Thanks guys for the great response we have now decided to go back to the drawing board and look at traveling in Feb and for longer
Thanks again
Bill

Thanks again guys We have booked our taz trip leave 6 Feb 2015 return 20 Mar 2015 night crossing inside double berth cost $1647 thought that was resonable. Thanks for all the replys
Bill

Similar timing to our 2006 trip Bill – we went from 12th February and returned on 1st April. Apart from a few days it rained, the weather was beautiful. The last few days we noticed a change in the weather with cooler days and cold nights. We hoped to see snow, but it didn’t snow until the day we arrived back on the mainland.

I couldnt agree more with what ‘Jess’ says. We might be a small state compared to the others but theres heaps to see and do. The beauty of an inside cabin is you actually get a 4 berth cabin for your exclusive use for the two of you. We always ask for an inside cabin. That way you have extra pillows as well If booking online make sure to use the TT Line (Spirit of Tasmania) website, and tick the box for a flexi fare, then if you need to change your return dates there isnt any cost involved. Make sure you dont have any fresh fruit or vegies in the van (or car) and no honey. But then we have the best of all these anyway. Enjoy your holidays and travel safely.

Sheza.

So looking forward to the trip, several adventures before then though but will be doing our home work well in advance to make sure we get the most out of the experience.No fruit , veg or honey any other tips for the crossing.
Bill

Bill, as your fridge must be off whilst on the ferry we found after 3 trips best to go with an empty fridge and buy all your stuff in Tassie. They have good stuff there. The quarantine people are very thorough and will be pleased to see an empty fridge.

Old Techo does the fridge need to be off even if it is working off the second battery on the car? And what about the freezer in the back of the car?
Bill

Bill, it’s the gas that needs to be off. With my comment I never considered the fridge running off battery as it gobbles so much. I guess you could run it off battery as long as you have a battery control system that shuts it down before the battery is discharged beyond safe levels.

The smallest of van fridges draw 15 amps on DC and most do not have a thermostat so will run flat out. Only you know what your battery capacity is. The car freezer load will just exacerbate the problem.

Thanks Old Techo the van fridge will be off now the car fridge/freezer will last the crossing no problem
Bill

Bill, what I have done to minimise the longish time taken for the van fridge to get really cold from hot is to give it a head start. The night before, I leave only a few stubbies, soft drinks or bottled water in the main cabinet to add thermal inertia. Also in the freezer compartment place some ice bricks. So all this gets nice and cold overnight on mains power.

Next day we drive to the ferry with the fridge on DC but as soon as we arrive I switch the fridge to gas to keep it going. It usually takes us about 1.5 hours before getting to the inspection check-in then I switch off the gas.

When we arrive in Tassie and drive off the ferry I immediately put the gas back on and also remove the redundant liquids from the main cabinet to ease the fridge work load. We then have another 1 to 1.5 hours waiting/moving to get through quarantine but the fridge is working flat out recovering and in much better nick by this technique. Certainly not safe for any frozen food left in the freezer. Again I recommend take no food whatsoever in the fridge. Your OK though coz you have your car unit, but we don’t, hence my method.