morribm

I thought I had read some advice on when and how to rotate the wheelstyres on the Kedron but I can't locate the thread. Perhaps it was on a different site. Anyway, what's the good oil on this subject? Should one regularly have the spares being used on-road and if so, what exactly is the recommended method of cycling the wheels/tyres? Cheers Brian

Hi Neville, Bad luck about the fishing :-( I eventually decided to get Bridgestone 694LTs in the standard size as overall, they seemed to get good reports from just about everyone who has fitted them and, at the time, Bridgestone had an offer of an additional $100 discount bringing the tyre price down to $375 each, fitted. It just so happens that I had the 200 up on a hoist a week or so before having the new tyres fitted and had the opportunity to inspect the tread on the current Grand Treks and both the mechanic and I reckoned that they still had several 1000 kms in them and since I have no big trip planned until Feb/Mar 2012, decided to hold off with the new ones for now but for my needs, I think the 694s will be the way to go. Cheers Brian

Hi Arthur, I got mine from the commissioning fellow I spoke to but he was a 'Vitrifrigo agent' if you like. It appeared that they weren't terribly easy to come by but he happened to have his last one in stock however, I think he was winding down his business at the time. Also, I think thermostats may be 'species specific'. In other words, you have to use the one designed for your particular fridge. Happy to be corrected on this point. Kedron should be able to point you in the right direction - I simply contacted the fellow whose name was on the sticker in the compressor compartment. Just had a quick look on the internet - looks like there are several contact possibilities there. Cheers Brian

Hi Arthur, I didn't know there was a 12/240 Vitrifrigo. As far as I was aware, all the Vitrifrigo fridges are 12V only - even when one is plugged into 240V external power, the 'step down transformer' (that's the intermittent buzzing noise many people hear particularly in the middle of the night - just under your pillow!) 'corrects' the 240V AC to 12V DC. Anyway, I did have problems with my first Vitrifrigo due to the thermostat; and incidentally, you are correct, I was told by the fellow who used to be responsible for the commissioning of the fridges for Kedron that switching the fridge off at the thermostat was a 'no, no'. I replaced the thermostat but this was all done through the open front door and was really quite easy taking care not to damage the fine capillary tube that acts as the temp. sensor. At that time, Kedron did not have a fridge isolating switch but it was relatively easy to install one in the rear fridge access hatch. From memory, the thermostat was a surprisingly dear item, around $90, I think I paid. But worth the money because we never had any further problems. I do recall speaking to other Kedron owners at the time who regularly switched the fridge off at the thermostat but hadn't had any issues at that time. Cheers Brian

Thanks Neville, Did you not experience any chipping on your ATRs? That was certainly some weight you were moving. Are your new Cooper tyres the AT3s? I can't locate a ply rating for the ATRs. The BFGs appear to get a good rap with many caravanners and interestingly, I've just had a quote comparing the 265/70/17 size tyres of both BFG and Cooper. BFG TA KO = $360 ea; Cooper AT3 = $430 ea.

Just like to raise this issue again as we're in the market for new tyres and the last post on this topic was a year ago. The (standard) Grand Treks on our 200 series have now done 43,000 km and have a few 1000 more to go and all in all, I've been very happy with them. They had 17,000 km on them when we purchased the vehicle but since then, other than the blacktop roads, they have taken us across the Great Central Road, the Strezelecki and along the Darling Run as well as shorter off road tracks - the one into Rainbow Valley was a shocker at the time. One puncture and that was from a nail picked up pulling into a roadhouse on the GCR. I always drop tyre pressure and (hopefully) 'drive to the conditions' when off road. Previously, when we had a 100 series and a 21' Kedron (tare 3.2 T) I had Cooper ATRs all round and the GRR and Savannah Way really chopped them up - not quite to the point of needing replacement, but even so... I believe this damage was experienced by many driving ATRs. Cooper now have a new tyre, the AT3 which apparently addresses the issue of the inappropriate 'for Australian conditions' rubber compound used in the ATRs. Of course, the choice of tyres depends on their intended use and I'm probably a 80+% blacktop and ~20% off road user and would very much appreciate comments from others who have replaced their tyres and what experiences you have had. Incidentally, I'm very happy with the Goodyear Wranglers on the van. This really is a complex issue. Not only is there a choice of brands but the question of legal size of tyre in Qld compared to other States and the insurance considerations all need to be factored into the equation. Our friends on the BT forum have some good postings on this but I'm wondering if there are any more current points of view from Kedron owners? Cheers, Brian

Hi, Thought I'd add my two bob's worth. My understanding is that the SOC (State of Charge) is simply an arithmetical estimation of what's gone into the battery system and what's gone out expressed as a percentage of the 'full charge'. There is a likelihood that the sums don't always work out correctly because there is an unaccounted for error (which has a name - see a previous post by Grahame, I think) so that in time, you will always get a reading for the SOC of less that 100% even when the batteries are well and truly fully charged. Hence the need to manually synchronise the system so that it reads 100%. My last Kedron I had fitted with a Phoenix smart charger that would auto synchronise from time to time but I find that I often have to manually synchronise this Xantrex system in accordance with the User Manual supplied. Cheers Brian

Hi Phil, Sadly, Kedron roofs leak (my experience). And the more holes you put in it, the more likely they are to do so. Both the Hekies in our Kedrons have leaked and last night we had drips from the Fantastic hatch surround. Of course, the water could be coming from elsewhere, but just where, is the question. IMO roof sealing is NOT a Kedron strong point. I've stopped the Heki from leaking by applying a rubber/foam strip (Clark Rubber) to the roof under the lip of the Heki, but now I can't open the hatch (not sure why it's stuck down) although we still benefit from the skylight function. Now why are we getting leaking from the Fantastic hatch?? Cheers Brian

I had a Hayman Reece lockable pin fitted to the HR hitch head/hitch receiver on the LC200. On two occasions when crossing the Great Central Road I found the locking end lying free next to the pin! The first occasion was purely a chance finding and I considered that I had simply (and stupidly) failed to secure it properly. However, following a period of almost fanatical checking that the lock was secure, I needed to stop the rig after being caught unawares by an unmarked dip to check that all was well and found the lock end adrift again! Not only that, but the pin had moved so that it was not a simple task of clipping the lock back on and I needed to unhitch so that I could jiggle the hitch head about to remove the pin and then replaced the scary HR lockable pin with a 'standard' pin and 'R' clip. I have now purchased a lockable pin that also has a 'R' clip. Belts and braces. When I have a moment I need to pose some questions regarding the 2000lb HR (for 6T McHitch) hitch head and the slop at the hitch receiver on the LC 200. Cheers Brian

Hi All, Met fellow Kedroner CCC (Reg) in Kalgoorlie who noted the very exposed diesel outlet below the diesel storage tank on the front of our ATV2 and since we were planning to travel across the Great Central Road (1100+Km gravel, stones and dirt), strongly recommended fitting some sort of guard for the very exposed and rather flimsy outlet fittings. Managed to pick up some 1.6mm aluminium plate and fabricated a simple guard that tucks up into the shroud around the tank, sweeps under the outlet and is screwed into the chassis cross member (pic 1). The second image shows some of the swarf from the drilling process still sitting in the (exposed) guard - after travelling from Kalgoorlie to Laverton!! The last image shows the slightly deformed guard after the trip across the GCR. No doubt the diesel outlet was indeed very vulnerable and may well have been wrecked if the guard was not fitted. Thanks CCC. Cheers Brian

Apologies, but I'm back on this topic! I decided to defeat the issue of probable (possible) water ingress through the Heki hatch - I suspect through the joint of the hatch surround and the roof. Tom (Kedron) assured me that, if they're going to leak, this is where the problem will be because of the flexing roof etc. So, I decided to stick a strip of foam rubber weather strip (Clark Rubber - "that's what the truckies use") to the roof under the lip of the Heki hatch. Sticky side down. So that when the hatch closes, it seals against the foam strip and, given the unevenness of the roof, there is no way water can now access the join between the hatch surround and the roof when the van is stationary. Recall that the hatch is situated on the downslope of the front of the roof and when static, there is accumulation or pooling of water behind the hatch which, I feel then runs forward and seeps through the joint. I could not find a pinch seal that would allow the hatch to close without applying a dangerous amount of force to the hinges, handle or locking clips. Looks great with the lip of the hatch indenting the foam strip just the right amount, no untoward stress on the hinges on the other side of the hatch and despite experience some decent rains, there has been no leaking BUT after a few weeks of having no cause to open the hatch, I now find that I am unable to do so because it has become adhered to the foam! I'm having a devil of a time trying to release the acrylic hatch from the foam and, in fact, I don't believe I will be able to do so without destroying the foam altogether. I know that some people have had difficulty with the acrylic windows adhering to the rubber seal around the windows. Is there an easy fix? Or, will I simply remove the foam strip altogether and replace it but apply Vaseline or suchlike to the acrylic hatch to prevent this from happening again? Cheers Brian

Spoke to another Keddy owner yesterday who suffered the same problem - as do we with our radio - and he fitted an extending car antenna which solved the problem. I don't think this is a radio problem but rather an issue with the antenna. The car radio works perfectly well with excellent reception even when parked right next to the rear of our van where the little rubber antenna is located.

Hi Russ and Grahame, Been following this discussion closely and am pleased to report that the pea-soup has now become a fog! I would be very grateful to you Russ if and when you have redrawn your concept of the wiring diagram a copy could be sent to me as well. We're on our 2nd Kedron and the wiring is completely different to the first in that the first had a Plasmatronic Solar Controller which had a user accessible function output, this one doesn't so I have little idea what my solar panels are doing and I'm thoroughly confused by the additional 12V supply. Cheers Brian

We have a more recent model ATV2. The radio and the fridge are on the same circuit. We have a separate circuit-breaker for this circuit in the front boot. (Our first Kedron didn't have an isolator for the fridge and the radio was not on the same circuit). I think Kedron started using the circuit breaker soon after we purchased our first van. Hope this is of some help.

The Vitrifrigo in our first Kedron played up - frequent cycling, temperature control issues etc. We eventually got onto the fellow (Ian Robertson, I think was his name) who did all the fridge work for Kedron and only got onto him because there was a sticker on the compressor in the rear compartment with his name on it. In those days, we had to leave our van 'resting' for long periods of time because that 'w' word interfered with our lives :biggrin: . When leaving the van we would switch the fridge off at the thermostat dial in the fridge compartment and Ian said this is the worst thing one could do to those fridges and suggested I buy a new thermostat (easy enough to install). Also, at that time, Kedron had no other way to isolate the fridge circuit (they do now) so I manufactured a simple switch in the rear compartment which is how we isolated the fridge circuit when not using the van. We had no further problems and the fridge worked extremely well - always on 2 from memory.

OK, here is some more info on these hatches. Firstly, I've discovered that they are not Heike hatches but rather Dometic Heki Skylights. I mentioned previously our concerns that the hatch may have been leaking water but I wasn't 100% sure. Our second Kedron has just returned from its post-shakedown visit back to the factory to sort out a roof leak and to help identify how we collected a very large volume of water in the front lockers following a storm which just preceded this visit. Tom at Kedron was in absolutely no doubt that the water ingress was from the Heki surround explaining that they always leak mainly because of what Rod & Mavis have reported, that is, they are very difficult or impossible to seal given the flexing of the roof structure and the difficulty in sealing the hatch surround. You may recall that I specifically stipulated that Sikaflex and not silicone be used when fitting the hatch in our new van but Tom considers silicone to be a superior product and apparently removed the hatch, removed the Sikaflex and replaced the whole lot with silicone sealant. Also, Tom feels that the deluge that filled the front lockers also came from this source but I'm confused about his explanation as to how exactly this occurs. Incidentally, the sliding screen in our hatch showed water staining and Tom replaced this without any fuss at all. The other bit of advice from Tom was that I should remove the hatch on an annual basis in order to reseal it as he assures me that it will leak again! This will be a BIG JOB and not one I would look forward to at all. Our hatches have been mounted in the front of the van on the down-sloping section of the roof. This may be an explanation of why water leaking wasn't noticed when parking the van slightly nose-up. On the other hand, I know there are folk out there who have never had leaking from the Heki hatch. I am considering my options regarding a more permanent fix for this issue..................... Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Brian

Ah, that's just great! Thanks R & M. I had no idea this was all an integrated system. Perfect. The bloke I mentioned who advised regarding the fitting of an external device showed me his. It was a rather cumbersome bit of kit fitted to the hose just before the van inlet and cost around $80. I looked high and low at various plumbing places and hardware stores for a similar one and luckily wasn't able to find one. Just what this forum is all about, I guess. Pity there is no way I can see to fit a lockable cap. Cheers and thanks, Brian

Thanks R & M for the quick response. I didn't realise that there is a pressure limiting valve fitted to the van. I was concerned about the pressure in the mains creeping up to a level that could blow pipes or connections internally but I'm now reassured that this is most unlikely and I will, when it stops raining here, have a look to see if I can locate the fitted device. Cheers Brian

On our recent trip we met a bloke who strongly advised us to consider fitting a pressure limiting valve to our hose line between an external tap and the van. He had apparently met a fellow vanner who had omitted to turn the mains pressure tap off when on an outing only to find on his return that his van was awash due to a burst pipe or failed connection or suchlike. When we remember, we disconnect from the mains when away from the van but certainly don't do this overnight and I guess if there is going to be a mains pressure surge, then it is most likely to occur overnight. So, is there a 'best practice' recommendation on this topic? Cheers Brian

Hi All, Just returned from our 1800 Km shakedown with the new van and newish (2009) LC200. Had the 6T McHitch and was eager to assess performance considering our experience with our previous Keddie and 'the other' hitch which let us down badly by unexpectedly unhitching (see a previous post). The McH is substantial, extremely easy to unhitch (intentionally ;-)) but a trifle tricky to hitch up. It is rock solid once attached and I can't see it ever separating unexpectedly. The 1200 lb HR WDH is an equally impressive lump of steel and handling the bars themselves rapidly produces enlarged biceps. The bars sit lower than the ones we had on our previous van and after unintentionally creating a drainage ditch in the blacktop when manoeuvring into a park somewhere, I thereafter removed the bars whenever I could anticipate any situation that could require tricky turns or present a sharply undulating surface. No further problems. I had no movement of the chain hangers. I also travelled substantial distances without the bars attached and found that although the attitude of the vehicle was slightly nose up, I was confident with the steering and the braking but hasten to add that my cruise speed was modest (no more than 70 Km/hr) at the time. My 200 series has no suspension modifications at this stage, nor did it have a bullbar to add weight to the nose. There was no clatter, squeak and bang from the hitch which was a feature with our previous arrangement but this was in part due, I believe, to the bars fouling the A frame. The new cutaway A frame profile eliminates this. All in all, first impressions are very positive - pity about the need for a 1200 lb WDH. Cheers Brian

Hi All, We're on our second Kedron van both of which have had a Heike hatch up front and a Fantastic at the rear. Actually, the Heike is fantastic if you get my drift, for the reasons mentioned, but mostly because of the light it allows to enter the van. Heat is never a problem when the shield is deployed. Lying in bed somewhere in the outback admiring the stars through the hatch is an additional bonus. However, although dust ingress has not been a problem, water leakage has. With our first van, the hatch was sealed externally with silicon which within a year or so simply peeled off one day when I was cleaning the roof and needed to be resealed with Sikaflex which IMO is a much better product. As it turned out, we had rain leaking into the van again but only when it was stationary and in a slightly nose-down attitude. We eventually determined that the rain ingress was from somewhere further back on the roof and thereafter, whenever we were stationary, we ensured that the van was slightly nose-up. No further issues were encountered. The second van is doing exactly the same thing! I requested that Kedron ensure the primary sealing of the hatch was done with Sikaflex and they certainly complied with this. However, on our recent shakedown, when parked slightly nose down (because of the terrain) and in a torrential downpour, we had a minor dribble from the hatch. Again, we think the leak is from further back along the roof and will get Kedron to sort this out shortly. By the way, subsequent to the above we had plenty more rain but when slightly nose up, no leaks. Cheers Brian

I have recently been involved in a debate about the merits or otherwise of using or not using a WDH with the McHitch coupling. There has been some urgency because our new van will be ready for pick-up next week and the 4.75T coupling we wanted will not be available until about the middle of 2011. I am reliably informed by McHitch that the new hitch when available will be only marginally smaller and marginally cheaper than the 6T model. The issue is that the 6T coupling requires a 1000lb WDH - and that is a reasonably impressive lump of steel! Our experience has been with our previous ATV2 which had a TARE 0f 3150kgs. I was keen to try the coupling without a WDH but have changed my mind and have decided to go with the WDH for the following reasons: - the type of coupling used has nothing to do with weight distribution. Put a heavy weight on the tow bar and unless you have 'special' suspension, at some weight, the front wheels will become 'light', affecting steering and breaking - most of us (despite our desires) spend most of our driving time on the blacktop at higher speeds when arguably more unexpected 'events' are likely to occur. - even at slower 'safe speeds' I did experience the phenomenon of 'dolphining' (my descriptive term but self-explanatory) a couple of times. Unreliable breaking and steering with 3.5T pushing you from behind.......... - both Kedron and McHitch recommend that a WDH be used So, these are my thoughts and I'm happy to be corrected or contradicted. For those who have chosen to do without the WDH - all power to you! Cheers Brian

Hi all, Many of us have at some time determined that we should have the wheels on our van interchangeable with the wheels on our tow vehicle - 'just in case'. I did this with both of my camper trailers and with the Kedron. My question is this: is this really necessary? Has anyone or does anybody know of anyone, who has ever had such a run of bad luck that they 'needed' three spares? Cheers Brian

I'm attaching some images. The red tie is simply that - keeps the R clip and bolt together when removed. The T-bar lip shot shows the 'catch' in place. Please note this is a brand new catch and there isn't much of a grip on the protrusion IMO. Can't see why it would not become 'un-catched' if the T-bar happened to lift ever-so-slightly and the internal tongue is not sound. The other shots are of the tongue itself (wiped free of grease). Please note, this is a brand new tongue - has done no work at all - and note the sharp edge that slips below the ball when hitched. The one that was removed was clearly rounded over thus allowing the ball to slip out given the right conditions. In the aviation industry and in medicine we are aware that major catastrophes occur when all the holes in the Swiss cheese line up. I believe that this is what happened to us. There was no single issue that accounted for our problem but rather a combination of 'holes in the Swiss cheese'. Cheers Brian & Margie