If you are road tripping Australia it’s very likely you have a Power source setup that includes Solar Panels and more importantly it is good to know the benefits of cleaning your Solar Panels.

Before we ventured off on our trip my electrician mate gave me the wise words of “make sure you keep the solar panels clean”. He explained this will ensure maximum efficiency.

Our process for cleaning solar panels

Today we show you how I go about cleaning our panels.

We have 3 panels on the roof of our Motorhome and they get cleaned on a regular basis.

You’ll need access to your roof, a chamois or sponge, water (warm is good) and a cloth or something to wipe it dry, is good too.

Since doing this video we have implemented our new C-TEK battery management system and got it working and now we generate a lot more power than we were on this day.

Keep your solar panels clean and you will enjoy a lot more efficiency from your solar system.

How often should you clean your solar panels on your Caravan or Motorhome?

Generally it is recommended that you should be manually cleaning your solar panels on your Caravan or Motorhome every six months.

Certainly rain will wash away dust and some of the dirt but for maximum efficiency of your panels you really need to remove any dirt or residue yourself.

How often are you cleaning your Solar Panels?

Hope you enjoy the video.

Other Useful Travel Tips

You may also find these other blogs useful:

How do you go about cleaning your solar panels on your caravan or motorhome? Tell us what method you use for cleaning your solar panels.

Safe travels

Kev & Adele
Indefinite Leave

We are Adele & Kevin, an Aussie couple from Brisbane in Queensland Australia who have embraced our adventurous spirit and ventured out to explore the world around us. We had spent so much time overseas we decided it was time to see our own truly amazing country and we needed to take some time to see everything it has to offer.

Our Aim is to inspire others to travel and help design the greatest adventure they can experience.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Photography and Socials

Our camera equipment we use for all our photos and videos are:

Samsung Note 10 Plus Phone – http://ebay.us/9vMXEH – Most of our photos are simply from our phones. The Samsung phone cameras are pretty insane. Our phones have 512gb storage in ours but the 256gb in this one is heaps.

Samsung s21 Phone – https://ebay.us/QAdwva – this looks an insane camera within a phone. We have friends and our son who own one and it seems quite extraordinary with their camera quality. If you’re after a new phone this is what I’d be looking at.

Canon 800d – https://ebay.us/Q0UV1z – the latest DSLR Canon 24mp camera, buy here to save.

Nikon Coolpix p1000 – https://ebay.to/37cORUV – We have the Nikon P900 and this is the new model. The zoom lens is unbelievable and so awesome when travelling and you want to capture photos from a distance.

Lenses

Canon 50mm lens – https://ebay.to/3nx5pyG  This is the lens I use the least, ideal for still, close up shots.
Canon 24-105mm lens – https://ebay.us/br9MeO – This is my all round, everyday use, zoom lens. Amazing quality, great price.
Canon 70-300mm lens – https://ebay.to/33xYeht – I use this one a lot for long range shots.
Sigma 10-20mm lens – http://ebay.us/zWvfuI  – My wide angle lens for all my inside photos & video plus lots more, love this lens.

Our Go Pro 9 Hero Black – https://ebay.us/6CQOVC  –  is an awesome piece of equipment. I use this for all underwater, action video and some general use. Buy here brand new and great value.

Mavic Pro Platinum Drone – https://ebay.to/2ARPxTo  This is an absolute ripper of a drone. The Fly More Combo will provide you with everything you will need. I use this for all my aerial footage and this price is well below other retail stores.

_______________________________________________________________________

Follow us, Subscribe, Like, Share, and Comment on our website and social media here:-

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indefiniteleave/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indefinite_leave/

Website: https://indefiniteleave.com.au/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/indefiniteleave

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/indefiniteleave/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/indefiniteleav3

___________________________________________________________

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something through a link on this page we may receive a small commission. It will not cost you any more, in fact we’ve sourced out some great deals for you. Thank you for supporting us.

Water is one of the necessities of life and on the road it can create a whole new challenge, so a 4 way tap handle is a great tool to have on hand.

Unlike home, you can’t just turn on the tap for an endless supply of fresh clean drinking water.

You will be limited in the capacity of water you can carry in your Caravan or Motorhome and if you like to Free camp a lot, and be off grid, you’re going to need access to water at some stage.

In most cases there is somewhere nearby where water is readily available.

In other places it might be much less easy but usually Information Centres and Councils provide water for Free or very low cost.

To access this water you might need a tap handle as they are sometimes removed because of vandalism and people leaving the water running.

The 4 way brass tap handle is a must for the tool kit when traveling around Australia.

Places where you need a 4 Way Tap Handle to access water

There are plenty of Information Centres that provide water but you need the Anti Vandal Tap Key to turn on the water tap.

There’s been many other approved locations we have been around our country where we have needed our 4 Way Tap Handle to be able to access available water.

This will give you access to approved drinking water locations in places you would not have otherwise been able to.

It is especially useful if you do a lot of free camping and are not able to access water easily as you can when parked up in Caravan Parks and Campgrounds.

It’s the best few bucks you will spend travelling Australia 🙂

You can purchase a 4 way tap handle for under $20 from ebay.

We now have 2, one in each of our vehicles, and we keep ours in the glove box.

We have used it heaps of times as we travel our Big Lap of Oz.

When you are on the road full time and living within a strict budget, then Free and Low Cost accommodation is a vital part of travelling and you are unlikely to have consistent easy access to water.

You still need it though.

When using your 4 Way Tap Handle ensure the water you are filling up with is drinking potable water.

Always keep the Tap Key handy where you can find it when you need it.

Be aware if there are any water restrictions in the town where you are. If water is limited only take what you actually need.

If you buy a 4 way tap handle here on eBay you’ll get it at the Best Price and it comes with Free standard postage.

Other Handy Items to use when sourcing water as your travel

Collapsible Water Containers

Other items you will need or might find handy when travelling and storing water include these collapsible water containers.

For years now we have been carrying 3-4 of these 20L collapsible water containers which work perfectly to store extra water.

We use them all the time to refill our Motorhome and when we go camping on places like Fraser Island.

They would be perfect for any 4WD to fill and transport back to your Caravan.

They are light, collapse down to be easily stored, are durable and cheap.

Find the ones we use here on Ebay – https://ebay.us/Ja1E53

Drinking Water Hose

A drinking water hose is ideal to use instead of a garden hose.

Drinking water hoses are usually clear or blue in colour as opposed to your green garden hose which can leave a distinct taste in the water.

Hoses for drinking water are non toxic and safe to use for your drinking water.

We carry a 20m water hose to ensure we can reach any taps we may need to during our travels.

Check out the full range on eBay here – https://ebay.us/t2IA2b

Hose Connections

You’ll also need a good set of Hose connections.

We have found when we use the cheap plastic ones they tend to leak and sometimes disconnect from the Motorhome and can flood the area.

For this reason we choose to use quality brass hose fittings that only cost a little more but don’t waste precious water and give a much better seal around the connected areas.

Check out the range of Brass Tap fittings on eBay here – https://ebay.to/323Xrov

Inline Water Filter

A great easy way to filter your drinking water when travelling is to use an inline water filter.

All of our water goes through an external water filter attached to our drinking water hose and then connected to the outside tap when we are attached to mains water.

Here are some other handy travel tips that we have put together, so you may also enjoy reading:

Pin – 4 Way Tap Handle

Do you use a 4 way tap handle to access water as you travel?

Tell us how often and where you use your 4 way tap handle.

Safe travels

Kev & Adele
Indefinite Leave

________________________________________________________________

Photography and Socials

Our camera equipment we use for all of our photos and videos are:

Samsung Note 10 Plus Phone – http://ebay.us/9vMXEH – Most of our photos are simply from our phones. The Samsung phone cameras are pretty insane. Our phones have 512gb storage in ours but the 256gb in this one is heaps. We have sourced this one which is approx $500 less than we paid for ours.

Samsung s21 Phone – https://ebay.us/QAdwva – this looks an insane camera within a phone. We have friends and our son who own one and it seems quite extraordinary with their camera quality. If you’re after a new phone this is what I’d be looking at.

Canon 800d – https://ebay.us/Q0UV1z – the latest DSLR Canon 24mp camera, buy here to save.

Nikon Coolpix p1000 – https://ebay.to/37cORUV – We have the Nikon P900 and this is the new model. The zoom lens is unbelievable and so awesome when travelling and you want to capture photos from a distance.

Lenses

Canon 50mm lens – https://ebay.to/3nx5pyG  This is the lens I use the least, ideal for still, close up shots.
Canon 24-105mm lens – https://ebay.us/br9MeO This is my all round, everyday use, zoom lens. Amazing quality, great price.
Canon 70-300mm lens – https://ebay.to/33xYeht – I use this one a lot for long range shots.
Sigma 10-20mm lens – http://ebay.us/zWvfuI  – My wide angle lens for all my inside photos & video plus lots more, love this lens.

Our Go Pro 9 Hero Black – https://ebay.us/6CQOVC  –  is an awesome piece of equipment. I use this for all underwater, action video and some general use. Buy here brand new and great value.

Mavic Pro Platinum Drone – https://ebay.to/2ARPxTo  This is an absolute ripper of a drone. The Fly More Combo will provide you with everything you will need. I use this for all my aerial footage and this price is well below other retail stores.

___________________________________________________________________________

Where to Find Us

Follow us, Subscribe, Like, Share, and Comment on our website and social media here:-

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indefiniteleave/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indefinite_leave/

Website: https://indefiniteleave.com.au/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/indefiniteleave

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/indefiniteleave/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/indefiniteleav3

________________________________________________________________

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something through a link on this page we may receive a small commission. It will not cost you any more, in fact we’ve sourced out some great deals for you. Thank you for supporting us.

One of our first essential accessories we purchased for our Motorhome was an Australian made Ampfibian 15amp to 10amp Waterproof Safety Adaptor to allow us to plug our newly purchased RV into a power socket at home.

Once we arrived home with our Winnebago Esperance Motorhome we knew we needed a safe and simple way to plug our 15 amp lead into our 10 amp socket.

This was 2015, when there wasn’t the explosion of information and options we have now.

Our research led us to the Ampfibian Adaptor which we still use and is still available today.

What is 15amp power?

A very common question we see is “How can I plug my caravan into my house”.

Our Motorhome, like most Caravans and RVs, runs on 15amp power. Our homes however are 10amp with a different sized earth pin.

15amp is a heavier duty wire then you’re normal household 10amp and it comes with a larger earth pin to help carry the extra load.

Therefore a 15amp cable will not connect in to a 10amp socket.

In the video further below we explain how we use a safety adaptor to connect our 15amp power source into 10amp, your normal household power point, using an easy to purchase waterproof adaptor.

By using the Adaptor we can insert the 15amp plug into the socket which transfers it from 10amp allowing us to then plug into normal household mains power (10amp/ 240v).

Why do we need the 15amp to 10amp Safety Adaptor?

We use it whenever we need to plug our 15 amp plug into a 10 amp socket.

This is if we are ever parked up at home or when we have generously been offered places to stay at people’s property around the country.

Family and friends around Australia have offered for us to stay with them at times and with the use of our adaptor we have been able to plug in to their electricity source with our 15amp power cable to their 10amp socket.

What 15amp to 10amp adaptor do we use?

We use our Ampfibian 15amp to 10amp adaptor regularly and have had it for over 7 years and it still works perfectly.

It is completely weather proof so even if it rains there are no issues.

Are there cheaper versions?

Yes, there are and they might be perfect for you. The RV Plus Ampfibian is more compact in size, also waterproof and designed for Caravan and RV use.

You can search and compare prices here.

Keeping it safe

We have read online where people have claimed there is no difference between 15amp and 10amp and have made alterations to their plug so they don’t have to buy an adaptor.

I’m no electrician but my research says differently. It will very likely void any warranty, let alone possibly cause a fire.

Keep it safe, use an Ampfibian so you will have no issues.

You can view the details of one here and find it at a great price, the Ampfibian 15A to 10A Adaptor with RCD Protection

Lead Safety Box

While discussing lead connections we also use this great Lead Safety Box.

This is where we have a 15amp power point so no need to transfer the power but there’s still a connection of two leads outside in all weather.

The Lead Safety Box keeps the connected power leads out of the weather, especially rain, showers or overnight dew.

We use the red Excalibur model and it’s been perfect for us.

You can order one from Ebay for as little as $10-15.

We use a 20 metre 15 amp extension lead for our travels.

Most times it is heaps but there’s the occasion where we find we do need the distance to reach a power box.

This is usually the case when staying at Showgrounds around Australia where they may have one power box for all campers to plug into in the near vicinity.

The Pine Rivers Showgrounds at Lawnton in Brisbane for example is one location where this can apply.

Check out the range of suitable 15 amp Extension leads on Ebay.

Here are some other Travel Tips that we have put together you may also enjoy reading:

________________________________________________________________

Pin – 15amp to 10amp Adaptor

Safe travels   

Kev & Adele
Indefinite Leave

We are Adele & Kevin, an Aussie couple from Brisbane in Queensland Australia who have embraced our adventurous spirit and ventured out to explore the world around us. We had spent so much time overseas we decided it was time to see our own truly amazing country and we needed to take some time to see everything it has to offer.

Our Aim is to inspire others to travel and help design the greatest adventure they can experience.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Photography and Socials

Our camera equipment we use for all of our photos and videos are:

Samsung Note 10 Plus Phone – http://ebay.us/9vMXEH – Most of our photos are simply from our phones. The Samsung phone cameras are pretty insane. Our phones have 512gb storage in ours but the 256gb in this one is heaps. We have sourced this one which is approx $500 less than we paid for ours.

Canon 800d – https://ebay.to/2XQYnsk – the latest DSLR Canon 24mp camera, buy here to save.
Lenses – Canon 50mm lens – https://ebay.to/3nx5pyG  This is the lens I use the least, ideal for still, close up shots.
Canon 24-105mm lens – https://ebay.us/br9MeO This is my all round, everyday use, zoom lens. Amazing quality, great price.
Canon 70-300mm lens – https://ebay.to/33xYeht – I use this one a lot for long range shots.
Sigma 10-20mm lens – http://ebay.us/zWvfuI  – My wide angle lens for all my inside photos & video plus lots more, love this lens.

Our Go Pro 9 Hero Black – https://ebay.us/6CQOVC  –  is an awesome piece of equipment. I use this for all underwater, action video and some general use. Buy here brand new and great value.

Mavic Pro Platinum Drone – https://ebay.to/2ARPxTo  This is an absolute ripper of a drone. The Fly More Combo will provide you with everything you will need. I use this for all my aerial footage and this price is well below other retail stores.

___________________________________________________________________________

Where to Find Us

Follow us, Subscribe, Like, Share, and Comment on our website and social media here:-

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indefiniteleave/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indefinite_leave/

Website: https://indefiniteleave.com.au/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/indefiniteleave

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/indefiniteleave/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/indefiniteleav3

________________________________________________________________

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something through a link on this page we may receive a small commission. It will not cost you any more, in fact we’ve sourced out some great deals for you. Thank you for supporting us.