For Dreamer RV, the genesis for the Wanderlux RV topper started as communal campfire banter and long conversations on the road in search of the collective campsite Nirvana: a good night’s sleep.

“Almost everyone we spoke to struggled with comfort,” says Tara Cameron-Smith for Dreamer RV.

“Domestic mattress toppers aren’t ideal, often they’re bulky and protrude into the floorplan. So many people had rigged something up. It was a common theme.”

Why This Caravan Mattress Topper Stands Out

Caravanners themselves, Dreamer RV understood the vital traveller limitations like space, shipping, storage and, of course, weather.

“It took 18 months of product sampling with multiple manufacturers to get the perfect fit. Latex was too heavy so we chose memory foam but we had to get the right grade.”

Their original Dreamer RV Queen Wanderlux Caravan Mattress Topper Queen, in fact, was the very first to feature a cooling gel, suits many vanners. However, caravan-, camper trailer- and campsite berths come in all kinds of dimensions–so they expanded their range.

“We carry a tape measure to collect data at each show, to keep up with what’s happening in the world of caravan beds,” Tara explains.

Where to Try the Caravan Mattress Topper in Person

Caravan shows provide travellers the ideal opportunity to inspect this tactile product and talk with the makers but the schedule is gruelling, so Dreamer RV have paired up with another small family business, Meander Wild, to “share the load”–to a huge success.

Now, Dreamer RV need only to haul in their setup every second show, flying in for the interim events: “It’s about working smarter and not harder,” Tara says.

Dreamer RV

New from Titan RV, the latest 12V-powered Black Jack – Mini caravan jack uses your van’s Anderson plug to electronically raise your trailer–no cranking needed. Weighing 8.5kg and rated to carry 1000kg, the Black Jack – Mini spotted here at eTime fits a 50mm single or double clamp.

Want more Jockey Wheel Options? Read our full article in the What’s Up Downunder eMagazine

Caravanners have an exciting new way to enjoy high power comforts consistently off-grid, now that agricultural and industry generator specialists Welling & Crossley have released a quiet range of inverter generators for the campsite and home.

Three new lightweight inverter generators for caravans

Three new inverter models including campsite hero, the WC-P3200Si, feature stable pure-sine wave power that’s perfect for sensitive devices–accessible at the unit or from within your RV with USB and 15A power points available on all models.
Indeed, rated at 3000W and with 3200W maximum power, the WC-P3200Si offers ample grunt not only for the very newest air-conditioners within modern RVs but also for many older and thirstier reverse cycle systems fitted to existing RVs Australia-wide.

Whisper quiet Operation

What’s more, the 3200W achieves it at a surprisingly quiet 64dBA @7m with advanced noise-busting tech and weighs just 23kg, delivering a generous steady supply of power without significant modifications to your existing camp.
Euro 5 emission compliant, WC-P3200Si and its stablemates the WC-P6000Si and WC-P9000Si well and truly meets Australia’s emissions standards for outdoor power equipment.

Welling & Crossley

Arizon Off-Grid has today launched a brand new lithium battery onto the Australia market helping caravanners, vanlifers, and motorhome owners stay off-grid longer.

The development of the new Arizon Off-Grid 12.8V 300Ah Super Compact lithium battery evolved from our customers wanting to save space and weight in their vehicles.

“Our customers are crucial in the development of our new products as their feedback allows us to better engineer and develop our industry leading products to meet the needs of not only our commercial partners but especially the end consumer who wants to spend more time off-grid,” Arizon Off-Grid Managing Director, Roy Ding said.

“The new Arizon Off-Grid Super Compact 300Ah delivers the safest Lithium iron battery technology available today with Arizon’s bespoke casing and advanced electronics, weighing only 25.9kg.

“Customers can now experience double the run time and almost half the weight compared to similar-sized lead-acid batteries, and our Arizon Off-Grid solution has been crafted to deliver high power and extended run-time, and comes with our industry leading 5 year warranty.”

With space and weight extremely crucial to caravanners, this new Super Compact 300Ah battery offers them the best of both worlds, delivering superior performance and a space and weight reduction, helping them store more essentials for their off-grid adventures.

The Arizon Off-Grid Super Compact 300Ah battery measures 360mm in length, 190mm width and 262mm in height (accounts for cable lugs), delivering a 100A max charge current and a max discharge current of 200A.

Lux and lumen figures are frequently quoted when describing light performance, but what does each actually mean and how can they be used to help you purchase driving lights, light bars and even globes?

In simple terms, lumen is the total volume of light emitted from a source, such as a driving light. Lux, on the other hand, is the intensity or brightness of this light when it hits a specific area or object away from the source.

Raw versus effective lumen

Firstly, there are two types of lumen figures – raw and effective. Raw lumens refer to the maximum potential light volume of LEDs and is often a calculated or theoretical figure rather than measured. It should therefore be taken with a grain of salt when comparing light performance. Effective lumens are much more relevant because they are measured from an actual running light that is affected by its design, including how hard the
LEDs are driven, its heat management and optics, as well as real world conditions like ambient climate and electrical current available. Effective lumen figures are therefore always less than raw counterparts, but much more representative of real-world performance and a better comparison of volume from light to light.

Lux – what does it have to do with newspapers?

The lux figure is usually combined with a measure of distance to give an idea of how visible something mightbe at that distance. For example, a driving light’s beam may shine 1 lux at 900 metres. 1 lux – said to be bright enough for someone with 20/20 vision to read a newspaper – is a fairly standardised level of brightness, so differences in performance between brands and models are usually seen in the amount of distance the light can throw 1 lux at. A less powerful light may produce 1 lux at only 400 metres. And yes, this means you could theoretically sit 400 metres away from the driving light with a newspaper and be able to read it.

There’s more to the story, though. When comparing lux and lumen from light to light, it’s important to understand their relevance and limitations for your specific application, as well as some other factors that impact how well a light performs for you.

Variables affecting light brightness and intensity

Beam pattern is one such area. A laser pointer may provide 1 lux of brightness on a concentrated spot at a very long distance, but isn’t particularly useful for finding your way through the dark because of the tiny amount of volume (lumens) being produced with an incredibly focused beam pattern. Conversely, a bedroom lightglobe with no reflector – and therefore an unfocused beam – will emit plenty of light volume (lumens) around
you but struggle to illuminate anything more than a stone throw away.

Within automotive lighting applications we find more of a balance between volume and intensity and shift the beam pattern for various situations. Take a standard 55w/60w H4 halogen globe that is fitted to a headlamp; These output around 1,500 lumens, most of which is directed from the headlamp onto the road. In most cases both the High and Low beams produce about the same number of lumens, yet most of us would describe the High beam as brighter than the Low; this is because the Low beam spreads the light over a wider area, while High focuses the light into a narrower beam to give distance. Both have similar lumens, but the High beam will have a higher lux at long distances and the Low beam will have higher lux out to the sides where it throws more light.

Which brings us to an important point about lux: we can also use it to indicate how wide a light beam can shine. Afterall, width is a measurement of distance too, just out to the side. For example, if a driving light can produce 1 lux at 60 metres width, measured at 400 metres, it means we should have newspaper quality illumination sitting 30 metres either side of the vehicle’s centre, at a point 400 metres down the road.

Combined with an effective lumens figure and/or beam diagram pattern, we start to get a fuller picture of light performance in applications such as 4WDing or unsealed and country roads, where early warning signs of kangaroos and track illumination will benefit more from a large and uniform spread of light than telescopic distances of penetrating light or hotspots.

This doesn’t mean you have to compromise, though. Premium LED driving lights such as NARVA’s Ultima MK2 series utilise a hybrid beam pattern that offers the best of both worlds, combining precision optics and high-powered LEDs for enormous volumes of light to the sides and down the road (15,410 effective lumens and 1 lux at 1093m). NARVA’s driving lights are developed and tested at their facility in Knoxfield, Victoria, where an in-house photometric light lab plays an integral part – measuring lumen and lux figures and beam patterns – allowing NARVA’s engineers to optimise performance for real world conditions.

Additional details can be found by visiting the Narva website or on Facebook.

Leave the weekdays behind with the Q-Box Camping module

The Q-Box Camping Module prepares your work van for a weekend getaway in minutes, organising your favourite camping essentials within a portable, well-thought-out frame.

Simply grab the handles then stock and you’re on your way.

Inside you’ll find a cosy fold-out 100mm-thick foam mattress, a slide-out for your personal cooker, a slide-out for your fridge, a 20L drinking water vessel plus benchtop and storage.

It’s light yet tough, handmade in Germany from aluminium, steel and waterproof multiplex and tested in Europe for more than a decade.

Check out the product here.