We headed to Queensland on our maiden voyage, this trip went reasonably well, with only a few issues. One being the fridge stopped working after five days due to our battery power from the solar being insufficient to start the compressor. Fred worked this out quite quickly and wired the engine batteries to run the fridge while driving. This was a great help allowing the solar to recharge. Fred also rewired the fridge power supply to run on 24v from the house batteries, which also worked a treat. It really helps to have someone on board who can basically fix anything. That someone in our relationship is Fred. I go along as the entertainment deal.
This is the new switch setup which allows us to run the fridge on house batteries when parked but on the engine batteries when driving. It can also run on 240v when plugged into power. So much better to have options.
We had many trips over the next five years and mostly always with a small issue or two. We did a lot of weekenders for cycling events. One that stands out is a trip to Bright for “The Tour of Bright”, a cycling race. We headed off in the morning and were due to arrive at the NRMA Bright Holiday Park (highly recommended) in approximately 6 hours. This was not the case as Merlin over heated while climbing the mountain. We had been over this range a few times without incident but that wasn’t to be today. Fred stopped to let the engine cool, topped up the radiator and pushed on until it over heated again. This happened several times and one time we even got the chairs out and had a beer while waiting for it to cool down.
One of the many stops heading up to Hotham waiting for the bus to cool down. It made for a much longer journey than originally anticipated.
Fred worked out that the thermo fans were not running, hence the problem. After calling the caravan park to let them know we would be several hours late, we limped to the Hotham Ski Village where we were able to replenish our water supply, which was running low due to the amount we had used along the way, top up the radiator again and then head downhill. Downhill was good, no more stops required until we reached the caravan park under the late night sky – the stars were beautiful!
The next morning we went searching for an auto store looking for 24v thermo fans. To our surprise the retailer had one in stock and was able to get another overnight. Win win! Now there were 3 spare days before racing began so these were utilised wisely with Fred repairing Merlin in between training rides.
Is he really fixing the bus or just sleeping after training rides………..
With the fans now fitted, Fred raced the tour and we headed home without further incident.
Once home Fred did some serious servicing on Merlin. He pulled the radiator out and had it re-cored and added a thermo switch to the fans control to run above 75 degrees celsius. This worked a treat. As time went by trips became incident free or very minor issues only.
Now to say we loved travelling in Merlin was an understatement. We absolutely love the lifestyle. We had always been campers but this was real luxury, not having to pitch tents in the rain! Fred being Fred though got a little restless and began researching again. He came up with the idea that we might sell up and live on a boat. Now Gayle wasn’t convinced but that didn’t dampen his enthusiasm and he began showing her cheap boats around the 40ft mark. After a few months Fred came to realise that we can’t house sit (an idea Gayle has wanted to do for a long time) from a boat plus she had bought to his attention that pirates can be bad on the oceans and that small fact that you can’t breathe underwater. These scare tactics worked and Fred saw the light. This was when Gayle said “Why don’t we buy a bigger bus to live in”. We could fit out a bigger bus, sell up and live on the road house sitting along the way if we want. Brilliant idea!
Wow! – we found this photo on the website for the NRMA Bright Holiday Park. This is Fred, obviously one of the days when he was heading out for a training ride. We didn’t even know that anyone had taken his photo. Nice shot!
We highly recommend this holiday park, it is on the beautiful Ovens River and easy, beautiful walking distance to town. Lots of great bike riding opportunities as well.
Here are their details and a link to their website –
NRMA Bright Holiday Park
Cherry Lane
Bright Vic 3741
Tel. 1800 706 685
https://www.nrmaparksandresorts.com.au/bright/
Test re notification of new posts. Clicked the box at the bottom of the post.