1 Spring 2022 TIPS Camping with preschoolers Up Rachel Taylor We started our camping trips over this past summer with a then 3yo and 4yo (and two large dogs). We found the best thing when travelling was to limit how much time was spent travelling. We found they could do 4 hours at a time without too much hassle. Sometimes our destination was a 2 day trip. We always had snacks in the car that they could eat easily and a song playlist to sing and dance along too as well as all the other usual car games. Also had a device in case they just needed to zone out for a wee bit too. Actual camping etc was no problem. Gave them some ground rules (eg don’t go near water without a parent, stop and look before crossing the road or driveway into the camp ground, don’t harass others etc) but otherwise, so long as they could see us and we could see them, they were free to play. Took about a week, all up, to get them into our ‘camping routine’ but really easy with them now. Good luck and have fun! We can’t wait for warmer weather again to get back out there. BY: Rachel Taylor PHOTO: ©2022 M Richardson Up Up Up Spring 2022 ISSUE 1 BUY PDF CONTENTS So long as they could see us and we could see them, they were free to play 1/0

Autumn 2023 ISSUE 3 BUY PDF CONTENTS Click on image for full view and caption I am currently helping my daughter build her own camper as she wants to take a gap year and see our beautiful country. ©2023 Crispian I am currently helping my daughter build her own camper as she wants to take a gap year and see our beautiful country. ©2023 Crispian My daughter building her own camper ©2023 Crispian My daughter building her own camper ©2023 Crispian The dog helps. ©2023 Crispian My daughter building her own camper ©2023 Crispian Gap year Crispian I am currently helping my daughter build her own camper as she wants to take a gap year and see our beautiful country. Crispian Up Up 3 Autumn 2023 , p 19

4 Winter 2023 4 Winter 2023 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Group: Life of Van Bette Cosgrove Camping clubs & groups Since 2020 more kiwis have been travelling at home and discovering the delights of outdoor adventures and camping in their own regions. Wellington-based couple Chloe Wright and Jonathan Collins, passionate about tent camping experiences, found that sharing this on Facebook via the NZ Fun Adventures page attracted a growing number of campers who travelled and camped in vehicles, camper vans, trailer campers, or caravans. Being former caravanners, they decided to launch an ‘Life of Van – New Zealand’ as a platform for van travellers to share their tips and tricks, and find a positive community to support other vehicle campers. Life of Van NZ FB Page is a private group with a positive vibe, giving everyone from weekend warriors to van life veterans a place to connect. It focuses on celebrating the sense of freedom in van travelling, while encouraging that free spirit for those who might be new to van life. Look for Life of Van – New Zealand on Facebook ckw.nz/life-of-van Up Up 4 Winter 2023 , p 32

Autumn 2023 ISSUE 3 BUY PDF CONTENTS Click on image for full view and caption We took the dog on many of the easy bush walks (it’s amazing who you meet on the tracks — old friends and famous people ©2023 Heather Auckram We took the dog on many of the easy bush walks (it’s amazing who you meet on the tracks — old friends and famous people ©2023 Heather Auckram We took the dog on many of the easy bush walks (it’s amazing who you meet on the tracks — old friends and famous people ©2023 Heather Auckram Cooking marshmallows. ©2023 Heather Auckram ©2023 Heather Auckram I was invited to spend the New Year with friends at their crib at Papatowai. ©2023 Heather Auckram I rode on a trailer being towed along a long sandy beach. I squashed a few sandflies and went to bed blissfully happy each night. Catlins, Southland . Heather Auckram ©2023 Heather Auckram We took the dog on many of the easy bush walks (it’s amazing who you meet on the tracks — old friends and famous people ©2023 Heather Auckram About 10pm the sun went down, so we put the lead on the dog and made our way to the beach. We set up our deck chairs and chilly bin and watched the huge bonfire being lit on the sand. It crackled into life and flames reached for the stars in the still air. People mixed and mingled, sharing a laugh and a story. I crept into my camp some time around 1am on a warm, star-filled night. Hello 2023. ©2023 Heather Auckram We dipped our toes in the cold sea. ©2023 Heather Auckram I went to bed blissfully happy each night HELLO 2023 Heather Auckram I was invited to spend the New Year with friends at their crib at Papatowai. To tell you the truth, it has been fifteen years since I was last in the Catlins. Shameful really; I live in Southland. The weather was perfect. Long hot sunny days with a warm gentle breeze. The drive over was easy, on good roads with little traffic and well signposted. I met my friends at the New Year’s Eve fair on the beachfront. There were markets and games and prizes to be had. I didn’t take any photos as I was so overcome with the joy of being at an old-fashioned fair like those of my childhood many decades ago. About 10pm the sun went down, so we put the lead on the dog and made our way to the beach. We set up our deck chairs and chilly bin and watched the huge bonfire being lit on the sand. It crackled into life and flames reached for the stars in the still air. People mixed and mingled, sharing a laugh and a story. I crept into my camp some time around 1am on a warm, star-filled night. Hello 2023. Over the following hot summer days, we took the dog on many of the easy bush walks (it’s amazing who you meet on the tracks — old friends and famous people), dipped our toes in the cold sea, rode on a trailer being towed along a long sandy beach, squashed a few sandflies and went to bed blissfully happy each night. Oh, I must tell you — there is limited mobile phone reception at Papatowai. I believe a couple of providers work, but I am with Spark and had no phone reception at all. Four days off the radar! If you want to stop the world and get off for a while — then Papatowai could be the place for you. I was shocked at how often I reached for my mobile phone. It was great not being beeped at on a regular basis or concerning myself with melodramas that are not even part of my life. I think I had developed a habit — but no more. My phone stays at home more than I do these days. Thank you Papatowai. Photos ©2023 Heather Auckram Up Up 3 Autumn 2023 , p 8

4 Winter 2023 4 Winter 2023 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Greenies on the road: Managing food scraps Kath Irvine Last year in December, we sold up and hit the road in our Hino housetruck — a sharp learning curve and lots of broken crockery! but we’re loving it. The only thing I miss is the fresh herbs and vegies from my garden and the ease of recycling our food scraps. I’ve been turning our food scraps into compost for many a year now, and there’s no way I’m sending them to the landfill now. We chose to use bokashi buckets in our housetruck, as we already had them. A worm farm could also work, though bokashi is possibly more forgiving and takes all food waste — bones and shells included. Recycling, rubbish and bokashi buckets tucked up with the batteries. ©2023 Kath Irvine Bokashi buckets, are a 2 bucket system — one sitting inside the other. The food scraps go into the top bucket and are sprinkled with a special brew called compost zing. This looks like sawdust and is full of beneficial microbes that facilitate fermentation. The liquid drips into the bottom bucket, providing a power juice, full of microbes to pour on your crops. You need at least 2 sets because when one is full, it needs to sit and ferment for 10–14 days before using. Bokashi buckets are readily available to buy, but you can easily make them. All you need is 2 buckets the same size. Drill small holes all over the bottom of one bucket and sit it inside the other. The key factor is a sealed lid for the top bucket. The seal is important because like all fermentation, success relies on the exclusion of air. Put the buckets somewhere undercover, not too cold and out of direct sunlight (a little morning or afternoon sun is fine). There is no smell when the lid is on. And when you lift the lid, it smells like pickles. Rather than opening the bokashi every time you have food scraps, collect them in a small container and add them at the end of day. Start off by sprinkling a dusting of compost zing in the bottom of the top bucket and add your first lot of food scraps. Push them down firmly to exclude air (a potato masher is good for the squeamish), then sprinkle another dusting of compost zing on top. The zing gets the pickling happening and is the reason bokashi never smells. Close the lid so it clicks and seals. When a bucket is full to the brim, I move the new one in front and leave the other tucked behind to pickle away. Because bokashi is pre-fermented and alive with beneficial microbes, it incorporates into soil or compost quickly — such a simple, potent way to keep soil fertility up! Trenching bokashi into the garden. Edible Backyard. ©2023 Kath Irvine But what happens when you don’t have a garden? We are lucky, and most of the time, staying with switched on people who are excited to receive a bucket of bokashi into their garden. But its not always the case and extra hard in campgrounds where food scraps are still considered rubbish; I find it pretty shocking. Its an effort, I know, but once you get your set up happening, its easy as pie. We really must all be recycling our food scraps. “When food ends up in landfill, it decomposes without oxygen, and as a result, it releases methane, a harmful greenhouse gas. If food waste was a country, it would be the third largest producer of carbon emissions behind China and the United States.” lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz I used to take a bokashi bucket with us when we holidayed — it’s not such a big deal. The tricky part , when on the road, comes at the end, when its pickled and ready to go on the compost. Be creative and determined, and find places. And when you do — spread the word! The more of us that ask where we can compost our food waste, the more available it will become. Rankers have a sustainability filter to help you choose responsible camp sites — though whether this is meaningful or not, I’d have to do a bit more digging to know. A network to link travelling bokashi makers with domestic or commercial compost heaps would be a fine thing. Hop online and check with the local council. 
Perhaps there is a local composting facility or community garden you could drop off to. There are so many ways for camp grounds to properly manage food scraps! Pigs, chickens, worms, compost, there are even commercial-sized bokashi bins. If supermarkets in France can do it … Photos ©2023 Kath Irvine Up Up 4 Winter 2023 , p 9

1 Spring 2022 1 Spring 2022 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Crossword solution Rhonda Marshall BY: Rhonda Marshal l Back to the crossword Up Up 1 Spring 2022 , p 43

BUY PDF CONTENTS Spring 2023 ISSUE 5 Up RV services North Is Up Up Up 1/0

9 Spring 2024 9 Spring 2024 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Mavora Lakes ©2024 Graham Leslie More for councils and government, issue 9 Editor Articles of interest for those working in government and local and regional councils. Self Containment and freedom camping 2 Self-containment warrant cards: which ones are valid? 2 Freedom camping and self-containment: where are we at? 23 Developing an innovative camping toilet solution: Fix-a-Potty™ 24 Kiwi ingenuity & insults 24 Fix’n’Rail 25 A new cassette toilet for small spaces: The making of the BlackMOA™ 26 Challenges for local councils Camping in action 7 The re-build of my Toyota van 8 The West Coast in winter 15 A night in an arboretum 27 North Island hot pool safari 33 The Aratiatia Dam Up Up 9 Spring 2024 , p 2

6 Summer 2023 6 Summer 2023 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption More for councils and government, Issue 6 Editor In the Summer issue 4 Editorial 4 Self-containment certification: Which is yours? 4 What to do? Upgrade? Wait? 10 Who is advocating for NZers who go camping? 13 There’s no need to rush this summer: Is it better on the other side? 14 Fire safety: caravans and sleep-outs 15 LiFePO4 is a safe choice for a motorhome or caravan 23 NZ’s independent national network for self-containment Camping in action 8 You have to be here… 11 Biking the Waikato River Trails 16 Van tour of the op shops 20 Ten tips for a successful family camping trip 25 Sharing the summertime 27 50 years of camping at Morison’s Bush 33 Battle Hill Farm Forest Park 34 Stop and Stay 35 Events Articles on freedom camping and self-containment 2 The freedom camping law needs to change 4 Self-containment certification: which one is yours? 4 What to do? Upgrade? Wait? 4 Editorial — Caught in the middle 10 Who is advocating for NZers who camp? 13 There’s no need to rush this summer 23 NZ’s independent national network for certification Up Up 6 Summer 2023 , p 2

2 Summer 2022 Summer 2022 ISSUE 2 CONTENTS PDF BUY Up Camping / caravan tips — Setup / packup Marty Ireland Up Do you struggle when you set up your camp or your caravan? We are on to our 3rd caravan but the latest came with a host of manuals for everything like gas stove, fridge, awning etc. so as a specialist assembler and installer, advising others that they should read all instructions provided, I decided to do just that. Now here is a suggestion: just relax, sit down with a coffee and read, even if you do not fully understand, read all the information to get a general overview.Then go and try each appliance until it works and you feel comfortable and confident with it. Do a dummy run on awning or tent set up if you have or can find an area to do this before leaving. It may be a little trying, but as you get each thing down pat, start a set up list with each step in order and have it laminated and ready inside the car, caravan door or tent bag. Label poles with a marker with appropriate numbers or letters and a brief description of which end, or middle etc; or colour code with electricians tape. Tent or awning assembly will become a dream. Have you ever driven off with a support leg still down, or a jockey wheel not retracted, even a power cable still plugged in? Not a good look and it can be both embarrassing and expensive. So do a reverse-order pack-down list too, and stick to it. Having an assistant read out the lists while you do the tasks is a help, both to set up and to pack down. Having a measured plan of your tent or van footprint with awnings and ropes sizes will help you quickly decide on arrival at the holiday site which way to face your tent or van saving a lot of frustration if you find you have to reposition. See my plan, above. A seamless set-up lets you sit down for your first refreshment early, and the satisfaction of doing it both quickly and without forgetting anything is very rewarding. Watching new arrivals go through the same process can be cheap entertainment, however offering to assist with your experience and wisdom is a pleasure in itself. Happy and safe camping all. Download these files if you would find them helpful: My sheet (print it A4, double sided and laminate; pdf). The .doc version of my sheet , to edit and make it your own. Or the .rtf version . The awning assembly order sheet (pdf). The awning space sheet (pdf). A blank awning space sheet to put in your own measurements (pdf). Up Up Record the spacing needed for your awning Record the order and lengths for your awning ropes Laminated sheet Download my laminated sheet. Record the spacing needed for your awning 1/3

Useful information and comment and camping in practice. BUY PDF CONTENTS Spring 2023 ISSUE 5 Up More for councils and government, Issue 5 Editor 4 Editorial 4 Freedom camping & self containment status, Spring 2023 4 Freedom camping: who does what 10 Building a connected NZ camping and tourism industry 18 Update: Self-containment and freedom camping changes 26 This is the story of three types of self-contained vehicles … Camping in action 8 The Homestead, St Bathans 11 Lake Monowai campsite 12 Why not stop and stay a while? Introducing Stop and Stay. 15 Pros and Cons of full time family travel 23 Small town: Waiau 25 A small paint kit, a few good brushes… 30 Around my own back yard Up Up Up 1/0

7 Autumn 2024 Autumn 2024 ISSUE 7 BUY PDF CONTENTS Click on image for full view and caption Vital Requirements ©2024 Collyn Rivers Make caravan fridges work as claimed Collyn Rivers To make caravan fridges work as claimed, and draw less energy, is cheap, simple and easy. Many can be transformed. This article shows how. Fridges do not generate ‘cold’. They pump heat from where it is not wanted to somewhere it does not matter. Big fridges use more energy than small ones, but not in proportion to their size. Doubling fridge volume will increase energy draw about one and a half times, not twice. Where feasible, use one large fridge — not two smaller ones. Some cold air is lost when a fridge’s front door is opened. Top-opening fridges lose marginally less. The heat seals of door-opening fridges must be perfect, if they are not, energy usage soars. If they are over three years old, replace them . Energy consumption Any fridge’s energy draw relates directly to ambient temperature. All use about 5% more for every 1° C above 25° C. Set temperatures are the same. Fridges need to be +4° C, freezers -18° C (or settle for -14° to save energy). Cool food before placing it in the fridge. Keep bought frozen goods cold in a heat-insulating bag, and put in the fridge as soon as possible. Defrost anything frozen in the fridge section. Let warm beer first cool overnight. If you keep the fridge full less cold air falls out when opened, so leave gaps for air to move, but fill empty spaces with bottled water. Most fridges control temperature by cycling on and off. Energy draw relates to the ratio of on times to off times. A fridge that draws more energy but is on less often, or for shorter times, may use less energy per day. Many makers now produce fridges that run constantly: they vary the speed to maintain temperature. For any type of fridge only daily energy draw has any meaning. Make caravan fridges work as claimed – from solar It is totally feasible to make electrical caravan fridges work as claimed primarily from solar. A typical 40–110 litre chest and door opening electric fridge draws 0.7–1.0 amp-hours/day per litre of its volume. Larger ones draw slightly less per litre. This requires 150 to 200 watts of solar, and 100 to 150 amp hours battery capacity per 100 litres of fridge volume in temperate areas (up to 30º C). Above 30º C, solar capacity needs increase by 5% for each 1º C. Alternator charging assists if driving a few hours each day. (Refer to dc-dc-charging, ckw.nz/dc-dc-charging ). Three-way fridges work well on gas, from the alternator whilst driving, and 110/230 volts when available, but their energy draw (12–30 amps at 12 volts) is far too high for solar. See below re ‘Climate Class’. Unrealistic expectations Fridges must be competently installed. Few are. Improve them by following that shown next page. (Owners comparing fridges unknowingly discuss competent or otherwise installation). No caravan fridge will cool a carton of room temperature beer in an hour or two! Buy beer cold and put it straight in the fridge. Fishers (particularly) grossly underestimate energy needed to freeze their catch. Power draws continuously, doubling or tripling consumption, yet the catch will not freeze quickly. Doing so requires a generator-powered chest freezer. Correctly installed and sensibly used RV fridges will work as specified, but don’t get carried away by vendor’s claims. Believe the claims in technical data, not those in brochures. Gas and three-way fridges must suit the climate in which they are used. If not they are not likely to work as you may expect. Three-way fridges and climate class Three-way fridges maintain cooling over tightly defined ambient temperatures. These are four (CEN standard) Climate Classes. The ‘ SN ’, and ‘ N ’ (Sub Normal, and Normal) units work up to 32° C; ‘ ST ’, (Sub Tropical) up to 36° C. ‘ T ’-rated (Tropical) up to 43° C. (T- and ST- rated fridges do not work that well below 14°–18° C.) Only ‘Climate Class T’ cool satisfactorily in north and north-west Australia (or tropical areas generally). Three-way fridges are available in Australia from Chescold, Dometic and Indel. They have an unfair reputation for poor cooling due either to buying one of the wrong Climate Class and/or poor installation. Three-way fridges meet their claims but must be installed as shown next page to do so. Make caravan fridges work as claimed – in tropical areas When making a fridge work as claimed, it is common (but wrong) to assume there’s more solar input in tropical areas. There is not. Solar input in the tropics in mid-summer is 20% to 30% less than many expect. High humidity causes haze and some solar energy is lost because of this. It is also hot all day and often all night, so fridges draw up to 50% more energy, meanwhile, solar modules lose energy through heat loss. To cope in tropical conditions, your solar system must bring batteries to float voltage in temperate areas by noon on most days All this is thoroughly covered in my books Solar that Really Works, Solar Success and Caravan & Motorhome Electrics rvbooks.com.au . Installation Few RV fridges are correctly installed, including many done ‘professionally’. Making caravan fridges work as claimed is usually possible: sometimes even better than claimed — and often at little or no cost. It is usually easy to do but in extreme cases, it may be necessary to totally re-install. Here is a far from extreme example: it is of a $550,000 motorhome with a 450-litre fridge totally enclosed and unventilated, plus a 300-litre freezer. Both are in unventilated lockers with black fronts exposed to the sun. Neither cools below about 5 degrees C. Both connect to the battery via cable barely able to run LEDs. The RV maker refuses to accept responsibility — he blames the fridge maker! Fixing required a major rebuild of the kitchen area at a cost of over $10,000! Heat must escape Whilst seemingly obvious, a fridge must not be in direct sunlight: One character, who has his outside in Broome’s full tropical sun, complains: “my b..y mongrel Electrolux won’t keep my %#@^& beer cold.” He’d listen to nobody (including me) explaining why — despite going through a 9kg (20lb) LP gas cylinder a week as a result. The heat from a fridge must be able to exit the caravan — and not re-enter. To do this they need a cool air entry at its base level, and a hot air exit (ideally at roof level). Most need baffles to direct cold air so that it can only flow through or over the cooling fins. Baffles can be made from aluminium, plywood or even cardboard. They must be within a centimetre or two of the cooling fins. Channel rising warm air so none is trapped. The cool air vent can be at the side or through the floor (but not above or behind an engine’s exhaust outlet). Cool air must enter below the lowest cooling fin and exit well above the highest fin. The lower inlet is a problem off-road as dust is sucked in. Here, compromise is needed. One way is to have the vent closed off while on dirt roads (but cooling will suffer as a result). Rising warm air is ideally vented to and through the roof: if not feasible, have a side vent well above the highest cooling fin. Fridge level is important. Some three-way fridges tolerate 6° tilt, others only 3°, but electric fridges are less sensitive. The vital requirements Upper Left: — the baffles are too short. They need to be just below the cooling fins. Rising hot air is trapped in the dead air spaces. If not fixable (bottom centre and right), an extractor fan driven by a 5-watt solar module enhances airflow. Upper right: — the upper air vent is far too low — hot air is trapped in the fins above it, to prevent that, baffles are needed. Bottom row: How to install fridges correctly. Baffles truly help, yet rarely used. Rising hot air is channelled to the outside. Drawing is copyright: rvbooks.com.au A small extractor fan often assists. Some have an integrated solar panel — this works well as cooling is most needed when sunny. Fans used in large desktop computers are cheap. They run directly from a 5–10 watt solar module or the RV’s 12-volt system. Ideally use fans to extract warm air rather than pumping in cool air — but the difference is minor. Electrical problems with 12-volt fridges Most 12 volt fridges have grossly inadequate cabling — many only 25% of that required. Check by seeing if the fridge cools better on 230v (where relevant). Cable issues are worsened by faulty fuse holders: and particularly cigarette lighter plugs and associated too-small wiring. Scrap such plugs and wire the fridge to the battery by the shortest route. To check if the cable is too small, with the fridge running, measure the voltage directly across the battery, then directly across the fridge. To ensure it keeps running, do this with the fridge door open. Many caravan fridges have close to 1.0-volt drop. Accept no more than 0.15–0.2-volt drop. Using adequate cable makes an extraordinary difference to making caravan fridges work as claimed. For an electric fridge to battery distance of fewer than four metres, use 4mm² cable (AWG/B&S 11). Over four metres use 6mm² cable (AWG/B&S 9). If over four metres, move the battery closer. Do NOT use the auto cable sold by auto parts and hardware stores without first reading about it below — or in more detail in Caravan & Motorhome Electrics. ckw.nz/c-m-electrics Do also see my article on DC-DC Charging — this shows how to ensure the caravan battery and fridge receive their full required voltage from the vehicle alternator. This can totally transform a caravan or camper trailer fridge. ckw.nz/dc-dc-charging Auto cable problems Appliance makers specify cable by its cross-section in mm². Auto cable makers (in effect) specify it by the size hole you can just push it through. They rate it by its overall diameter including insulation! Auto cable sold as 4mm is typically 1.8mm², but may be only 1.25mm². Many caravan electric fridge makers specify 4mm². But countless fridges are connected by totally inadequate 1.8mm² auto cable (less than half the minimum specified). No fridges wired that way work remotely as they should and usually can. Direct comparison with other wire gauges is impossible with auto cable as conductor as size varies from maker to maker. One exception is that 6mm auto cable (typically 4.59mm² — or 10 AWG) can be substituted for 4.0mm² cable. Cable current rating trap Cable ‘ratings’ (e.g. ‘50-amp’ etc) indicate only the current that cable carries before it melts! They tell nothing about voltage drop (as that is also a function of cable length). It’s useless asking most vendors about this because few know it’s even an issue — let alone why. For caravans, locate the battery as close as possible to the fridge. If alternator-charged, install a dc-dc alternator charger close to that fridge’s battery. Never use cable lighter than advised above. If you do the fridge cannot work correctly An exact way of establishing the best cable size is shown in my books, Solar that Really Works, Solar Success and Caravan & Motorhome Electrics. rvbooks.com.au . Problems with three-way fridges Routine maintenance is required. Check the flame colour: it should be blue. If yellow (or the fridge works well on 12 volts but not on gas), the baffle inside the flue is likely coated with soot. Soot etc also drops down and affects the burner. Wearing safety glasses and old clothing, use a powerful air compressor to clean that baffle. Do likewise around the burner. Be aware this is a filthy job. You may prefer a fridge repairer to do it — and have them check the LP gas pressure at the same time. Whilst uncommon, an LP gas fridge may suddenly stop working. This is usually caused by a ‘vapour lock’ due to the caravan being excessively out of level. You can usually fix this by turning the fridge off, and make sure the caravan is level (within 3 degrees) — then turn the fridge back on after a few hours. A cause of cooling issues with gas fridges in imported RVs (or imported gas fridges) is if they are made for LP gas in a different country. If so, the jets can be the wrong size. If so, seek expert advice. Use three-way fridges as their makers intend. Run them on 12 volts only whilst driving or an hour or so from the battery because they draw too much energy to run from solar. For caravans, use heavy cabling — ideally 10 to 13.5mm² — from the alternator to the caravan battery. Consider installing a dc-dc alternator charger close to that caravan battery. Use at least 6mm² cables from that battery to the fridge. Make caravan fridges work as claimed — in cars and 4WDs Making caravan fridges work as claimed in cars and 4WDs is more of a problem. Keep them out of direct sunlight, and leave air space around the grill’s vent areas. It is fine to pack stuff close to or touching them — except for the types shown below (these must have a 50mm air gap each side as the heat dissipates from their sides). You can improve all types of fridges (some dramatically) by running a 6mm² (8 AWG) cable directly from the battery to that fridge (a maximum of four metres away). Use 6 AWG if the distance exceeds four metres. A few boat and RV fridges, such as this Australian designed and made Autofridge, (right)dissipate heat from their side-walls. These fridges must have an air gap of 50mm each side. Pic: Autofridge Australia. Fridge issues generally Do not over-pack RV fridges as space is needed to allow cool air to circulate. Door seals leak after a few years. To check, insert a strong strip of this paper (e.g. a banknote) between the door and the seal (at various places around the door) and see if it grips. If not, cool air escapes, so replace the seals every three to five years. Fridges with external cooling fins benefit by adding extra heat insulation. Some fridges, however, such as the Intel and Autofridge (pic above), dissipate heat from their side-walls. If possible have a cool air feed to the base of their sides. They must have an air gap (of 50 mm or so) at either side and their top. Make caravan fridges work as claimed – summary It is totally possible to make almost all RV fridges work as claimed (or even better) via the work described above. Except for the very cheapest fridges, dismiss claims of inherent deficiencies. If a fridge is appropriate for its proposed use, problems are almost always due to faulty installation. For domestic fridges, and fridges in cabins, virtually all of the above is relevant. n Further reading A great deal more on how to make fridges work as claimed is in my book Caravan & Motorhome Electrics. It even shows how to build your own fridge that leaves commercial units for dead in cooling and economy. It also includes a lot of information about running them from solar. ckw.nz/c-m-electrics Reproduced with permission. rvbooks.com.au . GO TO Celebrating Summer problems are almost always due to faulty installation Up Up 7 Autumn 2024 , p 29 ISSN 2815-827X (Online) | ISSN:2815-8261 (Print) ISSUE 4 editor@campingthekiwiway.org