Frequently Asked Questions.

Membership_Questions
Fridge_connections_in_a_4x4_and_the_use_of_adaptors
How_to_do_a_quality_search_using_a_search_engine

As Nomadic Life is a new website there are few questions at this stage they will be added to as we go along.

Membership Questions:
Q: Why should I join?
A: Becoming a member means you will have access to information either exclusively or in advance of those who just visit the site.

Q: How much does it cost to join?
A: Currently membership is free.

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Fridge connections in a 4x4 and the use of adaptors
Some Fridges use a cigarette lighter fitting, which means most auto accessories stores can help with an adaptor, but others have a custom connector. The custom connector is technically better because it screws in, rather than the cigarette lighter type plug, which can vibrate out over rough terrain.  Adaptors can be purchased either from the fridge supplier, or a 4wd accessories specialist.  The 4x4 specialists typically do car installs, and therefore can source the socket piece required, or they may be able to custom make a splitter.

It would however be preferable to take the problem to a 4wd specialist to get the right options in the first place. Running a fridge, plus potentially a second fridge is likely to cause an issues with the current drawn. Using adaptors is not always a safe way to run any electrical accessory, as it may cause more current to be drawn, than the wiring is able to take.

The standard wiring to the boot accessories point in most 4x4's, is very light weight. The fuse used, may not be up to the load. The best option would therefore be to speak to a qualified auto electrician, or a 4x4 accessories store. They can assess what is going to be plugged in, and fix all these issues. As part of the process they can also  mount a second point in the car to plug in whatever other accessories are to be used. Get it right, or risk the whole system breaking down at the worst possible time.

See also this tale of caution about a 4x4 that had a problem, but not Fridge related.

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How to do a quality search using a search engine How do find the answers to your questions, and get a better quality result? As with anything else, the better you do it, the better the result. There is a method, to what at times seems to be the madness of a Search Engine (e.g. Google etc). There is a system called Boolean Operators, which is part of the "language" used, and the proximity of the words to each other. There is a lot of information about it on the internet, but in simple terms, see the examples below.

One of the more powerful tools that can be used is: "inverted commas". By putting something in quote marks, it narrows the search to that exact phrase. An example might be, you have the phone number of a company, but not the address, so put the phone number in quotes marks. They need to have a site, or are listed somewhere on the internet, and the exact format they use, for this to work. The number has the usual 8 digits, try it in several ways if you have to. For instance "0000 0000" and if there is no result, try using the spaces differently for example. "00 000000". Using the same principle, it is easier to find a company, or information. If it is for instance the "Australian chamber orchestra" being searched for, without quotes you will find many sites which mention them, but with quotes, their official site is the top search (in Google at least).

Boolean Operators: Combine words or phrases using the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT. The operators can narrow or broaden a search.  The results of performing Boolean searches are sometimes illustrated by the diagrams below (called Venn diagrams.) The diagrams show graphically how using the AND operator narrows a search, using OR broadens a search, and using NOT excludes material from a search.

Operator	Example search	The search will find...	Venn diagram results shown in pink
AND	north carolina and prohibition	items containing "North Carolina" and "prohibition." AND narrows a search, resulting in fewer hits.
OR	zimbabwe or rhodesia	items containing either "Zimbabwe" or "Rhodesia" or both. OR broadens a search, resulting in more hits.
NOT*	mexico not new mexico	items containing "Mexico" but not "New Mexico." Caution! It is easy to exclude relevant items, so use with care, or re-search if the results do not find what you want.

*NOTES: Some systems use AND NOT or ANDNOT in place of NOT. While most systems are case insensitive, a few systems, such as Britannica Online, require you to type Boolean operators in upper case.

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