Tolley

Hello, Inventor could not have it more wrong! I totally agree with Haveago. I have had the McHitch (replaced a Hyland) since late last year and I have now travelled over 10,000 k with it. It is fantastic. Mine is the 6 tonne version. It is easy to hitch. I do it on my own using the rear view camera. There is nothing to steal. In fact, it makes my van hard to steal as few thieves have the McHitch "ball" whereas all thieves have the 50 mm ball. The Mc Hitch is quiet, very secure and has NOT caused me any concerns in tight turns. If I am really doing it hard in X-Country or backing etc, I remove the WDH bars. Not a problem. If Inventoir wants a deesign for a great hitch then he/she should copy the McHitch. And, right at this moment I am in my van in the Thredbo Valley in the Snowy Mountains where this little Cairns boy is finding it VERY cold. The deisel heater is fantastic!! Regards to all

Hello, Must be the season for weighing vans! I weighed mine yesterday. 20 ft TE and 100 series TD. We are leaving on Thursday of this week for a 4 month trip around Oz so the van was combat ready with 300 L water, five dozen bottles of wine and so on. I did not have the jerry can of fuel on the a frame so the real weight is really up about 25 kg on the figures below. The weights were as follows. Cruiser and Van together = 6700 kg. Van hitched = 3280 kg. Van unhitched = 3600 kg. Ball weight = 320 kg. Cruiser = 3100 kg. So, I will drop 150 kg of water tomorrow, which will bring me under max wieight. These weights make me pleased that I have the 6 tonne McHitch connecting tghe LC and the TE. I have found it to be just great. Once you get a little experience with the hitch it is easy to back onto but you have to be accurate. The camerea is a must. Regards tom all

Hello and welcome Dunmowin! As already said, you will find this forum very useful as you enjoy your Kedron caravanning experience. Welcome, good luck and travel safely.

Tony H, Chris and Lyn, thank you for the info. I'll try Kedron first. Regards Colin

Over the weekend I climbed up the front of my van and closely inspected the top front for chips. Yes, there is probably 20 or 30 very small nic's above the front padded bra which my aging eyes cannot see from ground level. There is also one larger one, shiny silver, where a big gibber from a passing vehicle flew over the top of the Landcruiser (Gayleen and I both ducked) and it hit the top of the van. It is about 5mm in diameter and even my eyes can see it from the ground. Could someone advise me where I could get the awning arm protectors? Many thanks. Colin

Hi Guys, Webby, our TE is that brownie colour. We have over 25,000 km on the van and much of that has been on dirt roads around the Gulf, Cape York and locally out of Cairns where we have an aversion to bitumen. The checkerplate at the front has little nicks in it but the paint is good. It has the padded protection above the checkerplate at the front. We have trashed one sacrificial stone guard. I used rock tamer rear flaps for a while but was not convinced they were that useful. Like yours, the awning arms are showing evidence of our travels. Recently our van was at Kedron. We had the wheel bearings and couple of other things attended to. Tom, who had seen the "gravel rash" on our suspension remarked that it was evident that we had done a lot of dirt road work and what good condition the van was in. I have recently cleaned off the red dirt staining using Digger's rust and stain remover and the van looks shinny new save for the front checkerplate which is less shinny. Last weekend I was under the van trying to determine the make and model of the shockers. No hope! The paint has gone and they are a lovely outback red colour! If I was ordering another Kedron I would be really happy to stay with the present colour. I don't think there is any advantage or disadvantage. To my mind it's really just personal preferences. Regards Colin

Hello Rod, Lyn and John, We plan to leave home in Cairns at the end of April early May to do a lap of Oz. We are going clockwise via Melbourne, Adelaide etc. We just might cross paths. We have a Top Ender and two little poodles. Regards Colin

Hi Everyone, Our Top Ender originally came with a Dometic fridge freezer which did not work correctly from day one. Kedron changed it in a flash and replaced it with the Vitrofrigeo (however you spell the Italian name) which has been just great in the tropics. Engel is a great product and we have one in the back of our 100 Series tow vehicle but I would opt for the Italian job in the van every time. The reduction in drinking water capacity might be a weight thing. But, I have the 3 x 100 L tanks, one of which is for drinking. I save weight by controlling how much water I put in the tanks. You can put 65 litres in a 100 litre tank but you can't put 100 litres in a 65 litre tank! If I think water might be difficult to get on some route or destination, then I fill the tanks. If it is easy to get good water then I only partially fill them. Wish it would stop raining! Regards Colin

Hello Koggers, Cut and paste the following into your browser. I would like this platform on my next Kedron. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvKD1Gi1FSg...feature=related Regards Colin

Welcome Kaye and Lance. You have some fund times ahead. Gayleen and I are also new to the caravanning world. We purchased our first and only van in October of 2009. When I look back at we bush babies driving out of the Kedron factory with a 3.3 tonne monster on the back and right into 4.00 pm Brisbane traffic, I am amazed that we actually did it! As you have already found, this web site is a mine of information contributed by many people who have heaps of experience. It has been of great use to us. Good luck, happy travels and welcome to the Group. Colin & Gayleen

Welcome Nev and Penny, That is very exciting. We wish you many7 enjoyable kilometers and experiences in your Kedron.

Hello Everyone, This morning I drove through a typical Cairns downpour. We had 57 mm in quick time. The Clearview mirrors were fantastic. Whereas the original Toyota mirrors always became virtually unuasble in heavy rain the Clearviews stayed water free and clear. Perhaps it is the design or perhaps some treatment on the morrors. Either way, they were great. Colin

Hello Chris, This morning I had a look at the fuel tank cap on the Yamaha Generator. I was right, it is black!! And, it does not have a hole in it in any shape or form. Quite solid. Regards Colin

Hello Steve and Lyn, I noted you comment about wishing you had read hese comments earlier. The Honda generator problem has been discussed in this forum at length beforehand. It is the reason I selected the Yamaha over the Honda way back in 2009. I am a new Kedron owner having purchased and taken delivery of out TE in October 2009. This forum is a mine of information. I think there is a search function (Webby will know) but, in any case, it is worth the time to go back and read the very wide range of issues discussed by Kedron owners how have vast knowledge and experience. I have learnt so much from them. Regards to you both Colin

Hi Chris, What sort of a fuel tank cap does it have? Well, its black and that's about all I can recall. LOL. The van is not with me at the moment - its in storage a few km away. I'll have a look tomorrow and let you know. I can tell you, however, I have not had any problems with the cap. Regards to you. Colin

Hello Everyone, I have had the Yamaha 2400 since we took delivery of our van some sixteen months ago. It was an option offered by Kedron and having been made aware of the Honda difficulties with aircon through this forum we naturally chose the Yamaha. We live in the tropics. Most of our van time, some 25,000 km now, has been up here where it knows how to get hot an humid. The Yamaha has been fantastic. Easy start, quiet, handles all the loads we put on it at the end of a long power lead. It is heavier than the Honda which is a bit of a pain, but.... If I was doing it all again I would buy the Yamaha 2400 again Regards Colin

Hello, Yesterday, the Clearview mirrors I ordered from the net arrived. This morning i watched the excellent instructional vidoe and then fitted them to my 100 Series. While it took me a good bit longer than the advertised "15 minutes per side", the process was easy and the result excellent. I have just done a little local run with my van and I am very happy to have the mirrors. Cheers to all Colin

Hello Koggers, Last week I took my TE to Brendale to have a service, some niggles fixed and a 6 tonne Mc Hitch and new WDH fitted. As usual I received great service, thank you Tom, and it was good to have a poke around the new vans. I am now back in Cairns having completed just over 2000 km on the return trip. The McHitch is just great! Easy to use, quiet, well designed and comforting knowing it is there. I found no trouble with the WDH on normal turns including 90 degrees and some fairly tight U turns. I am very conscious of this issue and will slowly learn what I can and cannot do. We are planning a long trip next year and I am pleased that I made the decision to switch. Lastly, let me add to the many comments about the excellent service that Kedron provides. It was just great. Many thanks Tom, Ashley and the Kedron staff. It is nearly December so let me wish all Koggers a Merry Christmas and a great caravaning New Year! Regards Colin & Gayleen

Hello Richard, Welcome to the wonderful world of Kedroning! We got our new Top Ender last October and have now travelled 19K km in it. It has been wonderful and we just love it! It is a very exciting time for you. Enjoy every moment of it. Regards Colin

Hello, For reasons that I will not disclose here, I had a point of difference with CIL. Hence I sought another insurer. Ended up with AAMI for $400 less that CIL. I have the Landcruiser insured with AAMI as well. The weird thing is that CIL, AAMI, APIA, Shannons, GIO, Vero and a whole bunch of others are all owned by Suncorp. The differences in insurance policies and premiums are as difficult to understand as the differences in airline ticket prices from different vendors. Anyway, my gereral question is: Is AAMI any good at insuring caravans? Colin

Hello Ann, Yes, the conventional wisdom is to go anti-clockwise as people say the reason is the wind. However, for us, the direction is dictated by the time of the year our business allows us to travel (April to June inclusive) and hence the prevailing weather at that time. April in the north is wet and we probably would face road closures across the gulf and the Gibb River Road. April in Victoria is still OK temperature wise as it is in SA. Early May in SW WA is starting to get nippy but by then we will be heading north into warmer climes. We hope that by June the Gibb River Rd and Gulf roads are open. Lastly, we want to be back home in Cairns before all those school holiday terrorists descend on the north in July!! Ann, thanks for your good wishes. We are really looking forward to the trip. Travel safely wherevever you may be. Regards Colin

Hello Again Koggers, My initial post has not attraccted any reponses. Perhaps I have been too genreal. In heading south from Cairns to Melbourne I would like to go west via Boulia, Birdsville, Cordillo Downs, Innamincka, Moomba, Merty Merty, Cameron's Corner, Tibooburra, Broken Hill. Any advice, experience etc on the roads / tracks out there and their suitability for a LC 100 TD and TE van would be appreciated. Regards Colin

Hello Koggers, Gayleen and I are planning to take three months next year, April to June inclusive, to do a lap of Oz in a clockwise direction. People tell me that going clockwise is further than going anti-clockwise as in the former direction you are in the outside lane! April to June suits us from a business perspective. Basically we will be in Victoria in late April (I want to march in Melbourne with my old Regiment on ANZAC Day), late April and May in SA and WA and across the Gibb River Rd in June providing it has not been a prolonged wet season. We want to be back home in Cairns by the end of June so as to be off the road when the school holidays hit! My purpose in posting this message is to invite any comments, good advice etc from those who have more experience at this than we do. We would be grateful for any hints, tips, do's and don'ts, etc that you may have to offer. Regards to all, Colin, Gayleen, Moet and Cherie

Hello P& J, Great news and welcome to the wonderful world of Kedron. Gayleen and I have had our TE for almost 12 months and have clocked 18,500 km of absolute fun and joy in that time. We wish you every enjoyment as a Kedron owner. Regards Colin & Gayleen TE1044 Cairns Qld

Hello Everyone, Just to add to my last comments about the road conditions on Cape York. I have been silent over the past three weeks as I have changed computers and lost my password and log-in. Sue kindly helped me out. We are back home in Cairns having travelled some 4000 km visiting the Cape. It was a wonderful trip and I shall submit a trip report before too long. I am glad we went north in June as by the end of the month the traffic headed north was unbelievable. They will need traffic lights on the Cape soon. The start of the NSW and Victorian school holidays seemed to have signalled the start of a "Race to the Cape" judging by the volume of traffic and the speed of some of our southern cousins. Roads are (were) overall in good shape but there are some really nasty sections. The bit from Laura to Musgrave Road House is bad with most drivers taking to the gutters on either side of the road. There is no evidence of road works here what-so-ever. Avoid this section by going via Cooktown and across the Battle Camp Road which was in great shape and the north through Lakefield NP to Musgrave RH. Then for 20 km south of Twin Falls and 10 km north of Twin Falls the "road" is a classic Cape goat track. There is, however, a lot of work going on in this area. Please don't take offence at the following plea. If you are headed to our beautiful Cape please, please don't litter the place, leave your grafiti stick at home and ladies, clean up your tissues.