About us!
About us!
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"Do'in It Moggy Style" is our travel motto, a nod to how we camp with our quirky old Unimog. Sure, it lacks air conditioning, the floor feels like a lava pit, and the engine, tyres, and gearbox are noisy as heck—not to mention the six or seven untraceable rattles.
Once you get past all that, it's a beast of a 4x4 truck.
Did I mention it's slow? In stock trim, old Mogs hit about 85 downhill with a heavy foot. Fortunately, our truck came with upgraded wheels and tyres, letting us cruise at a comfortable 90 KM/H. Not screaming along at 100kph gives us time to spot tracks we might have missed and makes a big difference off-road. (You can find more detailed info about our Mog elsewhere on our site.)
Bridget and I are long-time camping enthusiasts. Bridget's family camped their way across to WA from SA years ago, and I travelled around Australia in the late seventies with my parents in a Subaru Sportswagon. Our camper was one of the first Cargills Roof Top Car Campers, the kind with legs so you could drive out from under it and leave your camp set up. Later we spent lots of time in WA's southwest, especially around Sue's and Alexandra Bridge near Karridale, catching Marron and taking schoolmates along for the trips.
As Bridget and I got older, these places became very special to us. They’re where we introduced our three children to camping holidays. I've got a photo of Bridget, pregnant with our first child Leah, at Sue's Bridge. Back then, you could camp right by the Blackwood River. Now, it’s a bit of a walk.
For many years we ventured down to these spots for our annual holidays, bringing with us various friends, their friends and family, honestly, we feel blessed to have introduced quite a few people and their offspring to the art of getting out there into the bush, living under canvas.
Alexandra Bridge became even more special when we laid my Mum (Carol) to rest on the riverbanks in late 2023. If you visit, you might spot her Akubra in the trees.
I haven't done much four-wheel driving, but Bridget, our dog Toppa, and I are eager to explore WA and beyond. We’ve never owned a caravan and prefer camping under canvas, though our Roof Top Tent now has an aluminium shell, so technically, we don’t sleep under canvas anymore. But we still cook and shelter under it.
We love our Unimog and, as a tribute, we collaborated with AI to create a nod to its past, present, and future. Check out our ode to our truck here.
Photo shows the old Mog as we purchased it.
For now, let me introduce the main characters in our adventures...
For now, let me introduce the main characters in our adventures...
Hello From Mike & Bridget
Hello From Mike & Bridget
"We have a deep-rooted love for the outdoors, especially the bush. Camping has been our passion for many years. It's funny how we feel more at ease under a canvas roof than our own. Our favourite pastimes include attempting (albeit unsuccessfully) to catch fish, crabs, and Marron while basking in the bush's embrace.
"We have a deep-rooted love for the outdoors, especially the bush. Camping has been our passion for many years. It's funny how we feel more at ease under a canvas roof than our own. Our favourite pastimes include attempting (albeit unsuccessfully) to catch fish, crabs, and Marron while basking in the bush's embrace.
In our early 50s, we dream of the day we'll hit the road and never look back, as the saying goes. But for now, we continue our decades-long journey as subcontract business owners, specialising in servicing the gate and fencing industry. Our expertise lies in repairing and installing both residential and commercial gates, whether manual or automated.
In our early 50s, we dream of the day we'll hit the road and never look back, as the saying goes. But for now, we continue our decades-long journey as subcontract business owners, specialising in servicing the gate and fencing industry. Our expertise lies in repairing and installing both residential and commercial gates, whether manual or automated.
Our FB Page is below - please like and share...
The Dog, aka Toppa
The Dog, aka Toppa
Well, what do we say about this character?
He is everybody's mate.
We have had a few pups in our time, but this bloke is about as close as you will get to a perfect dog. He is loyal, has a fantastic temperament, he will run all day and he has an IQ that I am pretty sure surpasses several people I have met in my time.
He goes where we go, so no national parks for us, unless we get him looked after.
If you see us around, come and give him a belly rub, he loves them almost as much as he loves his flamin' ball and Frisbee. (I have to be careful... he can spell!)
I reckon it won't be long and he will have his own Instagram Handle. (Actually, he has - @toppasinsta)
The Mog
The Mog
Our chosen mode of transport (well our main one anyway).
Our truck is an Ex Australian Army 1983 Mercedes Unimog Model U1700L.
It's getting pretty old at nearly 40 years of age but having said that, from what we can tell, it's been pretty well looked after by the engineering corp in Darwin which is where it served most, if not all of its time. (Hello to the CISBY boys...)
Being 1983 built, and serving up till late 2019 the boys affectionately called it RamRod Snr.
We came across this name on the mudguards and both doors under some of the paint.
We have spent a fairly large sum of money on the canopy and associated electrical and plumbing works but the cost has been reduced due to doing most of the work ourselves.
We go into far more detail on other pages so I won't bore you with it all here.
The Punimog
The Punimog
Before this little ripper, we had a 2019 Nissan Patrol Y62. Big on comfort, pretty big on fuel but once we decided that our current setup for camping was a little less than what we needed, we sold the big 62.
We settled on a 2022 JB74 Suzuki Jimny.
It is bog stock and weighs as much as the 5 rims and tyres on the Mog.
We have nicknamed the Jimny "Punimog" and will hopefully get the plates before much longer.
The Jimny is garaged inside the Trailer when we travel, only venturing out when we set up camp for more than a few days.
The idea behind this is so we can leave the truck set up with the awning out and the tent open and hit the tracks without having to pack down each time we want to leave our campsite.
The Toy Hauler
The Toy Hauler
The trailer is a 5m (Bed length) plant trailer originally built by Coastal Machinery. It is 2450mm wide.
It is a 4.5t GVM tandem axle trailer onto which we have added an enclosed box.
The whole assembly can be lifted off after we remove 8 high tensile bolts from each side of the Body. We have made the car sit off to one side so that we could make the storage boxes on the passenger side a more adequate size for all of our other camping gear that the truck can not carry.
The trailer has 400 AH of lithium batteries, a 3000w Itech inverter, a 60Amp solar controller and 1000w of Solar panels on the roof.
Loaded, the total weight of the trailer is 4.2 tonnes including the car with a full tank of fuel.
The trailer makes it a bit more of a challenge to get into some areas, but overall, the length is about 13.2 m so not much longer than a Landcruiser and a 22-foot van. It has 12-inch electric drums and a breakaway setup controlled by a Gen 3 tow pro elite controller.
We cut the first steel on the 5 November 2023 and within three weeks and 6 days, we were done with the build to a point where we left on a trip to the Eastern States.... but that is another story. See the Trailer Build Page Here
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