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One thing of your caravan that is on a constant streak of wear and tear is a tyre. Your caravan tyres are all the time in contact with the terrain, irrespective of what kind of terrain it is; gravel roads from the outback, smooth highways or a heated asphalt road on a summer camping trip.

The constant wear and tear, fluctuating load (of the caravan) and the weather conditions take a heavy toll on your caravan wheels, and it becomes extremely important to take the right care of them. Rotating the caravan tyres every once in a while is a great way to elongate their lives.

 
Follow these steps to rotate your caravan wheels in the best way.

1. Jack up- Jack up your van with sturdy jack stands. Ensure the van doesn’t move. Now remove the torque wheel nuts. In case you do not have an electric torque wrench, you should loosen the torque nuts (using a manual torque wrench) before jacking up the van. Once it is jacked up simply switch the van into any gear so that the tyres get locked and then remove the torque nuts completely.

2. Inspect- Once all the tyres of the van are out, inspect each one of them carefully. Look for feathered edges by running your hands over the surface of the tyre. Wears such as centre wear, shoulder wear, spot wear and others can be easily spotted by having a good look. This kind of wear and tear affects the wheel alignment of the van. In case of shoulder wear, the rotation could be a good option, on the flip side, a centre or a spot wear needs a tyre replacement. Brush the tread of every tire well to remove the dirt, small pebbles, rocks from the tyre.

3. Missing balance weights- If you find the balance weights missing, take the rims to a tyre outlet and get them rebalanced. The unbalanced tyres can cause ride disturbances and may also result in a wobbling steering wheel.

4. Check for replacements- As you have all the tyres removed, it is a great opportunity to thoroughly check each one of them for wear and tear. If your tyre hasn’t irreplaceably worn out, you can still check if it's time to replace it, as every tyre has a life of about 10 years. The date of manufacturing is embossed on the tyre in a 4-digit code i.e. month followed by the year.

5. Rotate the wheels- It is time to swap the tyres. The best way to do is to switch the tyres to opposite sides.
You should re-torque the lug nuts of your caravan tyres every 100 Kms. To get more such interesting guides and tips on caravan maintenance, check out https://www.xtendoutdoors.com.au/blogs/news

1. Light in the first place- It is so obvious, you need you to start off with carrying light. Although you need to pack what you need to pack for a hiking trip, yet you should work on toning down the stuff you carry. Probably those lightweight hikers would do as much as those heavy hiking boots.

2. Move like animals- Move in groups, no it is not the herd mentality we are talking about. Hiking in groups shares the load and thus reduces the burden on every individual. Hiking in groups is a great example of teamwork.

3. Drop the weight as you move- Everything you carry on a hiking trip can be categorized in two; perishable and perdurable. There is nothing more perishable than food items. Start losing the food items which you know you won’t consume in the near future thus making them meet a rotting destiny.

4. Layer clothes- Going hiking in winters could weigh you down tremendously. But then there is a way you do not have to carry all that excess baggage. All you need to do is layer clothes. Layering a couple of sweaters or a wearing a coat on a sweater would not only lose the weight, it would also save you space.

5. Skill up- For most of us, skilling up for a hiking trip would be a long shot. But if you consider hiking above all the other outdoor activities, you should acquire new skills. New skills give you new ways to do things, eventually lessening your burden. Skills could also include hacks and tips.

6. The all-in-one- You need essential gears on a hiking trip and you cannot tone them down or leave them behind. Well, a better idea is to consolidate them. Let's take an example, your mobile has GPS, camera, can communicate and a lot many things. That could be a great all-in-one alternative to say a compass and a DSLR. You can weigh yourself down by consolidating many more hiking gears.

1. Amass what all is required- There are lot many things before you set a bonfire. The campfire basics include fuel, rags or cotton balls, tinder, fire starter. You need to make sure there is enough tinder to light up the campfire, the tinder may include twigs, dried leaves, and needles. Make sure they are not moist as a moist tinder doesn’t catch fire easily.

2. Get the firestarter- A firestarter should be the most effective resource you carry for a campfire. Matches might sound like the best fire starters but they might not turn out to be the best. In the outdoor, there could be water or wind which would deter all your efforts of striking a light. Instead of carrying an effective fire starter or a flint is a better choice.

3. Clear the campfire site- Spotting a pit or making one for your campfire requires clearing it. There may be a lot of debris that could hamper the fire and even sometimes help it spread easily. To ensure you do not face either of the situations clear the pit of everything. Select a spot which away from bush and trees to deter any chances of catching and spreading a fire.

4. Fence it- Fencing a campfire does not only help it from putting off but also gives it a barrier which keeps out people especially small kids. The best way to fence the campfire is to put boulders around it.

5. Fire it up- After you fence the site, you need to fire it up. Spray a little fuel on the pile of dried leaves, needles and twigs. Tie a rag or fasten cotton balls around a poke (a wooden stick) and soak it in gasoline or any other fuel you are carrying along. Light the end of the stick which that was soaked in fuel and fire the heap of tinder. You can slowly add sliced wooden logs to the fire which would fuel it further. Once the flames are down you would get hot embers which are best to roast the marshmallow or cook anything else. Keep adding wooden logs for as long as you want the campfire to be burning.

6. Douse it- Once you are done with the campfire it is very important to extinguish it especially if you are in an inhabited area. Spread out the embers so that they die, the next thing you need to do is pour a bucket of water to put off the fire completely. Hover your hand over the doused campfire to check if there is any heat left. A good way to be assured the fire is completely out is, waiting till the doused fire stops giving out steam.

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1. Coffee Flask Mug- Ask your mum what kept her awake long nights when you weren’t well and most likely the answer you'll get is caffeine. Yes, coffee helped her to endure the sleepless nights and that makes a coffee flask mug the first choice to gift your mum for her adventurous camping trips. A coffee flask mug insulates the coffee or any other hot beverage and keeps the temperature intact.

2. Folding Hammock- Save your mum from all the hassle of tying and untying hammock strings on the trunk or worse searching a tree to tie the hammock on her camping trip. Gift her a folding hammock which has table-like legs to support, is completely foldable and equally easy to carry.

3. Smart Band- Mothers have always been after our health and they would always be. Why not gift your camping mum something for her good health this Mother’s Day? A smart band would be just the right pick, it would help her track her physical activities, sleep trends, heart rate, calories burned and much more.

4. Bluetooth Speakers- Probably a while ago you were after her to buy you a speaker but now times have changed. She might not be an avid music lover but she does sometimes get bored on her camping trip. Listening to her favourite songs on a Bluetooth speaker would cheer her up while cooking a meal in the outback or simply relaxing on the foldable hammock.

5. National Park Map- Even if your mum is a camping enthusiast or she has just started with camping, a national park map would help her a lot. Ask her where and when she plans her next camping trip after you gift you this and you would get to hear an awesome grand plan.

6. Swissknife- Mums have a habit of carrying everything especially on a camping trip, right from scissors to kitchen knives, and carrying so much stuff needs a great memory to spot the right thing at the right time. A swiss knife would save a lot of hassle for her as you can get a large blade, a small blade, scissors, a corkscrew, a chisel and much more in just one foldable tool.

7. Hiking Shoes- All you need to tread on a camping trip with a treacherous terrain or even a plain ground are a pair of hiking shoes. Hiking shoes give a firm grip on the ground with a comfortable inner lining. This mother’s day gifts a pair of hiking shoes to your mum and make her strides smoother than ever.

8. USB Camping Stove- Your mum may be the adventurous one or maybe she hates improvisation, well, in whichever category she falls, she would love a USB camping stove. A USB camping stove which is much less on features than the regular-sized camping stove would suffice her adventurous side and the hassle-free ignition using a USB cable connected to her phone would do away with the improvisation.

9. Portable Foldable Kitchen- Yup, finally here is something that your mum always wanted for a camping trip—a portable foldable kitchen, but probably it was in her mind only. You cannot drift mum and her kitchen apart, so gift her a portable foldable kitchen that would make her feel a little less away from home.

• Door Ventilation- At the time of dusk, when you want to relax in your trailer with no AC but a natural breeze, this DIY caravan modification would make way for the breeze. Convert the fixed panel door of your trailer into a security grill door that would not only be safe (lockable) but also give you good ventilation.

• Satellite Dish Holder- For the people who just can’t off-hook from their TVs and would love to watch their favourite TV shows while camping, this would be a superb idea. All you need is a metal frame that could be fitted on the drawbar of the caravan and also would hold the satellite dish.

• Partitioning Curtains- In case your trailer has a bathroom, it is very much possible it is combined (shower+toilet). Although you could enjoy a single space and privacy just like back at home with this DIY caravan and camper trailer modifications. All you need is a curtain track and a curtain. Fit the curtain track into the ceiling of the trailer, you could do it with self-tapping screws if the hood is soft or use a drill to carve the holes out. Hang the curtains and you have all your privacy.

• DIY Flooring- If you think flooring is ‘the permanent’ part of your trailer, then you are wrong. You could get rid off the cheap carpet you got along with the caravan and put a nice vinyl flooring which would not be too expensive, long lasting and maintenance free. Pick a vinyl flooring of your choice, spread it on the floor of your trailer, cut it to the floor size and paste it with liquid nails.

• DIY Bin- A great DIY camper trailer or caravan modification is a DIY bin that you could install on your camper. Get a plastic box which is good enough to be used a bin. Now, all you need is an L-shaped metal, pop-rivets, and a flat metal piece. Bend the L-shaped metal into the box you picked to accommodate it. Now with pop-rivets hold it together and brace it with the flat metal piece across the base. You can even make triangular support for the holder from off-cuts and hinge it to the box.