Quick update on what we achieved in the last month
Start Date:
The girls have decided that they want to have Christmas in Australia with all the extended family. I thought we should have just had Christmas early. Obviously, my desire to get away is more than theirs. I still plan on going at least once before then so will make the decision later as to if I come back for Christmas or not. It is a long and expensive trip.
Current plan is for all five of us to be in Africa for New Year.
Solar:
My original intention was to have around the same amount of solar as my current truck however after a recent trip in cooler weather with a little shade and using Starlink continuously I have realised that this is inadequate. Also with all the load shedding in South Africa solar panels are in short supply. I spent days researching available panels and trying to fit them on the roof. Finally, I had an epiphany. The deck roof can also hold solar panels. A bit more moving things around and a fresh look or two and finally came up with something that works. 2.1kW of panels. As they will be mounted flat, they will almost never achieve their rated capacity but the cost to tilt them automatically is excessive and manually is too much trouble. Will order them next week.
Insurance:
Last month I said we were having trouble with insurance. This has been solved. I saw a post on the Motorhome Club of South Africa Facebook page about preferential insurance with Garrun Group insurance brokers. I contacted them and was able to get a good policy at a reasonable price.
GPS Tracking:
Isuzu has a relationship with Mix Telematics which have tracking and vehicle condition monitoring. The tracker is pre-installed at the factory. You would think this would mean that their contracts for service would be more flexible. Unfortunately not. It was cheaper and more flexible for me to have another tracker installed by Cartrack. So I have now had this done and the truck is now monitored by Cartrack and has a panic button. If we are attacked, then we press the panic button and an armed response unit will be called while we are in South Africa.
Chinese purchases:
No progress. The hydraulic leveling system manufacturer had a failure of a ram due to a blocked pipe during testing and so this part of the build had to start again delaying completion by a month. I hope this delay doesn't cascade into delaying the truck build. The build was supposed to take around three months and the shipping will take around three months. Let's hope that shipping is quicker than expected and not longer.
South Africa Post:
We have had a couple of small items not make it. Tracking shows they made it all the way to the Brackenfell post office however now they can't be found. Thankfully the large expensive items made it previously. I have re-purchased these items and will take them with me when I go.
Visa:
We go to Canberra in a couple of weeks for our interview. Wish us luck.