Pete and Tracey

:-) This'll be interesting. Stay tuned.

The wife and I set out when we were 40. Just got back this year 6 years later. Found it too easy to get work out there. Not so easy back here in BNE :-(

Thanks for the replys guys, We have done a little bit more research and have indeed found out you can buy the blade only, better than buying the whole assy @ $550. The blaxe is A$127 I think. Tom has helped us out and ordered one for us. We are on the road full time so these things happen I guess. All taped up and zip done up Tony H so out of sight out of mind!! :-) Thanks for the instructions nev&penny they will come in handy when getting the new one. Agin, thankyou. Pete and Tracey

HI guys and Gals, We are headding over to broome at the moment and camped around Halls Creek. Last night I decided to lubricate the front stone cover zip with a teflon spray and noticed that the front window was smashed in the bottom right corner with cracks radiating up and to the side. We dont use this window so who knows when it happened. Has anyone experienced this before? What did you do to prevent the same thing happening?? I was thinking high density foam behind the stone cover. Can you buy the replacement glass or do you have to purchase the whole assembly?? And info much appreciated. Regards, Pete

Happy New Year Everyone!! Well.......the problem seemed to be with the thermocouple. Recieved the new one from Sovereign who were very helpfull. $60 solved the problem. Cheap fix this time!! :-)

Hey everyone, We have had a couple of good years out of the sovereign BBQ, but of late the flame seems to go out a few times before staying alight, sometimes not! It takes a few relighting efforts for the thing to stay alight, gas bottles are full, no problems in the van with the stove and the water system works fine. I don't think it is the gas system as such. I have checked the pyro sensor that runs the auto shutoff and it is positioned correctly according to the sovereign website. Can these fail or become worn out???? Anyone had any similar experiences and can offer a solution??? Thanks guys and gals....... Pete and Tracey.

Hi Everyone, Just thought I'd share my recent experience with the service department at Kedron. 18 months ago we had a few problems appear with the Top Ender. These included a leaking roof, battery charger failing and a couple of problems with the window screens. I had fixed the leaking roof but and as we stopped in Broome last year to do a bit of work we decided to address the other defects. We contacted Tom in the service department and he promptly sent out the new screens and Kedron helped pay for the new battery charger. We were told to come and see him when back in Brisbane. 18 months have passed and we went to talk to Tom about the defects with the van, we left the van with Tom and he had it all fixed and serviced for us. The service was exceptional. It’s worth a note that most of the work was done out of warranty as the van is 3 years old. Now..... we have done a lot of travelling in the last 2 and a bit years and have heard from Kedroners and Non Kedroners about the level of service that you can expect from Tom and the boys, and all I can say from my experience is that it was perfect. Tracey and I could not of expected any better. Thanks Tom and the Gall Boys. Now to get off the east coast as it is raining and cold. Certainly a bit of a change from Broome and the Gulf Country we were just in. Loved it up there!!

We are at Booraloola at the moment. We are going out to King Ash Bay today for a few days then back to Booraloola and off East on the Savana Way. We will let you know of the road conditions and tyre pressures we use.

Hi Everyone, We have just purchased a 200 series and are getting the suspension sorted. We are fitting OME and wish to know what springs others have fitted for thier towing setups. We have a Topender that would weigh every bit of the 3.5t with about 320kg on the ball. WDH used of course. We are going to be fitting airbags at the same time so that will help, but at this stage the front of the car with a steel TJM bar will be getting OME-2701 springs and the rear, with draws, will be getting OME-2723 springs fitted. Does this compare with what others have done? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

This all sounds interesting. My only question would be if they will cover contaminated fuel damaging your engine in the tug. We have just purchased a new 200 and do alot of outback travel. AAMI, our current car insurer, does. Can anyone confirm?

Hey all, With the delivery of the 200 in April I am organizing the fitting of all the gear, most of which I have sorted. The only thing I cannot seem to make a concise decision on is the fridge slide setup. I have a 40l engel and in the past with my patrols and 76 cruiser have opted for the black widdow draws with the slide on top. Worked well because these vehicles had barn doors. The 200 will be the first vehicle I have owned with the rear tailgate the way it opens. I will be sticking with the black windows draws. I have been looking at the platinum drop down slides and the standard slide on top of the draws. My question is when the standard BW slide is used and out, can you lift the lid of the fridge properly to access without fowling the upper part of the rear door? Obviously the drip down slide alleviates this problem, but I see them as bulky and intricate. If you wish to remove the fridge you are left with the slide bolted on the draws. What are some people's opinions that have both systems? I would appreciate them, thanks. _________________

Hi there everyone, My question is a technical one. We have a van with 4 135w solar panels and 3 120ah batteries. By mid morning to lunchtime the batteries are fully charged and want to use the extra power going to waste to charge the deep cycle second battery in the vehicle when we are free camping. The Engel runs in the car and it would be nice to charge the car so we can leave the Engel on. My question is how do I do this? Do I just run additional cable and second anderson plug to the second battery? I have 13 v on the caravan side of the Andersen plug during the daylight. No voltage on the car side of the Anderson plug, there is a relay isolating the battery from the plug on the car and is activated with ignition on. Any help and advice on this would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hi guys and gals, Great thread eh? So.........I have been watching the SOC like a good little boy and have been observing that the SOC has increased to 130%. This is of corse due to the fact that the inverter is not connected to the PLM via a shunt and it does not know of the current draw of the inverter when we use it. Question is, how do I install a shunt into the system and is it a do I yourself type job? I have a technical background. is it a hard job? Advice would be appreciated from the learned. Cheers, Pete

Good evening all, Went to grease the bearings today and discovered that one of the studs on one of the hubs was spinning. I was unable to separate the wheel from the hub of course. Has anyone had one of these repaired? Hope I can. On the same topic, what is the best way to remove the seal from the back of the hub? Destroy it? Or can they be removed without damaging it? And how? Seems pretty tight. Thanks guys and gals, oh........Happy Easter

Hey Guys, Thanks for the replies so far, especially Grahame, I appreciate it. I did notice today that the 204v -> 12 v has been left on during our free camps. When I turn the inverter on this is activated as well. would this of made much difference? I will watch that SOC now and see how we go. Any other comments or tricks?

Hi everyone, Just wondering for those of you that free camp extensively, on a sunny day what voltage does your battery setup hold? We have just had a few sunny days and after the sun has set the batteries voltage settles at 12.8 - 12.9 V. The voltage drops to around 12 v at the end of the night running the TV and a 3G router. Not too much draw there?!? Is this right according to you? As they are being charged it reads 13.8 volts as expected. 3 batteries. I had a look at the remote, PLM, and during the middle of the day there is 20 volts being delivered form the panels. Again is this what you should see? I have 4 130 w panels Just wanted to get opinions, bit of a sanity check really Thanks

Thanks for all the replies everyone. Well.......here is the story so far. I comprehensively email Kedron with Pictures and full description of our leaking roof and to their credit called me the next day. Tom did..... I didn't get to far with Tom as he said, in a nutshell, that "these things happen" and that you should get the caravan resealed every twelve months to satisfy the insurance people re water leaks etc. Does that sound right to you? Do you need to have this done every year or two? Who does it? I found a caravan repair bloke here in the Alice. Nice bloke, the company is JC's Caravan Repairs (08) 8953 5155 Mob 0429 700 986 for future reference. He spent an hour and a half around the van with me explaining where to seal up and what to repair etc. He said the silastic that the manufactures use is very average and to replace it with gutter and roof as it's designed to be in the weather. Or better still, sikaflex as some of you have mentioned. To get him to do it was a couple of days work @ $90 hr plus consumables. That adds up!! So..........what I think we will do is go get some roof and gutter for now, do the three hatches and the bead along the edge of the roof. Tom recommended to the bead along the roof edge under the trimming and around the screws, why this was not done on manufacture I don't know!?! Underneath and mounting brackets of the solar panels and air conditioner I will need a hand with. Any comment's or hint's before I get stuck in? I have taken on board the roughing up of the surfaces etc that was mentioned in the previous posts. This whole water leaking episode has taken the shine off owning the Top Ender unfortunately. We love the van but for the money we expected to have it fairly maintenance free for at least 3 years! That's why we paid so much, hassle free on our working holiday around Australia. Oh well, as I was told "these things happen" I guess. :-) Cheers

Hi guys, We are in Mount Isa at the moment and after riding out the remidents of the cyclone we have found that the fantastic hatch leaks fom around the edges of the internal shroud. Not a big leak just a drop every 30 sec or so but enough to drip directly on our bed! The bed is at the front of the van and the fantastic hatch is on the slope of the roof. We also discovered that the speaker on the other end of the van was full of water as well, wet under the foam insulation after removing it. Has anyone experienced this and how did you fix it? There is no caravan repairers here in the Isa and we are going to Alice in a few weeks. Might wait till then, any reccomendations as to who to see in the Alice? This is not making us happy as now we are worried about the roof rotting. So much money and I believe it at least should be water proof! Any ideas? Thanks for any replies.

Hi there everyone, Could someone please explain how this setup negates the need for the WDH? I am looking at upgrading to the McHitch and would like some more opinions and feedback. Thanks guys and gals. Currently working in Mount Isa on our trip around the block.

Hey Guys, Well the car is ready for the big lap around the block. One question.....would you use the OEM (above mentioned) tyres for the Outback? Our first destination is Birdsville. We have done some 4WDing with them and they "seem" to be going alright. The car is a 2010 76 Cruiser. I am familliar with the Birdsville Developmental Track but was asking what your thoughts were. Of corse the speed and PSI of the tyre are important, but do you think they will be alright? Thoughts appreciated, Cheers and beers.

Hey Everyone, Fitted the kit on the weekend and everything was pretty easy. As afore mentioned, time consuming. The chrome strips that cover the breather holes seem at though they would do 90% of the job. Can't wait to test it. Half packed! House Rented! Extra vehicles sold! 5 WEEKS TO GO, can't wait until we leave! First stop, Birdsville.

Hi everyone, What have people done with the space between the rear tyres and the backside of the van? There is almost a foot of space between the tyre rack and the van and the width of the van. I was after some ideas as to what to use it for. Any offerings appreciated. 6 weeks to go untill Tracey and I are off on the big lap, for how long? Who Knows!! :-)

Just to update, Purchased the fix last week, Dometic would not deal with me on that number and had to source through kedron. Same amount of windows and $120 through the guys. Hope it solves the problem, $120 for a bit of adhesive fur !! Will let you know once recieved and fitted.

Thanks Col & Debbie, After much reasearch and misinformation on the net we got Wincom in Brndale to make a cable up for us. I tried to get the cable from fleabay and all I could get was confused as the merchants did not know what they were talking about when refering to TNC, TNC-RP,SMA and SMA-PR connectors. So in the end I had it made! :-) Should of done it in the beginning, not wasted my time. Thanks for the info I apperciate it.