Travelling in a motorhome called “Blue Snoopy”

We were up early and after breakfast, said farewell to our friends and the other couple from Nagambie.

Our intention was to arrive back in Sydney by mid afternoon and early enough to avoid the Sydney peak hour traffic.

We stopped at Yass for morning tea and Pheasants Nest (near the Camden turn off) for lunch. 

We knew we were back in Sydney as the traffic slowed whilst approaching Liverpool but we managed to achieve our goal of a mid afternoon arrival.

Once again, the Iveco ran like a dream never missing a beat.  We were very surprised in the fact that we managed to travel up one of the longest hills on our trip in 6th gear whilst maintaining a very reasonable speed.

According to the trip computer, we have travelled just short of 1800 kilometres with an average fuel consumption of 15.81 litres per 100 k’s.  Bearing in mind we had not tried to conserve fuel on both of the freeway legs of the trip and also that a significant part of the trip had been in high temperatures, we were happy with the overall results.

Our path today took us across the mountains to Mt Beauty and then on to Albury where we stopped for lunch in a park adjacent to the Murray River.  It was at this location we discovered that there was zero gas flow heading into the refrigerator.  Reference to the Dometic user guide revealed that an indicator light that we believed to be a normal part of the operation was in fact the gas failure indicator.  Reflecting back, “He” recalled that this light had been on since departing Sydney. 

The issue with the gas was resolved by the removal of a gas safety switch which had been installed as a safety feature.  What had happened was that the safety switch had actually “tripped” and had stopped any gas flow.  We removed the switch and were relieved to see the refrigerator switch to gas mode successfully once the power was cycled.

After lunch we left Albury and headed towards a bush camp site located 16 kilometers to the east of Wagga Wagga.  We detoured and stopped to see friends on a property at “The Rock” and were surprised to see how dry this part of NSW was.  On the way south we had been surprised with the amount of green around but that is not the case when you move further inland.  We were told that there had been virtually no rain in the area and prospects were bleak.  Large areas around the house that had been green during previous visits were now either brown grass or bare.

For the second time during this trip, the fuel warning light came on with the computer indicating a range of 78 kilometers.  We had 30 kilometers to travel to our intended fuel stop at Wagga Wagga so there was no concern.  Once again, we added just over 80 litres of fuel so we are still uncertain as to the accuracy of the fuel gauge and the real range of Blue Snoopy.

We temporarily parted company with our friends at Wagga Wagga, they were heading to our proposed camp site whilst we were heading toward shops to purchase chicken for tea.

Whilst leaving Wagga Wagga we notice a couple walking who were also at Nagambie and we stopped to say “hello”.  They had intention of free camping at Wagga Wagga and were doing a tour of the local shopping centre.

We called our friend on the UHF on route to the camp site only to be told they were waiting for us just off the main road. Our camp site had been selected from “Camps 4” and was called “Oura Beach Reserve”.  The site actually had a tick against it in the book and was shown to be complete with all facilities.  Our friends informed us that there was a sign at the entry point to the reserve that indicated that the site was closed in 2003.  We had no where to stay.

We elected to head towards Gundagai and several sites documented for free camping.  We stopped adjacent to “The Dog on the Tuckerbox” and setup camp in the car park.  This iconic site is currently closed for refurbishment but the council allows use of the facilities (toilets are locked though). 

What was very surprising about the trip from Wagga Wagga was the fuel consumption.  The rural roads we travelled on required us to keep our speed around the 80kph mark and this resulted in consumption around 13 litres per 100k’s for the trip to Gundagai.  Whilst this is fine over a short distance, one still needs to consider the time saved from higher speeds versus the additional cost of fuel.

We were joined by another motor home (also at the Nagambie function) and after a few drinks, settled into our evening meal of chicken and salad and the remains of a nice bottle of wine.  This site is located close to the Hume Highway and is fairly noisy.

We did not realize the number of semi trailers that travel the Hume overnight as the noise, although not deafening, never ceased but we did manage to sleep for the majority of the night.

This was the last day of the Winnebago Christmas party and a time where we would once again bid friends farewell as we all headed our separate ways.  For us it would be returning to Sydney with another couple (but taking our time) as “He” had to return to work on Thursday.

The weekend came to a conclusion following breakfast.  We said goodbye to both new and old friends including the wonderful people from Winnebago who had been responsible for organizing the Christmas party and for looking after us during our stay at Nagambie.

We had decided to head towards Bright and either free camp or caravan park depending on availability and the weather.  It was cool when leaving Nagambie and we actually passed through light rain just before Wangaratta.

Together with our friends H & C, we had lunch at Wangaratta before heading towards Bright.  Once again, the cool morning had been replaced with high temperatures and for the first time since leaving Sydney, there was an indication in the sky that we could experience storms.  With this in mind, we decided to overnight at a caravan park and we were allocated adjacent sites at the Bright Big 4. 

After doing our “set up” (you have to love motor homes where a setup takes 5 minutes or less), we headed to the Bright shopping precinct.  We returned in time for happy hour before sharing a wonderful salad and some nice wine.  Our evening finished at 10pm when we elected to return back to our RV’s for sleep.

We awoke to overcast skies and a relatively cool breeze.  We were somewhat relieved as the heat since leaving Sydney was unnatural for this time of the year and whilst we like summer, it is supposed to start in December, not early November. 

Immediately following breakfast, “He” decided to have a play with the rear viewing camera but decided to take the easy approach and start looking for a fault at the camera end and not at the dash.  We normally carry all the documentation for appliances and other items installed in Blue Snoopy and reference to the Waeco documentation revealed the presence of a connector close to the camera.  The connector was eventually located buried in the bathroom wall and it quickly became apparent that this connection was the source of the problem.  “He” rejoined and taped the connector and the problem was solved.

Later that morning a demonstration was performed on changing a rear tyre on an Esperance on an Iveco chassis.  It became apparent very quickly that there is a technique required to remove the spare and not all participants with Iveco chassis would be able to complete the process.  Winnebago needs to look at and provide a solution for this issue.  It also became apparent from the demonstration that a large number of owners do not fully understand the workings of their motor homes. 

In the company of another couple, we had a nice lunch at a local café before returning to Blue Snoopy for what we hoped would be a quiet afternoon.  Upon opening the door to Blue Snoopy, the heat hit us.  The air conditioning (AC) had been left running on low but the temperature inside Blue Snoopy was hovering around the 37 degree mark.  We set the AC to maximum cool but soon noticed that the flow of cool air was very weak and diminishing.  As the day had developed, the cool breeze had ceased and the temperature was the highest it had been since leaving Sydney.

Our initial thoughts went towards a problem with the AC that may have been caused by several “blackouts” in the park over the recent days. “He” tried various settings but to no avail.  As a last resort the filter was removed and it was noticed that there was a significant amount of dust in the filter.  We had cleaned the filter immediately following the dust storm that Sydney experienced earlier this year but it was clogged again.  “He” washed and dried the filter but there was no improvement after it was reinstalled.  We were both at a low with the heat and whilst it appeared that the problem with the rear facing camera had been resolved, we were now looking at a serious problem with the AC and we still had several days to navigate through before returning home with no likelihood of reduced temperatures.

We attended happy hour and then participated in a BYO BBQ.  Immediately following the BBQ, we returned to Blue Snoopy to clean up and wash the dishes from the evening meal.  Once again we started the AC but the air flow was still poor and certainly far from being cold.  A couple of minutes later, we heard a growling noise coming from the AC unit and that was followed immediately with ice being spat from the vents.  Straight after the ice, “COLD” air once again flowed freely.

We now believe that the blocked filter had resulted in the AC coil becoming frozen.  Turning the AC off for several hours provided sufficient time for the ice to melt and the ice that was spat from the AC was the residual ice.  We now have to make certain that special attention is given to the AC filter.

We attended a trivia night and unfortunately, were a long way behind the winners.  Once again, with the AC now working correctly (the temperature inside Blue Snoopy had dropped by 10 degrees in just over an hour), we had another comfortable night’s sleep.

We awoke to a hot Saturday and shared breakfast with our fellow Winnebago RV Club members. 

Today we attended several motor home service related seminars and also took time to look at a trade show that had been setup on the site.  Several Winnebago motor homes were displayed together with displays from suppliers including Dometic / Waeco.  “She” took the opportunity to have her hair done and we both played bingo.  Fortune smiled upon us as jointly we won 3 of the 10 bingo games with a $50 note being collected from one of the games.  “He” tried his luck in a golf chipping competition but without success.

During one of the seminars it was recommended never to use “Swap N Go” gas bottles as they may contain oil to inhibit rust.  The oil was known to cause issues with the gas setup in motor homes.  “He” made a mental note to address this immediately after returning to Sydney as one of our original bottles was replaced earlier this year when we were not able to obtain a refill, only a replacement.

As this day progressed, it became hotter but Blue Snoopy remained cool with the air conditioning keeping the inside temperature around the 27 degree mark.

The opportunity was also taken to discuss with a representative from one of the Melbourne based Winnebago dealers the problem with the reversing camera.  It was agreed that the problem appeared to be connection related and there would be a need to return to a Sydney dealer to have the problem addressed.  Unfortunately the construction of the Iveco’s front dash does not make it easy to inspect the wiring. Damn!

We actually decided that as the system was out of warranty, it may be more cost effective to replace the entire system rather than waste money on looking for a fault that we really didn’t know where it was located.  A wireless system started to sound good but what is the cost?   The cost would probably be at the expense of a metal detector that “He” has on his shopping list.

Thanks to the generosity of the Dometic organisation, the evening happy hour was sponsored and we all enjoyed several cold refreshments before heading off to the Christmas Dinner that was sponsored by OAMPS Insurances brokers.  For the record, we are insured through OAMPS.

200 people packed into a function centre at the Leisure Park and enjoyed the evening meal and excellent entertainment which was courtesy of a “one man” band.  Winnebago’s ambassador, Dawn Frazer, attended the function and we were fortunate enough to be able to share part of the evening meal in Dawn’s company.  Dawn was not well suffering from hay fever and still recovering from recent knee surgery.  Nevertheless, she still managed to make the trip to Nagambie in her Winnebago Esperance.

It was well after 11pm when we departed the function and returned to a nice cool Blue Snoopy and a comfortable night’s sleep. 

Whilst attending to personal needs in the adjacent amenities block, “She” overhead a discussion when it was mentioned that high winds were forecast for Nagambie.  This soon spread around the park and awnings were retracted for the night.  The awning on Blue Snoopy stuck whist being retracted and during the process to free the awning, a nut was dropped on the ground.  Thanks to the help of a neighbor, the nut was replaced and eventually the awning was secured.  The winds never eventuated and we now wonder if someone was having a bit of a joke to see how far and fast a rumor would spread.  If that was the intention, the person would have been more than satisfied.

We were due to arrive at Nagambie around noon so we decided that we had time to detour via the Brown Brothers Winery at Milawa and do a quick sample of the cellar door offerings.  We purchased 6 bottles of a wine that we had not tried in the past and around 9.30am said goodbye to our friends from Melbourne and headed to Nagambie.

Our route to Nagambie took us back to the Hume Freeway where we travelled to Violet Town before heading west on a sealed rural road.  We arrived at the Nagambie Lakes Leisure Park around 11.30am and shortly thereafter, we had the motor home fairly level on a powered site with the air conditioning running on the maximum setting.  Yes, it was hot!

The Nagambie Lakes Leisure Park is located adjacent to Nagambie Lakes which is a large inland lake on the Goulburn River in central Victoria.  It is located between Seymour to the south and Shepparton to the north.

We renewed acquaintances in the afternoon (approximately 90 motor homes were attending the event) before joining everyone for happy hour and then a BYO BBQ.  As the sun set, we enjoyed an open air movie.  The air conditioning had cooled the motor home sufficiently to allow us to have a very comfortable night.

Today we were heading into Victoria and to Beechworth, where we were to meet some friends who reside in Melbourne.  We met L & T in South Australia during our first trip to the centre and we had kept in touch and met several times since.

Our intention today was to have a quick look around Albury before the short trip to Beechworth.  Our plans were destroyed when after starting Blue Snoopy our rear looking camera commenced to do strange things.  Initially we thought that it may correct itself but that was not to be, so we left the Hume Freeway and headed into Wodonga to find a safe place to stop and make calls. 

We called our son in Sydney and asked him to “Google” for a motor home or caravan repairer.  Much to his (and our) surprise, the fourth hit for “motor home” and “Wodonga” was our web site.  He did however locate several possibilities and we found ourselves heading back to Albury to Strathfield Car Radios where we would seek assistance from a specialist.   With the aid of our GPS, we arrive at the door of Strathfield Car Radios only to find the business had either closed or relocated.  Several more telephone calls later we were heading back to Wodonga to a caravan repairer.

The proprietor of Albury Wodonga Caravan Repairs through the aid of a ladder had a look at the rear facing camera and we were able to be relatively sure that the problem related to either the wiring or the internal screen.   A call was made to Sydney RV Centre to endeavour to determine where the front connections were located but they were unable to help as the location was dependent on the installer. 

We opened the rear curtains to assist visibility and left Wodonga and headed towards Beechworth.  We did have some rear visibility and decided that our overall safety would not be compromised but it became apparent very quickly that the rear camera was more than useful.  Fortunately the reversing camera was still working.  We have a frenzel lens that can be attached to the rear window to aid visibility but unfortunately this was sitting at home in a box that was considered surplus to our needs for this trip.  We will fit the lens upon returning to Sydney.

We arrived at the caravan park at Beechworth a few minutes before our friends and we were both provided with relatively large camping sites with heaps of shade.  The shade did cause some problems with parking Blue Snoopy as we were very conscious of fowling any of the items on the roof in the low branches.  Whilst waiting for lunch and deciding what would happen in the afternoon, “He” pulled off a large portion of the front dash but was unable to locate the connection where the rear cameras and the viewer are connected to power. Next hope was that someone at the Winnebago Christmas Party would have Iveco knowledge and be able to assist.

Shortly after lunch we headed into Beechworth courtesy of transport provided by our friends. 

Beechworth is an historic town with ties well back into the 1800’s and associations with gold mining and the infamous Kelly gang and Ned Kelly.  It was at the local courthouse that Ned Kelly was remanded for trial to the Victorian Supreme Court where he was ultimately sentenced to hang.  The local courthouse still exists together with several other important buildings that have all been the subject of restoration.  We visited the courthouse where one’s imagination ran wild when visualizing Ned Kelly standing before a magistrate and jury knowing very well that he was hung and become and Australian icon.  (By chance whilst we were visiting this area it was announced in the media that all the Kelly gang armour would be returned to Beechworth next August where it would be exhibited.  It was also announced that a skull that was believed to be Ned Kelly has been surrendered for DNA testing).

We also took refreshments in the famous Beechworth Bakery before booking for an evening meal at one of the local hotels.

During our walk through Beechworth we observed another Winnebago heading towards the caravan park.  The Winnebago did look familiar and we renewed acquaintances with the occupants when we returned to the caravan park.  They were camped on the adjacent site and were also heading to Nagambie.

We returned to the caravan park for happy hour before returning back to Beechworth for our evening meal.  “He” experienced the delights from the local brewer in the form of a pint with the evening meal.  Our venue for the evening meal was well chosen as we all enjoyed our meals.

After returning to the caravan park, we shared a nice port with our friends, looked at some photographs on the computer before heading off for what was to be a comfortable night.

It seemed that we had waited an eternity for this day to arrive as it was to be the start of the longest trip that we had undertaken since February this year and the second trip since “Her” surgery in August.  We had booked several months ago for the “Victorian” Winnebago Christmas Party intending to travel south as family (and subsequent work) commitments would stop us from attending the NSW Christmas Party that is being held in December just to the north of Coffs Harbour.

We packed Blue Snoopy on the previous weekend and all that was left on the Tuesday night before our departure was the storage of food and beverage and the loading of a few personal items.

We departed home at 7.30am and headed towards the M5 motorway at the Roselands entry point.  For possibly the first time ever, the route chosen to take us to Roselands carried very little peak hour traffic and “He” had a massive grin on his face as Blue Snoopy entered the freeway.  Smiles were immediately replaced with frowns as the traffic heading away from the city was stationary.  Our recently acquired traffic receiver upgrade for our Garmin GPS had not indicated any delays on our route out of Sydney.  Fortunately, the traffic started to move and we were soon travelling at an acceptable speed towards our overnight destination of Albury on the New South Wales and Victorian border.

The trip south was very pleasant and we made our first stop at Suttons Forest (McDonalds) for some refreshments and our second stop just before 11.00am for a driver change.  We were reminded of the time when music was briefly broadcast over UHF channel 40 followed by a reminder by a truckie that it was 11.00am and everyone should have a minutes silence for Remembrance Day. This was most unexpected and was certainly a very welcomed reminder to cast back and remember what had been done for us in the past.

We stopped for lunch and another driver change just before Holbrook.

About 60 or so kilometres from Albury the low fuel warning light came on and the Iveco’s computer indicated that the remaining range for fuel was about 80 kilometres.  We had never really tested the endurance of Blue Snoopy and suspected that around the 550 kilometre range would be safe.  Our intended journey today was 548 kilometres.  Unlike a petrol vehicle, it is far from good to run out of fuel in a diesel vehicle.  It is not a simple matter of adding fuel and then getting on your way. Apparently you need to bleed the fuel system and that is something that “He” wants nothing to do with if it can be avoided.

We arrived at Albury around 3.00pm and headed to the first petrol station we could find where we added 82 litres of diesel fuel.  Our tank capacity is said to be 100 litres so there should have been about 100 or so kilometres still left in the tank.  (It could be possible that there is a bit of a margin built into the tank but we may never put that to the test willingly.)

We then headed to the Albury Motor Village Tourist Park (Top Tourist Parks) where we connected to power and reduced the heat that was building up in the motor home.  Once again, it looked like travelling south was taking us towards extreme temperatures.

The caravan park was probably the smallest park we had ever stayed in with only 12 powered sites available.  This caravan park is also one of the best we have ever stayed in with excellent amenities and a swimming pool that we enjoyed for about 30 minutes after we had eaten our evening meal and as the sun was setting.

As we headed to bed, any thought of work had disappeared from “His” mind. We were on holidays and in our motor home.