’re camping doesn’t mean you have to be uncomfortable or uncivilised. My intention is to spend the next 12 months or so travelling, so I need to make sure everything works as it should. So did it?
Fridge – Bushmans
To be perfectly honest, I was getting sick of my Bushmans fridge.
I bought it because I love the set up. As a vegetarian it’s essential to me that I can keep vegetables crisp rather than frozen. The three basket system in the Bushmans (one on top of the other) means I can keep things frozen at the bottom of the fridge, while even my lettuce remains crisp at the top. And wine and champagne bottles can stand up at the side.
Great idea.
BUT – I’m on my second fridge and they keep cutting out and not starting up again. We (haha, I say ‘we’ but I mean my ex) did everything to work out what was wrong. Nothing fixed it.
So before I started this trip I got the wiring from the battery to the fridge point checked and upgraded. And now everything works perfectly. I’m back in love with my fridge.
I was out when the outside temperature was 45 degrees, which meant the temperature in the car was well over 50. And the fridge did everything it was supposed to. It didn’t miss a beat.
Highly recommended.
Coffee
Real coffee is one of the things I insist on wherever I am. So I’ve tried a few things while camping.
I tried a stove top percolator (not bad, but doesn’t get real crema on the coffee), a stove top espresso (better, but I fucked that one up by forgetting to put water in it one time), a plunger (meh), an espresso machine (my inverter isn’t big enough, but that’s a simple fix).
Then one day while I was shopping in Aldi I saw a press coffee maker. I’ve seen these all over social media but they’re generally quite expensive, so I’d resisted trying one. This one in Aldi was $14, so what did I have to lose.
It was fabulous. Made great coffee.
But then, one day the coffee stopped being great.
In the interests of science I traced the problem. What had changed?
The only thing that was different was that I ran out of the coffee I ground myself and I bought pre-ground coffee. And pre-ground coffee is not even close to being ground finely enough to make good coffee.
So I found someone with a coffee machine and ground some more coffee. On a fine grind.
Problem fixed.
There’s nothing wrong with the coffee maker, but you do need to use the right coffee. And that’s finely ground coffee.
$14 from Aldi. Bargain.
Coffee grinder
See problem above.
As I couldn’t be guaranteed of finding somebody with a coffee machine every time I needed to grind coffee, I thought I’d better get myself a grinder. I found a few options, but none of them seemed to grind it finely enough. Then I stumbled across this Barista rechargeable grinder while I was looking for something else. They had one open for testing so of course I tried it out. And it works! It grinds the coffee as finely as my machine at home. I can have great coffee again.
$49 from House
Milk frother
I don’t know what to say about this one. It does it’s job. Sadly it’s job isn’t to steam the milk, just to froth it.
But I have found that if I froth it a little bit, then start pouring it into the cup while still frothing I get a better outcome.
Otherwise all I get is froth.
$19 from House.
Cocktail maker
This is new, but has moved into my list of absolutely essential camping equipment. I started to get back into making cocktails when I was still at home, so I decided it would be a good idea to have a way to make them on the road. Not just a shaker, something I can make frozen daquiris with as well. So I bought a rechargeable cocktail maker. Well, they call it a personal blender, but nobody uses it to make smoothies do they???
It’s quite a talking point in campgrounds. Believe me, if you want people to come up and chat, mix yourself a cocktail. And drink it out of a cocktail glass. Properly. With salt around the rim if you’re having a margarita. And cocktail umbrellas or other paraphernalia. It’s fabulous!
$29 from Big W. Another bargain, but I’ve been told you can get cheaper ones at Kmart
Swag
I want to cry.
I love my swag. I’ve had it for years and we’ve had some great adventures together. It’s a Kings swag, so not expensive.
My swag is the type where the canvas rolls back from the top, so I get an uninterrupted view of the sky and the stars. It is sheer bliss.
But then, one night while I was away it rained.
No problem, just pull up the canvas cover and go back to sleep. Too easy.
But when I woke up in the morning the inside of the canvas was wet to the touch. Not just condensation from me breathing in an enclosed space, actually wet. It hadn’t leaked through enough to drip on me or the bedding, but it shouldn’t have felt wet either.
That meant if I rolled up the swag, as I needed to do as I was moving on, my bedding would have got wet from touching the canvas. Not a good idea.
It’s done it’s job well for 9 years or so, but I guess it’s time to upgrade.
During my trip along the Murray I started thinking about a roof top tent. It gives you a lot more privacy, and you don’t have to worry about rocks or anything else on the ground. Problem is, the Suzuki isn’t designed for a roof top tent.
So it’s either upgrade the car, or get another swag. Or stay away from rain, and given the weird weather we’re having that’s not always possible.
I’ve searched and searched and can’t find another swag like the one I have. They all have a bar going down the centre from top to bottom, with canvas that rolls up from the sides. I don’t want one of those.
Nor do I want to get rid of the Suzuki.
It’s a dilemma. But I’m sure I’ll sort it out soon.
So that’s it for now. Fridge, coffee, cocktails & sleeping. What more does a girl need?
It you want me to try anything out while I’m travelling let me know. It could be one of your products, or something you are thinking about getting but are unsure. If I can help, I will.
