3 Year Review (Ute and Camper)

Hello all

Time has flown, and I find it hard to believe it is 3 years since I headed to Hervey Bay to pick up my new Palomino Camper.

all shiny and new Nov 2012

 Both the Ute and Camper have earned their keep during that time.

travels since November 2012

 The Ute had 5,000km on the clock when I collected the Camper............it now has 115,000km on the clock.
I remain humbled by the numbers of visitors I get on this site. Numbers have dropped a little while working here for a while, and no doing regular posts, but normally sit at well over 1000 views per month.
It truly blows me away that other people find my dull boring life interesting .......

The good news is around the end of January the journey will resume.
I haven't decided where to, as yet but definitely looking forward to hitting the road again after a 6 month stint of work.
I will tell you one thing for free..............I like the heat, but after over 2 months, where a cool day is 35c and about another six weeks to come, wherever I head will be coastal and cool......
Most days sit between 37c and 41c 
On weekends I open the door to head out somewhere only to be hit with 41c heat, think "stuff this" and retreat back inside the airconditioning.

Depending on the weather over Christamas, I do hope to load up the camper and head away for a red dirt Christmas. Hot days I can cope with but not hot night in the camper. It very much depends on night time temperatures.

I often get sniggers about my decision to buy a Great Wall ute...........let me explain my reasoning.

2012 V200 Great Wall cab chassis $22999 drive away
most alternatives at the time sat around the $42000 mark
I intended to keep the vehicle long term,, so resale value wasn't a consideration

Current Red Book Trade in value puts it at around $10000
alternatives are valued at around $23000  trade in value,

Over a 3 year period I have lost $13000, if I had purchased a more expensive vehicle, I would have lost at least $20000. 
I also didn't have to find an additional $20000 to buy my Ute had I chose an alternative.

The Great Wall has astounded me with it's ability to handle the tough roads and tracks. Remember that I had driven it along a lot of the worst roads and tracks this country has to offer................mostly with up to 800kg on the back!

Both the Ute, and the Camper, a Palomino Bronco B600 PalominoRV Australia 
have preformed beyond expectations. Both have taken thousands upon thousands of kilometres of rubbish roads in their stride.
I look forward to many more kilometres, once I finish work late January.

Since mounting my Solar Panels on the roof of the Camper it has made keeping the battery charged a lot simpler. It just looks after itself when camped and driving keeping the battery topped up.
The only modification I would like to do is to upgrade the Wineguard TV antenna to a Wineguard Sersar. A lot of SA and WA especially, broadcast vertical TV signal which makes reception difficult in these areas. The upgrade antenna I would like picks up both horizontal and vertical transmissions.
The $250 upgrade price is putting me off a bit though. Maybe Santa might bring me one HAHA
As I write this at 8.30pm, it is still 33c outside.........oh how i long for a sea breeze and a beach.

That's about all the news I have at the moment but thing will get back to normal in a bit over 5 weeks when I hit the road again.

Until then, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, drive safely over the holiday period and stay safe.
Bye for now.