We Did It!

 

Words & Pictures by Claudia Moffat, N49610
The Wanderer - October 2008

For those of you who wonder what happened to the little guy and his mum in the unusual twin cab motorhome; well we finished our journey around OZ successfully.

As you travel the roads with your fellow countrymen and a lot of folk from all around the world, you meet a lot of nice people and you exchange names, phone numbers and addresses, promising to stay in touch and catch up somewhere. Well reality hits us when we get back home and we have hardly any time to scratch ourselves, let alone keep in touch with all those wonderful people. So I want to apologise for not writing this article earlier.

Many people who heard our story suggested that I write a book, but maybe that is a bit too much to ask, so this article might have to do.

My four year old son Patrick and I set out to travel around Australia in a clockwise direction in February 2007. The plan was to travel as a family with his dad on board.
Let’s turn the clock back seven years.

My husband Digby had to retire early on medical grounds. He was a flight engineer and suffered from severe depression; hence he was grounded and eventually retired.
He suddenly had a lot of time on his hands and needed a project to keep him out of mischief. We wanted to travel around Australia that was for sure. We shopped around for awhile to see what was available and couldn’t really find anything to suit, therefore we decided to build what we wanted. With his background as an aircraft fitter and flight engineer, and mine as a fitter, machinist and mechanical engineer, we started planning and buying the goods to build our dream motorhome. Enthusiastically we went to work for the first nine months, not full time, but we put a fair effort into it and got it to lock up stage.

In the meantime we also underwent the IVF programme to have our ‘love child’ made with the help of technology. The physical work got a bit much for me six months into the pregnancy and I started to take it easy. Digby started to take it easy too, since his motivator was missing in action. When our little wonder Patrick entered our world we took the first six months off just to look after him. Then six months turned into two years and the big white elephant was still at lock up stage in the shed. Digby’s depression was on a constant rollercoaster and no medication seemed to work for him. Then we tried a very old fashioned medication and he responded well to the treatment. The product unfortunately had a lot of side effects that Digby didn’t take seriously enough.

I decided to put Patrick into occasional care for a few hours a week to get back to the project. My plan worked, and Digby started to get back into the rhythm, even when I was looking after Patrick and couldn’t help.

It only lasted three months and the unexpected happened. Digby suffered a massive aneurysm in the brain, also referred to as a stroke. He was in a coma for five days and had a 50% chance of living. He pulled through and spent three months in hospitals for rehab. He was completely paralysed on the right side of his body, but learned to walk with the aid of a walking stick. He lost the use of his right arm and has impaired brain function, including issues with short term memory and speech etc. It has been over three years now, but he is still showing slight improvements.

Back to the construction of the white elephant.
Never one to leave a project unfinished, I diverted my negative energy into motivation and was determined to complete the motorhome myself. I employed a nanny from overseas to help with Patrick and Digby and went to work. I managed to work approximately three to six hour days and made slow progress. Many times I sat there and looked at it and thought “it is just all too much for me.” Then I went back to the drawing board and set myself little goals every day to try to break up the big task. After 18 months the job was nearly complete, but I still needed to clad the outside in fibreglass.
This was going to be a big job and I needed help. On a trip to Germany that summer I found that my cousin had finished his HSC, however had not started to work or study. So he was my man. It took me a month to convince him to come over and be my apprentice for three months, but he came and we conquered. As a big thank you, I made a little model motorhome for him to take home as a reminder of our great time together. He really enjoyed the work and the experience would prove useful vocationally.

We created a very unusual, but very family orientated motorhome. I changed the design half way through the project and upgraded the truck to a dual cabin. With that I was able to fit a bed above the cabin that many campers only dream about. Four kids can easily sleep in that area of 2.1 x 2.1m, and parents can convert the dining lounge into a comfortable double of 1.4m x 2.1m. Last Christmas my brother came to visit with his family and we took the truck to Queensland; we were able to sleep four adults and two children in the motorhome. The 15 year old opted to sleep in the back of the truck, which can also be converted to a large single bed.

The motorhome was initially going to be a 4WD and we had bought an older style Mitsubishi Canter Truck that was registered as a 4.5 tonne GVM. When it came to deciding what truck I needed, I weighed the rig at lock up stage with the old truck and got to 4.38 T. That didn’t allow for much gear, so I decided to upgrade to a 7.5 T GVM truck and went with a dual cab to gain the space and extra seating. It made a lot of sense having seven seats, we invited fellow travellers and friends to jump in and share the entry fees for National Parks etc. I already had the light rigid licence I needed to drive it, having acquired a small bus licence years ago. Being a welder, I opted for a steel construction; 25mm tubular steel with a 1.5 mm gauge as a frame. We clad the outside with 7mm plywood and added 2mm fibreglass sheeting to that. This rig would last 100 years, I would guarantee it personally.

A lot of people along the way asked me what I would do differently next time; mostly they were met with silence. The only self criticism might be the finish. Perhaps it doesn’t have the glossy presentation of the Winnebago’s and Swagman’s, however I’m sure it has a superior standard of functionality.

Also the new truck has a turbo diesel engine that motors along very easy and efficiently. Now fully loaded with fuel, water, food and as much gear as possible the weight still stays under 6 tonnes. The other added benefit of this truck is the large towing capacity. The GCM is 11 tonnes, meaning you can tow another 7 tonnes behind if you wish. I towed a 5m fibreglass fishing boat from the Northern Territory down to Sydney and it cost absolutely no extra in fuel. When driving the open roads a comfortable travel speed is 90 – 95kmh, and at that speed we averaged 20 litres per 100 km travelled. We had the same consumption on an earlier trip in a 4WD, towing only a camper trailer with a lot less comfort.

During our trip around OZ we stayed many nights in bush camping areas and sometimes up to a week in the bush with no power, water or any other facilities. The motorhome is totally self-sufficient, with three large solar panels on the roof, and a 400 amp/hr battery bank runs the fridge/freezer and all the lights for a long time. As a back up, I installed a 3 HP Honda Generator, which recharges the batteries in no time. All of that power is managed by a 1500W inverter, and with a 250 litre stainless steel water tank, a good water filter, the shower and toilet unit and the large storage compartments, there is no reason why you couldn’t stay bush for several weeks. It is also fitted with an instant gas hot water system and a reverse cycle air conditioner. Being a hobby cook, I made sure that the kitchen had only the best equipment and found that I can prepare better meals in the motorhome than at home. The gas oven cooks the roast vegies much better, and we had them cooking as we crossed the Nullarbor, instead of tossing them out at the border. My pride and joy is my large pantry, it has seven large baskets on drawer runners and is very practical. The flat screen TV is another clever invention; it is on a swivel bracket, so that one can sit in the lounge room and watch, or lie in bed upstairs and enjoy a movie. An in car DVD player supplies the TV with DVD’s and music.


The highlight of this whole experience for me was that you should never give up. With a combination of ambition and application, anything is possible. So persevere with your ideas and dreams and you may surprise yourself. So there we were in November 2006 with a nearly ready to go truck. Initially I planned to leave in November, but we still needed some finishing touches, such as automotive engineers certificates to get the truck registered etc. All that, plus Christmas, meant we finally got ready to depart in February 2007.

I had care organised for my husband, as he was not ready to travel. I needed to get away from it all to keep my sanity, so against all odds we left. We stayed with the plan to head down the south coast of NSW first and then continued in a clockwise direction. Fortunately that year we experienced a late summer and had absolutely fabulous weather. In nine months we only had four days where it rained on and off; I call that the endless summer. Wherever we arrived, people offered help. We tried to get camp sites next to families with kids, and Patrick got to spotting the kids bikes and chairs on our way into the parks. When there weren’t any kids we found some grandparents that were more than happy to have Patrick over for a few hours.

The next best thing happened to us on the Great Ocean Road, where we met our future travelling partner, Gavan. I walked past his ‘happy bus’ and had to talk to him. As it turned out we had similar itineraries, time frames and interests for our journeys, so we decided to hook up and travel for a few weeks to see whether we got along. It was great to have adult company, so my conversations were not always at a four year old’s level. We became good friends and Patrick enjoyed the rides on Gavy’s postie bike.

The great part about it was that I got to do things that were never on my agenda, such as the Police and Fireman’s Games in Adelaide. Gavan, as an ex-fireman, took us to the games and caught up with a few old mates. He also had to try a few of the country pubs along the way. That was his way of getting the “not so touristy” information on what’s good to see. In contrast, Patrick and I went to the real tourist haunts, so we complimented each other that way too. Travelling is so much nicer when you can share what you experience. We got ourselves a CB radio each and communicated during the long travels.

I was also very happy that I had another person to cross the Nullarbor with. There was a certain fear of the unknown to cross it on my own, although now that we’ve done it I would do it on my own, there was nothing scary about it. We spent many happy nights around the camp fire discussing the freedom of mind that you experience when on the road for an extended time. The problems of the world simply go away and you are free to think outside the square. We flew home from Perth to visit and check on my husband’s health and care. The plan was to take him along on part of the trip, but he was still not ready to travel. Two months later we flew home again from Broome to celebrate Patrick’s 5th birthday at home with his dad and friends, and this time I thought that Digby had made a big improvement and I asked him if he wanted to come along for the drive through the Kimberley’s. He had never been through that part of Australia and was interested in attempting the trip. We watched how he coped and I had organised to fly him back from Darwin in case he began struggling with the trip. It was a major effort for him as well as me, but he had deserved to experience the greatness of the motorhome he helped to build. After six weeks things got a little easier and we decided that he would stay on board all the way back to Sydney. I did cut the trip a little short by heading down through the outback of Queensland and NSW instead of going coastal, but we enjoyed that part of the trip just as much.


All in all it was the best thing I have ever experienced and I am still raving about it to anyone who is interested. Too many people only dream about doing what I did. I have one word of advice for those people. Just stop dreaming and do it.