Tourists take mobile technology on the road

Ninety-nine percent of the time Eldred runs all his kit and the rest of the motorhome on solar power. He has a generator on board if he runs into a stretch of cloudy weather but rarely uses it.

"There is a limit to what you can do, how far you can go because of the life of your batteries. When you’re on the road you’ve got to power this lot. I have a scanner going, optical character recognition, printer, and the hardware and software to run a 7000 digital camera. I run external disk drives because of the amount of photos I take, and disk space becomes a premium on the laptop. But then I start to grind to a halt because firing this lot up on solar panels, I have to watch the power consumption a bit," he says.

While he has the power issue largely sorted, he does find signal dropout, slow download speed and high utilisation costs the bain of his existence.

"You’re very circumspect on what you can download; graphics are the very enemy."

And so is spam. "It’s not enough to just have your own spam filter…you need the ISP to filter it before you get it."

So cost is a factor, power is a factor and depending on the size of your vehicle, you are limited to what you can carry.

He says most motorhome travellers he comes across have the basics: email, notebook and digital camera capability.

Getting tech support in out-of-theway places is a challenge. Eldred says the most common tech problem facing motorhomers is usually the notebook dying because of some virus or corrupt program.

"You’ve just got to wait until you get to a town of reputable size and go to a computer shop. We suggest to our members that they take all their primary discs with them at all times, but for every mechanical breakdown like a disk not working, I’ve seen 10 corruption problems related to a virus."

There’s still a high percentage of tech illiteracy amongst older motorhomers, and Eldred has heard horror stories of computer repair charlatans who take advantage of ignorance and a mobile population that will not pass by again for a few years -- or ever.

Eldred would like to see a system of signage outside computer shops -- much like NRMA-approved motor mechanics -- so that motorhomers can get tech support with confidence.

There are two big rallies each year for motorhomers, always in a different place. In April this year, 1200 motorhomes and 1700 members descended on Horsham Victoria for the rally.

Eldred: Uses mobile technology while on the road

Now many members are unhurriedly making their way up north to Maryborough for September’s big rally in Queensland.

There are always telco stands at the rallies, but opportunities for other tech providers as well.

In the last weekend of June, Sydney hosted the national 4x4 show, the fishing show and the outdoors expo. A spokesperson for the expo says there is definitely an increase in the number of exhibitors showcasing technology solutions for motorhomes and 4WDs, and a lot of interest from visitors at the stands.

"Many more people exhibiting those products. Even companies like Paddy Palin are selling a range of GPS navigation systems alongside their traditional stock of outdoor gear," the spokesperson says.

Dean Cummings, manager of TJM 4x4 Megastore in Darwin agrees there is much greater interest in notebooks and GPS devices in vehicles, refl ected in a steep growth in his sales recently.

"There’s a lot more older people travelling around the country at the moment, and I find that Grey Nomads are quite good at picking up new technology. Five years ago, to have laptops and GPS in your vehicle was virtually unheard of," Cummings says.

Other things making a big impression on motorhomers now are reversing cameras for caravans and 4WDs, and tyre pressure monitors. At the moment, these all have separate displays on the dash.

"If you get a number of these technologies together, as well as a notebook and GPS, it starts to look like the cockpit of a Jumbo. But it won’t be long until they’re all linked into the one screen," Cummings says.