Pink Lakes, Kalbarri & Shark Bay  

Thanks so much. We liked this one as well but funnily enough it’s not been as well viewed as some others so it is interesting what people like and perhaps like less so. Thanks for that encouragement. We will try to get a bit more of Paula in - but it’s not easy being bold enough to be talking to the camera while there are some people around. But she did well. It will take quite a few episodes before you see more of Paula doing pieces to camera because we are still separately trying to catch up to real time so it takes a little bit of a delay to respond to peoples input. Have a great day and thanks for watching.

Thanks John. Have a good one!

Thank you. It’s not easy having the courage to talk to a camera in public and Paula dod really well. Hopefully this encourages her to keep doing more. 👍👍🙏Paula says to be careful what you wish for! 😂cheers

Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed it. One of our daughters lives in the GC and in our distant “normal” life we’re from Brissy. It was great head north on the WA coast. So, so many places of interest. And warmer 😂. Did you say coffee!? It’s ten to 6 here so I have to decide if I’m going to get some more kip, or get a brew on and enjoy the sunrise where we are camped up currently. Thanks again, we love comments. Hope to see you on the road some time.

​@@nextlevelozI have the van and LR (D3) to Tow it, but an upgrade is planned your Defender points are noted,

Hi and thanks again. I’ve been wondering what people find interesting mixed in with the travel VLOG stuff. Just to shake it up a bit and not deviate too far toward the influencer type stuff. So i’m might see if i can add in a short segment on that or a stand-alone on the equipment playlist. TBH it’s no issue but because the 22 minute format means it’s hard to catch up to real time I’ve probably not done as many of the originally intended equipment series. So it’s a good reminder. cheers

Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts - much appreciated. Yes that all sounds pretty consistent with where we’ve landed.

The new zone, does not use gas but still have the covered original gas bottle bay. Would it be able to fit a small generator in the space for the gas bottles?

Hi thanks for watching and the comment. Our experience has been that 400AH is good for our composition and use - 2 people full time on the road, mostly off grid and up to a week in one spot and variable weather including 3-4 days inclement poor solar days. It was a good test, noting we didn’t have the DC2DC input from the car for the big drives over a four week period when our charger had failed. And the issue with going to bigger battery capacity in our view is you have to charge it. For us the 720w solar on the top plus a 200w solar blanket has been adequate. BUT, for those new to caravanning, as we were 12 months ago, you have to remember that solar input on your roof top panels isn’t that efficient. They are flat and not facing the sun at the ideal angle for most of the day. So, if we had our time over we’d find a way to get one more panel on our roof. Hence the 2x tip - so ideally we’d like 900w which is one full panel more. At the time Zone said 720 was the max they could put on the 18.6 Base but they’ve subsequently found a way to organize the stuff on top to fit an extra panel. Some vans might not have that space. On the road many people have a general advice to put as much solar on as you can fit. Like everything there are compromises. Cost and weight being the biggest, the roof top real estate being the next. We also have gas that gives some versatility. We also have a separate solar regulator (60 AH Tristar) so when we are driving we get BOTH the car charge through our DC2DC and the solar charge through the tristar. Most people only have the one regulator / DC2DC charger in which case the charger will select either the car if plugged in or the solar whichever is producing the biggest input - but not both at the same time unless you have something like our setup. We have no issue with people that want or really need bigger systems but many don’t and you will struggle to charge bigger systems with only say 1080 w solar if you have a larger (heavier) van or having to rely on more driving or even carry a heavier generator. Hope that helps. The bottom line is if you are supporting a big family full time and want all the power sucking mod cons and no gas, you might be sold on 600AH battery or 800 AH battery. We don’t believe a couple needs that in our experience. And more to the point IF you go a larger battery capacity which is a personal choice you have to be able to replenish that extra capacity. So your theoretical calculation isn’t too far off but probably a bit more ambitious than our real world experience. In our case 400AH battery is great and we’d prefer 900w solar rather than 720w but having said that, in our usage we’ve never gone below 39% capacity.

I should add, given your equation highlights the compromise, most people carry a 100w, 200w (as we do) or even 300w (heavy) solar blanket as well to chase the better sunnier spots near the van when you can.

@@nextleveloz Solar panel is relatively cheap in weight and price comparing to Li battery.

@@tonywu683 Yes, but you also have limited roof space real estate with the other things that go on van roofs. We would max the rood space at 900w - and even that one extra would be a squeeze.