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Reading Rivers before
setting out is good for new starters After being motivated by the television program, taking short 4WD trips into the bus and finding out how to use off road recovery gear, it’s time to plan that big journey into the Outback. Preparation, we’re continually told is the key to success. And down through the years, among the dozens of books we’ve seen about preparing for travelling into remote areas, one of the best we’ve seen is a new publication - The Campervan and Motorhome Book by Collyn Rivers, who lives in Broome, W.A. Even the way the book is produced gives an indication of Rivers’ no nonsense, down-to-earth style. No glossy cover or slick binding is used - this is an inexpensively produced spiral bound book that tells you what you need to know. It is told from the perspective of a bloke who travelled Australian in a Kombi camper, then used that experience as a reference point for building his own 4WD motorhome modified from a WA produced OKA chassis cab. Rivers fitted out the motorhome and together with his wife, Maarit, has taken it twice around Australia, including to the tip of Cape York, the long way across the Simpson and through some inhospitable terrain. He’s an engineer by trade, trained by General Motors, and during the 1960’s travelled through Africa recording track conditions. He then switched careers completely and became a writer and publisher of electronics magazines, while writing about technology for The Bulletin and Australian Business. As a result, there’s some useful material on technology in his book which you won’t find so neatly compiled in other off road publications. Particularly helpful to the growing ranks of Australian “grey nomads” is the chapter on communications. He advises on choosing and setting up a two way radio, and even choosing an aerial to receive the best reception for a television. Rivers openly admits this book - his first on the subject - is by no means definitive. “Whilst building my own vehicle, I constantly received varying and often misleading information by sales people, particularly about electrical matters,” Rivers says in his prelude. “This book attempts to alleviate the situation for those seeking to buy, build or refit. And especially for those who intend to do ‘the big trip’.” If you’re looking for advice on caravans and camper-trailers, you won’t find it here. This book is strictly for those travelling weighing up the pros and cons of the motorhome or campervan. He is clearly a devotee of the 4WD campervan because “a 4WD’s extra traction and higher (ground) clearance enables you to drive down to that waterhole, (and) camp out of sight behind a clump of bushes”. We suspect this will be the first of many such publications from Rivers because as he admits “It’s hard to get everything right the first time.” We admire his honesty. If the big trip beckons, this is a great place to being your research. |
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