Chris

We use a combination of teetering to one of our two iPhones (we have 15 gig a month between us) and a mobile pre-paid modem from Telstra. One of our mobiles is with Optus which does not work everywhere but it does work most places these days, and the other is Telstra for the superior coverage. The combination works for us.

Tony, you would not believe how relieved we are! It has all taken so long and cost so much, with various twists and turns along the way. It would be so good if you could simply take the van and car to an engineer, give them a fistfuls of dollars and have them undertake the whole process. It has meant numerous trips to the city ( twice with a van on the back) and money going out at every step. Even today, having the final roadworthiness inspection and approval of the upgrade, we had to pay another $255.... But now we are legal, and have peace of mind.

No, that previous advice was upgraded when we realised the ratings of the chains was wrong. Ours are now at least 5 tonne each. They are two by 13 mm, grade 80. ( The supplier had previously given us the wrong weight rated chains, and due to both eagle eyes on this forum, as well as picked up by our engineer, this was quickly realised).

Thanks for posting this. It has gone to a great cause and I am glad we can contribute each year.

Tony, we find the process very different here. Our engineer issues the plate ( which is being sent to us by mail) and we put it on the van. Then, armed with relevant paperwork and a photo of said plate on van, we go to a motor vehicle service centre to finalise the rego changes. It has all been a very stressful process, compounded by several factors which saw the cost of just the engineer balloon out to $750. it is all taking ages, heaps of money and a lot of patience.

Tony, that is really neat welding!

As to the type of fridge, I think it comes down to the sort of travel you will be doing. If you are planning to travel in remote areas for long stretches, the compressor is perhaps your best bet. Gas bottles are not as easy to get and cost a fair bit more in the remoter areas. People often tell me that with a three way fridge on gas they typically go through a 9kg bottle every three to four weeks. With our compressor fridge we use the same size gas bottle in about three months, sometimes four months. And that is with a gas oven and gas hot water heater. Also, the jury is out on whether or not three way fridges are up to handling really hot weather. I know our compressor fridge just keeps purring along with super cold food no matter the temperature. I have only had experience with Vitrifrigo fridges but we have been happy with the three units we have had. (We had to replace one in our first van after it gave up the ghost - but I think it could have been repaired, it was just that the fridge repairer did not seem to be all that competent...). Chris

You are not wrong that it is all confusing. We are very lucky that we have a wealth of expertise here on this forum and people happy to share their knowledge. i never doubted Tony was right....just a tad confused about what was happening at our end ?

Dismart is my better half and the previous posts by him relate to our jointly owned van. I am letting everyone know that our chains are still a work in progress and when completed we will post the relevant photos. cheers chris

I am going to add here that the photos above have by Dismart ( who is my husband) had some questions raised in relation to the weight rating and or strength required in the chains themselves. No work has been done by Dismart himself as he is no engineer. The whole process is being undertaken by Lovells and their engineer. All work has been done at the Lovells engineering workshop in Adelaide, Secondly, apparently the steel itself is a high tensile steel which has been especially chosen to allow for the strength needed. Despite all this, we understand now that the Australian Design standards require higher rated chains, which we will organise. We do do not advocate that anyone follow our procedures or photos but rather urge others to seek independent engineering advice. it is good to question safety matters such as these and I thank those who have raised these issues.

Tony, he probably would have done, except I suspect he has no idea how to. But I will winkle that image out of him and put it up here. Watch this space.

All good here Karen. Working well. Thanks for your work behind the scenes on our behalf. chris

I knew it! I just knew it.

They may be valid points. In our case the request for an upgrade is so that we are legal, with the weight we carry at the moment. We are very close to the limit with what we carry, when the tanks are full and the generator is on board. So it is not a matter of wanting to actually carry 4 tonne, but rather not worrying if we are a hundred kilos over the limit and get pulled up and weighed. Our van tows and brakes beautifully with the 200 series and we are confident that with the upgrade modifications we are even safer.

Thanks John. in our case an engineer is handling it for us here in SA. He will submit the paperwork to motor vehicle registry and we will pay him. He just wants confirmation from Kedron that they believe the chassis is up to the additional weight. how long did your mvr take to process it? cheers chris

Merv, thanks for that!

Well, we have had all the physical work done on the car and van.... a lot of money, and involved taking the rig down to Lovell in the city. Now the engineer needs to lodge the paperwork re the van with the SA motor vehicle registration agency. But the engineer handling it all needs a detail from Kedron before he lodges the paperwork with the Motor Vehicle Registration mob here. The detail he requires is confirmation that the chassis of our Top Ender is suitable to be upgraded to 4 tonne GVM. I believe he has sent the factory a request but having difficulty in obtaining this information. This is because they are tied up with editing the latest DVD. I guess they will supply the statement soon....but it is holding us up. if anyone else has been through this process and already obtained that statement from Kedron, could they give us a copy? chris

We have driven past this park a few times, and thought it looked nice. The region is delightful with lovely scenery and wineries.

Hi JohnN. Welcome to the forum, and a future of travelling with your new van when it arrives. I see you are NT based? Although now in SA we are long term Territorians....well, I grew up and lived in the Top End pretty much all my life. chris

Mike, they have posted here so they must have logged in? . And welcome Peter and Debbi. The Kedron family is very helpful and friendly. I look forward to seeing your trip reports....I do love trip reports! chris

It is always such an exciting time waiting for a new Kedron! Active daydreaming coming up.

That is a thought...and a good one too!

Very interesting to know. If the cap which is coming does not fit then Dometic is our next port of call. We may have to get the whole tank.

Tony, Val tells me that Graham Yost was unable to help. He wanted to assist but doesn't have those caps any longer. So Val is getting Kedron to mail him the current unit and hope it fits. Kedron could not have been more helpful - as usual.

Will do Steve. he gets pretty busy so contact him earlier rather than later, LOL