We started our drive before sunrise and we finished after sunset.
We departed home at 6:00am for a two hour drive to Newcastle for the final fitting of our flat tow arrangement. We had decided to drive both vehicles rather than suffering the stress from towing our Suzuki in the Sydney peak hour traffic. As it transpired, that would not have been a problem as the peak hour traffic was virtually non-existent (school holidays?). We had one of the smoothest trips ever to Newcastle and were fortunate to watch a magnificent sunrise as well.
We had decided not to fully refuel the motorhome in Sydney and used some stored fuel to ensure we made Newcastle. That proved to be an almost disaster as the low fuel warning light came on well before Newcastle and due to an 8:00am appointment, we continued on with our fingers crossed that we would have enough to eventually make Sandgate where we intended to fill the motorhome.
We had hoped that it would only take an hour to finish the flat tow setup but it took almost 2 hours twenty minutes. We left Bennetts Green at 10:20am and had little trouble crossing Newcastle to Sandgate where we refueled. The flat tow arrangement appeared to be successful but it will take some time getting use to it.
As “He” returned from paying for the fuel, he noticed that the cable that controls to turning signals on the car had come loose. Actually it had been dragging on the ground and several of the pins were bent. In the process of attempting to straighten the pins, one broke. Damm!
We enlisted help from our son to find someone who could provide a replacement cable and after being unsuccessful at a caravan manufacturer at Beresford, we travelled (carefully) to Maitland where we managed to purchase a replacement connector. “He” fitted the new connector while “She” went and purchased lunch. We were lucky that we were able to combine both tasks and within 30 minutes after stopping at Maitland, we were on our way again.
By this time the strong winds that were being experienced by other parts of eastern NSW had reached the Hunter and we spent the next four or so hours fighting to control the motor home in what must have been some of the worse conditions we have ever driven in. Unfortunately most of the afternoon’s drive was directly into the wind and that impacted on our fuel consumption. We that time still had no idea the impact of flat towing on our fuel burn.
The final problem for the day was one of the sun visors falling off. Fortunately he was able to do a temporary repair and we will attempt to obtain a replacement (under warranty) before we return home.
We arrived at Narrabri at 5:45pm and eventually found the caravan park where we had booked. We were provided with a drive through site and after having frozen meals for tea, we settled for the night after watching the State of Origin.