Interior design

[Bondi and Jenny]

Hi to everyone,

Jenny and I would like some help please with our interior for the van we have ordered.

We have ordered an ATV 21ft external.

Has anyone got any ideas on changes, to the inside design,that they have done or wished they had done at the time.

Thanks

[TonyH]

Hi guys,

Have u had a look @ the Kedron layouts page (on this site)?

Have you spoken to Jan @ the sales yard?

Speak to Stan @ the factory.

Have u had a floor plan drawn up yet.... If so post it here & ask for feedback :-)

[RickA]

G'day Bondi & Jenny

Welcome to the KOG Forum. What ever design Keddy you buy it will be great.

We have had our ATV2 for 5 yrs. now ,and the only things I would add is to have the Inverter hardwired to all the 240 outlets in the van. And a small cupboard under the café table over the wheel well.

Cheers

Rick &Lea

[Ian and Sue]

Hi Bondi and Jenny - Welcome to the forum. Tonys' suggestion is a great one, if you have a plan in mind post it here and then everyone will have some idea of where to start. We all have little ideas (some not so little perhaps) of ways to made you wonderful new Kedron even better and it is always good to have some input from people who have owned one and used it.

Please let us know more about yourselves too, do you own a caravan at present or will this be your first one? If you already have one you must already have an idea of what you do and do not want.

We are a friendly mob here and only too happy to offer ideas so ask away.

Cheers

Sue

[Webby]

Stan no longer does the plans at the factory. The person to speak to now is Graham. He is excellent and can certainly tell you what will work, and what won't.

[Bondi and Jenny]

G'day Bondi & Jenny

Welcome to the KOG Forum. What ever design Keddy you buy it will be great.

We have had our ATV2 for 5 yrs. now ,and the only things I would add is to have the Inverter hardwired to all the 240 outlets in the van. And a small cupboard under the café table over the wheel well.

Cheers

Rick &Lea

Thanks Rick And Lea,

A bit of further information we have gone for the 1800w inverter, to all power points and extra sola panel on the roof all led lights, extra gen box on door side and drop down table.wheels will be the same as the Cruiser (100 series) and I am supplying Cooper tyres sourced locally in Queensland.

Jenny has decided to supply our own fabric which we are sourcing from Spotlight to give a more modern appearance.

[Merv and Di]

Hi Bondy and Jenny

We ummmed and ahhed about getting an extra solar panel but in the end we decided against it, we found that the 3x 135's with 3x 120amph batteries was more than enough, but it will come down to what you would like and just how much extended free camping you will be doing to justify it. Also look at the extra weight. We went for the 1800w inverter as well just in case. You are both going to have a lot of fun putting this together.

Cheers

Merv

[Bondi and Jenny]

G'day Bondi & Jenny

Welcome to the KOG Forum. What ever design Keddy you buy it will be great.

We have had our ATV2 for 5 yrs. now ,and the only things I would add is to have the Inverter hardwired to all the 240 outlets in the van. And a small cupboard under the café table over the wheel well.

Cheers

Rick &Lea

Hi Sue and Ian,

Thanks for the reply we have owned a Coramal Lifestyle 605 previously which we sold last year after we decided to get a Kedron.

We both like going to places that the normal caravan can't go but not too extreme.

This van we will semi retire in next year and work our way around Australia, but we will do our biggest trip so far to pick it up 13737 km by the GPS calculations to get us there and home.

We have taken 6 weeks to do this and hope to see our son in Cairns as we do the work out week then back to Brisbane and across to Alice and then across the Great Central Road. Looking forward to it.

We are picking the van up around 20th September.

Again thanks for the reply. We may see you as we travel we always look out for Kedrons.

[Bondi and Jenny]

Hi guys,

Have u had a look @ the Kedron layouts page (on this site)?

Have you spoken to Jan @ the sales yard?

Speak to Stan @ the factory.

Have u had a floor plan drawn up yet.... If so post it here & ask for feedback :-)

Thanks Tony for the reply.

We have looked at the layout designs, and have been to the factory a couple of times.

I did not mention that we have already ordered an ATV2 21ext for pick up in September 2013 and were just thought we might get some ideas from long term owners before the final change dates close.

Thanks again

Bondi and Jenny

[Bondi and Jenny]

Hi Bondy and Jenny

We ummmed and ahhed about getting an extra solar panel but in the end we decided against it, we found that the 3x 135's with 3x 120amph batteries was more than enough, but it will come down to what you would like and just how much extended free camping you will be doing to justify it. Also look at the extra weight. We went for the 1800w inverter as well just in case. You are both going to have a lot of fun putting this together.

Cheers

Merv

Hi Merv,

I was only going with the three and added an 1800 watt inverter and upped the charger float at the beginning, and just before we sold the Coromal we were away for a long week end 6 vans in a circle like against Indians (great week end) one of our friends pointed out that if I added the 4th cell then it would be easier to park with a slightly shaded area and still have coverage for charging the batteries, and I know that out in the centre there are not to many big trees.

I would like to hear from you as to how the three cells go as you have been using them for a period of time.

Looking forward to your response

Thanks again

Bondi and Jenny

[Bondi and Jenny]

Stan no longer does the plans at the factory. The person to speak to now is Graham. He is excellent and can certainly tell you what will work, and what won't.

Hi Sue,

Thanks for the reply Stan actually did the initial consult at the factory in march and then retired.

Now we are dealing with Graham.

Great bunch of people to deal with.

Bondi and Jenny

[Bondi and Jenny]

Hi guys,

Have u had a look @ the Kedron layouts page (on this site)?

Have you spoken to Jan @ the sales yard?

Speak to Stan @ the factory.

Have u had a floor plan drawn up yet.... If so post it here & ask for feedback :-)

Tony,

I see you use a HF radio.

How do you find it?

What make and Model?

I am a believer in this form of comms and as we are getting closer to the time of our big trip will get one but would like your feed back and any one else out there that is using them.

Thanks Bondi and Jenny

[TonyH]

Hi Bondi,

I have a Codan NGT with a 9350 autotune antenna.

I find this to be a great setup & would recomend

I also belong to HF radio club www.hfradioclub.com.au (a great bunch of friendly, helpful people! .... just like Kedron owners)

[RickA]

Hi Bondi & Jenny

We have managed with just the 3 panels and batteries and we have been travelling full time for about 5.5yrs. in this van. Never had the need for an extra panel, but we do have a generator for backup. I use a CPAP machine every night and the usual consumption of fridge ,led lights and pumps etc.

In my personal experience with Cooper tyres we found them totally useless under heavy loads, got about 33,000 ks. out of them and they were stuffed. I don`t think they build them for a lot weight bearing ability. We now use Goodyear Wrangler Silent armour (USA built)and are very happy with their performance.

Like Tony ,we also use a Codan NGT HF radio and belong to the HF Club.

Cheers

Rick & Lea

[Merv and Di]

We have never had a problem with the three panels/batteries and have been parked in part shade on more occassions than I would have like, just my opinion save your money on the extra panel and put it towards a 2+kva generator. Totally agree with the comments on Coopers, they are not a heavy tow tyre on vans or cars.

Cheers

Merv

[sellinup]

HI BONDY AND JENNY

After full time living and traveling in our ATV2 for about 1.1/2 years, the biggest issue I find is with

12v power. We have 3 x 135 w panels, and 3 x 110a/h batteries. In summer not as much a problem, but winter

or prolonged cloudy weather, it is always a constant consern. I'm not really a wizz when it comes to things that

make sparks, but this is how I see it. 3x 135w panels ,the best input I have seen is 20a and that is in ideal

conditions(sunny day,sun high in sky ect).But realistically it doesn't happen all that often. A lot of the places

we go to,it is just not possable or desireable to set up camp in the middle of a paddock away from all trees,

facing East,West. so in real life this is what we get. (Example) After going from 240v, with batteries fully charged

and now on 12v power,1st day.Anything from 13.4 to 14.4v, a/h 100%full,at sundown volts drop quickly to about 12.9v,

(all good).the TV goes on for the news,and then Kerry watches a soapey and maybe a movie, the fridge (which is the

biggest gobbler of power)continues to consume 5a for 20mins and only stops for 10mins before starting up again.

Lighting is kept to a min,and the deisel heater might be fired up,about 2am until 7am in places like Orange when

temp got down to -2degrees. So at 7am we have something like 12.8v(all good)Our Vantrex battery monitor tells me

we are 82% full. By about 4pm the monitor tells me 13.3v and again drops quickly to about

12.9v(no probs)and batt a/h holding capacity is 78%, so what i'm getting at is,at the end of every day, our volts

are ok,but the A/h are on the way down. Most of the time the pannels are only putting in anything from 5 to 8 or

maybe 10A ,and as the power hungry fridge, keeps chooing up 5amps, and the sun is low in the sky, and days are

shorter the Batteries just don't recover. I don't see how another pannel on the top of the van would be of much

help when the 3 we have don't put in to their full potential,and the only place for one would be on the slope on

the front of roof. One of the reasons for poor power input is the position of the air conditioner throwing a shadow

on 1 or 2 of the panels and rendering them useless for most of the day. So what I am thinking of geting is a portable

pannel that can then be moved around to follow the sun. When we were having our van built we thought of 4 x110a/h

Batteries, but that wouldn't have been of much use when we can't fill 3, and the extra weight was a no go.

Anyway this is our findings ,other KEDDY owners say they don't have a power problem. and I guess that is why we

have a jenny, so we can bump it up. Apart from that rapt in our KEDRON and our life style.

REGARDS MAL.

[Bondi and Jenny]

Hi Bondi & Jenny

We have managed with just the 3 panels and batteries and we have been travelling full time for about 5.5yrs. in this van. Never had the need for an extra panel, but we do have a generator for backup. I use a CPAP machine every night and the usual consumption of fridge ,led lights and pumps etc.

In my personal experience with Cooper tyres we found them totally useless under heavy loads, got about 33,000 ks. out of them and they were stuffed. I don`t think they build them for a lot weight bearing ability. We now use Goodyear Wrangler Silent armour (USA built)and are very happy with their performance.

Like Tony ,we also use a Codan NGT HF radio and belong to the HF Club.

Cheers

Rick & Lea

Hi Rick & Lea,

Thanks for the input, the Codan unit you are using is the model I was looking at. I have been looking at VKS-737 as the provider as they are the ones all the HF radio sellers tell you about.

[Bondi and Jenny]

HI BONDY AND JENNY

After full time living and traveling in our ATV2 for about 1.1/2 years, the biggest issue I find is with

12v power. We have 3 x 135 w panels, and 3 x 110a/h batteries. In summer not as much a problem, but winter

or prolonged cloudy weather, it is always a constant consern. I'm not really a wizz when it comes to things that

make sparks, but this is how I see it. 3x 135w panels ,the best input I have seen is 20a and that is in ideal

conditions(sunny day,sun high in sky ect).But realistically it doesn't happen all that often. A lot of the places

we go to,it is just not possable or desireable to set up camp in the middle of a paddock away from all trees,

facing East,West. so in real life this is what we get. (Example) After going from 240v, with batteries fully charged

and now on 12v power,1st day.Anything from 13.4 to 14.4v, a/h 100%full,at sundown volts drop quickly to about 12.9v,

(all good).the TV goes on for the news,and then Kerry watches a soapey and maybe a movie, the fridge (which is the

biggest gobbler of power)continues to consume 5a for 20mins and only stops for 10mins before starting up again.

Lighting is kept to a min,and the deisel heater might be fired up,about 2am until 7am in places like Orange when

temp got down to -2degrees. So at 7am we have something like 12.8v(all good)Our Vantrex battery monitor tells me

we are 82% full. By about 4pm the monitor tells me 13.3v and again drops quickly to about

12.9v(no probs)and batt a/h holding capacity is 78%, so what i'm getting at is,at the end of every day, our volts

are ok,but the A/h are on the way down. Most of the time the pannels are only putting in anything from 5 to 8 or

maybe 10A ,and as the power hungry fridge, keeps chooing up 5amps, and the sun is low in the sky, and days are

shorter the Batteries just don't recover. I don't see how another pannel on the top of the van would be of much

help when the 3 we have don't put in to their full potential,and the only place for one would be on the slope on

the front of roof. One of the reasons for poor power input is the position of the air conditioner throwing a shadow

on 1 or 2 of the panels and rendering them useless for most of the day. So what I am thinking of geting is a portable

pannel that can then be moved around to follow the sun. When we were having our van built we thought of 4 x110a/h

Batteries, but that wouldn't have been of much use when we can't fill 3, and the extra weight was a no go.

Anyway this is our findings ,other KEDDY owners say they don't have a power problem. and I guess that is why we

have a jenny, so we can bump it up. Apart from that rapt in our KEDRON and our life style.

REGARDS MAL.

Hi Mal and Kerry Thank you for the input, there are 3 120ah batteries and we do carry a I20 Honda gen set with us a very economical unit and also have a 120amp portable sola panel we keep in the vehicle to keep battery topped up when we have the fridge in the car on and no 240v power.

I am getting more info from the members other than what I was looking for and find it great.

Thanks again

Bondi and Jenny

[Bondi and Jenny]

Hi Bondi,

I have a Codan NGT with a 9350 autotune antenna.

I find this to be a great setup & would recomend

I also belong to HF radio club www.hfradioclub.com.au (a great bunch of friendly, helpful people! .... just like Kedron owners)

Hi Tony,

Thank you, its the same unit I have been looking at, by the time I get it next year it will only need to do the dishes at night to be the perfect unit, they do so much more now than when I first used Codans for work in the 80s

All the best

Bondi and Jenny

[RickA]

Hi Bondi & Jenny

We used to be in VKS a few yrs. back and found after awhile that they became too big and very political. So we joined with the HF club and found them a lot more social and friendly.

Cheers

Rick & Lea

[colnden]

As Bondi and Jenny have said, the big problems with the solar panels is their position right next to the airconditioner.With a previous van i had a 85 watt panel and i found that by putting the shadow of your hand over the panel the shadow wiped out 80% of the output. When you look at the panels they will in most cases have shadow cast on the left or the right hand panels from the TV antenna or the air conditioner.Between 11 am and 1 pm i find the panels are nearly clear of shadow. The problem with putting a panel on the downward slope at the front is that the panel will dictate which way you park in relation to the sun.That is to say if the van is facing south then it won't do much for you.

We are in our van ful time and have a 3 way fridge which is never run on 12 volts but with 3x 135 panels and 3x120 AGM batterys we still need to pull out the gen set on the odd occasion to top up batterys, or, heaven forbid, turn the TV and computers off.

We did mention at the design stage about shifting the TV aerial to the front of the van and putting the panels across the back.but got nowhere with that. As with others, the most we have seen going into the batterys is about 20 amps, BUT,if you allow this to happen for awhile you will notice that the solar regulator will start to cut back on the charge rate . Easy way to check is to turn on the tv and watch the charge rate on the battery monitor. If you notice an inital drop in the charge rate and over the next twenty seconds the charge rate builds back up to where it was then the regulator is in the absorbition phase and is not puttig all available power into the battrrys which means there is power avaliable to charge phones, computers etc.

We don't allow our batterys to go below 12.6 volts in order to get the best life out of them.However the first set of batterys only lasted 12 months but were replaced under warranty. Why they failed is one of lifes mysteries, but you certainly dont want to be replacing them too often.

Sorry about drifting off interior design.

Den and Col

[Ian and Sue]

Hi again Bondi and Jenny

From the sound of the kilometres you are doing on your around circuit to pick up your Keddy you must live up near us somewhere.

We have three 120 panels on our van and live in it for extended periods, we free camp (or low cost no power) for about 90%, we also carry a 2kva honda as a back up AND because I need two cups of coffee from my Nespresso Pixie machine a day and the 12v will not run that. So the Genie runs for around 3 minutes while the machine works and wouldn't be making any real difference to our batteries charge. If I wasn't addicted to coffee we are OK running on the solar and rarely have to crank it up to charge the batteries. In WA the sun shines most of the time and we don't seem to have been caught in extended cloudy periods as we were when we were over east last year, having said that we were down at Cosy Corner near Albany a month back and it was cloudy for three days straight and we still didn't need to run the generator to recharge.

I aren't into the technicalities of the solar side of our caravan but do know that since we met up with all the other KOGGERS at Goomeri last year and Ian found out that he needed to change some wiring all of our old solar problems have been fixed.

Another ramble from the West Aussie blonde! Time for a coffee.

[RussnSue]

Hi Bondi and Jenny

I guess I'll throw my hat into the ring with my take on the 12Volt power issue.

We have no generator. I officialy sold it this year after doing four laps of Australia and using it just once. Our setup consists of the three factory fitted solar panels and two that I had from the days when we had a Kimberley Kamper. In the early years four of the panels were mounted on the roof and one was carried on the car. I wired in an Anderson plug and could plug the free unit and point it at the Sun as soon as it (the Sun) had stuck its head up over the horizon. This was a great setup and I would have the 4 x 120 AH AGM batteries charged in no time.

During the past 12 months, having determined that the generator wasn't necessary and having purchased of a VAST satellite system, I removed the Winegard TV antenna and chucked it - leaving me room to permanently mount the fifth panel at the rear of the van. We now harvest all of our power needs from the Sun without any messing around pointing panels. The four AGM batteries have also gone, having been replaced with lighter, smaller, but equal in capacity, Lithium batteries. They are mounted under the seat of the rear-most café lounge chair, in order to get some weight off the towball.

The result is that after five years I have finally got the "ship's power" to where it should have been from new. We are totally independant for our power requirements. Now, if I could only come up with a cunning way to extract water from thin air.......

Cheers

Russ

[barramundi]

Hello Kedron owners, after much research we have decided to purchase a Kedron ATV, 19.6 internal. We haven't placed an order as yet, but have been to the display yard and to the factory. We would love the front kitchen, L shaped dinette, East west bed and rear full ensuite. The only drawback to this is it decreases the external storage. Cannot seem to find a slot for a slideout for the webber with this design. We also have a little grandson who will have to sleep on the dinette at times. As we cannot access the private layout forum, would love to have some advice from other owners. We will be placing our order mid 2014 so have plenty of time for deliberation.. Tow vehicle is a 200LC.

We live in Darwin so don't often have the opportunity to physically look at caravan shows etc.. for ideas

Lis and Doug

[Chris]

Hello Kedron owners, after much research we have decided to purchase a Kedron ATV, 19.6 internal. We haven't placed an order as yet, but have been to the display yard and to the factory. We would love the front kitchen, L shaped dinette, East west bed and rear full ensuite. The only drawback to this is it decreases the external storage. Cannot seem to find a slot for a slideout for the webber with this design. We also have a little grandson who will have to sleep on the dinette at times. As we cannot access the private layout forum, would love to have some advice from other owners. We will be placing our order mid 2014 so have plenty of time for deliberation.. Tow vehicle is a 200LC.

We live in Darwin so don't often have the opportunity to physically look at caravan shows etc.. for ideas

Lis and Doug

Great to see you on here Barramundi. I replied to another post of yours over on Caravaners forum. Great to see you decided to buy a Kedron. Good decision. I thought you were goi g for a much shorter van...

I gather you are from my old home town of Darwin. I lived in the NT all my life up until a few years ago when we moved to SA. I love it here but miss the Territory too.

Chris