Welcome to our new van...

A week and a half ago we finally got notice that our new van had arrived in Fremantle and we were able to pick it up. After a long nervous wait we were very excited to see this van in person as we had scarily purchased it sight unseen based on video walkthroughs and reviews.

So, here it is our brand new Swag Camper Raptor X13

In our usual fashion we got straight into modifying the van to suit our specific needs. We added a piece of banner track to hang our Navigator kitchen buddy which we absolutely love to use and now has a proper home, although I do need to shorten the straps a bit somehow.

In the pantry cupboard the draw was removed so we had more useable storage space

The second fridge slide was flipped over to gain the height we needed to fit our bushman fridge that has been running as a freezer.

Although we got a 75l Evakool fridge/freezer with the van, we are selling this and upgraded to a 95L Kings fridge/freezer as it was the biggest we could get that fit the space we had and it is working a treat (and a better size for access to our food).

While the outdoor lighting is fantastic (way better than we thought it would be actually) there was a small dark spot over the fold down table so Dave installed an additional light in the cupboard which solves that issue.

Finally on the outside we managed to source in Perth the privacy room to fit the Fiamma awning. We were keen to get something after some wet weather days forced us inside our little space. So far it has made a big difference as we are parked in our current location for over a week.

Internally we have made changes too. Before the van even arrived we had read the reviews about the mattresses that come in the van and they weren't great so with Dave's back we had to come up with an alternative that would work. After doing lots of research we decided to order an Ecosa mattress to be delivered to Perth the day we collected the van. The reviews from people with bad backs were good and we figured a foam based mattress was pliable enough to fold up when the bed end folds in. Although the van does fit a king size mattress we opted for a queen for 2 reasons, 1. I didn't have to go out an replace all the bedding and 2. it created some additional storage space down the side of the bed which has become home to the thermomix and thermal pot. We have been really happy with this purchase, Dave has slept really well, its comfy and folds in with the help of some straps we attached to the bottom of the van and pull up and around the bunk rails.

We also made a modification to help with our towels. In the Jayco we used to hang our towels on the framework to lift the roof but this was not an option in this van so Dave hung 2 towel rails from the roof over the lounge for our towels - great modification!

We ordered a diesel heater for the van while we were still in Kununurra, planning to install at some stage. Dave is installing this as I type as we have had a few cool evenings down south and installing the heater will guarantee that it will warm up and we won't need to use it. We are installing this under the lounge in the cubby that opens to the rear side of the van.

The built in ladders are awesome as we don't need to trip over ladders however the bigger ladder had a big dead space that would be difficult to use for storage so we have installed a basket system that allows for easy access to tissues, sunscreen, toothbrushes, aeroguard, and all the UHT cartons fit nicely in the bottom.

And some little additions were made such as a key hook, some hooks for hanging hats, push button lights at the end of the beds and a mirror in one of the cupboards.

So, how are we liking our new van in comparison to our old Jayco? We are loving it! It tows beautifully (and doesn't creak and groan like the Jayco used to), and we are getting faster with setup and packdown, which isn't helped when we are still in the middle of modifications.

The battery system is working really well, even with the few overcast days we have had both the fridges are holding well and we have been able to run everything we need. This has made me way more comfortable about spending more time staying in free campsites going forward.

The water system is great too, once you work out the little glitch with the water heater where one switch is not always enough to turn it on. We have worked out we can go 4-5 days out of full water tanks so this gives us a guide for future stays. We have had the shower set up on the back and it's working well setup wise. We decided early on that it was actually better for water consumption to use the 12v shower we carry with us to actually shower as this works out of a bucket which we fill from the van shower system. This means the we can set up the heat we want for the shower in the bucket and we feed the plug for the other shower through the window and plug it in at the end of our bed. We are happier with this system. The only thing Dave wants to sort out with the water is having more control over the tanks but I am sure he will figure that out in time.

The kitchen on this van is brilliant compared to using the Jayco. I always hated to indoor kitchen and then our makeshift outdoor one that I cooked on. Having the 4 burner stove, the benches and all the food and fridges outside has made cooking dinners much easier. I enjoy cooking again! We were a bit worried about how close the fold down table was to the sink but it hasn't been an issue at all.

The internal layout is everything we had hoped with the girls enjoying having their own beds again. We have more space around our bed and don't feel like we are hiding in a little box anymore, nor do we have to climb over each other to get in or out. I do need to make up some curtains down the sides of the bunks to stop the girls peering over the edge at us all the time and Dave is going to build them a small table that hooks between the beds to they can set up a movie or play a card game.

The van has held up really well in the rain we had in the first few days. We have started putting up an awning wall over our bed just for extra protection as we did get a small leak over our bed one night which was odd considering the rest of the rain we had had. We think maybe we bumped the join which allowed a small amount of water in, it's probably not really an issue but we put the extra wall up anyway just to be sure and it also works as shade over the bed end.

Overall everyone is rapt with our new purchase and we cannot wait to take it on the rest of our adventures around Oz