 RainMan Camp Shower is a unique take on camping showers. The Australian designed and made stainless steel container is filled with water and can then be sat upon a gas cooker to heat, or even if left in the sun for a day or next to a camp fire will warm considerably. The handle on top is pumped to raise internal pressure and the shower head extends up on a telescopic pole to the desired height up to 178cm. The water flow is regulated at the shower head. At maximum flow rate you get a five minute shower from the 12L contents, at minimum 10 minutes. Priced around $350.
Keep an eye on electricity consumed or produced with a Watt Meter. There are a number of brands of these available on the internet, or they can be purchased from model aircraft stores where they are used to monitor battery performance in radio controlled aircraft. Plugged into a line with an appliance that consumes electricity they will record amps or watts consumed over a period of time, or plugged into a line between, say, a solar panel and the batteries it will monitor amps or watts produced. Prices are around $25-$30 but if Anderson plugs are desired this can increase to around $50.
Most campers these days have an external hand pump to wash your hands after packing up or while travelling. Ted Barker from NSW’s Lake Macquarie has gone one step further with this handy little aluminium bracket to hold a hand wash detergent dispenser. The dispenser and bracket clip onto the gas bottle above the tap as soon as camp is set up. It was a project that took but a few minutes to make.
Lake Macquarie, NSW resident Ted Barker protected his drawbar tap with a simple chequerplate aluminium shield to stop stones and other unwanted material battering it to pieces. It wouldn’t protect it from a large rock or log, but that was outside the scope of the project brief and the job works well as it is.
The traditional polyblock hitch and many of those which have an angular articulation can at times be a pain to hitch up because the poly block wants to tilt forward or back and thus presents a face to the coupling bracket that is too long to go together. To keep hands away this area of moving parts Gold Coast, Qld camper Les Scott uses a rubber door stop to wedge the block in place. Simple and easy.
Where to put that hitch pin when you are uncoupled? This has been a minor problem for campers for a long time and given that it gets dirty and greasy you don’t want it in the car or the camper, so Les Scott, from Qld’s Gold Coast, uses magnets from an old microwave oven. These are strong enough to attach themselves firmly to the underside of the drawbar and stay there permanently, and can then be used to attach the hitch pin out of site and the weather until needed. How easy is that?
Around a camper there any number of items that need to be held together: Ropes, ratchet straps, bundles of tent pegs, and so on, so why not make use of the stationery store for a simple solution. As discovered by Gold Coast, Qld’s Les Scott, you can buy bags of heavy duty rubber bands from your stationery store – 500g of them will cost around $15 – which will more than do the job. In fact, if you have a bag full in the camper you will find even more uses for them.
In hybrid campers there is always an issue of where to hang your damp towels or dirty clothes. You don’t want them filling the bench space, or littering the floor, or over the foot of the bed. Paynesville, Vic camper Roger Duck simply added a small U-bracket to a roof support in his Vista Crossover and a length of dowel which travels easily on the bed and he has a simple, almost cost-free solution to where he hangs the tea towel.
Organisation is important when you go camping, and you need a place for everything and everything in its place. Paynesville, Vic’s Roger Duck made this simple little shelf and key hanger for the inside of his Vista Crossover. On the way in or out of the camper he can lay his hands on the car keys or the means of navigating around camp at night with simple ease.
When you go camping you find yourself staying in all sorts of camp spots, some of which will have shower facilities. These can sometimes be in less than perfect state, and often – in fact, almost universally – they will have few if any hooks in the cubicles. Throw a couple of plastic hangers in the shower kit, the sort that hang on doors, to provide some very necessary and handy hooks when you need them.
Ray Holgarth from Qld’s Gold Coast is a devotee of these little Thai Oven cookers. They are small and easily transported and can be purchased from Asian food stores. They run on charcoal or heat beads and with a small wind break and a battery-powered rotisserie can cook roasts and chickens to perfection, and without the latter add-ons can be used to cook chips, skewers and wok dishes. There are numerous recipes on line to suit.
Last night, representatives of the United States and China reached an agreement on the first phase of the trade deal. To conclude an agreement, both parties were forced to soften their positions. Earlier, Beijing demanded the cancellation of all existing tariffs and planned for the introduction on Chinese exports ones but agreed to the abolition of taxes, which were supposed to come into force on December 15, and to 50% reduction in tariffs on Chinese exports in the amount of 360 billion dollars. Washington succeeded in securing $40 billion worth of purchases of US agricultural products by the PRC, although initially, the US administration had hoped to sell goods for $50 billion. President Trump approved the agreement and noted on Twitter that the parties were close to a big deal and wanted to conclude it. During the day, investors wait for the release of November data on retail sales in the United States. It is expected that the indicator may grow by 0.5%, which will support USD.
Today, oil quotes are climbing higher. Prices intensify amid an initial trade deal between the United States and China that could increase energy demand. The market also continues to support OPEC forecasts, according to which, next year, the market expects a small oil shortage. In the evening, the publication of the Baker Hughes report on active oil platforms in the United States of America is expected. Previously, the number decreased from 668 to 663 units. Continuation of this trend may support oil quotes.
EUR is strengthening against GBP and JPY but has ambiguous dynamics against USD.
European investors are focused on the events in the UK, where, according to preliminary data, the conservative party of Boris Johnson won the parliamentary elections. EU leaders have already congratulated him and expressed hope for the speedy approval of the deal on Britain’s secession from the European Union. If Brexit takes place before January 31, 2020, the so-called transitional period until will come the end of the year, during which London and Brussels will agree on further economic cooperation. In particular, there is a plan for concluding a trade agreement. However, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, has already suggested that it will not be possible to agree on a trade agreement in 11 months. In this case, pressure on the British economy will intensify again.
GBP is weakening against its main competitors – JPY, USD, and EUR.
Yesterday, GBP sharply strengthened against competitors due to the victory of the conservatives in the parliamentary elections, so the current decline is corrective. According to preliminary data, the Conservative Party will receive 364 seats in the new Parliament, which is the best result since 1987. A significant part of the traditional Labor supporters who are expecting the end of the Brexit uncertainty has voted for the Johnson party. The Labor Party is likely to receive only 203 mandates. Boris Johnson has already announced that Brexit will take place before January 31 of next year and is likely to submit a deal with the EU for ratification next week. After Britain leaves the European Union, a transitional period will begin, when the United Kingdom will have to establish economic relations and conclude agreements with trading partners, which also seems to be a difficult task. In general, for another year (the transition period), British business will again be in a state of uncertainty, which is likely to put pressure on the UK economy.
JPY is strengthening against GBP but weakening against EUR and USD.
JPY is under pressure of Tankan business activity indices and outflow of investors due to the conclusion of the first phase of a trade agreement between the United States and China. Q4 sentiment index of industrial producers fell from 5 to 0 points, which is the weakest indicator in 7 years. Companies expect that trading conditions will not change or even worsen over the next three months. The Japanese automakers are the most pessimists, as they are seriously affected by the US-Chinese trade conflict. However, Japanese firms intend to increase capital expenditures by 6.8% during the current fiscal year. The Tankan index for the service sector, although it was higher than market expectations still fell from 21 to 20 points. However, the survey was conducted before the PRC and the United States concluded an initial trading deal, so the mood of Japanese business could improve in the next quarter.
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AUD is weakening against JPY, EUR, and USD but is strengthening against GBP.
Due to a lack of significant Australian economic releases, the movement of AUD is technical in nature. Investors are following the development of trade relations between the United States and China, which have signed the initial trade agreement and are