Andrew and Sally

Rick. I don't have a Plasmatronic but when my Xantrex monitor was doing all the things you've described the problem was it's fuse had shaken loose near the battery. Might be worth a check. Once I reseated the fuse no more probs.

We've recently replaced our D0-35 with the newer mark2 model (with the dust cap). The original model was great and served us well . We decided to stay with the Hitchmaster as it was an easy swapover using the same footprint and hole pattern. The new model is greatly improved in addition to the dust cap. It has a bush that bears the downweight around the pin rather than just the greased metal on metal system of the older model. It also has an improved latching arrangement that a is easier and simpler to use. The service from Vehicle Components was great when we had to replace the hitch while on the road. The VC agent at Winton took my call on ANZAC Day and had the new hitch delivered to meet us at Mt Isa a few days later. Note: VC technician confirmed to me that the old D0-35 requires good greasing on the weight bearing surfaces whereas the Mark2 only needs a smear due to the new design with the bush bearing.

Nonsense!

Big heavy yank tanks. Great for towing in a straight line on the seal but for off-road/4wd give me a Landcruiser every time.

Hi Tony Yes, its been a great week with our visitors and we're looking forward to getting down to the Bendeela gathering on Saturday. The weighbridge tickets give me an upper limit I can work from when loading the van. As you say, they won't themselves prove anything, except that I know the weight of the van when fully loaded. For example, we very rarely travel with the generator AND three full water tanks AND the second fridge etc etc in the van. The tickets just show that if we do, we're still within our allowed weights, both for the van and the Landcruiser. The only point I was making in my prior post was that the assertion that I'd need to drive a Chevvy to be legal and/or insured is false. Hope all goes well with the house and we can catch up again soon. Love to you both and from Sally also. Andrew

I was just joking. Of course we'd love to be in a position to "upgrade" but living in the Sydney metro area its not an option. The 100 Series is as big as we can go and eventually we'll be downsizing the van rather than upsizing the car. In the meantime the Cruiser does a fabulous job, both as a family car and when puling the Kedron.

Don't worry, I'm legal and have the weighbridge tickets to prove it. Being registered in NSW it also gets an annual full heavy vehicle inspection so we know everything's roadworthy and legal. Ken Tame has all the details and has paid past claims, so no problems with insurance. As you say, it comes down to choice, not legalities. Andrew

Jeez those Chevs are complicated aren't they. Still doing fine with a standard D035 hitch on the 10 year-old 100 Series with no airbags.

+1 for Iridium. I use my Telstra iPhone SIM (with International Roaming). Same phone number and they charge as if you're making normal mobile calls from overseas..

Thanks Danny, that's great info. Safe travels, Andrew

Hi Danny. Could you update me on your experiences with the HawksHead unit you're using? Specifically: 1. Did you ever find a local distributor or are you still buying from their USA site? 2. What model did you buy? Was it the Talon 22 (which seems to be the smaller configuration for RVs)? 3. How difficult was it to set them up on your rig, and to maintain them (e.g. when you change or rotate wheels)? 4. After using them for a few years, have you found them effective and reliable? Would you recommend them based on your experience? Thanks for your advice. Regards, Andrew

Hi Rocket In 2005 the 100 series turbo diesel was the tow vehicle of choice for Kedron vans. I'm still driving a 2005 100 series TD with our 19'6" internal TE and it does a great job. I would suggest you consider upgrading with a snorkel, a good quality DP chip (such as Steinbauer or Taipan) and a 3 inch mandrel bent exhaust. These together will give you around 25% more towing power at around the same fuel consumption. I also personally prefer an automatic transmission, always towing in 4th gear, but many others have towed successfully with manuals. We've never had a breakdown with our Toyota and their service network in outback areas is second to none. Enjoy your TE. Kedron and Toyota are a great combination. Andrew

...and Peter Lewis who told me about it.

We did the same and went through this process in 2011. Happy to share our experience and tips if this helps - just PM me, It depends on the heavy vehicle inspector as to what they pick up or let through. Our inspection took over 2 hours but overlooked the NSW requirement for a remote Breaksafe battery monitor (since installed). As noted above I'm in the process of relocating the number plate to avoid any future hassles or fines.