Grahame and Wendy Roberts

I have an original Kedron supplied generator slide for sale. It measures 34cm wide X 62cm long X 5.5cm high. The tray measures 29cm X 55cm. It is angle iron construction with the heavy ball bearing mounts for the tray. Works well, not needed on our rig. Contact me Grahame on 0439 470 009

I have run a Honda 2.0i for 10 years, it has excellent voltage regulation and has never missed a beat. Over that period we have run the AC probably a dozen times and interestingly it will do so at sea level but will not hang onto the load at any altitude over 1,000 ft. One of the larger capacity Honda or Yamaha machines will hang onto an AC load somewhat better. On a recent caravanning trip with friends I saw a brand new Honda 2.0i fail to start after it had been servicing a light load for 2 or 3 days (that is all the work it had done). I did the usual things - changed fuel and checked the plug to no avail. The problem turned out to be a failed " ignition initiator", in other words an ignition coil timed by the flywheel. After this 10 year experience I have come to the conclusion that our main generator need is as backup for the batteries and I am now carrying a Yamaha 1.0i which easily runs my charger at 40A for 30 mins if it has to, but more importantly gives me a weight saving of 18kg. ATV2 towed by 200 Series Grahame

Kevin, Get your wallet out and go buy two new batteries. Full River are an OK brand, remember that the weight of a battery is an indicator of it's quality. Lead acid batteries, which includes AGMs, should have a life of 6 to 7 years is they are looked after. By " looked after" I mean don't discharge them below about 70%. You will then get thousands of cycles out of them. Working batteries down to 15 to 20% of their rated capacity will result in you getting 100s of cycles, then get your wallet out again. Yes, that means you are carting around 2 X 120AHrs = 240AHrs and you can only safely use 30% of that or 70AHrs. Sorry but that is the current chemical/physics laws. Grahame (retired Elec Engr)

Grahame and Wendy Roberts, 2 X adult, KOG member 114, no wine tour, 2 x dinner, powered site. Looking forward to meeting with you all.

Leon, We have a 2007 ATV 2 which has a Tare Mass of 3.04 tons. I fitted 4 X Yokahama LT265/75R 119Rs mid November 2016. At the time my local tyre dealer advised that 116s have a load rating of 1250Kg, 119s 1360Kg and 123s 1550Kg. I selected the mid rating mindful of the fact that this gave me a 4 X 110Kg additional load rating for the van over the basic 116s. Since then we have travelled only 11,400k but I have been very happy with the tyre performance. Safe travells Grahame

Kev, We, like Tony, have a 2007 ATV and am still on the original Centaur 40A charger. The fans should be thermeonically controlled but they are not, as soon as they are connected to power on come the fans. As Tony points out when the charger is mounted on the headboard of your bed the fan noise becomes intrusive. It does not bother my better half, she sleeps through it. The solution I came up with was to install two small switches on the side of the unit which switch the fans individually. I find that when on power for an hour or so I only need to pull 5 to 6 Amps from the charger and I can switch off the fans for the night. I always vent the boot with a chock which keeps the boot lid open 10 cm. It is that or disconnect from power for the night which also works well. I have 3 X 120 AHr batteries. A danger on the above is that one could forget the fans and cook the charger when a full charge is required down the road. I am in the habit of always checking the switches as I connect to mains. At the same time I installed two more small computer fans on the boot vents to blow hot air out. I have only used them a few times. Grahame

Chris, We have a 230L Vitrifrigo which has a Danfoss BD50F compressor working unit and have been through a similar set of symptoms. Your issue is very likely to be either thermostat or low gas. Start with the thermostat, replacing it may fix the problem and if that is the case it is quick and easy. However if your fridge is 4 years + old I suspect it may need a gas recharge. Go carefully here and don't let any old fridge mechanic tackle it. Find someone who has experience with RV refrigeration - the trick is that you can overcharge these units i.e. over-gas them and you will have a fridge that never switches off. A thorough refrigeration mechanic will want to remove the fridge from the van (in our case once through the bedroom window and once through the door opening after the door was removed) and put it on the bench for two or three days under instrument testing. What he is doing here is making sure the new gas charge is the right volume and that the fridge gets to the set temperature quickly AND SWITCHES OFF. The Danfoss BD50F unit is very high quality and has a good name in the industry. We have had good service from The Fridge Whisperer, 39 Aerodrome Rd, Caboolture (07) 5495 4944. I have no business involvement with this fellow. Grahame

Greg, You will have to be more specific than that mate - which light bulbs? If you are referring to the LED indicator panels at the back of Kedron van models over three years old see my posting for removal of the plastic trim and replacement of the LED modules on this forum. Regards, Grahame

Hi Goodys, Storing with full tanks ?. Well I do not store with full tanks as I am on tank water, so the bacteria count in my unconditioned water will be up. Also the Sodium Metabisulphite I suggested to you works better if it is more concentrated. So I pump out to about a quarter full before I add the SM. You really need to take the van around the block to slosh the SM around in the tank after loading it. Grahame

Hi to the Goody's, I too have an ATV2, it is six years old and I have the same tank monitoring system as you describe. However your description of the tank usage seems a little confused. The two main tanks (in mine 86L ea) are connected together, have separate pipes coming out to the filling manifold and have a single five step LED light indication on the monitoring panel. These main tanks supply cold and hot water to the sink and shower and external tap. The rear tank is 63L, has it's own filler pipe coming out to the filler manifold, and has it's own five step LED light indication. It supplies only the bubbler outlet over the sink. This tank was originally meant to be a drinking water tank. So the van had two functions one was the main water supply and the second was drinking water - two functions, two indicators. The Thetford toilet we have has it's own water supply. When we are travelling we only use bottled water for drinking to avoid stomach upsets so we tend to use the small rear tank as backup, rinsing off dishes etc. We have used the system for six years and found it to be quite satisfactory. A couple of tips. 1. The bubbler is supplied via a bayonet fitted filter under the sink, it is a bugger to get at and when the filter blocks that supply stops. Carry a spare filter. 2. To keep your water tanks clean always use a coarse filter when filling up and when parking the van up for a while put two teaspoons of Sodium Metabisulphite ( a sterilizer used in beer brewing) in each tank. Mix it in a jug, pour it down a hose and blow it into the tank via the filler manifold. Works a treat. Grahame & Wendy

Geoff and Pam, Yes an elegant permanent fix. I too had had enough of poor radio reception one afternoon in the middle of the Northern Territory and formed up a coil (about six turns) of light gauge fencing wire which I slipped over the short ferrite impregnated whip antenna Kedron had supplied standard and attached five meters of insulated wire I was carrying in "spares" with a small alligator clip and tied the other end to a sympathetic tree branch. It worked a treat and the AM ABC signal came booming in. It has been working this way now for four years. If Kedroners go with this $2.50 solution don't forget to take down your aerial before you move on next morning. I leave the fencing wire coil in place on the aerial. Grahame and Wendy

Chris, Wendy and I have not met you but would like to thank you for your behind the scenes contribution. It is a vital role, and the forum at the heart of the Group wont work without someone to run the ruler over our contributions. Thanks. Grahame

Hi Peter and Janelle, We have been emailing Vicky and Tony on family history recently and had thought of you guys. V & T are currently on the road at Canowindra visiting Vs sister Kay. On the topic, and as per other responses to your query we use blue "food grade" hose which is generally available at a camping store. I have very sensitive taste and have never had an issue. Happy travels, Wendy & Grahame

Grant & Carol, For crockery - non slip on the bottom of storage area then squares cut to go between ea item stacked above. For glasses / wine glasses / cups / mugs buy yourself a block of 100mm thick foam rubber from Clark Rubber, cut it to fit the cupboard and cut circular holes with a hole saw to fit each item. Works a treat, never had a breakage. Also useful are 100 X 70mm foam block strips to fit across the width of the fridge sheves. We have three strips and fit them at the front of the shelf as we close the door. The foam keeps items on the shelf in place. We have fitted a physical fridge door keeping mechanism for fridge and freezer doors. Wendy & Grahame

Rob, I recommend you think a little bigger than this. If you go for something like a 600 watt unit, full sine wave it will run a small kitchen appliance like a "whizzer stick" and has some spare capacity. 600 W will NOT run a small hair drier, toaster or washing machine, but it will run the laptop + printer + battery chargers + iPhone etc all at once. Arrange the installation so the inverter can be switched on/off from inside the van and is not mounted on the headboard of the bed. There is nothing more annoying than having finished the TV program than having to go outside to switch off the inverter so it does not hum during the night. Get a brand name inverter, I like Latronics - Australian design and manufacture on the Sunshine Coast by competent people. It will still be giving good service in 10 years while your Taiwan model probably wont be. I have no financial interest in Latronics. Grahame

Sandra, Here is a detailed recipe on how you change the radio from internal to external speakers. Switch the radio on, push the left hand large silver button and Fla (Flat) will appear, push it again and Bas (Bass) will appear, continue through Mid, Tre, Blr to Fd F which is the fader control. Now, in Fader mode, turn the same knob and the small number to the left hand side will change. Depending on the wiring to your speakers 0 will be full volume outside and 15 full volume inside (or the other way around) The controls are the same as the majority of car radios, perhaps you have not come across it. Regards, Grahame

Brian, Where are you in the country (not your address but approx.) and at what time are you going to be away? Grahame

Brian, Yes the same thing has happened to me when checking the anode. The anode blew out of the hot water unit with enough force to rip the tube spanner from my hand and damage the thread and to cover me with a spattering of white gunk. However it was not as spectacular as the incident you describe which does sound quite dangerous. I was well aware of the need to bleed the system and admonished myself for forgetting such a basic thing. We are a couple who "travel in patches" and store the van away in between. We agree with the need for a refresher course, caravanning is a series or routines and we find we get rusty on the simple usual processes we go through without thinking once on the road. Safe travel. Grahame

Ken & Jennifer, See my thread "Don't Take Your LED Stop/Tail Lights for Granted" on 18_05_2011, there are pics there on how I have done it on three or four occasions. Or if you wanted to ring me 0439 470 009. I can tell you how they fail. Grahame

Hi lovegreen, Sodium metabisulphite (SM) is a very good answer to cleaning your grey water tank. Empty the tank, mix up 2 to 3 teaspoonsfull of SM, a white powder, in water and put it down the sink into your tank and take the van around the block to slosh it around. SM is used as a antioxidant, disinfectant and in foods as a preservative - marvellous stuff. It is what you want to chemically clean your bottles when home brewing. I use it to "bed down" my water tanks when the van is being parked up. To get my mix into the three water tanks I mix the SM with a litre of water, pour it down a hose and then connect to the water inlet manifold, select the tank you want it to go to and give the hose a squirt. MS used to be available in Wollies supermarkets (comes in a small plastic orange screw cap container) but I notice lately it is more difficult to find. Failing Wollies it is available at any home brewing shop. A small container will last you ages. Watch it when you open the container, don't sniff it. It is a fine white powder floats in the air and will catch you in the nose and throat. Great stuff, have used it for years. Grahame

Webmaster thanks, nothing is lost if you know where it is! Grahame

Muz and Jen, We have just completed six months in WA. We have a 100series Cruiser and 20ft ATV. We headed off from Kununurra intending to travelthe GRR east to west. A flight over the Purnululu N.P. (Bungle Bungles) fromKununurra is highly recommended. Kununurra is an excellent town to set up yourprovisions and has a good range of Caravan Parks. We saw the dirt of the GRR ahead and stopped in a roadside bay to drop tyre pressures to cope. The 30 odd k run into Emma Gorge was noproblem. Emma Gorge is a great walk notto be missed. The road between Emma Gorge and El Questro was a nightmare. I hadwhite knuckles attempting to miss the worst of it, we had to shout to eachother to be heard and the rig was bouncing all over the place no matter whatspeed I travelled at between 40 and 80kph. We pulled into El Questro for threedays - dusty but a great stay. After talking to others about road conditions I found quitea bit of damage to other rigs which had come in from the west - axle mountingslet go and stub axles bent etc. It was late in the season and the roadobviously had some pretty unattractive patches so we decided to backtrack andtake the bitumen option Halls Creek / Fitzroy Crossing. At El Questro we palledup with a Bushtracker camped behind us and the same debate was going on intheir camp - he wanted to go on down the GRR she wanted to go back. I met himlater in the Caravan Park in Derby and as I walked towards him his first wordswere "never again Grahame never again" The bitumen road has quite a bit of interest. We left thevan at free camp 643 (Camps 6) to go into the Purnululu Nat Park (BungleBungles) - rough but well worth it. Old Halls Ck has lots of history, and theGeikie Gorge boat trip out of Fitzroy Crossing is impressive. Derby is a goodplace to do the flight over the Horizontal Falls from. Coming in from Derby on the GRR we visited Windjana GeorgeNP and Tunnel Ck. Broome is a major holiday destination for WA people who bookyear to year. Cable Beach CP was excellent but you must book in advance.

At one stage there was an area on this site where members could offer their property as a possible stay for other KOGGERS. We registered our place on the list of properties. I have looked high and low and can not find it. Does it still exist please and if so where? Thanks Grahame

Bondi and Jenny, TE or ATV is obviously a personal choice dictated by whatyou value. For my money I would stick with the ATV and use your savings onoptioning up the unit, a diesel heater, Sat TV finder on the roof, a rightsized 240V inverter. And if you are going prospecting in the back blocksperhaps an extra water tank, a sat phone and snake bite kit! I presume you have your prospecting gear if not a decentsetup will on its own set you back $8 to $10k. Grahame