I’m so over this engineering degree! Thank god it’s nearly the summer holidays. I’m planning to check out of Melbourne for a camping trip around Tasmania in my new 4WD ute. This uni break can’t come soon enough! I just need to make a couple of adjustments to this monster machine. I bought it from a plumber, so it’s got an awesome fixed service body (these are basically gigantic aluminium tool boxes attached to the ute tray), plus sweet roof racks and bars. Some areas of the draw system need adjusting, but most of it should work really well.

One of the main things that needs addressing is the ute’s service body lighting and power. Melbourne life has got me being all about energy efficiency, so I want to install a lighting system that runs from a rooftop solar rig. It would be great if is this could also power my car fridge – I’ll need to talk to someone about that. Hey, I’m doing enviro engineering, not electrical.

The other important thing to get onto is reviewing the tool box central locking system. At the moment, it’s not working very well, which means I can’t store anything too valuable in the ute canopy. That’s not going to fly for my trip – I’ll be wanting to leave the vehicle unattended and feel secure in the knowledge that no-one’s making off with my epic collection of camping gear.

What else do I need? Probably not much. There’s definitely things I want to add, like a charging dock for my devices, and a snorkel for if things get really wild in the off-road department. But I think I’ve got the basics covered. When I’m done with this degree, maybe I’ll have time to learn how to build my dream home on the tray of a truck. In the meantime, this will have to do.