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WORDS: MICHAEL GILES, GENERAL MANAGER | FLAT OUT

Christmas 2022. It was early days with a new van at the Breakwall Caravan Park in Port Macquarie, and I still remember the exact moment: I should’ ve been relaxing, but instead I was locked in a full-blown wrestling match with a ribbed, coiled sullage hose that had other ideas.

It wouldn’ t sit flat and nothing was flowing. I had water going nowhere, hose going everywhere, and a growing sense that this was not how van-life was meant to feel.

To make matters worse, I’ d also picked up one of those plastic hoses that winds up into itself. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Until pack-up, when it split and burst. Soaked and frustrated, I remember thinking: there has to be a better way than this.

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Back in town I dropped into my local dealer, Watsons Caravans in Port Macquarie, and explained what was going on. They handed me a Flat Out sullage hose. Straight away, it made perfect sense. It was was going to save so much space. It was flexible, so would lay exactly where I told it to, and in pieces so I could use just one sometimes and join them when needed. Water would flow the way it should, and when it came time to pack up it wasn ' t going to fight back. Sold! Shortly after, I also collected a Multi-Reel for my extension lead and a couple of Flat Out drink-water hoses ready for our lap around Aus.

Lappers are on the move constantly and as such they get very good at spotting what works. Other campers would often wander over, have a look and ask questions. They would get jealous of my setup and pack-up speed, admittedly it was a tad satisfying.

By the time we rolled back into Port Macquarie 11 months later, I wasn’ t just a customer, I was a convert. So I did what any reasonable person would do. I walked into Flat Out HQ and offered my services.

These days, I’ m the General Manager of a rapidly growing Aussie business, working with products I 100 % believe in. All because one day, a sullage hose pushed me too far.

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