Rod and Mavis

Hi Mark Definitely do not use grey water for anything other than watering grass and don't store it unless you have to. Let it run as it would if you didn't have a tank until such time as you need to hold it. As Rick said most places in the boonies appreciate the water on the grass and a stocking over the end of the hose collects all the lumpy bits. Can I suggest that if you are a member that you both keep an eye on the Gatherings forum and try to make it to a gathering. The people there will be a wealth of info. Take notes :-) There is no substitute for knowledge before the big move to purchase all you have to do is sort out the good info from the bad Cheers from the Kyd's

Hi Bryan We do have a slight smell in the box but the vents seem to take care of it with out any drama. Laurie & Helen have the same gen in a similar van to you so I am hoping they might respond to your question. Sorry. Cheers from us.

Greetings all. We have just had a 6 year old leaking coil assist air bag (airbag man) in the back of our Cruiser replaced free of charge in Mt Isa. Long story short,we were at Boulia for Easter and I noticed the right side of the tug was drooped. A pressure check showed no air in the R/H bag.Pumped air in and valve leaked so I changed that, more air showed an audible leak in the vicinity of the bag. I fired off an email to Airbag man via their web site asking for the closest agent and explaining the problem and my trouble shooting. Isa was the reply from Leon Hart and he asked for a follow up from me. Tuesday I went to see the ARB man in Isa and booked in for first thing Wednesday. As it happened they had a set of bags on hand from an undelivered order. The problem was a hole on the bag. I suspect from the leaking valve allowing the bag to rub on the coil. The big surprise is that it was replaced free of charge at the direction of Airbag man. How good is that. Needless to say a big thank you call was placed to Leon Hart Cheers from the Kyd's that now ride level

Glen & Deb. You will be doing it (travelling that is )sooner than you think. Keep that I phone counting down. Rod & Sue. We have a Hobie tandem about 5 years old http://www.hobiecat.com.au/. It suites us as we have the sail, peddles and paddles as required. A fish finder / Sounder. With the peddles it is much easier to operate than a bike and you have both hands free to fish or click the camera at the bird life that doesn't seem to mind us passing quietly.They are far from cheap but the money that we spent suits our purpose well. Our choice was governed by the dreaded weight factor. Our last tug only had a 2.5 ton capacity and our 16'6" Keddy XC was impossible to stay legal. A boat was absolutely needed so the Kayak was the choice thus avoiding folding trailers fuel and mix oil for the outboard that had to be stowed somewhere and an expensive rack to load it on. We failed miserably on the saving of the loading rack having spent $500 on a kayak loader from Thule that drops it off the roof on gas struts to waist height and makes loading on to the roof a breeze (still less than a boat loader). Having said all of that we still carry a lot of boating gear in a pod on the roof beside the Kayak. One still needs comfy seats, anchors, peddles, sails, trolley, paddles for emergencies or just for exercise (to be avoided at all costs ) and wheels to function well with the beasty. All in all our choice was good for us as long as we don't want to put her into areas where the reptilian wildlife is bigger than the boat Boats have a greater usage with regard to safety in croc country and the fact that you have more speed to get to your desired destinations, but we love the kayak for its stealth in beautiful areas where the wildlife does not seem to mind our intrusion. Love it and recommend it for all of the above. Cheers from the Kyd's

Hi all. Due to difficulty posting pic's with our old blog we are currently using http://travellinkyds.wordpress.com/ for our travel updates. Our old site is still running for archival posts until we transfer over 100% see http://travellin.kyd.com.au/ Cheers from the Kyd's.

Hi Fred and everyone. Mavis and I will be heading with the van to the Cape this year. Plan "A" is that we will be holed up at Wonga Beach for a couple of weeks until we hear that the road north is passable and that the weather deletes any nasties like rain or cyclones We are currently at Winton on the way to Isa then Burketown and back to the coast through Normanton via the Savannah way if possible. Will keep you posted if you are not doing it this year. We can't wait but have to.

John,John,John,John,John & John I think Have you blokes looked at upgrading to elec/Hydraulic discs. If you are going to keep your vans for a while might be an option. We have had them on our baby for the last 45,000kms, (for 20 months) They work superbly and the pads are still around 50% good and can be seen at a glance without big time disassembly. The only on going maintenance for us is adjusting the hand brake (which by the way works superbly)hydraulic fluid change (at car intervals) on occasions and looking at the pads. I did have to change the old P2 Tekonsha as it was said to not be compatible with the Elec hydraulics. The new P2 and the P3's are compatible. These are seriously good brakes with low on going maintenance costs and proven design performance. "Disclaimer" I/we have no affiliation with suppliers or manufacturers of these brakes. Cheers from the Kyd's. P.S. You have to be careful with wheel size. We have a 100 series tug and to match up the wheels we had to go with 17" rims to fit over the callipers. This was no drama as we fitted 265/70/17" tyres on the rims which gave us the same circumference as our tugs 265/75/16" tyres on the tug. Unfortunately the off set was 35mm different which required a 5mm spacer to be fitted to the van to mount the tugs wheels. We can live with that for emergencies to have the great brakes.

Greetings all. Must say the concept is great and have no doubt that they will be in the not too distant future the standard in portable gas supply. Check the height of these cylinders before jumping in to spend a fortune on them at this time. In our case they are too high to be accommodated on our van (boots won't open unless bottles are moved forward, this creates a drama with the stone guard that is currently in the perfect position to protect the van and bottles) and the price seems quite unrealistic for a 10kg saving on the vans weight. Mounting and clamping modifications need to be done also that adds to the cost. Another cost for going with them is the re inspection after 10 years, currently in Brisvegas, that surpasses the price of a Swap & Go that we take advantage of when required (thus the booming industry in Swap and Goes). Having said all that I feel that these bottles will be the industry standard in 10 years time or less, barring the introduction of more new technologies. Isn't there always some one that comes up with the negatives ! Please take these comments a constructive not destructive and thanks for all the comments provided so far, I love new stuff. John thanks for starting this thread and getting us researching this new technology. The mind boggles at what may be available in 10 years time not only in the vanning industry but in the world as a whole. Aint it going just sooo fast at present,bring it on! Cheers from the Kyd's.

Thanks Russ and Colin. We only posted this because we were stuck. We leave Brisvegas for all points North early next month and neglected to purchase an anode prior to this. The best way of course is to but a heap on line from the states and on sell to friends. Fortunately we found with our new van the anode can run for quite some time. Having looked elsewhere Camec were the best of a bad Aussie bunch price wise. Cheers to all.

Hi all FYI Just picked up a couple of Suburban anodes from Camec Brisbane for $24.90 each. Good price compared to our last purchase.! Cheers.

Muz John Kean Engineer in Brisbane will re certify your van ATM as long as axle ratings and hitch are ok for the rating. Good bloke ph 0409627336 and he will come to you as long as you are in the brissie area. Your tug is your responsibility he will only do the van. I believe that it is time that van manufacturers take responsibility for the products they sell and pass on to the public. Most do not care what you tow with and are just happy for the sale. The good manufacturers of heavy vans will advise that you need a better tug and the best ones will insist on a change of tug before pick up of the new van. There are too many people travelling unsuspectingly/ignorantly/knowingly with big off road vans way above their tug's legal limits. We personally struggle with our 18'6" off roader to keep it below 3500kg's to comply with our tug's limits. Most people with anything this size and above this size off roaders should look closely at their weights. Good luck Muz and Cheers from the Kyd's.

Extremely well done Russ, looks great. Should make for some happier Kedroners if they follow your lead. Cheers from the Kyd's

Well done Russ n Sue. Look forward to the next installment. Cheers from the Kyd's.

If you look at the Aircommand manual see http://caravansplus.com.au/pdf/CORMORANT%20owners%20manual.pdf Any "E" number display needs to be referred to Aircommand Phone: (08) 8345 8444 they are very helpful people and will tell you what to do.Our Ibis was showing E4 which turned out to be low gas. Our Ibis had a broken pipe after 17 months of service and they replaced it FOC although it was well out of warranty. Give them a bell. Cheers from the Kyd's.

Love it

Old and wines,sounds wonderful. Thanks for the offer Tony. We will definitely be back in the area,had the kayak in the Williams river and love it. Cheers from the Kyd's.

Greetings all. We do have air bags fitted as well as the rear coils being uprated by 400kg's to accommodate the ball weight (210kg's) and the extra permanent weight carried in the tug.Our tug is a 100 series IFS Cruiser. This configuration works well for us without the need for the WDH system. Having said that we do on rare occasions get a little bounce on the tug but nothing drastic and steering and braking are excellent even in the wet. This system suites us but I in no way advise anyone to go with this. It was my choice and it is good for us. Steve, you blokes with the big American iron,it is absolutely understandable (in my humble opinion ) that you do not need the WDH system due to the shear bulk of your vehicle and the puney little 4000kg + Top Enders that you pull behind you . Cheers to all from the Kyd's. P.S. We just shed 10kg's on the back of the tug by using a normal goose neck with a Mchitch 20mm adaptor to bring the tow height back to level on the van instead of the Hayman Reese WDH as previously fitted. We have just completed 2000klm's after purchasing the adaptor from Joe McInnes in Lithgow and fitting it to the goose neck.It works a treat. I also purchase a 4.5 ton pin that is the same as the 6 tonner that I had fitted except the thread is a standard tow ball size thus it fits the standard goose neck,magic! Currently holed up at Clarence Town near Newcastle for a couple of days at their caravan park. This is a great spot that has to be a come backer after the school holidays. great kayaking and fishing and the bowling club has superb meals oh and Tooheys Old beer.The Williams River is awesome. Cheers again.

Hi all. Back into the Frey :-) Stresses on your tow bars and hitches are massive with the WDH's fitted in off road conditions. Think about where the stresses are going when you lift the weight off the ball???? Think about how the hitch is designed to work?? Although we do not use WDH on our current van we definitely found the need to remove them when we did use them on our last rig in off road conditions that required major deflections of the coupling.(even with the McHitch) In my humble opinion and I stress humble, the stress that is imparted on the tow bar and draw bar during large attitude changes during off road operations with WDH fitted are dangerous and not necessary. Always remove them if you are making large angular movements whether it is over gullies creeks rivers or what ever and even backing is a drama with them fitted if you need to turn sharply. For those with McHitches,Joe McInnes has designed replacement Weight Distribution Hitches that are designed for use with the McHitch. These hitches move the pin forward so the WDH works as it is designed to do.They are adapted to all brands of WDH fittings. He has also designed a sliding fitting for the draw bar chain mount that allows the chains to move forward and back when you are turning. This was a major noise drama with us when we still used the WDH and many times on tight turns the bar dropped out of the hitch fitting with a scary bang. Stay tuned as he is still in development stage for the hitches but the sliding chain set up he has now. Hitches are expected to be done early this year. Cheers from the Kyd's

Don't quite know how to answer that rudely enough Still love ya both

Congrats Rod & Sue. Retirement is most enjoyable as long as you don't bring it up with those that are still working. They fail to understand that although we can now brag about our adventures to them,they will have to visit us in the retirement home to relate their travel stories to us after their retirement . Cheers to all from the Kyd's.

Mavis and I wish everyone a great New Year. Ours is planned to be the best ever. We hope to be leaving in March on our next adventure and not returning until October or November. We head home to Bris vegas from Bermagui NSW (where we spent Christmas) on or about the 4th of January for some minor car preparations (the van is already to roll apart from a visual and lube underneath). The trip from Brisbane was fantastic. Mavis's Sister & Bro inlaw picked up their new van and camped with us at Lawnton Show ground for three days to make sure that all was well with their baby before heading for their home at Hat Head NSW. We left with them and free camped at Whiporie General Store(see http://www.caravancaravan.com.au/entity/whiporie-general-store-rest-area/nsw ) so they could see how she worked without power. We would thoroughly recommend this free camp. The owners of the shop are great people. We stuck to all the back roads and the Brother in law discovered how good it is to explore and take your time instead of racing from A to B. A couple of day's was spent at Hat Head just checking through the new van and enjoying the serenity The rest of the run will soon be scribed to our blog if anyone is interested see http://travellin.kyd.com.au/ in a few day's time. Again Happy New Year to all and cheers from the Kyd's.

Many thanks Russ Have been waiting for your report!

Hi mark & maxine If you are in Brissie please have a chat to Springers at Lawnton with regard to Lithiums. They state that your solar controller and your current battery charger are not compatible with them. The concept is great but not just yet for mine! It is a massive cost for change over. Cheers from the Kyd's.

Well said friends from (temporarily) the land of the long white cloud Good info needs to be shared with the public but when we get down and dirty and also to the nitty gritty do it on the members forum and it needs to be pulled if there is any derogatory or libellous comments made in either forum. We need this forum as a great place to discuss our issues, ask for advice from fellow travellers and owners (of vans ) and just find good value info to our benefit. Keep it coming guy's we love it Merry Christmas from the Kyd's