[Installation of Gas Heater]

Hi again Glen, can you tell me where you had the heater installed. Up here in Townsville, no-one knows how to install them or how much to charge because they have never done it.

They keep telling me, we live in Queensland, there's no need for heating!!!!

Regards

Rob

Hi Rob

I will send you an email.

Cheers

Glen

[Installation of Gas Heater]

HI Rob,

We had our Truma Gas heater fitted 12 months ago and it cost $2,500, which is slightly cheaper than the diesel one. We had space under our oven for the unit with tubes running to the shower cubicle and out under the fridge. I recommend insulating these tubes as they do give off a fair bit of heat inside the cupboards they pass through. We also had a third 9kg gas bottle fitted as a back up. The factory figures work out to around 50 hrs of running time per 9kg cylinder which will last a fairly long time for us as we don't tend to leave it running all night. We heat the van before showers & going to bed, then we turn it on from the comfort of bed when we wake in the morning, so it's nice and warm when we get up. Yes I know the diesel supporters have just got their calculators out and worked out that theirs is cheaper to run, but I believe the benefits outweigh this small difference.

The reason we went with this type was to avoid the ticking of the diesel pump, the fumes expelled outside, which are significant when starting up and particularly of concern when camped close to others. There is virtually no maintenance required other than ensuring your regulator is in good condition as poor gas flow will shut it down. We haven't had the opportunity to really put it to the test over several days in icy conditions but it has definitely worked well on the occasions of zero degrees that we have used it. Also I don't have to carry another type of fuel supply that I don't already use in the van.

So overall I'm happy with our decision to go gas instead of diesel, but it comes down to individual choice and not all will agree with this. I hope this has helped Rob and let us know how you go with it. By the way, the last time I enquired Kedron will only fit diesel heaters.

[Installation of Gas Heater]

Hi all, I would like a Gas heater instead of the Diesel heater in my new 21' van, has anyone had a Gas Heater (air heater) installed in their van, aftermarket.

How much was it including installation?

Where was the unit positioned in the van?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Rob

[Tyres]

Hi

We have a 200 series and recently replaced the tyres with b f Goodrich 285/70R17 (ALL-Terrains) have had no problems with them we have just travelled through Hells Gate to King Ash Bay at Borrolooa Nt over some heavy corrugations about 500 kl of dirt we have had no problems with scrubbing also have met others on the way with same tyres would have no problems recommend these tyres

[Benchtops]

Hi all, before we see Stan to confirm our order, the Mrs would like some advice or suggestions regarding the kitchen bench tops and tabletop.

We are interested in the shiny laminex rather than the matt look, and are interest if any koggers have the shiny laminex and how well they wear.

We are concerned, that with a lot of off-road travelling, that the shiny laminex might get a lot of scratches and become a bit average looking.

We might have to just go with the matt look, does anyone have any experience with the shiny laminex in their vans?

Regards

Rob

Townsville

[Austar/Mystar]

Has anyone taken their Austar/Mystar box on the road in their van?

Does it work ok?

Do you get all the channels anywhere in Australia?

I want to get the VAST satellite system in the van and was wondering if I could also hook-up our Austar box.

Not sure if Austar like you taking their box on the road, but how would they know?

Any thoughts...

Rob

Townsville

[Full or Combined Ensuite?]

Thanks everyone for your replies. It's great to get different opinions before deciding.

I guess now, if we go the combined ensuite, we have to look into where the vanity basin will go, either next to the toilet or on the wall under the shower head?

Many thanks

Doris and Rob

[Full or Combined Ensuite?]

Doris & Rob,

We bought a secondhand van with a combined ensuite so didn't have much choice in the matter but I do agree with webby etc that if I had a choice this is the way we would have gone.Our vanity is mounted opposite the toilet not above, I never use it as with my hands I'd have to wash one finger at a time. It's easier for Deb & I to use the kitchen sink. As far as eveything getting wet our toiletries are in a vanity cupboard and we have a heavy duty rubber mat on the floor with dimples on the bottom of it to keep it off the checker plate. It dries in no time with the water draining away. Hope this helps.

[Full or Combined Ensuite?]

Hi all, we have put a deposit on a 21' TE. Now we are trying to decide whether to go to a full ensuite (separate shower and toilet) OR a combined ensuite (shower and toilet in-one).

We are leaning towards the combined ensuite because we like to have more space and storage. We intend doing a lot of free/bush camping.

We feel that the ensuite will only be used a small about of time each day, and when in caravan parks we would use the park facilities.

Has anyone regretted their choice OR changed their minds as to which style of ensuite they would want. Any ideas would be appreciated.

We have not had an ensuite in a van before, so we are calling on those of you that have some experience and might like to share their thoughts.

Any help will be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance...

Regards

Doris and Rob

Townsville

[confusing power readings]

Hi Russ

I have ordered a Top Ender and I am concerned at your mention about having to rewire some Kedrons. Why are'nt they being done properly at the factory? Have you mentioned this to Kedron so that they can maybe fix the problem at the factory?

Maybe their electrician is not doing his job properly.

Regards

Rob

Townsville

[confusing power readings]

Hi Sue.

Batteries are tricky Devils and readings can be a bit misleading, depending on circumstances. The ideal measurement of a battery's voltage is when the battery is "at rest". That is, it hasn't just finished charging, nor is it under load. Intelligent solar regulators can improve the accuracy of the State of Charge reading if they have been correctly configured to monitor all of the current flows in the system. That is, what's going into and out of the batteries, what is coming in from any source such as solar panels, battery charger or vehicle alternator and also any current that is being fed directly from the solar regulator to the load in your van.

Most stand alone battery monitors aren't as sophisticated as those that are integrated into good solar regulators and, as such, won't be terribly accurate. The table I published should only be used as a guide (although it is pretty accurate.) Variance can occur between batteries with different chemical make-up such as pure lead acid flooded cells and Absorbed Glass Mat cells. These variances are relatively small though. A simple test of your batteries is to turn off everything in the van, including the fridge. Wait for 15 minutes (more if you can leave the fridge off for a while longer) and watch the voltage reading. Whatever the voltage reading is, just before you turn things back on, is about as accurate as you will get.

The battery readings (in percentages) that you quoted are fairly meaningless if your system is not configured EXACTLY right, and you should use the "at rest" voltage as a better guide. Including my own, I have rewired four Kedrons in order to get the system correctly configured. I seriously doubt that too many have left the factory wired the way that they should have been.

Cheers

Russ

[We finally did it!]

Well, we finally ordered a 21' TE.

We went to the Brissy caravan show last weekend and met Dave and Stan for the first time, and caught up with Jan again and sat down with her and put down a deposit.

We had a great time at the show, it was very busy over the weekend, we attended both Saturday and Sunday, and we had a good look around at all the off-road vans on display.

By midday Sunday we just couldn't go past the Kedron TE and signed-up.

The plan is to meet up with Stan at the factory about March/April next year to go over exactly what we want. We still haven't decided whether to go the combined or separate shower/toilet, we are leaning towards the combined ensuite so that we have more room in the living area. We have a few months to decide!!

Both of us are very excited and looking forward to July next year when we pick up our new baby.

Rob and Doris

Townsville

[UHF CB in Van]

Hi all, has anyone installed a UHF CB radio in their caravan?

I am looking at installing my Uniden which has the Mic AND Speaker, and all controls in the hand piece (new model with 80ch). I want to wire it up so that the hand piece can be used inside and also unplugged and then plugged in outside under the awning.

I am interested in where on the outside the antenna was mounted and which type of mount you used?

Do you travel with the antenna in place OR do you remove it?

Pictures of the antenna mounted on the van would be helpfull.

Any ideas greatly appreciated

Regards

Rob

[Inverters]

Hi all, I have been studying the forum posts about inverters. I am still confused as to which type and size I require.

I understand the difference between pure sine wave and the modified sine wave inverters. I just need some help deciding which of the two types I should install.

I know that the easiest way is to just go for the pure sine wave type, but the cost is much higher than the modified type, and I am trying to limit my spending as we all do.

I also understand that sufficient battery capacity is required, I have 3x 120Ah AGM batteries with solar panels.

Considering that sensitive equipment such as TV's, DVD players and CD/FM Radio's are supplied by the 12v battery system, we only want to be able to use such appliances as the microwave, clothes washer, mixmaster (wife likes to bake) and the occasional small power tool (drill etc).

I imagine that a modified sine wave inverter would be sufficient and, size wise, about 1200watt.

What do you suggest, and do you have a similar setup. Also which brands should I be looking at?

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

Rob

Townsville

[Changes to equipment]

Hi all. I noticed that recently there have been a couple of changes to the list of equipment on the Kedron website for the Topender, not sure about the other models.

Namely - the 100l drinking water tank has been reduced to a 60L tank.

The 240L fridge/freezer has been changed to an Engel dual combination fridge and freezer both of 95L capacity. (Not sure what they are.)

Not sure what else has changed.

Has anyone noticed this or have any ideas why.

I have been checking the site regularly because we intend ordering a Topender soon.

I'm sure I you could possibly option the larger tank and a different fridge/freezer, but, I'm curious as to why the changes, especially to the drinking water tank.

Any ideas anyone?

Hopefully, soon to be new Kedron owner

Rob

[Van and car weights.]

Thanks Greg, that's fantastic, just what I needed. I will be contacting Christian to get the right info for my situation.

I see that I need to be mindfull of the GCM also.

Thanks to everyone else for your replies.

Regards

Rob

[Van and car weights.]

Hi all, we are considering purchasing a TopEnder, length approx 20'.

We will be carrying a tinnie on top of the 200s, a boat loader, bullbar, dual batteries and larger aux fuel tank.

I am concerned about the weight of the 200s with all this added, including towing the TopEnder (ball weight).

Does anyone have experience with the GVM upgrade on the 200s and also, does the towing capacity need to be increased, or, will the van, fully loaded with water (300kG), food, clothes etc be within the 3500kg towing capacity of the 200s.

I know that the weight will depend on what we load into the van, but what I am asking for is your experiences with loading and towing with a similar size vans and vehicles.

Before we order the 200s we want to have a good idea whether we need a GVM upgrade or not and if there is anything else we need to consider, weight wise.

Ball weight is a concern.

This topic probably has been done to death, but I was unable to find anything on this site regarding GVM upgrades.

Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Rob

Townsville

[Dust in van]

Many thanks to everyone who replied to my thread. My wife and I are pleased to hear that very little dust gets into Kedron vans. After travelling with the Jayco camper for many years and it's dust problems we are now confident that a Kedron van will not have the same fault.

Again, thanks for the replies.

Looking forward to visiting the Kedron showroom in April.

Rob and Doris

(Hermit)

[Dust in van]

G'day all, I am a newly registered member to KOG. Although we don't have a Kedron van yet, my wife and I are heading down to the Kedron showroom in April to check out their merchandise, so to speak.

I have been reading the forum for a number of months, but, have been unable to find any information regarding dust getting into Kedron vans.

Can anyone tell me of your experiences regarding travelling on dirt roads and how much dust gets into your Kedron. :helpsmilie:

We currently have a Jayco Hawk camper that literally vacuums up the dirt road. Every time we have travelled on dirt, we need to have a good spring clean inside the camper. The floor is usually covered in dust to the extent you cannot see the vinyl, and our bedding needs a good wash.

I always try to speak to other caravaners in parks regarding this problem, but to date have not been able to speak to a Kedron owner face to face.

We are very keen to bushcamp for short periods and are considering an ATV or Top Ender at around 20' to 21' length and a Toyota 200 TD.

Your advice and/or experiences are much appreciated. :biggrin: