Glen and Debbie

Hi my apologies, but there has been a bit of a glitch in the system and we have lost all Forum topics from the 17/4/11. Hopefully it will all run smoothly now. Cheers Deb B Secretary

Welcome and congratulations we have a few gatherings for the members happening at the moment in the South East Qld area - 10-15 April, 15-18 April, 22-24 April & 29 April - 2 May. You will find membership forms at the following link if interested. As a new member you would pay the $25 once only joining fee and the $20 membership fee to take you through to 1 September. Just send me an email if you would like any further information or assistance. We will be away for the next week - return home on the Sunday 10 April. http://www.kedronownersgroup.com/membership.htm Whether you join up or not, wishing you a great time and happy travels with your new van - it is a great lifestyle :thumbsup: Cheers Deb & Glen B Secretary/Treasurer kedronownersgroup@gmail.com

Hi Phil, We had similar issues in the past and fixed it by going to Springers and having a heavier 12V lead made up for it. Have had no problems since. You would think the manufacturers would make heavy enough leads in the first place. Good luck with it. Cheers...

Hi FYI - I have attached an email I have received from Govia after enquiring about whether we needed to have our vans/trailers registered with them. Cheers Deb & Glen B Thank you for your email regarding listing of caravan registration details on your Go Via Tag account. Whilst not compulsory to do so, we would certainly recommend that you add these details. The reason being is that if we do not receive a signal from the transponder, a video image is taken for the purpose of toll recovery. We then search our database to see if the registration plate is listed on a valid account on our database. If the registration plate can be found then the toll is charged to that account. On a very rare occasion, should we not be able to accurately determine the front numberplate of the vehicle, an image of the rear numberplate is used. The problem occurs when the main vehicle is towing a trailer or caravan, as obviously these details are different. As we are not a Statutory Authority, we have no access to Queensland Transport's vehicle ownership database, therefore if a vehicle passes our tolling point that is not registered to an account, we do not know who the owner is. Any enforcement action is then taken through Queensland Transport. If you wish to reply to this email with the Caravan details, I will add them to your account. For more information, visit www.govia.com.au <http://www.govia.com.au/> If your enquiry requires further assistance, please reply directly to this email or call 1 3000 GO VIA (1 3000 46 842) daily between 7.00am and 10.00pm. Regards Allan Customer Service Representative Queensland Motorways Limited Phone: 1300 046 842 | Fax: 1300 55 99 20 7 Brandl Street, Eight Mile Plains, QLD 4113 qldmotorways.com.au <http://www.qldmotorways.com.au/> | govia.com.au

Hi Gary & Kaye, Thanks for your wishes. When does your new baby (van) arrive? It would make a nice Christmas present :biggrin: Likewise, Debbie and I would also like to wish everyone a happy and healthy Christmas and new year. Looking forward to seeing fellow Koggers at future gatherings in 2011. Stay safe :thumbsup:

Thanks Tony. Mark & Simone If you you are having problems finding the form or downloading, I can email a form to you. Cheers Deb B

Hi just advising everyone that all membership access to the forum has been updated accordingly. If you haven't renewed/paid your membership since September 2010 your access will now have been changed to forum guest which only gives you access to the Public Forum. Cheers Deb B

Hi Rick Have posted a reply in the Members Forum under the Membership Renewal post. Cheers Deb B

Hi Gary & Kaye, I don't know the particular road you are talking about so can't give advice on that road. But 17% grade is pretty steep and probably not one to tackle without some experience in towing vans as big as yours will be. Locking in your hubs and putting it in 4wd is definitely not recommended if you are on bitumen as this can do serious transmission damage and be quite dangerous if something lets go on a hill like this one. Perhaps others who have experienced the road you are talking about can advise further. Good luck. :thumbsup:

Hi a reminder that membership renewal fees were due by 30 September 2010. After this date you will no longer be able to access the Members Forum if your fees haven't been paid. For those who are associate members, don't forget to notify us of your van's rego and the date you picked it up. Happy travelling Deb B

Thanks guys, There's obviously quite a few options out there, so I'll check the sites out you've sent and hopefully make an informed decision at some point. :thumbsup:

Hi Steve & Kez, I know the system you are talking about as I had the same on my 100 series. The purpose of the Redarc system is to charge the deep cycle batteries in the way that suits them, which is slightly different to the lead acid type used for starting or winching. If the batteries are charged correctly they will last much longer. Some people are having problems with deep cycle batteries due to being linked to the lead acid batteries, often via a solenoid. Springers also recommend locating deep cycle batteries out of the engine bay as the heat effects them. Back to Stage 1 & 2 of my previous plan. After taking into consideration all of my needs for the battery set up including charging from the solar panels while still plugged in via Anderson plug, Joe Springer decided it was going to be far to complicated, requiring relays, switches etc.... So he now recommends Stage one (which is what Rod & Sue have according to Joe Springer) and that's heavy cabling from the solenoid in the engine bay right through to the van batteries. This will provide a rapid charge of approximately 70 amps with the solar backing it up as well. To better look after my auxiliary battery in the back of the car he suggests the Redarc unit as it can provide 25 amps of charge which is adequate for one battery. The question is do I spend almost $500.00 for one of these to try and get an extra year or so out of one battery? :confused:

Hi Sue, You both must feel like locals by now in WA. Glad to hear positive comments about this set up as it's allways a bit daunting spending dollars on something you're not familiar with. :thumbsup:

Hi again, Here's another spin on how to charge things. I went and spoke to Joe Springer and his advice is as follows. I should add that this advice was in relation to my set up and my needs at the time. I have 3 batteries and 500 watts of solar panels with a 30 amp regulator on the van. I have a 40 amp charger and 800 watt inverter also. He believes the Redarc would be a waste of money in my situation ($495.00 for the unit alone). The problem is the Redarc only puts out 25 amps, so if your batteries are down when you start driving it will take many hours of driving to bring them back up again. Stage 1: What he suggests for me is a 140 amp solenoid with very heavy cabling running to a 125 AH AGM battery (which I will locate in the rear compartment next to the fridge). He will then continue this heavy cabling to the rear bar with a larger Anderson plug fitted. This will provide 70 amps of charge from the alternator (once the cranking batteries are charged) booting up the battery much quicker. This part including the battery is costing me $1050.00. He didn't indicate any problem with different batteries. Stage 2: For the van he will replace the the Anderson plug and cabling and run it to the inverter via a switch (Can fit a auto switch for $400 extra). This will then power the 40 amp charger and charge the batteries much quicker. He is yet to work out the switching and circuitry for this so a price is yet to come. Other things to be considered, like charging the car fridge battery from solar power when parked will have to be incorporated also. But I'm sure he can work it out somehow. ARB and TJM have 2 options. One is to install a 3rd battery under the bonnet, but you can only fit a 55 amp one via a solenoid for around $1400.00. The second option is to replace both starting batteries with larger ones. One a deep cycle and the other cranking separated by a solenoid. This voids all warranties and costs around $1500.00. Anyhow I'm going with Springers stage one for now. Fingers crossed and thanks for your comments so far.

Thanks Tony, I'm actually refering to the DC to DC chargers like the one made by Redarc. I have since found that Springers have them and their Lawnton store is located close to home, so I will see what they have to say. My voltages are usually the same as yours, but sometimes less. I was basically trying to find out if there are any advantages to having one, such as better battery maintenance or are they a waste of money with the set ups we have with Anderson plug and solar power. I've just bought a LC200 so I'll see how it goes when we go to Milmerran.

Hi all, Has anyone fitted a DC to DC charger and what benefits have you noticed? Also, what's the best method of hooking them up and what, if any, problems have you encountered? :confused1: The reason I'm asking is that I often find that the van batteries aren't at their peak charge after driving for some distance. I believe this is being limited by the regulated power supply from the car via the Anderson plug. If you've got a system that works, I'd like to hear about it. :helpsmilie:

Hi Julie as Laurie has advised, Glen also turns off the charger when on 240v especially since our bed is right next to it. I don't usually notice it til Glen points it out - then it can be very annoying. We actually saw your van at the park at Forster when we were heading to Myall Lakes earlier in the year, did knock but no-one was home, so look forward to meeting you at Millmerran. Cheers Deb & Glen

That makes a lot of sense Lionel. I imagine it must draw a fairly high current, so if it doesn't cause a fire it will probably flatten the batteries in a pretty short time. Some bright spark may think it's funny to go pulling the switch on vans as a joke or you may inadvertently pull it out and having a 15 minute power supply seems the safer option. Previously I thought it was a good idea to hook it up to the main batteries but I won't be doing it now. :thumbsup:

Hi Blackie, Greg is off-line at the moment, but he tells me he has already had the van re-certified without a problem. I'm sure he will be glad to give you the details when he gets back on-line. You have briefly met Greg at the Christmas gathering at Crows Nest as you were camped beside us down the bottom end of the park. He had a Windsor van at the time. This hitch will definitely be of interest to anyone over the 3.5 tonne ATM and may see a flow on of larger tow vehicles being purchased to make the whole package legal without throwing out half your belongings. Kind Regards, Glen. :smile:

Hi as some of you already know, we had to call on our RACQ insurance and ultra care membership when the axle on our van came adrift approx 10ks before Glen Helen on the Merreenie Loop which is quite a distance from Alice Springs. Our van then was only a 16' single axle pop top. I'm pretty sure that we were aware that there was a restriction on weight and length of recovery due more to what is available when and where you break down. Our ultra membership didn't cover the full cost of recovery due to the distance, but our insurance covered the rest. Between the ultra care and insurance, what could have been a disastrous end to our holiday ended well due to how well RACQ took care of us. They ended up transporting our van back to Kedron and took care of our accommodation in Alice Springs while we waited a week (and finished our sightseeing) for the decision to be made on our van. RACQ would contact us every day to ensure that all was well. Due to the fact that we were also in a 4wd club, RACQ was the only reasonable insurance company to cover us on designated 4wd tracks in 4wd parks, which they did on a couple of occassions without question. I think there was one other insurance company, but they wanted double RACQs rates. We also had friends who found themselves in a situation in Adelaide due to the husband having heart issues and spending time in hospital. He wasn't allowed to drive his car and pop up camper home and the wife wasn't comfortable driving the manual nissan, so once again they were taken care of by RACQ - car and van shipped home to Brisbane. So we have nothing but praise for RACQ :thumbsup: Cheers Deb & Glen B

Hi We are off to Sandy Creek Camping near Kilcoy end of June for my brother and sister-in-law to test out their new ATV - mainly to test solar, etc with a camp fire and camp oven cooking thrown in. Have attached the link to the website for your info http://www.sandycreekcampin.com.au/ Cheers Deb B

Hi we stayed at Banka Banka in 2007 with Deb & King and was very impressed with the campground, the information slideshow and the emu (I'll make sure I stock up on more bread next time). Looking forward to spending more time there down the track. Cheers Deb B

David happy to buy the tablets off you next time we are passing. Been using them for 2-3 yrs now and happy to continue with them. We trialled the napisan on the weekend - didn't see your email - now not game enough to empty the toilet :helpsmilie: Glen couldn't understand why I did it when I was happy with the tablets, but you have to try these things at least once - usually. Cheers Deb B

Hi we decided to play it safe and bought the Honda 2kva. We have run our airconditioner just to test it and had no problems, but I don't think we would be able to run anything else at the same time. Nor have we tried it when it was really hot. I think it was Peter who had the Yamaha at Kilkivan and it ran their airconditioner without any hesitation, but it was slightly bigger and heavier. Cheers Deb B

So David & Jane what is the verdict after trialling it for the weekend :question: Cheers Deb B