Bushtracker additions

Our Busman fridge came with a very noisy fan that would keep us awake at night while the compressor was running. It's also a tiny fan, and I think it's not up to providing enough air to help keep the compressor cool. This photo shows the original smaller fan alongside the new one.

This quieter compressor fan was purchased from Jaycar.

A new mounting bracket and an inline power switch were installed so that we could turn off the fan at night, but thankfully, after using the van for four weeks, the cutout switch will never need to be used.

                                                                       

 While we are delighted with our Bushtracker, the following item should have been added as part of the build when the van was being built.

We have a compressor fridge mounted on the van's rear wall, and a hatch can be opened to assist with ventilation around the compressor while camping.

It's quite a large hatch, and some flyscreen is glued to the timber frame down around the bottom of the fridge to prevent insects from entering the van, but there was nothing in place to stop anything that crawls or flies from entering the fridge cavity.

Again, with a friend's help, I purchased a thin aluminium sheet that could be easily bent to fit neatly inside the fridge cavity. Best of all, it is fastened in place with five self-tappers, so removal is easy.

Starlink

We've just purchased a new service that we can use whenever we are away camping that gives us broadband internet, streaming, and voice calls from anywhere in Australia.

It's known as Starlink RV, and at present, the hardware is half-price at $450 with a monthly fee of $174.00. There are two versions, with the other being residential; however, the beauty of the RV version is that the service can be paused at any time when we are not travelling and then unpaused when we need the service again. The half price for the hardware also included two months of free access.

So it is a satellite internet system owned by SpaceX and Elon Musk, and it's better than existing services because the satellites that use this service are closer to earth.

The kit, ordered online, comprises the satellite dish, stand, router and the necessary cabling. It's a self setup arrangement, but the help provided in the Starlink app and several Facebook groups offers helpful information.

I tested the speeds with the dish mounted on the chevy canopy and was pleasantly surprised. Watched a Youtube video without any lag and rang my wife over Wifi.

I used information from these Facebook groups to decide what would suit me best for my installation. 

A friend has assisted in helping me in installing these attachments to the van to support our dish. We've mounted some gal pipe to the front of the generator box to fit the telescopic pole that will hold it in place.

The pole and the connector were purchased from Bunnings, and after a minor adjustment, they fitted perfectly, securing the dish to the pole.

The cable that connects the router to the dish is 75 metres long. We've drilled a hole through the floor in the through tunnel and fitted a dustproof and waterproof bung for running the cable through once the dish is in place.

The end that connects to the router has been run around the top of our hatch door, and after drilling, a hole comes out into the van via our shoe locker beside our bed.

We've also purchased a bag to house the dish while travelling. It's made by Outcamp in South Australia and fits all the packaging that comes with the dish.