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Hi Colin Just a matter of interest of what cannot be carried have you got clarity on alcohol? According to many of the roadside warnings we have passed in various parts of the country we may well have been illegally carrying alcohol onto Aboriginal lands. How many travel "dry"? Cheers John

There's a lot of Johns on this topic! Since starting this topic I have now found a reliner in Perth quoting $66 per 4 shoes and with Magnets from an online supplier at $37 it makes the job quite reasonable compared to the best price in Australia I found for back plate assemblies at $319 per pair from Melbourne which is still a lot better than from VC in QLD. There is a direct replacement from Alko at similar prices to Dexter backplate assemblies. However I did find some suppliers in the USA at less than 50% of Aussie prices but they will not supply to Australia because of so called none delivery problems! Cheers John

Hi All I am in the process of doing a brakes overhaul on my vans 12x2 Dexter brakes at about 50k with about 20k off the bitumen. It appears that Dexter brakes parts are not stocked in WA but I have been offered what is said to be a direct replacement by AL-KO. The AL-KO brakes are available with either standard magnets or off-road at significantly lower prices than VC supplied Dexter assemblies. After a lot of web searching there is not a big difference in the prices of backplate assemblies compared to shoes and magnets. Has anyone tried the AL-KO brakes on any van? Do off-road magnets really give any extended life or other benefits. Cheers John

Not will but might as with us nothing is certain until we do it and what route we take is a day to day choice. What we might do is a cross country sprint from Cape Leeuwin to Cape York via 1 of 3 roads from WA, GCR, Anne Beadle or Wapet Road/Gary Junction all depending on the weather and someone who may say no. Have fun John

That is a good move. If you wanted to go a little further 60km or so Menzies has a nice new CP but only a very small pub next door and little else. Re: fuel Leonora has a Coles Express fuel outlet so a good move could be for those Flybuys users is to do 2 shops at Coles in Alice after selecting to use some Flybuys points to get an extra 10c discount on top of the checkout discount, use 1 in Alice and 1 in Leonora. For those new to WA use Fuelwatch to checkout daily fuel prices in main centres which are frozen all day. A word of caution for the GCR ensure you checkout rainfall in the Docker river area before leaving Alice & Uluru as when when arrived in the the Docker River area in late May 2010 travelling East there had been a lot of rain and 100km or so of road from Docker was a quagmire towards Uluru. There were large corrugations filled with mud so what looked like a reasonable road on the surface was a mud bath and was not for the faint hearted. It took us 3 hours in a truck wash in Alice to clean most of the mud off the car and van. If there has not been any rain the road could be good apart from corrugations if not recently graded. Have a safe trip John

We stayed there 1 night in 2010, the CP is small and tight and Laverton is a place I will bypass except possibly calling in for a fuel top up if we cross the GCR in early May. Cheers John

Chris Try this link />http://www.megapulse.net/products/first-aid-for-batteries-fab-mk5.html The one I have is several years old . Cheers John

A bit of red dust adds character, have you looked at the roof, surely no-one gets up there scrubbing! Cheers John

Hi Alan I understand the power draw of the Cormorant is about 1500W and therefore the 2400 Yamaha has the extra capacity that should run it even if there are some high temp losses whereas a 2000 gen set is very unlikely to at high temperatures. Also Honda do quote a 40C max ambient operating temperature. Cheers John

Hi We have a Dometic 3200 aircon which the spec sheet says it draws 1350W cooling and the EU20i runs well at mid 28C and below. Last week we were at Mt Elvire in the WA goldfields when the ambient temperature was around 38C. The EU20i would run the aircon on minimum setting for about 4 minutes and cut out on overload. In the same temp it ran an 800W microwave ok. In the cooler temps next morning it ran the aircon with no problems. At the Perth 4WD show today I approached the Honda stand and was told they had never heard of any hot running problems. At the Yamaha stand the man there responded by saying there could easily be a 5 -10% or more loss of power in hot conditions and both the Yamaha and Honda would be affected. He also said if the Honda would not run my aircon neither would the Yamaha. I understand the general test temperature for gen sets is 26C and the Honda is rated at 1600W continuous output at that temperature. I will probably buy/try a VIGGEN gen set rated at 2250W continuous output which at the show was selling for $705. It is said to be Swedish design and specification manufactured in China and with a 2 years warranty. Like so many China manufactured products without a named manufacturer backup it is a matter of weighing up the risk. My recommendation to you is to buy a gen set with a continuous output at least 50% more than your aircon draw if you want reliable use in hot weather. Cheers

Hi All Like other posts on insurance ours is due and I have done some reading of PDS fine print of insurers. I have found the following clause in the CIL PDS but have not found anything clearly printed in others. Has anyone found an insurer with this clause clearly printed in their PDS? 3. Returning your caravan to you after repair We cover We will return your caravan to you once repaired following loss or damage. When Your caravan has been repaired at repairer’s premises that is over 100 kilometres from your usual home. Limit We may choose to either: t pay you the reasonable cost of travel to collect your caravan, or t arrange to have your caravan delivered to you after repairs have been completed. I have found the following in the SGIO/NMRA PDS under exclusions which takes a bit of understanding, we will not cover an incident caused by an animal unless it is a dog or cat kept as a pet in your on-site caravan or on the site or in your touring caravan we will not cover liability that arises from the use of your on-site caravan, touring caravan or trailer while it is attached to a motor vehicle or motorcycle we will not cover liability that arises from your on-site caravan, touring caravan or trailer if it becomes detached from a motor vehicle or motorcycle while that motor vehicle or motorcycle is in use Cheers

Hi 32KEV My saga with sagging springs is here - http://www.kedronownersgroup.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1135&view=findpost&p=4390&hl=%2Bsagging+%2Bsprings&fromsearch=1 The replacement springs direct from Industrial springs in Adelaide have proved to be good so far especially this year having covered the Oodnadatta and Tanami tracks with no signs of sagging. The replacement springs did prove to be slightly stiffer as we broke a small plate and a Kedron mug on the trip. Industrial Springs make their own springs and were very helpful in providing a solution to my problems and it is interesting to note that Industrial Springs claim to be the original designers of the rocker roller suspension. Kedron were helpful and agree that Industrial Springs make very good suspensions. Opal trailers who manufacture Kedron chassis were also helpful. Cheers John

My Navman works well running my set of Hema maps taking me all over the country by auto changing to the appropriate Hema map at the GPS pointer, presumeably just as a Hema GPS does. Cheers John

The story I have been given during enquiries about a VAST receiver is that technically the existing Strong boxes used on the Optus system can receive the VAST signal IF the VAST system was unlocked from the Altech UEC boxes. At present the VAST system is locked such that the sole supplier appointed by the government is able to block any competitor by making each access card linked to the box it is sold with and only the Altech box is allowed to access the system. Retailers have told me that the present Altech only system is good for them as they are making far more money than they would if they could just sell access cards capatible with Strong or other boxes. So much for the open market competition bringing prices down the the Labour government spouts about. Has anyone else been told the above and can confirm it? Cheers

Hi We have a big deflector very close to the 4 seasons that works very well as we do not have any dust problem through the 4 seasons - it's called an air conditioner. It is so close to the front flap that it will not fully open. Cheers

Did you buy sight unseen? What do you mean by "military suspension" is it shackled springs at both ends or a rocker/roller springs with a pin joint at the front and a sliding roller at the rear and rocker in the middle? My XC2 has a rocker roller suspension for the beam axles and the tyres have minimum uneven tyre inspite of the AL-KO springs flattening and the pins being seriously worn due to no hardening (they were regularly greased)after only 3 years. It sounds like you need to have a close look at the state of wear of the spring, shackles,pins and straightness of the axles. I now have an Industrial Springs suspension which is Aussie made. Cheers

Hi Alan & Jayne There is another area around the door you should check to make sure there are no dust leaks from and that is the top of the step to floor board sealing. See my attached photos that show dust on the top of step and a gap between the top of step and floor board. I spread plenty of Sikaflex sealant over the joint and more inside the aluminium angle forming the top of step, re-installed the angle then cleaned up the excess that oozed out. Have a good trip John

Hi Chris Last year I found the official web sites about Savannah Way road conditions misleading and not helpful apparently tending to discourage users until the roads were fully repaired. I found out what was really happening on arrival in Burketown and talking to locals and others who had just completed the trip West to East allowing us to start out on June 12th crossing the main obstacle of the Calvert river on June 13th. We could not do the leg over the Roper bar as it was still flooded. If you want to do the Roper leg I suggest simply driving that way and ask, if not drive to Borroloola and ask about the rest of the Savannah Way. The chances are by the end of June it will be driveable. Be careful at the Calvert as I talked to someone who arrived there and was directed by road repairers to drive straight across the deepest part and consequently got a car and van full of water. He took their word and didn't get out and walk the crossing for himself. Cheers John

Ian Have you taken the bolt to Coventry Fasteners in Mandurah Rd Kwinana to see if they can match it? John

Hi Jayne Attached are photos of my solution to dust through the door of my XC2, in addition I use duct tape to cover the gas vent when on dusty roads. I buy the ribbed sealing rubber from Bunnings and have had no problems since. I also use the same ribbed rubber seal around all other windows and access doors needing it. It may not be pretty but solved all my doors and windows dust problems. Try it. John

So were yours not originally held in by any sikaflex or silicon? Do you not have any concerns about the likely build up of dust/mud/rubbish behind your assemblies? What build up did you find behind the assemblies you have changed? Cheers John

When adjusting the bearings I leave a slight preload on the bearings....as in, I thighten the bearing & then back off only enough to get the split pin in. The theroy being no clearance the washer cant OR shouldnt turn on the bearing.....hope this helps :thumbsup: