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GVM and tow upgrades


dismart

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John and Jo, Stu and Jean I have tried to send photos, if you have not received them let me know, I am having trouble sending my emails

cheers

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With my moderators hat on....this 'thread' could have the potential to become a 'slanging match'!

I would like to thank ALL the contributors (so far) for their input & restraint!

I honestly believe that we ALL have the best thoughts and intentions for all our fellow Kedron owner's!

Due to different state regulations and interpretation of those regulations there is potentially going to be misunderstanding & conjecture over these regulations.

This forum is a great asset to the Kedron 'experience' being able to share each others knowledge & lessons learnt in the real world.

Please .....let us share this knowledge & experiences for all!

 

Cheers and beers

Tony :D

 


 

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3 hours ago, TonyH said:

Dismart, would/could you share your photos, please?

 

 

Tony, he probably would have done, except I suspect he has no idea how to.  But I will winkle that image out of him and put it up here.  Watch this space.

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I am going to add here that the photos above have by Dismart ( who is my husband) had some questions raised in relation to the weight rating and or strength required in the chains themselves.

 

 No work has been done by Dismart himself as he is no engineer.  The whole process is being undertaken by Lovells and their engineer.  All work has been done at the Lovells engineering workshop in Adelaide,
 
Secondly, apparently  the steel itself is a high tensile steel which has been especially chosen to allow for the strength needed.
 
Despite all this, we understand now that the Australian Design standards require higher rated chains, which we will organise.  
 
We do do not advocate that anyone follow our procedures or photos but rather urge others to seek independent engineering advice.
 
it is good to question safety matters such as these and I thank those who have raised these issues.
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Dismart is my better half and the previous posts by him relate to our jointly owned van.  I am letting everyone know that our chains are still a work in progress and when completed we will post the relevant photos.

cheers

chris

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Hi Dismart and Chris,it sure is confusing as you have also realised,and Tony is right we all have the interest of all Kedron owners safety at heart. Its also very confusing talking to different suppliers cause they all have an opinion on what one should be installing .

One thing is for sure that we all,Australia wide come under same Australian Standards regarding the chains and how they are attached to our caravans 

I have today had a long discussion with David Gall and left it all with him to get back to me with what chain system they will be fitting to any new Kedron over 3.5 t from now on . He needs to speak to his engineers . I have put my upgrade on hold till I get word back from him. 

 

John 

Edited by John and Jo
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Hi all,

From my inquiries with  Mike @ Couplemate (Brisbane)

You are going to need something like this on the draw bar OR something like the drawing I put up on the 'chains' thread 

https://www.couplemate.com.au/trailer-parts-shop-caravan-parts-shop/safety-chain-holder/10mm-80g-safety-chain-holder/  Van

 

and then something like this on the tow vehicle

https://www.couplemate.com.au/trailer-parts-shop-caravan-parts-shop/safety-chain-holder/10mm-x-8000-kg-safety-chain/  vehicle

 

WOW what a can of worms this is......NOT a cheap exercise.....but to be safe.....its worth it

 

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Heres a few pics of our chains.

The trailer chain mount is from CoupleMate Trailer parts (10mm rated to 7tonne).

The chain is 10mm T rated chain.

Chain is connected to the shackles by hammerlocks.

Welding was by the Welding Shed at Caboolture. They did a great job.

Correct me if Im wrong but Ive stuck to the bow shackles because from what I understand its illegal to weld onto the towbar which is actually a chassis cross member in the 200 series.

The national standards are very certainly a can of worms.

cheers

stu

HOLD THE BUS. Apparently Ive had the chain holders installed incorrectly. The chain is supposed to be encapsulated by the holder. That is the open side of the chain holder should be welded to the frame which encapsulates the chain, the pin is a secondary device.

I have had them installed them on the wrong side.

I will get them removed and install a different kind of holder as I want to be able to replace the chain if its damaged. My apologies for misleading anyone however Ive never seen these holders installed before.

 

 

 

 

HOW NOT TO INSTALL THE HOLDERS. THEY ARE ON THE WRONG SIDES OF THE A FRAME.

 

DSCN3024.JPG

 

 

 

 

Edited by Stu and Jean
correction
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Hi Stu & Jean,

Very nice installation on the draw bar.

I believe gal plated D shackles cannot be used (legally) when the rating is in excess of 3.5 tonne.

And just a query those yellow Hammerloks arent they Beaver C10's ?  Yes they are Grade T (80) but only have a WLL of 3.15t.

Again a nice neat install on the van

Cheers  

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Thanks Tony

WLL of the hammerlocks is 3.2 tonne. The safety factor would be at a minimum twice that. The standards refer to breaking strain not WLL. 

As I mentioned I understand it's illegal to weld on to the chassis so the only way I can come close to complying with the standard is to use Bow shackles. 

The set up I have is perfectly safe.

Cheers

Stu

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Hi Stu that looks very nice particularly the block on the a frame thanks for the photos .

can you tell me,the lovells receiver you have is different than ours,which,is the traditional RH,with weight distribution bars .How come yours is different and do you not need the Bars ? 

We didn't need bars when we were using Mchitch auto coupling,but noticed straight away  that we needed them after the new Lovells set up .

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Thanks John & Jo. I'm really happy with the welding around the blocks.

Yes the hitch is the stage 1 set up with no WDH. It's still 4 tonne towing but with standard 350kg ball weight. The van ATM has been changed to 3.9tonne but when fully loaded with water etc we are only 3.7 tonne with 300kg tow ball weight.

The van has always towed well and that hasn't changed so I've gone for the stage one kit with no bars. 

Cheers

Stu

 

 

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That's interesting Stu I was told that we had no option we had buy the tow pack with the bars . 

Your set up looks great did you have to take the van to be inspected at a licenceing depo?

 

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On 27/03/2017 at 11:03 PM, John and Jo said:

Hi Dismart and Chris,it sure is confusing as you have also realised,and Tony is right we all have the interest of all Kedron owners safety at heart. Its also very confusing talking to different suppliers cause they all have an opinion on what one should be installing .

One thing is for sure that we all,Australia wide come under same Australian Standards regarding the chains and how they are attached to our caravans 

I have today had a long discussion with David Gall and left it all with him to get back to me with what chain system they will be fitting to any new Kedron over 3.5 t from now on . He needs to speak to his engineers . I have put my upgrade on hold till I get word back from him. 

 

John 

You are not wrong that it is all confusing.  We are very lucky that we have a wealth of expertise here on this forum and people happy to share their knowledge.

 

i never doubted Tony was right....just a tad confused about what was happening at our end ?

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 28 March 2017 at 7:33 PM, Stu and Jean said:

Thanks Pete

Just need to figure out how to get around the shackle problem now. 

Cheers

Stu

Hi Stu.

 

How did you go with the shackles.

 

Also, can you lower the tail gate fully with the van attached, or does top of the hitch on the van cause any restriction.

 

Cheers

 

Pete

 

 

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I have gone the whole hog and am using 13mm hammer lock on the 13 mm t80 chain and 4.7t shacklesto the Landcruiser. Doesn't look too big and heavy when attached to the vehicle. 

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