Merv and Di

Hi Barney Might I suggest that you have this put either into the public forum or members forum for some input. Cheers Merv

They are a great piece of machinery to assist hooking up but I saved myself $600.00 and taught my wife how to reverse the truck onto the van. Now all she wants to do is tow with the Chev all the time...... Cheers Merv feeling unwanted......

Hi guys We use a cheep Kmart $5.00 stove top kettle and boil enough for tea/coffee and wash up. We only ever use a small electric kettle and the Dolce Gusto pod machine if ever hooked up to power or I have to run the generator for some reason which is usually to do a clothes wash in the middle of nowhere. We had an 1800w inverter fitted when the van was made and probably don't use it to it's full capacity but it is nice to know it is there. Cheers Merv/Di

It's a good view as well, certainly helped us before I got the sledge hammer out to change ours over. I think the search was Remove Camec door lock.. Cheers Merv

Hi Graeme It might pay for you to do a comparison between the F150 and the Chevy 1500, The reviews of both these trucks are very interesting reading and both more than capable. Do a search.....f150 vs chev 1500. Cheers Merv

Hi Sullie Just curious as to the age of the van and how is the outcome going? Cheers Merv

Hi Sullie It would surprise me as well as we tow with a Silverado. I think that you would find the chassis cracking where it has is due to the "duck diving" "loop the loop" "roller coaster" rides that occurs on quite a lot of our roads, it applies to numerous vans around that have had this damage to the "A" frames. We have fitted a set of rear air bags to compensate for this very thing and has softened this area of concern that I no longer worry about it. Prior to fitting the air bags we actually bent a 4.5t solid tow tongue on our trip to the Cape last year doing "duck dives". Cheers Merv

Which ever way you go Leon I suggest that you seriously look at putting the spare (s) up on the back of the canopy and have a lip under. The reason for this is we copped a rear flat on the Birdsville Track last year and struggled to get the spare out from underneath with the weight of the van pushing down and the flat, there wasn't enough room. Cheers Merv

Congratulations Leon you won't regret your purchase, they are a top tow vehicle. Are you looking at replacing the tub for a complete camp fit out or simply want a canopy to sit on the tub? Have a look at CSM Transport on the Gold Coast, the site might give you some ideas. Cheers Merv

Brrrrrrr! How are the neigh neigh's or are they going clang clang clang when walking around in that white stuff? How is Santa these days? Cheers Merv

An excellent read, thank you Colin. A couple that we met over in the Flinders last month spent a magnificent ANZAC Day at Farina Station and said it was a moving ceremony there as well. as they have their own memorial for the many station hands that volunteered for both wars. Merv/Di

Motoring.com.au in their 2014 review states a 4000kg tow, and in the States for the 2015 quote a 10500 lb tow for the 5.7 ltr. Cheers Merv

Thanks Tony Good referral, checked out here at Whitehorse Trucks and they wanted $57.00 each. Cheers Merv

Hi Leon We tried Shannons when we got ours in Oct 2013 and Shannons said they no longer insure them, so unless something has changed since. We have ours along with the van insured through Ken Tame and Assoc down here in Kew. Must join CMCA to obtain it through his brokerage which I noticed is with Alliance, but there are a quite a lot of other benefits as well. $1k towards windscreen cover alone on the truck. Cheers Merv

Hi Brian The easiest way to work out which is going to suit your application best is to leave at least 150mm from the bottom of the flaps to the road surface and that will give you the best protection. Don't forget to use an alloy/steel strip to retain the bolts and flaps onto the bottom of the stone deflector. eBay at the moment have truck flaps from between $20 a pair through to $120. Cheers Merv

Hi Brian The 18" drop should be sufficient, anything more I think would be overkill. Looking at the height of the lower strikes on the jerry can holders sway me to the 18's, plus they can easily be replaced from most outback truck stops if you rip one off. I don't think that you would catch as many rocks with the 300 drop and therefore defeating the solution, the 18's don't move that much. Cheers Merv

After our very recent trek up the Oodnadatta Track earlier this month I will be putting a set of standard truck mud flaps on the stone guard. 24" x 18" drop. The standard truck flaps are heavy enough not to flex too much at speed which I have see happen on thinner rubber. Cheers Merv

One out of two is not bad'. Petrol but I think you will find they have a 4T towing capacity. Rumour has is it that Performax will be doing the conversions but there is another doing the rounds that Toyota will be making a right hand drive model direct. Should be interesting? Cheers Merv

4.5 Tonne solid towbar tongue from Australian Towbars..including the 6t pin Cheers Merv

Sorry. www.towbarsaustralia.com.au Merv

Hi Tony Check out the 4500kg insert from www.australiantowbars.com.au look in their accessories section. I got the 4" drop and reversed it. Cheers Merv

Hi Danny Is is Hawkshead TPMS? If so their email address in the States is Sales@HawksHeadSystems.com Cheers Merv

Hi guys Towbars Australia in Nambour sell the 4.5t solid 4" drop tongue which is where I got ours from and they provided a great back up service after we bent the tongue on our trip up the Cape last year. Yes, they can still bend with the weight of the TE on it after doing many swan dives. The airbags have now softened this happening. WDH, haven't used them, not required. Cheers Merv

Hi Neville Ours is a 2012 with a 230ltr fuel tank and over the time that we have had the truck the difference between the computer and what is actually used has only been on average 10 ltrs out, but that can also depend on how much froth we get from some fuel pumps. I run a H & S Performance tow tune which has increased the power output by another 40 horses and with this tuner I have recalibrated the tyre/wheel size and the speedo which gives me a more accurate reading, this is then checked using the GPS, so my speedo reads correctly and hence the trucks computer. We average between 17 and 19.5 ltrs per 100kms towing the TE at usually 100kph up hills and down dales. Cheers Merv

I have to agree, it is a very nice and tidy area, and the pub made us very welcome on our recent trip to Inskip Point over the New Year both on the way up and back to Melbourne. Can certainly recommend it. Cheers Merv