17' Series Jasman's Expansion Plans - 2016 Outback 17.56-2

[JohngQld]

Hi Jas,
No doubt the Jeep took it in it's stride getting the Expanda home. I bet Mrs Jasman is overwhelmed by the space and kitchen compared to the camper.
John

 

[Jasman]

Hi Jas,
No doubt the Jeep took it in it's stride getting the Expanda home. I bet Mrs Jasman is overwhelmed by the space and kitchen compared to the camper.
John

Unfortunately the Jeep was sick so I towed it with my old mans BT-50 which did it easy. The Jeep is going to kill it!

My wife and the boys love it and can't wait to use it, we're planning on getting out in it this weekend and give the motor bikes a run but if this rain shows-up we might have to give it a miss - I'm too soft/old to ride muddy trails!

 

[Jasman]

Okay, so still haven't used her because of work etc but have done a few more mods in particular fitting up fridge fans. I wanted to be able to wire it with a thermal switch and a manual on/off switch so I had full control so I had a custom switch made and wired it all up. Here's some pics:

 

[bigcol]

my like that

 

[Jasman]

Okay, maiden voyage to Gordon Country this weekend and everything went well. The Jeep killed it averaging around 12.9l/100km sitting on 100km on the highway, the Expanda tracked perfectly and the independent suspension looked awesome working over bumps, creeks etc - very smooth.

The fan mod to the fridge worked a treat, with the fridge holding around 0 degrees with it set just under 3, the location of the thermal switch seems about right with the fans running through the middle of the day and shutting down the rest of the time.

 

[bigcol]

that looks great, sits well behind your Jheep as well.............

 

[JohngQld]

Hi Jas,
The Expanda looks sweet as behind the Jeep, you must be happy. Really liked the look of Gordon Country thought it would be good for a look at. Read where they do have red belly blacks and browns, did you happen to see any. I really worry about them especially with a very inquisitive labby.

John

 

[Bluey]

Hi Jas,
The Expanda looks sweet as behind the Jeep, you must be happy. Really liked the look of Gordon Country thought it would be good for a look at. Read where they do have red belly blacks and browns, did you happen to see any. I really worry about them especially with a very inquisitive labby.

John

Im told by snake people if you have black snakes any belly colour in an area they keep brown snakes out of that area as a human a bite from a black is much better than a brown and yes i agree all bites from any snake is bad keep away from them all

 

[Jasman]

Hi Jas,
The Expanda looks sweet as behind the Jeep, you must be happy. Really liked the look of Gordon Country thought it would be good for a look at. Read where they do have red belly blacks and browns, did you happen to see any. I really worry about them especially with a very inquisitive labby.

John

Thanks buddy. It's fantastic down there but yes there are snakes, we didn't see any this time but I did see a big red belly last time we were there. If you are worried about snakes some of the sites have been cleared a lot and look like mowed lawns (lots of cows) and I'm thinking the snakes wouldn't want to get caught out in the open so would be pretty good I reckon.

 

[DRW]

wow a jeep and a Weber, what else could a family want

 

[NoWorries]

wow a jeep and a Weber, what else could a family want

A Landcruiser and a Webber

 

[Dobbie]

A Landcruiser and a Webber

A Patrol and a pizza oven (with a fire pit)

:canada:

 

[bigcol]

wow a jeep and a Weber, what else could a family want

A Landcruiser and a Webber

A Patrol and a pizza oven (with a fire pit)

:canada:

TD42 Patrol & Weber - AND not being near civilization......................

 

[Jasman]

Hey,

Not sure if anyone is interested in this stuff but after recently having my battery charger disconnected when the Expanda was in storage I thought I would build something to keep a track of my batteries remotely. I decided to build an Arduino based device that could connect to wireless and upload the Expanda's battery voltage to a website every few hours, I've also written the code so it can track if the 240v has been disconnected but I need a relay to get it to work properly so I'll leave it for another day.

For those that are interested I've used Adafruit Feather HUZZAH ESP8266 and a 15:1 voltage divider for the 12v as the analog only accepts 1v on these little boards. The site is a bit of PHP with a SQL database behind it. All the coding is ugly but it works.

Here's some picks of the finished product and a screen dump off of my phone of the website:







Cheers,

Jason.

 

[Jasman]

Another mod today, not super exciting but I thought a gas detector might save our life some day so probably more important than some others.

 

[Jasman]

Just got her out for her first decent adventure and true shake down to test out all the toys up at Teewah beach for 6 days over Easter camping in the dunes on the beach. I was a little worried about the extra weight on the beach but I think the flotation provided by the dual axles (running 25psi) made it a non-event, in terms of the ride it just floated over everything without anything even moving around inside so I would have to say that the new Jayco independent suspension is a definite win.

Other things that worked really well were:
- The McHitch, that thing is awesome on and off road
- The fridge mods - she sat between 0-3 degrees set on about 3.5 on the dial and kept the beer perfect
- Stab-pads - little jacking plates to increase the footprint on sand

Things that need some work:
- one of the internal tv points doesn't work so will have to get that fixed under warranty
- need to slow the flow on taps and shower, the things are like fire hydrants.
- we need a bigger c-gear or maybe another one.

 

[SkinnyBuddah]

Hey,

Not sure if anyone is interested in this stuff but after recently having my battery charger disconnected when the Expanda was in storage I thought I would build something to keep a track of my batteries remotely. I decided to build an Arduino based device that could connect to wireless and upload the Expanda's battery voltage to a website every few hours, I've also written the code so it can track if the 240v has been disconnected but I need a relay to get it to work properly so I'll leave it for another day.

For those that are interested I've used Adafruit Feather HUZZAH ESP8266 and a 15:1 voltage divider for the 12v as the analog only accepts 1v on these little boards. The site is a bit of PHP with a SQL database behind it. All the coding is ugly but it works.

Here's some picks of the finished product and a screen dump off of my phone of the website:







Cheers,

Jason.

The setech has an led that lights when on mains hook to that perhaps saves on needing the relay

 

[Jasman]

The setech has an led that lights when on mains hook to that perhaps saves on needing the relay

Did cross my mind but this way I can keep it totally portable.

 

[SkinnyBuddah]

Did cross my mind but this way I can keep it totally portable.

Good call. Once I move and unpack again I might finally get to finishing mine lol

 

[Drover]

Don't add restrictors to your water lines, they will play havoc at some places that have poor pressure, just turn the tap back a little................How was Teewah Beach, crowded ???? since Mudlo is impassable unless I take Ute for a swim I haven't been over for awhile and Freshwater is way too rough.