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cvtripper

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Posts posted by cvtripper

  1. Hi Laurie & Helen,

    We have the Heike over the bed on the sloped roof section (front bed N-S layout, centre kitchen) and fantastic hatch over the rear area.

    We are pleased with the Heike over the bed and haven't had any water leaks, but we did get a lot of dust in there during one leg on the Savannah Way last year. There was no seal between the perspex hatch and the frame and a wide gap but it is lapped so rain won't get in. We have since sealed it with a neoprene seal and no problems.

    The fantastic hatch is good too (I can't say fantastic, can I?). We often leave it up a little on hot days and leave the fan running on low and when we return to the van it's not stuffy and hot from being locked up.

    A lot of people have asked us if the Heike heats the van up and the answer is no, if you close the blind it reflects the heat well - it's the same type of blind as the Dometic windows.

    And it's great for watching the stars when going off to sleep - that way we can pretend we're camping :shades: and you can stick your head out to inspect the roof (I have climbed thru it) and to fold the Next-G aerial up.

    I have heard of a number of people with dust issues with the 4 seasons hatch as it has thin tin flaps that don't seal up properly, but we have never had one ourselves.

    Hope that helps.

  2. Hi All,

    My brother is in the market for a late model 100 series. He prefers V8 Petrol to save a few dollars on the buying price, but he wants to tow a van so I'm pushing him towards a TD, if there is one available at a reasonable price.

    If you have one available or know of one, or are thinking of upgrading to a 200 series in the near future (petrol or TD), please drop me a line.

    Regards

    David

  3. Add a couple of extra panels and you can do all the washing you like, as long as you have water...

    Never used the genny to charge the batteries ;-)

    Water always becomes the issue with only 2 x 80L shower tanks - get these increased if you can.

  4. Well done, guys - 3 Kedrons amongst the top 10!

    Congrats to Sue on her winning photo - not sure how with no van in the pic :shutup:

    What did you win?

    We're only just back from a weekend away and didn't get a chance to vote, otherwise we might have a had a better chance ;-)

  5. Laurie, those tablets didn't work for us either. At least the napisan only cost me $2.70 to try and I guess $2.70 per load - arrghh - but the tablets were about $30. Want to buy a box?

    I'm thinking of making another damper this weekend to compare with the chemicals, so I'll let you know, if you wish. LOL

    Glad I didn't throw out the chemicals!

    I'm starting to think there was a group conspiracy to suck me in on this one! :tongue_ss:

  6. Deb, funny you should ask because you were all about to be told anyway.

    It could have been that first damper I cooked last weekend, but the end result is it wasn't real pleasant emptying it tonight. And I didn't stick my nose in to find out!

    Reset for this weekend using the BLUE...

    Anyone want a near full container of napisan? You can have it for $2

    Horrible stuff!

  7. David might jump in here as well as he was helping me and it was also his 1st go at it as well thought he would try it on my van before he needed to do his LOL

    That sounds like an invitation...

    Hi Bruce,

    Kimbo has described it pretty well. And as he said, it's easier if someone else does the under van work for you, hey Kimbo :shutup:

    The filter is on the intake side of the pump and is a really fine plastic mesh. It's squeezed pretty tight inside the intake, so we found it easier to remove the pump and perform the operation with the pump removed, and I'm glad we did otherwise we'd still be there! As Kimbo, said the pump is easy to remove, so not a problem.

    A couple of things to watch out for:

    1. Make sure you take note of the installation angle and you reinstall at the same angle. I think it's 17 deg if I remember correctly from the manual when I read it about 2 years ago.
    2. Kimbo removed the filter as I didn't want to break anything on him, so he's the expert there, but it was a bit fiddly prising the filter out, but it does come out in one piece if you take care.

    Kimbo, it's always better to try it on someone else's van before your own in case it wasn't meant to come apart that way or at all! :biggrin:

    What's the next tutorial, Kimbo? ;-)

  8. Ian & Jill, thanks for the post and the warning. We usually use the lockable PIN but I'll make sure I do always now. Glad the damage was minimal.

    Laurie & Helen, good to see your input. We'll get to Tassie one day.

    Here's another pic taken this weekend....

    post-29-1240827696_thumb.jpg

  9. I think that this is a design issue with the battery charger.

    I suspect you are correct as the charger shuts down when there is solar input - I have tried it when the batteries were down once before we got the extra panels. With the extra panels, I've never had a need to use the battery charger (except at home).

    I'd be interested on what feedback you get from Brendale. It doesn't concern me personally as I know the limits - if I ever need to use the battery charger, I'll isolate the solar (unless it's night).

  10. Hi Russ n Sue

    Which caravan park at Matranka did you stay at?

    We stayed at the homestead one last year on the way to Darwin and it was just dirt and the "springs" are concreted around the edges and doesn't look natural at all.

    On the way back we stayed at the Springs campground near the northern springs and that was much better - and you can walk across the road to the springs which are much more natural, deeper and larger area, and less crowded.

    We stayed away from the caravan park in town.

    I'd be interested on how you go with the charger. I have noticed that I'm best to isolate the solar when using the battery charger but the only time we use the charger now is when it is locked up at home in the shed and there' no sun on the panels, so no need.

    In the last van the solar and battery charger worked together much better, summing their inputs. They were Gel batteries, so maybe that setting is worth a try, but they were different chargers too (Xantrex + Morningstar).

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