Bus Conversion: Re-setting the Springs

We had quite a hold up with the springs. To get the bus ready for registration, one of the major jobs we needed to do was to get the back springs reset and altered to a single stage unit. The vehicle prior to having the springs re set, it was quite bouncy & had quite a lean in it especially going around corners and round-abouts.

Sample Springs

The bus originally came with a 2 staged springs system, which never worked properly. In fact they don't use them anymore. It was an idea that never really took off. We decided to do the front springs at the same time and install 2 new back shock absorbers too.

For an old bus, this was really all that was needed to be fixed in order to pass rego.

This is one of our springs before it was repaired - note the rubber against the axle and the bending up of the springs

At first the 'spring chappie' was stating that he can't do anything with them. He was hindered because Mitsubishi are not forthcoming with ANY technical details. We did have to convince him to work on our bus. Because our vehicle is what they call a 'grey import' and there was no specifications or part numbers to work from, it was certainly more challenging for them. We found that Mitsubishi Australia were totally unhelpful and will not have anything to do with grey imports even of their own Japanese counterparts, Mitsubishi Japan!

The repaired Spring - note the distance of the rubber from the axle for starters

The spring chappie ended up saying that it was not as hard as he originally thought. We ended up having them re-tensioned (I that is the right terminology)
“Grey import” is the term given to cars that are second hand vehicles imported and sold in Australia even though they wear familiar badges from Mitsubishi, Toyota, Nissan, Honda and others. Maybe they are called "Grey Imports" because they fall into a grey area when it comes to getting them fixed.

Now that is done, we should be able to go ahead and get it insured and registered.

Bus Conversion: A personal apology

After being diagnosed with cancer, I have been reassessing many areas of my life as is quite common with life threatening issues. One of the areas I dropped for the time being was keeping up with the bus conversion on this blog. I was mentally able to jot a few words and insert a photo most weeks on our Facebook page, but sadly I just didn't have it in me to write up much here.

The bus as it was in Nov 2012 when we brought it home

So over the next month or so I will slowly bring you up to date as Rob has made a lot of progress with the bus conversion. There are so many areas to bring you up to date on: The hot water service has been designed by Rob and installed. Windows were added to one of the slideouts, a diesel heater had been installed, a new dashboard has been built and various shelving and cupboards are done, etc.

Same profile but as it is now.

The Robbiebago II has been officially passed as a motorhome now and is fully registered and insured, though there are still quite a few jobs yet to be done before we take it out on its maiden voyage.

Cancer update:

My cancer has been surgically removed (2 operations plus a little one months later for a biopsy). I wrote more about my cancer, on my life and craft blog: Inkspirational Designs.The cancer/operations have left me very fatigued and the wound is still healing. It has also affected me deeply on a personal level as it made it clear that most of my friends were 'fair weather' friends and disappeared off the scene. This was very hurtful however life goes on and I have started to implement changes and make new friends.

SUPA EASY PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

When we are on the road, I really don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I like it to be super simple and the majority of the time I want it fresh and healthy. When I saw this recipe doing the rounds on Facebook, I just had to try it out. It truly is super easy and can be done in minutes on a hot plate.

SUPA EASY PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE 

2 cups sugar
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup peanut butter

Bring sugar and milk to boil.
Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly to dissolve all the sugar.
Spoon it onto a small slice tin
Let cool a little and slice.
THAT’s it!

I made a half batch to try it and wanted to make little buttons in my pop cake trays. It cools very quickly and since I wanted to make 'buttons' of them in my cake pop silicone tray and it took a little longer to spoon them in, I found I had to keep heating the fudge in 15 second intervals to finish the 25 buttons.(Remember this was just a half batch.) As an aside, I used Lite Milk & crunchy peanut butter since that is what we use and have on hand.

It is quite nice - sort of like eating a teaspoon of peanut butter and honey. I did find that it was a little crystallized - maybe cooking a little longer would make it smoother! Next week I think I will try a creamy peanut butter fudge.

What is your favourite fudge recipe?

Dutch Pea Soup Recipe

Pea soup is a hearty, warming winter meal and is one of the signature dishes of the Dutch cuisine. I was fortunate to marry into a Dutch family and thus I was introduced to some wonderful Dutch cuisine. Their Pea Soup is probably my all time favourite soup. So of course many years later, when I discovered the huge advantages of the thermal cookers which I covered in this post here and bought my own DreamPot, I just knew that I would be making this recipe frequently whilst we were traveling "on the road" as well as at home. It is filling enough to replace a meal especially with a slice or 2 of some lovely bread. This soup tastes better the next day after it has had time to "develop".

Rookworst is the traditional sausage added to the soup. It is smoked pork sausage usually tied with the ends together in a U shape. You can use other smoked pork sausage instead, or a continental frankfurt at pinch. It is a lovely soup even without this sausage added to it, but if you want the full Dutch experience then you need to add some. I get the Rookworst at a deli nearby but I have seen it a Woolworths and Coles on occasion.

Rookworst Image Source

If you don't have a thermal cooker such as a DreamPot or EcoPot, you can still follow this recipe below, but lengthen the cooking time in point 5 to a minimum of 2 hours stirring regularly as peas break down there is a greater tendency for it to stick on the base of the saucepan and burn! I cook all my soups in my DreamPot now even at home. A DreamPot eliminates virtually any chance of burning your soup! Yet another reason why I love thermal cooking.

Dutch Pea Soup

500g dried green peas
1 ham hock
1 onion
2 chicken stock cubes
1vegetable stock cube
3 celery stalks grated
1 potato grated
2 carrots grated
rookworst

Preparation

1. Ideally soak the peas overnight then drain peas
2. Saute vegetables in butter.
3. Place veges, hock & peas in a large saucepan of the Dreampot & top to within 2 inches of the top with water. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and cook, partially covered, for simmer for 15 minutes. Keep stirring and skim off any froth as it develops.
5. Place saucepan with lid on in the Dreampot and leave for 6 hours.
6. Remove ham hock and blend the soup smooth.
7. Pick off any meat from the hock & add back into the soup & add some sliced rookworst.
8. Best made a day ahead to develop flavours.
9. Reheat carefully as it has a tendency to burn easily. (Soup will appear very thick when cool) 

Pea soup keeps well in the fridge. It also freezes well, so store the amount of soup you will eat within a few days in the fridge, then make portions from the remaining soup and freeze the rest to enjoy later.
It is certainly an ideal soup for cold winter evenings sitting around a campfire. (If you are not travelling then the next best thing would be to be sitting in front of a fire indoors, sipping a lovely bowl of pea soup.)

Do you want more DreamPot Recipes?

If you have a hankering for more DreamPot recipes that I have posted  try these:
Spicy Plum Lamb Shanks

Beef and Butternut Ragout







Lamb Casserole

 

Leave me a note in the comments below stating 

what your favourite soup is.

If you have a recipe to share then leave a link and

I will be sure to pop past too!

Bus conversion: Up goes the ceiling

After lifting the roof way back in the early stages, we left the ceiling until recently. With the interior of the bus completely stripped out, wiring and insulation had to be put into place before the actual ceiling could be completed.

See the huge bundle of wires from the solar panels on the roof

Rob first work out the wiring needed. We had a general idea of where the lights were to go and we also needed to get the wiring from the solar panels up on the roof of the bus, down to the lithium batteries which were housed under the floor of the lounge slide out!

We knew we wanted to have LED strip lighting most of the bus. A main central recessed channel down the centre of the main part of the bus, as well as under the kitchen cupboards and around the slideouts. The lights are switched by zone. By the way, in case you wanted to know, all the lights are 12 volts and the bus is 24 volts which the 3,000 watt inverter converts to give constant 240v power.

Battens and the wires coming down the sides

Rob put up wooden battens. They are 2 by 1.5 inch battens of cheap pine. Their main purpose is to create a gap between the roof and the ceiling. We had noticed in the caravan that where ever the metal touched the ceiling condensation was clearly visible on the ceilings in cold weather especially if we had a heater on. The wood will prevent this.

There are several options when it comes to insulation. Spray in foam is quite messy and can be hard to contain during the process. Some of the laminated foam products sound great but they also came with a hefty price tag. We decided to insulate the ceiling with styrofoam sheets. It is relatively cheap, lightweight and easy to cut and install. It doesn’t rattle nor does it breakdown and compact as some batt type insulation are likely to do.

When we raised the roof we also installed a skylight bringing in a fabulous amount of light into the area near the kitchen. We also have an extractor fan in the ceiling too.

Roof's up: now waiting for the recessed lighting to be done

We chose to clad the walls and the ceiling with white Aluminum Composite Panels. ACP is a type of flat panel that consists of two thin aluminium sheets bonded to plastic core. It is cheaper, lightweight but very sturdy material and offers a little insulating property which never goes astray. Curving and shaping to the curvature of the ceiling was a lot more difficult to do than expected. This was a long involved series of fittings, shaving just a bit here and there, refitting and trimming again with the assistance of friends and then the ceiling goes up. Rob used silastic as a glue along with screws in ‘hidden’ areas such as the centre and the extreme edges which will be covered with trims. Timber props were created and used to help hold up the ceiling whilst the silastic was curing.

The centre gap has had recessed LED strip lighting added to it as a later project! I love this light.

Jugiong

A wonderful week spent doing virtually nothing was a just reward after a lot of medical issues. So a week free camping at Jugiong was just the ticket.

Jugiong Valley - the camp park is in the middle just right off centre

Jugiong sits amongst lovely sheep farming country just 60km south of Yass and 40km north of Gundagai on the Hume Highway. It was also in a notorious region of bushrangers in the early colonial days.

Police Sergeant Parry killed by the Bushranger Gilbert near this spot.

In the main street of this arty village, you will find a hotel, a wine cellar/gallery and a great little cafe. You can even see some of the local art featuring balls various sizes created from barb wire are on display outside. The entry to the extensive camp grounds is just outside the Jugiong Cellars in the main street with a quaint arty cafe next door, which also shares facilities with the showgrounds, a picnic area complete with a children's playground and a public summer swimming pool.

The campgrounds are nestled along the quiet Murrumbidgee River and have well maintained toilets as well as a dump spot but no showers. You can fill up your water tanks here with quality drinking water. Dogs are welcome on leash in the camping areas  but not in the picnic or playground area.

The tranquil Murrumbidgee River

Our friends, John and Robyn arrived a few days before us and snagged a terrific river view spot in the whole area and our spot next to them gave us a nice view too. Setting up the awning and chairs was just about all that we needed to do upon arrival as our friends quickly set the kettle boiling for our first of many cuppas.

A view across the Polocrosse field to the RVs & caravans

Lazy days, lot of chats and laughter, games and reading were the main things to fill our days. Even the wet weather couldn't put much of a dampener on our enjoyment though we all cheered when the sun came out.When the weather cooperated, we enjoyed short walks with John & Robyn's dogs to go and feed the friendly neighbourhood horses.

Jugiong Anglican Church built in 1895.

We were delighted to have a surprised early visit from Rhonda, a friend, who popped in for a night with a promise to come back & join us for a couple of nights over the weekend.

Some of the art to be seen at Jugiong Wine Cellars

Glorious sunshine greeted us at last and we were fortunate to be here on the Saturday when the local markets were on, which is rather small but offered quality wire and metal sculptures, a second hand books, homemade chocolates and fudges, and free wine tastings of a local winery.  The local cafe, The Long Track Pantry, offered quality coffees and lots of home produce including a variety of chutneys and jams along with the regular cafe style food.

There's always time for a cuddle

On the Sunday, we found that Harden, a nearby town, was having a Spanish Wine and Food Festival, so of course we had to rouse ourselves to attend that whilst we were in the area.

Do you reckon there is enough Paella for 3?

We were also blessed to watch the reknown Jugiong Polocrosse game in action just outside our caravan door.

Jugiong Polocrosse in action

So all in all this is a lovely region and village to visit whether it be for a day or a week.

What is your idea of a perfect day?

Waking up in the piccaninny dawn just as the light is just starting to steal up over the bush, I love to grab a camera and walk as the sun comes up. I draw near to God in the relative quietness, seeing the bush come alive.

Saunders Beach

Eventually I make my way back to the caravan to enjoy a simple breakfast and a quiet read. My hubby’s ideal start to the day is to sleep in even though he knows he is missing this magical start to the morning.

When he finally awakes, we share a cuppa and occasionally a cooked breakfast of bacon and eggs. (It is now hours after my original breakfast of cereal and thus becomes my morning tea).

Our rig

Packing a light lunch and some water, we would then drive and/or gently trek to some lovely spot. Maybe a bit of snorkeling amongst the reef or rocks might be a part of the afternoon, or maybe it would be a date with a book sitting in the gentle breeze under the shade of the gum trees in a comfy chair.

Gregory Downs

Rob is much more social than I am and would wander amongst the other Rv'ers and meet some new people or reacquaint himself with a previously met fellow travellers.

Happy hour is always a delight as we meet and chat with other travellers, swapping yarns and favourite places to visit over a nice cold beer or glass of wine.

Happy Hour at a beach

After a delicious dinner cooked on an open fire, chatting with our neighbours would often continue into the evenings around the campfire.

As others finally wander off to bed, Rob and I would mosey on into our caravan and play a few games of cards before retiring for the night.

No wonder this RV life is the life I love: A perfect day without obligations and cares, just full of warmth, love and companionship. What better way is there to see our beautiful country?

There's only one big thing missing... our family... if we could have them with us, including all the kids, then we might miss some of the peace but we'd gain so much more! That's  why we can't live on the road full time... we need lots of our family times too!