In the same way as we customise our tow vehicles to suit individual requirements, customising a camper trailer is undertaken by many to minimise the compromises found in these miniature mobile homes. As an electrical engineer and born tinkerer I can’t help but to tweak and modify and the TVAN has not escaped, in fact I find that modifying the trailer brings an additional level of enjoyment from ownership given we can’t be out in it as often as desired.
I’ll keep updating this post as a live blog in the same way as I did for the Patriot Campers X3 tweaks blog to capture the various modifications made over time, including review and feedback on what has worked and what didn’t.
Oh, and a heads up – as an engineer I get a bit carried away with the tech details, so if anything in the post doesn’t make sense or you need more info please drop me a comment. There’s also a chance I’ve made a mistake somewhere and would appreciate your advice or a correction if you can provide a better solution than what I have described here.
Rubber Mat Storage
Our TVAN wheels/tyres match the Landcruiser, so most of the time I don’t carry the trailer’s spare wheel, and use top of the front box to store things like our ground mats, the Maxtrax trailer skid and other dirty objects.
On our upcoming Simpson Desert crossing I’ll be taking all three of our spares so I needed another solution to store our rubber ground mats that kept them easy to access.
I came up with this simple solution to lash them across front of the gas cylinder storage area using some 6mm bungee cord. For anchor points I added stainless steel M6 eye bolts to the stone deflectors and made up the bungee using material I had at home, together with some carabiners.
The finished product looks like it will work well with the mats easily removed. They will of course get dusty, but that happened on the front box storage location too. There is a slight risk that stones might bounce off the mats back onto the Cruiser but its unlikely while we have the Stone Stomper fitted.
Webasto Heater Maintenance
With cooler weather here there is a chance that TVANers will be firing up their Webasto Thermo Top Evo tent and water heaters for the first time in a while, so it might be a good time for a bit of basic maintenance (especially if you drive a lot of dirt roads).
There are six main maintenance tasks I perform annually on the Webasto:
1/ Track make their own ~6l diesel tank to fit in the pannier, rather than use the 12l Webasto tank. The tank has a brass breather with a metal gauze vent that can clog with coagulated diesel and dust. I clean it with a blast of auto parts cleaner. Clean around the filler cap thread and seals too.
2/ The combustion air goes through a muffler with foam attenuator that looks like an air cleaner. You can buy the whole assembly but not the foam alone, if its not too bad I blow the foam clean with compressed air and wash the plastic housing.
3/ There is a disposable diesel fuel filter, I haven’t replaced one yet as they look clean with an inspection light, but replacements are ~$37 from most caravan dealers if you think you are having fuel supply issues to your unit.
4/ The Webasto is very fuel efficient so diesel can sit unused in the Webasto tank for long periods if you aren’t using your trailer often, or if the weather is warm. I add fuel stabiliser (Fuel Doctors brand) to my tank at each fill. This prevents the diesel from waxing and helps stop algae growth.
5/ Check the muffler and tail pipe is secure and the outlet is not blocked by mud (or mud wasps!)
6/ Lift the mattress and check the glycol solution header tank level, and scan over the visible coolant lines for tell tale green residue around leaks.
The Webasto combustion unit can suffer from carbon build up if operated at high altitudes (not really an Aussie problem) or for short intervals. Winter is a good time to give your unit a good long run to make sure it gets hot enough to burn the soot away.
Happy and warm camping 
Water Tank Breathers
After a day of long steep and rough climbs on a past trip I noticed the left mud flap was wet, then found my front tank had lost quite a bit of water. I put it down to the relatively low route taken by Track for the tank breather hose to the breather fitting at the left rear of the trailer.
Since adding some hose to loop the breather hose higher, and adding a small ‘syphon breaker’ hole at top of the loop, I’ve not had the same issue.
Hopefully the pics illustrate the problem and solution a little better.
ARK XO750 Jockey Wheel
The standard TVAN jockey wheel is a rugged bit of gear, however it’s fixed length is a disadvantage at some camp sites and it’s not the easiest to wind up or down.
A common upgrade is to replace it with an ARK XO750 heavy duty jockey wheel which offers many advantages:
- double wheel for lower ground pressure
- greater wheel caster for easier manoeuvring
- Sliding body to increase vertical height adjustment and offer greater flexibility of mounting location when stowed
- Much easier to wind up and down, with a removable handle to minimise chance of damage (but increasing chance of getting lost)
The ARK XO750 bolts straight to the TVAN draw bar using the factory ‘U’ bolts, although I drilled additional holes in the Ark mounting plate so I could position the assembly higher.
A unique feature of the Ark jockey wheel is the horizontal handle shaft, which improves ease of use but it does slightly reduce jack-knife angle of the car and trailer when reversing to the left – if the handle shaft hits your vehicle bumper it can cause damage to the car and wheel (on a previous trailer I had an Ark jockey wheel shaft fail due to this, preventing us from unhitching for the entire trip…).
The removable handle is retained onto its shaft using a strong magnet, which is a great way to prevent people messing with your set height and could even be considered a security feature as it stops someone easily hitching the trailer. It is however easy to drive away with the handle in place with likely outcome of the handle falling off, so I always carry a spare handle with me.
2,000W inverter
We know that lots of folks like their coffee from an Aeropress or other contraptions, some even like instant :-/…
We’re quite fond of Nespresso pod coffee and the 350W inverter that’s standard in TVANs just isn’t up to the job. We also like the idea of having access to an induction cooktop when foul weather chases us into the tent where its not completely safe to use a flame type cooker. Our previous camper had a 1,500W inverter running off gel batteries, and I have a 700W inverter running off 100AH LiFePO4 in the Landcruiser, so we know the benefits and pitfalls of taking an inverter camping.
Others may also argue that a big inverter will cook the batteries, burn out the wiring and cause all sorts of other problems. Well, I disagree on all counts and if done right a decent sized inverter is a great upgrade.
Why 2,000W? Its like asking why I have a Landcruiser with 200kW of engine power, I don’t use all that power often or for very long, but when its needed its good to know its there.
We could get away with a 1,500W inverter for the coffee machine on its own, but when combined with a milk heater/frother we needed an extra 300W. And most small to medium induction cooktops demand 2,000W when turned to full power. Cost is a consideration, good quality inverters cost about 1$ per Watt so the bigger inverter is more expensive, it is also slightly larger but only in length, width and height are the same. To integrate with the Redarc control system optioned into our Zenith I opted to use a Redarc 2,000W pure sine wave inverter. Redarc have a useful installation guide video you can find at THIS LINK.
We ordered dual 100AH batteries when optioning the Zenith, each of the Invicta LiFePO4 batteries has a continuous current rating of 95A at 12.8V but this is derated by 10% (to 86A) when two are in parallel. This equates to 1,105W each or 2,210W combined – so battery output rating is not a problem.
Battery storage capacity is however an important consideration, a big inverter will drain the batteries in around an hour of continuous use – but a 2 shot coffee from the 1,250W Nespresso Essenza Mini Solo takes only a couple of minutes including preheat time, and knocking up scrambled eggs on the 2,000W Kmart Anko cooktop takes only 5 minutes or so.
Recharge time is another important aspect of battery capacity, and given that we rarely stay in one spot for more than a day the car’s 30A charge supply will be a big contributor, plus the 200W TVAN solar panel and an additional 150W solar blanket when weather is favourable. So, when used intelligently, our 200AH of lithium batteries have enough capacity to service the large inverter for several days.
Lastly, there’s cabling and fuses. Unfortunately the layout of the TVAN is not well suited to dual LiFePO4 batteries which are very sensitive to imbalance when current is taken in and out of them and the factory cabling is very small which makes the issue harder to manage. To try and combat this I installed larger cables from each of the batteries for both the positive and negative circuits, then twin 50mm2 cables to the inverter. A 250A MEGA fuse protects positive supply to the inverter. The Redarc BMS shunt is rated to 300A and to finish things off I replaced the ground cables with 50mm2 as well.
I wanted both the new inverter (2,000W) and the original inverter (350W) to be controlled from the Redvision screen, which also makes them controllable using the smartphone app for when the camper is locked up or you’re just too tired to get out of the chair you’re sipping a hot coffee in. This required a bit of reprogramming of the Redvision using Redarc’s configurator app, including adding a new soft key control button and matching screen icon.
An important reason for wanting easy control of the inverters is to ensure they are turned off whenever not in use. Even with no load being taken the inverters waste a reasonable amount of power, about 2 amps if they are both left on. Over period of a day that equates to 48AH, or over quarter of our battery capacity, so it pays to turn the inverter off when its not being used.
The 240V output from the larger inverter is connected to the two kitchen side outlets, I also added a double 240V outlet inside the TVAN for occasions that we may want to cook or make coffee inside the tent. You’ll also note I added some extra dual USB outlets, I use this area to recharge our electronic devices that are mostly USB driven such as headlamps, cameras, bug lights, electric toothbrush (yes, seriously haha). The standard 350W inverter is mainly used for recharging the laptop, power tool batteries and other low power devices.
You can find more details about the installation at this YouTube video.
Safety Dave rear view camera
We already installed a Safety Dave rear view camera in the Landcruiser (useful for reversing as the rear storage module in the Cruiser obscures the regular mirror) so we optioned a factory installed rear view camera on the TVAN for when we are towing. Unfortunately the Track Trailer camera installation terminated at a video cable plug, without the flexible umbilical “woza” cable I prefer to use for rugged off road conditions.
The woza cable installation is an easy upgrade to the trailer, though finding a suitable mounting place that was safe from damage required a bit of fiddling. While on the job I also tidied up the factory trailer plug cable which was showing some of the inner wire cores.
I plan to produce a YouTube vlog of the woza cable installation, I’ll add the link here when its up so keep an eye on this page or subscribe to the Travelling Two YouTube channel for a notification email.
GPS odometer
Servicing and maintenance of your camper trailer is important for safety and reliability, and becomes critical if you use your trailer offroad in remote areas. Good trailer manufacturers provide a service schedule, with maintenance tasks set out based on time or kilometres travelled.
Keeping track of your trailer kilometres is not as easy as it sounds because trailers don’t usually have an odometer and keeping a log book is a chore. On our Patriot X3 I fitted a Hummingbird GPS odometer to solve this problem and decided to also fit one to the TVAN.
I didn’t want the LCD display to keep us awake at night so I installed the unit in the front-right storage box. This worked out well as it was a simple job to install the GPS antenna in top of the box. The unit also requires constant 12V power supply when the trailer is being towed, which was easily accessed at the storage box internal light switch which is on the TVAN’s constant 12V circuit.
The GPS odometer has been quietly doing its job of accumulating kilometres that the trailer travels and will enable me to keep on top of maintenance and component replacements.
I put together this brief video showing my installation process.
Savvylevel trailer inclinometer
The airbag suspension of the Patriot X3 made levelling of the camper an easy job, so reverting to the use of levelling ramps and Maxtrax for the TVAN was one of the few steps backward when we changed campers (though I love the MC2 suspension when travelling).
While a good old fashioned spirit level is the normal go-to for setting up your camper trailer I decided to invest in a device that allowed me to achieve a perfectly level trailer first time, every time, without having to get in and out of the car half a dozen times. Enter the Savvylevel!
Savvylevel is a 2-axis electronic inclinometer that communicates by Bluetooth to your smartphone, where an app displays the angle of your trailer laterally (side to side) and longitudinally (front to rear). When combined with a good quality levelling device you can simply drive the trailer so that the low side rises up a ramp until the trailer is level (lateral). Then when unhitched you simply fine tune the longitudinal level using the jockey wheel.
The TVAN set up does take a little bit of practice because the jockey wheel is offset on the drawbar, so that it lifts the left hand side of the trailer when raising the front, partly to compensate for weight of the kitchen when it is slid out.
The basic Savvylevel is designed to be mounted internally but a separate weatherproof housing can be purchased – I went with this in case the metal front box of the TVAN impeded the Bluetooth signal from reaching front of the Landcruiser. Its also important that the Savvylevel is mounted in a location that is aligned with the chassis (and hopefully the bed) so the drawbar is ideal.
The unit requires constant 12V power supply when the trailer is being set up, which was easily accessed at the storage box internal light switch which is on the constant 12V circuit. Once everything is installed and powered you do set the trailer up once with a spirit level and calibrate the device using the app, from then on it will show you incline of your trailer in degrees and millimetres.
So far the device has proven to do its job really well, greatly simplifying the trailer set up process, particularly when I’m out on my own. The Savvylevel is also handy when negotiating difficult tracks where roll over is a worry because you can monitor trailer side angle from the driver’s seat at times when it can be difficult to accurately judge how much of a lean its on.
You can view the YouTube vlog of the Savvylevel installation at this link on the Travelling Two YouTube channel
Stone Stomper
One of the best investments you can make for your trailer is a Stone Stomper – your trailer will love you for it!! Stone Stomper is the best solution to protect your trailer and tow vehicle from stone damage and works much better (in my opinion) than Rock Tamers and the various over sized mud flap variants.
Not only does Stone Stomper keep the flying rocks at bay, it also holds dust, mud splatter and other material down low rather than being sucked up onto back of your tow tug, and helps to keep dust from billowing around the trailer.
I already had a cross bar from our previous trailer that I modified to work better with our Kaymar rear bar and wheel carriers. I also widened the attachment to fit to a standard Toyota hitch tongue. I therefore only had to buy the mesh panel and attachment hardware.
Installing the mesh attachment brackets onto the trailer is a simple project, the important part being to correctly space them so that the mesh will fit between them without being too baggy. I opted to replace the supplied zinc plated fasteners with stainless steel hardware for longevity in salty conditions such as beach runs and desert salt pans.
The new mesh was a tight fit, which is exactly as I like the Stone Stomper to be. One problem with Stone Stompers is their habit of collecting gravel and mud on top of the mesh, which eventually weighs them down so much they can drag on the ground or tear from the mountings. To prevent this I like to run the mesh higher in the centre, by adjusting the inboard bungee cords tighter than the the outer ones. There’s not much that can be done at the rear chassis rails other than keep it taught and angled downward so that debris will fall from the back of the mesh.
While the Stone Stomper does a great job of controlling flying rocks, there is no doubt that it is a pain in the A when it comes to accessing rear of the Landcruiser, which is already compromised by the wheel carriers. If you are getting one make sure you spend time thinking about the cross bar arrangement and how it attaches to your hitch, as it is the most important part of the specification process – especially because the bar moves around quite a bit when you are driving and will come into contact with the rear bumper, airbag inflation points or cable plugs that are too near. Things to think about include:
- to work at its best the cross bar should be mounted as high as possible (mine is really too low, to clear the Kaymar carrier handles, hence the rubber strip I added)
- access to your safety chain shackle attachment points when the steel cross bar is fitted
- access to your electrical sockets and airbag fill points, especially if they are under the bumper bar which may require a hole to be cut through the canvas skirt
- access to wheel or jerry can carrier release levers if you have them
- type of hitch tongue you have, you need at least 40mm of the 50×50 hitch section to be exposed for their Option 3 attachment
I plan to produce a YouTube vlog of the Stone Stomper installation, I’ll add the link here when its up so keep an eye on this page or subscribe to the Travelling Two YouTube channel for a notification email.
Gas bottle storage
I love the way that Track has integrated the gas cylinders into the trailer, even better that they supply cylinders with the trailer.
I know from experience that the steel cylinders will eventually wear a rusty groove into the aluminium storage box and rattle around if they work loose, so I decided to put some rubber pinch weld onto the raw steel edge of the cylinder base.
A squirt of Inox corrosion preventative finishes this simple modification.
Drawer liners
Similar to the gas bottles we know that eventually corrugated roads can rattle around contents of the pantry and drawers, damaging the containers and wearing paint off the drawers themselves. To help prevent this we line the floor and sides of our drawers with perforated rubber matting.
The matting comes in adhesive backed for sides of the drawers and simple anti-slip matting for the floors. Each piece is cut to size before installation to ensure a neat fit.
While we were at it we added marine carpet to the pole storage area and some form of protection to any other metal drawer, pocket or storage nook. You lose a small amount of storage in each compartment due to thickness of the matting but the benefit of everything sitting snugly in place makes up for it. No more arriving at camp rattling and clanking down the track!!
Water outlet tap
We optioned our TVAN to have the pressurised water outlet, and I was underwhelmed by what we got for the money…
A bit of hose and a ball valve teed off an existing line isn’t a great solution, particularly in the location Track Trailer chose to mount it – the ball valve is nearly inaccessible with the tent set up and the hose end fouls with the Skyward deck going up and down.
I already run a Front Runner lockable ball valve on rear of the Landcruiser, the Patriot X3 had a similar tap on the drawbar, so it was a logical choice for the TVAN upgrade.
This type of outlet is great for washing your hands after hitching up the trailer, after lunch on the road or a myriad of other times you want access to running water when the trailer kitchen is packed away, or when the Lowboy pump doesn’t suit.
Sink water hoses
Quite a few TVAN owners have reported that the kitchen sink water hoses wear through, causing a water leak in rear of the kitchen area.
When mounting the inverter I knew I would be obscuring access into the area that had caused people problems, so I set about improving the hose arrangement before I got caught out.
Given that this is a known problem I was dismayed to find how poorly the hoses and cables had been routed in our new TVAN! In particular, the water hoses were rubbing up and down on a raw steel bracket edge each time the kitchen was deployed, this was a water leak waiting to happen…
To improve things I added some pinch weld to the exposed steel edges wherever hoses would make contact, and jacketed the water lines in corrugated conduit that would form a sacrificial wear liner. I also loomed and tied the lines more neatly so they wouldn’t snag on screws and other fittings.
Pushbar kits
We had pushbar kits added to all of our fridge and drawer slides, making it a one handed operation to open or close them. This is only a little touch but makes things a lot easier around camp when you have an armful of stuff to put in/out of the fridge or pantry drawer.
Our pushbars were fitted by Atlas Trailer Hire when Tristan was installing the Dometic CFX75 fridge, but he sells the kits for self installation if you need them.
The Thirsty Nomad water filtration
When on the road it is unavoidable that you will have to access water of questionable quality, from dams, bores and rain water tanks. To mitigate chance of contaminating our water tanks I have been using a Thirsty Nomad filter on the fill hose.
The Thirsty Nomad filters are more than just sediment traps with a bit of carbon mixed in, they are scientifically proven to eliminate bacteria and purify the water passing through them. To add another level of protection we asked Atlas Trailer Hire to install a Thirsty Nomad filter into the pump line of the TVAN during pre-delivery.
Weber BBQ storage
Our previous camper had a great swing out arm to store and support the Weber, making it a very quick job to get it set up and cooking. We didn’t want the BBQ smells lingering inside the TVAN cabin so the front right storage box was the logical place to put the Weber Baby Q1000 – but I didn’t want to lose the valuable storage volume of the slide out drawer to house just the Weber.
To solve this I fabricated a simple steel frame that supports the Weber just above level of the drawer, allowing cooking implements and consumables to be stored right with the Weber for easy access. I’ve also done a separate write up of this modification for those who are after dimensions of the mounting brackets, check it out at THIS LINK
The steel support frame holds the Weber BBQ in two positions:
To compliment the Weber and expedite set up at camp we use a 5m braided gas hose with quick connect fittings, including a tee piece to tap into the TVAN gas supply at the kitchen outlet
Other accessories that we find useful include:
- Underkover Australia canvas BBQ plate storage bags
- Kaon stainless-steel side tables, much stronger than the Weber plastic items and you can fold them on to a hot grill
- Weber night light
- Weber disposable fat catch trays
Front vinyl bin covers – keeping them on!
The TVAN has those handy little dirty gear bins built into the front box – they’re an odd size but useful for things like wheel chocks, firewood and other stuff that is okay to get dusty and dirty.
The bins have those vinyl covers kept in place by a thin bungy cord – and here’s a little trick I picked up off the TVAN forum.
To prevent your vinyl covers flying off while travelling put cable ties around a couple of the loops – that way if you forget to lace it on properly or the bin contents move you won’t lose them. Its also worth putting a twist in each loop when securing on the button, to take stress of the eyelets in the vinyl.
Grip those zips
Wrestling with zippers can be hard when its cold and wet, things get worse when the zipper is full of bull dust or when the zipper is curved and bunched up.
A simple tip is to put a piece of heavy cord through the zipper to give you something to grip onto. Some people use a cable tie though I find them hard to grip too. Places where I find this handy include the awning cover, the front box door bungees and the zip on ensuite tent.
Canvas hatch cover
The canvas hatch cover is a great addition if you like the TVAN’s quick set up option and when its cold and wet outside, allowing you to jump into bed with minimal set up effort.
We found that the canvas cover can be a bit awkward to fit and gaped open at the bottom, allowing bugs to enter. A quick and easy modification to hold it securely is to fit metal eyelets to the canvas cover so it can be secured using the same two bottom pins as the main tent attachment.
What a comprehensive rundown on the Tvan. Great article and some worthwhile and valuable improvements to the TVan that I’ll br taking on board as well.
I’m also interested in how you have set up your Land Cruiser as well. We take delivery of our Zenith in November and also have a 2015 land cruiser. Thanks
Hi Leigh – thank you!
The Landcruiser has evolved over several vehicles, mainly to suit solo camping when I head out with my swag. It does however compliment the camper trailer on bigger trips where the car takes on much of the food carrying duties, with the fridge used as a freezer and much of the dry food kept in the car. It also runs a 55l s/steel water tank that we use for drinking water, with the trailer water mainly used for washing, etc.
Its a reminder for me to do a separate blog post on the Cruiser set up, as I’ve not done one since we swapped cars, check out – https://travellingtwo.au/index.php/2020/08/30/the-same-but-different/
In the mean time I’ll send you a quick run down direct to your email address.
Cheers
Shane
Shane thanks mate! This is some fantastic info and some excellent tips to avoid problems in the future. We took delivery of our Tvan Zenith last week and will be absolutely following your lead with a lot of these ideas. Thanks for sharing and looking forward to your future projects.
Hey you’re welcome guys – keep an eye on that post because I update it when I add things and plan to revisit a few with comments if they’re successful. I’ll also get around to knocking up some brief YouTube videos of the bigger jobs, I just need to get around to editing the footage.
Cheers
Shane
Thankyou Shane. Beautifully articulated explanations for some desperately needed modifications. Would love to see many of these issues addressed at the build stage. Thankyou again. Cheers
Cheers Angela – yes its a shame that some of the changes were necessary to address build issues, or to bring the TVAN up to similar spec as others on the market – its a great camper and we’re really enjoying getting some trips out in it.
Regards
Shane
Hi looking at the Weber Baby Q but dont have the skills or equipment to manufacture the stand you have created. Just wondered if you are making these as an item for sale. If not do you have plans avalable or a sketch etc so I can look for someone in SA to manufacture one for me. Thanks Steve
Hi Steve – I found your question on Facebook before here, sorry for the delay. On this blog is another post specific to the Weber with sketches that should enable a fabricator to make something similar.
https://travellingtwo.au/index.php/2021/11/25/weber-baby-q1000-tvan-installation/
It would be worth leaving them the drawer and bbq to get the details right, sorry I’m not in a position to make another set as we’re moving at present and have gear in storage.
Hi Shane I have viewed your video re fitting the hummingbird odometer. Could you give me more info regarding hard wiring to the switch in the front locker of the tvan. I have a Zenith also. Regards Bob
Hi Bob – I’ll shoot you an email with some pics, it might be easier than a reply on here. Cheers, Shane
Hi Shane,
I like how the 75 litre dual zone fridge has been added – the draw has been removed and the fridge attached to the slides.
Is that arrangement working well for you? It’s a clever idea for fitting in a larger fridge.
Regards
Craig
Hi Craig – yes its working really well, we had an earlier version of the same model fridge in our Patriot and really liked it, so worked hard to make it fit into the TVAN. The new model CFX3 75DZ fridge works in this application even better because they have now put the incoming power sockets on opposite end to the control panel.
The slide runners are mounted to the fridge body using Rivnuts so it can still be removed. I was worried to begin with that it would not be rigid enough but its holding up really well and is just as stable as the slide drawer was (if not even better). The pantry drawer also had to be raised ~15mm, we had the TVAN supplied with this drawer loose so that we didn’t have to remove it before repositioning. To finish the job off the air filter on the door is replaced with a slimline version. Tristan at Atlas Trailer Hire has all the details and makes a kit with hardware and brackets for adapting the fridge to the slide runners. Tristan also sells the push bar kits which I highly recommend, making use of the drawers a single handed operation.
I was also interested to see if there was enough breathing room around the fridge in hot weather and it seems fine. I’ve been out west in 40 degree days and the fridge held up fine and the compressor still cycled, suggesting that it wasn’t working at its extreme. Luckily the fridge compartment is not sealed from the opposite side storage locker so that provides a little more air volume.
Let me know if you’d like any extra pics or measurements.
Cheers
Shane
Hi Shane. Great information thankyou for all the ideas you have posted.
I’m in Brisbane and wondered if you could tell me where you got the “T”piece for the gas bbq connection. Also have looked up Undercover Canvas in Ballina. They don’t seem to have the bbq plate covers there. Have I got the correct site?
Regards
Dave.
Hi Dave, thanks for the feedback.
I got the “T” piece from Tristan at Atlas Trailer Hire down at Mt Tambourine, he is a TVAN service provider who has a few bits and pieces for them. You can find his online store at https://www.atlastrailerhire.com.au/
The Weber plate bags are from Underkover, spelt with a ‘k’. Their web site is https://underkover.com.au/
You must be like us and glad some decent weather has come in, we might see you out and about one day.
Shane
Thanks a lot Shane always looking out for good travelling company would be keen to catch up . cheers!
Likewise Dave, we travel alone often but its always good to join a like minded traveller to share the adventures and a bit of banter.
Hi Shane
Thank you so much for this vlog, it is a fantastic resource and one that I’ll be referring to when I purchase my T-Van.
Peter
You’re welcome Peter, they’re a great trailer, you must be looking forward to getting one.
Great info Shane, some a little disconcerting given we are picking up a new Murranji in January! Do you have any recommendations re insurance?
Thank you Ross, yes a few issues that Track should be looking at during manufacturing, though the basic design and mechanics of the trailer are great. Main weaknesses are the electrical wiring standards/quality and the shock absorber durability. We have our trailer insurance bundled with our vehicles through RACQ, plus have their premium roadside assist/recovery. So far no need to claim for the trailer but we have had good experience with them on some other not-at-fault vehicle claims. I see an advantage having the tow vehicle and trailer through the same insurer to avoid finger pointing if we are ever in an accident that could be blamed on loading/towing, plus both would be handled under a single claim.
Hi again Shane
I’m considering a stone stomper for our new Murranji. I’m not sure if the the Toyota OEM towbar will work with either of the stonestomper bracket systems. Do you have the Toyota OEM towbar on your landcruiser and did you use the stonestomper L bracket?
Thanks
Hi Ross
I use a Hayman Reese tow hitch in the standard LC200 tow bar, because I have 33″ trailer tyres and needed to lift the hitch point slightly to get a nice level trailer ride.
Before I fitted the Kaymar bar I used the StoneStomper Option 3 cross bar, but turned upside down. Christian will supply extra rivets if you let him know you want that set up, because you need to flip the canvas over by drilling out the original rivets and reattaching the flaps.
When I fitted the Kaymar rear bar the above set up sat too high and fouled on the wheel carrier latches when reversing at full articulation. I bought a ‘blank’ cross bar (with just the mesh attaching loops) from StoneStomper and fabricated my own version of the Option 3 tow hitch attachment, but its dropped down further to clear my Kaymar set up.
I’ll send you some pics that might help explain all this a little better.
Cheers
Thanks for the useful tips Shane. You’ll be pleased to hear that Track now seem to put the eyelets in the canvas hatch cover and also put pinch weld on the bare metal on which the water pipes behind the Kitchen rub. I checked these out on my recently acquired Zenith (Dec ’22)
That’s awesome David, Track cop criticism for being slow to move so its good to hear they made these cheap and easy mods. I know that Tristan at Atlas Automotive also does some of these modes when doing predelivery for trailers coming into Qld for Horizon Campers.
Thanks for continuing to capture our imagination with your travel blogs Shane, and for documents ing these tweaks. We picked up our new Zenith in early Feb and are loving it. Biggest disappointment was the quality of electrical routings… nothing about 10m of various sizes of split conduit can’t fix, but the as-delivered condition of important lines such as the wires to the trailer brakes and the main lines in the hitch area are rather “suboptimal”.
Tristan from Atlas is a great help for the Weber gas connections and the tray slide bars… I’d certainly be pleased to have bought our van from him if we didn’t live in Melbourne.
Keep up the great work with your travel blogs.
Thanks on behalf of all T-Van owners.
Cheers,
Jim
Kangaroo Ground Vic
Hi Shane
As retirement is looming in future years I’ll be investing in a Tvan to enjoy for as long as I can. Your blog is an excellent resource that I will be referring to, thank you.
I have wondered whether fitting a reverse cycle air conditioner is worthwhile if the electrical system is up to it, this would replace the need of the diesel heater while at the same time providing relief from the heat depending where I may find myself at various times of the year. Would you mind giving some feedback on this?
regards
Peter
Hi Peter
Thank you for the feedback.
Are you thinking the AC would be needed off grid, or only when you had access to mains power?
Track off an optional compressor type AC unit that consumes most of the area under the bed, apparently it is popular with those living in the the far north. This arrangement allows for retention of the Webasto heater for water and the tent.
Repackaging a reverse cycle AC unit may be feasible but would take a lot of work, especially getting the condensate drainage sorted out. A small system using mains power would be achievable I think, based on one of the small window mount units. This would be a full custom installation requiring new wiring as other changes.
Dear Shane,
This is a very helpful blog thank you!
Sorry to read you no longer have the Tvan. Wanted to quickly ask how you attached the canvas/ material privacy screen to the rear hatch that I can see in one of your photos – did you add some sail track to the bottom edge of the hatch, or add a zipper to the piece of material?
Thanks and safe travels,
Duncan
Hi Duncan – Yes there is a length of sail track added to edge of the hatch for quick and easy attachment. It does a great job of keeping top of the tent clean and dry when used with the tent erected as well as the privacy screen function. I would make it slightly longer next time to reach the floor, and add some bungee loops for attachment to the floor edge. Also note it is a trapezoidal shape longer at the floor end than at the hatch. In hot weather it works best with some poles to elevate it above the tent to create an air space for insulation.
Chees
Shane