Vecto caravan shakedown tour.

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🇦🇺 City Of Greater Geraldton, Australia
Vecto caravan shakedown tour.Traveler
Coral Bay - 8 days of sun, sea and good company.
May 31 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 24 °C
We’ve just wrapped up 8 full days in Coral Bay, and what a fantastic stop it’s been.
The weather turned it on for us, with warm sunny days, crystal-clear water and plenty of opportunities to slow down and enjoy life. One of the things we’ve loved most about travelling is the people we meet along the way, and Coral Bay certainly delivered. We had great neighbours in the caravan park and enjoyed plenty of chats with fellow travellers over a beer and a meal at Bill’s Bar & Restaurant and the Reef Café.
Most of our days revolved around the water. We spent a couple of days snorkelling at Five Fingers Reef, swam at the main beach, and even headed out on a snorkelling boat trip. The Ningaloo Reef never disappoints, with colourful coral, plenty of fish and a few turtle sightings making the effort worthwhile.
On Friday we made the drive north to Exmouth to see how things were looking after Cyclone Narelle. While there, we snorkelled at Oyster Stacks on an exceptionally low tide, stocked up on supplies at the cheaper supermarkets, and caught up for coffee with one of Kim’s former students. It’s always nice when travel creates those unexpected connections.
Of course, it wasn’t all action. There was plenty of relaxing around the van, enjoying the beach atmosphere and sneaking in a bit more editing for upcoming Not So Grey Wanderers YouTube episodes. The Vecto continues to impress us. We’ve identified a few minor tweaks that will be sorted in early July, but overall it’s performing brilliantly and giving us plenty of confidence as we prepare for The Lap later this year.
But now it’s time for a change of scenery.
The turquoise waters of Ningaloo are behind us for now as we point the LandCruiser south and then east. Our next destination is the Wheatbelt, where campfires, big skies and a very different landscape await.

The adventure continues…Read more
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Vecto caravan shakedown tour.Traveler
The shake down continues.
May 20 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
Our next stop on the Vecto Shakedown has been Gladstone… camped right on the beach.
And honestly, it’s a beautiful spot.

Quiet water, beach walks, canoeing, sunsets, campfires and those classic WA coastal evenings where the sky slowly turns orange while the tide disappears into the distance.
The sort of place where you sit there and think:
“Yep… this is exactly why we bought the caravan.”
We spent a few very relaxed days here just slowing down a bit. Morning walks, a paddle in the canoe, plenty of sitting around and generally doing not much at all.
Which, it turns out, is actually one of the great joys of travelling.
BUT…
There was one small issue.
Actually… about 14 billion small issues.
The flies during the day were absolutely relentless. Full respect now to anyone who invented the fly net hat because mine earned its keep immediately.
And then at night… the moths and beetles arrived.
Apparently Gladstone operates a full day-and-night insect shift system.
So while the location itself was fantastic, we did spend a fair bit of time retreating inside the van.
The upside of that though was we really got to test the off-grid battery system properly. Longer periods inside running lights, testing the aircon, charging devices, editing videos and generally living in the van without external power.
And so far, the Vecto is handling it all really well.
That said… the whole point of a shakedown trip is to actually FIND the little issues before the big lap begins. And yes… we’ve definitely discovered a few more things that need tweaking or adjusting before August.
Nothing major.
Just the usual “learning your new caravan” stuff.
I also managed to spend some time editing our Europe footage from a couple of years ago — including our narrowboat adventure through England. So while we’re travelling Australia, I’m simultaneously editing ourselves floating around the English countryside at 4 kilometres an hour 😄
The travel pace so far has been perfect.
No rushing.
No strict schedule.
Just slowly working our way north toward Coral Bay later this month.
And honestly… we’re loving this lifestyle more and more.Read more
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Vecto caravan shakedown tour.Traveler
Coronation Beach
May 18 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
Well… another successful off-grid stop completed.
We’ve just spent 3 nights at Coronation Beach, north of Geraldton, and it turned out to be a fantastic spot to continue the Vecto Shakedown.
This place has a real “WA coastal camping” feel about it. Red dirt, blue water, beach camps, campfires at night and plenty of travellers all doing their own version of life on the road.
The weather for us was beautiful. Sunny days, cool evenings and enough breeze to remind us why Coronation Beach is famous with windsurfers and kitesurfers.
And judging by some of the locals we watched over the weekend… these people are either very talented… or completely insane 😄
There was constant action on the water:
* surfers
* foilers
* kite surfers
* and some very futuristic-looking surfboards with winged keels that appeared to hover above the ocean.
Apparently this area is one of WA’s better wind and water sports locations, and we can absolutely see why.
Although we also reckon that in the middle of summer this place would blow harder than a politician avoiding a direct question.
Kim even managed two swims, which says plenty because the water still has a decent chill in it this time of year.
One interesting feature of the beach was the enormous amount of seaweed washed ashore. While it might not make for postcard-perfect sand, it actually made beachcombing surprisingly fun. Amongst the seaweed piles were shells, bits of drift material and an impressive collection of plastic kids toys clearly claimed by the ocean at some point in their lives.
Apparently seaweed buildup along this stretch is fairly common and actually plays an important role in protecting the dunes and coastal ecosystem… although it also does a pretty good job of hiding thongs and cray pot bait holders.
The Vecto has continued performing really well off-grid. We’re still learning little things every day, but that’s exactly what this trip is about.
Because this isn’t the big adventure yet.
The BIG one starts in August… when we point the Cruiser and Vecto around Australia.
This trip is the practice run.
And so far… we’re loving every minute of it.Read more
TravelerLife is looking pretty good watching from here. Enjoy
1wReply
TravelerSo far so good. At Gladstone now. The flies!!!!!
1wReply
TravelerYuk
1wReply
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Vecto caravan shakedown tour.Traveler
Shake down - first 3 days done
May 14 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Well… the first proper off-grid test of the Vecto is complete.
And honestly? Sandy Cape turned it on for us.
Three days of sunshine, calm blue water, beach walks and relaxing into caravan life. The weather was just about perfect and gave us plenty of opportunity to continue learning all the systems and quirks of the new van.
The towing experience from Wundowie to Sandy Cape went really well. The Cruiser handled the Vecto comfortably, although the strong headwinds definitely reminded us that towing a caravan is basically like dragging a small block of flats through the air. Fuel usage was a bit higher than hoped, but apparently aerodynamics still matter 😄
Life inside the van has been wonderfully comfortable. We’re slowly finding homes for everything and figuring out what works and what doesn’t. A few little teething issues have popped up along the way, but nothing major.
And yes… for anyone playing along at home…
Did you know solar inputs now use BLUE Anderson plugs?
I certainly didn’t!
Today we rolled into Geraldton for a quick overnight stop to restock supplies, refill a few things and prepare for the next leg north. Interestingly, with almost no headwind today, the fuel figures improved quite a bit. Amazing what a difference the weather makes when towing.
Unfortunately the sunshine has disappeared and tonight we’ve got rain instead of beach sunsets.
Tomorrow we move on to Coronation Beach.
So far though, the Vecto Shakedown is doing exactly what it’s meant to do:
learning, testing, adjusting… and slowly settling into this new travelling lifestyle.
And we’re loving it. 🍻Read more
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Vecto caravan shakedown tour.Traveler
Vecto Shakedown – The Adventure Begins
May 11 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
And just like that… we’re finally on the road.
After plenty of planning, a few changes thanks to Cyclone Narelle, and more caravan packing debates than either of us expected, the Vecto Shakedown has officially begun.
Our first 2 nights away was really just a “training wheels” exercise at Coogee Beach Caravan Park on the 8th and 9th. A chance to see if everything worked, if the new Vecto towed properly, and whether we actually remembered where we packed things. So far, so good… mostly.
The new van tows beautifully behind the Cruiser, although we’re quickly learning that packing a Vecto is very different to our old Coromal. Every cupboard seems to have a “correct” location for things… we just haven’t discovered all those locations yet.
We also stopped in Bunbury to have the setup professionally weighed. Thankfully nothing too dramatic showed up, although a bit of weight redistribution and fiddling still needs doing. Apparently “just shove it wherever it fits” isn’t an official caravan loading strategy.
Naturally, it wouldn’t be a shakedown trip without me pressing random buttons and turning mystery knobs inside the van. That little experiment resulted in no hot water for a while. Thankfully the team at Vecto Caravans were fantastic and after about 30 minutes on the phone we had the water heater running again. Confidence restored. Slightly.
Sunday night we stayed in Wundowie with Coral and Dale which made for a really nice evening before properly heading north.
Tonight we’ve rolled into Sandy Cape, just north of Jurien Bay, where we’ll spend the next three nights testing out the full off-grid setup.
And wow… this place is BUSY.
Caravans everywhere. Kids everywhere. Caravans, rooftop tents, campfires, sausages frying, fishing rods and setups ranging from “minimalist camper” to what appears to be a small mining operation.
So now the real testing begins:
* solar
* batteries
* water usage
* Starlink
* storage systems
* and whether we can actually remember which switch turns on what.
So far though… we’re loving it.

Here’s to the start of the adventure.Read more
TravelerYou right a good story, looking forward to following this adventure. Let's go. Destination this time??
2wReply
If I had seen your post earlier we would have called into the Coogee Park. Have a great time [Kerryn]
2wReply
TravelerThanks Kerryn. Next time. 😁
2wReply
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Vecto caravan shakedown tour.Traveler
Wundowie
May 11 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
We stayed the night with Coral and Dale. They fed and watered us well.
I also managed to fix a user error with the hot water system. I need to not fiddle!
Another beautiful morning.
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Vecto caravan shakedown tour.Traveler
City of Cockburn
May 9 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
Our first stop as we head north is Discovery caravan park in Coogee.
Right on the beach.
The new Vecto caravan towed well. Had it weighed in Bunbury and the towball weight is a little high, but I know how to fix it. Averaged around 4kpl to get here.Read more
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Trip start
May 9, 2026