Cars & Camping
I wouldn’t say that I am a 4WD enthusiast, I’m not mad about 4WDs or even driving tough stuff.
This is just an extension of my enjoyment of travelling, of exploring.
I plan to one day drive around Australia, this will involve a 4WD in order to access the best places and do some dirt road driving.
It all started during COVID when everyone was buying 4WDs because we couldn’t travel overseas. However, I got mine as a blank canvas and slowly worked away to get it to where I wanted it (for now) so it’s been a long time in the making.
Connected to the four wheel driving is of course camping, in Australia it is too expensive to stay at hotels for very long, camping is the way to go to not burn through all of your money.
In this section will be all things camping or car related as I see the two as being intertwined for my use case.
My 4WD Build
I bought a 2015 Mazda BT-50 in the middle of 2021 and proceeded to spend the next 2+ years and tens of thousands of dollars trying to make it what I envisioned at the start. Below is the full documentation of that process with all the prices and dates included.
Other 4WD Build Posts
The above post is the nuts and bolts of it all, but these other posts are also related to the build, diving into different subjects with some depth and analysis, or reviewing different parts of the project.
What Is The Best DCDC Charger? – DCDC Charger Comparison
DCDC Charger Comparison & Guide G'day. This post is a DCDC charger comparison. In it I will be comparing DCDC chargers that have charge cycles for lithium batteries and range from 25 amps all the way up to 60 amps. Using the numbers in the DCDC charger...
Solar Blanket Comparison – Who Can Benefit From A Solar Blanket?
Portable Solar Panel Comparison & Guide G'day solar fans. This post is a solar blanket comparison, comparing solar blankets only. Solar blankets are those that fold multiple times, they pack away into small cases and differ from portable panels in that they...
Portable Solar Panel Comparison – Will A Portable System Work For You?
Portable Solar Panel Comparison & Guide G'day green energy lovers. This post is a portable solar panel comparison, comparing solar panels that fold (usually in half), come with stands to angle them towards the sun at camp and are for 12 volts systems. There...
Gear & Equipment Comparisons
As I looked to fit out my 4WD with different gear, both fixed and removable, I did a bunch of research to try and narrow down what would work for me. I though heavily about the pros and cons of each choice.
This set of posts is me sharing all of that information in order for others to make infomed decisions. Your final choice might be different to mine and that’s fine, it’s just about sharing the information.
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Camping
Hand in hand with 4WD travel comes camping.
These posts cover camping accessories, locations, tips and tricks. Whatever it is to do with staying in a swag, a caravan park or anything that isn’t a hostel or hotel will be covered here.
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12 Volt
A lot of people find 12 volt quite tricky, and it can be.
But if you tinker around with it and use good work practices you learn a lot about your car’s camping setup, how to fault find is very important if something ever goes wrong when you’re by yourself.
In this section is all things electrical that I’ve posted during the car build.
UltraGauge Mazda BT-50 Automatic Transmission Temperature
UltraGauge Mazda BT-50 Automatic Transmission Temperature A difficult thing to find is the way in which you can set the UltraGauge to read transmission temperatures on the Mazda BT-50. If you have purchased an UltraGauge (eBay), like I did for cheap from the...
Where to Wire a Kill Switch in a Ford Ranger / Mazda BT-50?
Where to wire a kill switch in a Ford Ranger? If you're like me and work away for a living, or are security conscious of your new ute, then you might want to install a kill switch in your car. In this post I will go through my experiences and tests on where to...




