Chris

Oh yes, the Kedron network of camaraderie is a valuable one - high and low! Chris

Thanks Glen and Peter and margaret! Oh it is so hot and humid you would not believe. At home today (Barossa Valley) it is about 13 degrees maximum!! Peter, we are in exactly the same spot as last year - which took a bit of doing, I can tell you. It really helps that the manager of the park has recently taken possession of a Kedron Top Ender. Chris and val

Talking about photos, I am so glad to see we have retained the photo banner at the top of the screen. They are excellent photos. Chris

Well, after a couple of weeks on the road, we have arrived in Darwin. We spent about 10 days camping on the way up from SA, including a few days in the West Macdonnells. This van is so good, everything works as it is supposed to, and the solar system churns out energy. Only a minor mishap - the reflectors on the front of the van fell off, one day apart! Maybe after two years the glue got "unstuck". Small matter to remedy. We plan to be here for about 5 weeks, while Val (the more technical half of this relationship) is out bush doing some mentoring of school principals, and some relief teaching (if they can force his hands off the door jambs, as he resists being dragged into a classroom). Chris

Well, I generally hate change, but this does look good. I now need to play with it to get used to it... Chris

This is all interesting, and thanks for everyone sharing their observations and experiences. In the last two days, two of our reflector "lights" on the fron of the van have fallen off - presumably somewhere ion the Stuart Highway between Alice and Darwin. Not an issue - easy to replace and fix into place. Maybe we should use Sikaflec...? :laugh: Chris

Good to see someone else is enjoying perfect weather! We have just arrived in Darwin and it is HOT and HUMID. After the lovely cold and sunny days in Alice this is hitting me hard. It had better get cooler and dryer soon!! :confused1: Chris

HAVAGO, perhaps you may respond to the same question regarding any connection to the McHitch? Chris

Yes, we are in the same boat. Live in a cold place and travel north each winter. We are about to head off soon. Up the Centre to Darwin, leaving this Friday morning. But we use the van constantly for shorter trips throughout the year. Love that van! Chris

Wow, Julie and Neil, giving up the vanning lifestyle! I have to admit it came to us as well. Although I loved travelling, I wouldn't want to do it for a lifetime. Just a personal perspective. What will you be doing in Tenterfield? Chris

We bought the Eco Pot, as it had the thickest base and quality components. I started a thread on the topic of Thermal Pot Cooking on another forum See here Chris

Russ, your explanation has been really useful. As Rick says, even I understood all that, and let me tell you, this is no mean feat! And grahame, your explanation of what to look for has been extremely informative. I for one am an obsessive watcher of the SOC, and haven't really understood what it was telling me. In the mornings, even after heavy use of the TV the night before, it will often read 12.8 or 12.7 and I interpreted that to be low. Now I can see it is far from low. I don't think we have ever seen it go lower than 12.4. And that was after 8 days in rainy weather with heavy use of TV, washing machine and computer. (We have 4 x 130 watt panels and 4 batteries). These solar panels are wonderful things. They are addictive; the more you have the more you want. Chris

Someone we know ordered a top Ender at the same time as their new LC200 (just as we did!) and asked Toyota to send over to kedron the same paint the car was coloured in. A pearl white from memory. So both car and van are identical in colour. Pretty nifty. We have no chips despite some pretty heavy travel up north of the Oodnadatta Track, and elsewhere. We do have the awning arm protectors. Chris

We do have the goldy coloured Top Ender and previously had a white. It is much easier to keep looking fresh and clean in the gold; the red dust does not seem able to discolour in the same way it would with a white van. I don't think it is any hotter than the white.... But it certainly looks lovely in the different colour. One thing I have noticed is that a white van can have a lot of glare reflected off the sides, and when we are seated outside, I have to put my back to the van. With the coloured van the glare is noticeably reduced. But it really comes down to your own preferences. Chris

By way of explanation, Kiwi and I have recently discussed this issue separately, and I suggested it could be valuable to have the type of information he has posted, available here on our forum. Especially in light of the earlier post by Mitch. Kiwi, thanks for taking the time and trouble to provide this valuable detail. That is what it is all about; each of us sharing information freely. Chris

JK, what parts of SA are you visiting? Are you coming through the Barossa (which is where we live)? Well, we are in Melbourne at present, on a couple of weeks trip away with teh van, but normally we are in the Barossa, so if you come nearby call in! Just PM me. Chris

Rick, it no doubt is a brether cap. But it allowed fumes and petrol to escape so badly that the box absolutely reeked of the stuff. The smell was coming up into the bedroom above. Only faintly, given that the genny box was properly sealed, but open the hatch and the smell was terrible. I think the new lid is the same as other Yamaha units, which means it has a closable top. The breather unit can be opened in use. Chris

Thanks Colin. I must check what colour our cap is :clown: We are doing a trip shortly (going to Melbourne on Tuesday for two weks, with national park and other camping on the way) so will advise how successful Val's "fix" of a new cap is. We had all sorts of hassles getting the new cap. Not easy to find. Chris

Colin, what sort of fuel cap does your Yammie have? Does it have the one with the hole? Chris

Our problems with the Honda 2kva are well documented here on this forum and elsewhere. The Honda would trip out after 15 mins of running, if the outside temperature was too hot. The handbook said it would not run in ambient temps above 40 degrees. Sadly, this is the only time we ever needed the generator - when it was hot, to run the airconditioner! It let us down time after time, in very hot weather when we needed the aircon, and were in remote bush spots. So we gave the Honda away - literally. Just left it in the van hatch when we sold it. It had only done about 5 hours of duty. I never wanted to see the thing again. We bought a yamaha 2400, and it is wonderful. But yes, it is heavier. A small problem we had was the fuel cap, which had a hole in it, which allowed the fuel to spill when we were travelling, and the fumes were dreadful. Val found a new fuel cap somewhere (Yamaha were no help). I am hoping this will have solved the problem. Chris

On another forum Webby recently said that she has slightly pulled forward the tray between the freezer and fridge sections (the one used for catching defrosting ice) so that there is a gap at the back for air to circulate. A number of people have said this helps. But it may not be the complete answer to your problem of course. Chris

And Merry Christmas from the Barossa Valley, a land of vine and gums. I especially like the wine part of that equation.... May you all enjoy the festive season in whatever way is best for you - and hopefully getting out and about with your vans. After all, we do have Australia's best offroad vans! Chris

The latest edition of the Caravan and Motorhome magazine (pp 111 -114) has an article on the Gall family. It is well written, has fantastic photos (supplied by Glen Gall!) and summarises the establishing of the brand. A central theme which emerges is the family cohesion of the Galls. As we all know, it is a tight knit family and much of its strength as a business lies in the family structure. I would like to have seen a comment from the Galls about their pride in their product (which those of us who know the Galls can testify is very real). They do focus on testing their vans and improving them.... Great article. Chris

Richard, it is good to hear you are now a proud Kedron owner and all went smoothly at the factory. It usually does! They are the best people to deal with, aren't they? Where will you be taking your new toy on its first big trip? Chris

And now it is three sleeps! How vexing to make you wait like this. :laugh: It is the best feeling, that first night sleeping in your new Kedron. We took our new van up to Wivenhoe Dam for its first night out of the factory - a wonderful view of the lake greeted us constantly from under the awning, and from the dining table window. We need a trip report from you soon. Chris