Roadstar Upgrades

[Mustang]

Hi Guys,
HER Little Ripper is not so little when we load up to head out west.

Now sporting 3 x tanks, a stone guard, slide out generator etc we weigh in at 2.5t & tip 320kg ball weight.
Being a single axle it used to love giving the cruiser a hurry up, by pushing in the bum, on any undulating road. Cement roads were terrible.



Enter the Oz Glide (link) along with air bags in the Cruiser, from the Air Bag Man. (3K all up Sssshhhh)
The difference is chalk & cheese. The whole rig now feels like its floating on air, much different to the suspension upgrade I had in the Prado, that just made it hard.




Getting rid of the ride leveler bars also gives us a tighter turning circle.


Even the handbrake re-position made it grab better, 1/2 a meter less cable.
The drop down tailgate on the cruiser cleared by 25mm (Phew).

[Warrenk]

It looks good.  Anything that makes a caravan tow better is a plus, but with ball weight of 320kg physics still plays a big part in weight distribution. I would have thought you will still need the WDH to distribute some of 320kg on the ball weight back to the front wheels.   

[Mustang]

Aug 31, 2020 22:36:25 GMT 10 Warrenk said:

It looks good.  Anything that makes a caravan tow better is a plus, but with ball weight of 320kg physics still plays a big part in weight distribution. I would have thought you will still need the WDH to distribute some of 320kg on the ball weight back to the front wheels.   

Hi Warren,

The air bags in the cruiser take care of that, we are only running 17lb, to make it all level.
10/15% of caravan weight is generally accepted, we are around 13%.
With the Sunliner (ball weight 90/100kg) we will only run the minimum, about 7lb.
Cheers

[Mustang]

We are going to spend some weeks in winter out west, so we continue to upgrade the Roadstar.
Not having an auto dish, is like going back to hand opening your garage door, just love it.


Getting the old base removed was a task, as the manufacturer had used Sikaflex??
Sits neatly compared to the "Jayko" type antenna, enough spare space for another solar panel.



The controller is Foxtel ready, we still have an external domestic cable connection to use in parks if necessary. link

[Mustang]

One would wonder which is more dangerous Fire or Gas?
With caravan roadworthys in Qld., neither alarm is required??

One would wonder why a manufacturer of a $70K caravan would not include a $40 gas alarm. Purchased one for the modern this week,
don't know why we havn't always had it?
link

[78466noM]

looks good I wouldn't think it would weigh 2.5t
have fun when you get away

[Mustang]

Dec 10, 2020 16:47:43 GMT 10 78466noM said:

looks good I wouldn't think it would weigh 2.5t
have fun when you get away

That,s fully loaded, mostly it would sit around 2.0/2.3, depends how much beer I drink???

[Mustang]

The car fridge batteries seem to fail every couple of years.
So I have done a lot of research into Lithium.

Itech (WA) have come up with the 120X for under bonnet, as long as its heat shielded. I sent them photos & they approved & I have documented every email for warranty purposes.

Last trip away mid afternoon the battery measured 13.3V & next morning it was still on 13.3, amazing for a large 74lt fridge.
 link

[Warrenk]

I bought a 120ah Solar King  lithium.  It runs my 240vac fridge via an inverter in our Olympic.  On a trail run it ran an empty fridge for 72hrs and still had about 10hrs of charge left. A bit more expensive, but worth it. They only thing they do self discharge due to the electronics in them, but in your vehicle should not be an issue.

[snoops]

Yes, my switch to lithium amazed me. I always thought I’d buy a second battery when funds permitted but I haven’t needed to - not even close. 👍

[Mustang]

At risk of offence to the forum, in our modern, we are heading on a 3/4 month Aussy inland jaunt , with another couple.

There are so few posts at the moment I thought members may enjoy our travels through the outback.


So if you see this rig parked up please make yourself known, we expect to cover 15/20K kilometers.


The van has been modified with bash plates, a large stone guard across the front, stone protection under, many more mudflaps added, extra tank, grey water, new batteries for the car & van, DIY pressure equalizer inside the van to help keep dust at bay, spares on our spares, the owners have been overhauled as well with glasses, hearing aids, medicals etc . 

Disappointed we can't make the Nationals, but this trip has been put off twice, so the dates have clashed. (For our itinerary see below the image.)



We are meeting an already touring couple at Bourke & start from there, this will be our third trip with them.

They were publicans & their kids gave them a nice book years ago of unique outback Australian Pubs, so the last 10 years they have been touring getting the book signed at the represented pubs, it can become quite emotional at the time, some tough old publicans don't even know their pub is in the book.

So after Bourke we will be going anywhere & everywhere the book takes us, we will visit Oonadatta, Coober Pedy, Ayres Rock, travel over to Bedouie, then attend the Birdsville Bash, before meandering home.
Cheers
Brent

[78466noM]

Have fun and stay safe .

[Mustang]

Further to the "Out West Tour 21"
We covered 15000KM a lot of it gravel roads, repairs to the van were numerous, mainly brakes the issue.

This image is of the original magnet (Left) "flogged out" over two outback trips. (Total kilometers gravel & bitumen about 18K)

The magnet on the right is how it should look, this magnet now also replaced.



Next image , the right hand magnet (red arrow) replaced with 500km of gravel, is already showing wear from corrugations.

The magnet on the left is a specific Al-Ko 4wd model, now fitted. $179.00 a pair.


From the amount of "road" caravans that we recently passed out west on all sorts of roads, there must be an awful lot without brakes ?

[Mustang]

Landcruiser upgrade

Our recent escapades in the west certainly sorted out our unfortunate attempt of packing the rear of our vehicle.

So, I started doodling a plan for the back of the car just before lockdown,






Day one, just before lockdown, I was able to purchase enough timber to start, but soon ran out.



Finally after begging, borrowing & stealing from neighbor's we came up with this.

The Titan drawer cost $220, the fridge & slide I had. The large hole will be filled with a custom wood box (when I can get out for more timber)
The space above the fridge will house the chainsaw, tyre compressor is out of sight.

The false floor anchored to the seat belt mounts was the most expensive at $70.

Side rails take care of walking  sticks, umbrellas, extra jack, etc., Rear seats can be folded forward or used as normal.

The small locked compartment under the Titan drawer is a firearms locker (we had to humanly dispense two animals on our last trip due to car strikes)
Costs all up including the new boxes was about $300, I was quoted $3200 from a large retailer.

Build time four days, not including two pending knee replacements 

[Mustang]

Further to the Roadstar staying in the family or downsizing to a Hybrid Off Road van, SWMBO wanted to keep upgrading the semi off road to a full off road.
Next step while we are spending the kids inheritance enter the CARAFAN.  link

We opted to use the current hatch opening, rather than cut another 14" x 14" hole in the roof.
While waiting for delivery I removed the whole hatch, which made for easier assembly, seeing that I had to add a spacer plate, our opening was larger than the Carafan.


I used a spacing plate between the top of the Carafan roof body & the fan itself, which is inside the cabin.
 


The beauty of this product is that we were able to use all the original interior fittings, lights /insect screen/ blackout slide.



As Murphys would have it the unit came with a faulty rocker switch, causing a dead short, it wasn't untill we ran a dedicated line back to the battery (day & half in time)
that this gremlin came to light. Carafan customer service were quick to acknowledge & offered a free ($90) filter to compensate.

Testing the unit, reveals air gushing from every opening in the van. We should now be dustproof.

[Mustang]

A statistic from our Way Out West Tour:

V8 Landcruiser, combined weight car & van 5.5 tons.
Kilometers 12803
Fuel used 2660 liters
Fuel Cost $4250
Average 20:77 liters / 100 kilometers, mostly towing 2.5 tons

Cheers 

[snoops]

Interesting that the V8 Cruiser gets around the same fuel usage as my Hilux towing the same weight - except the Cruiser would make much easier work of 2.5 tonnes than the Hilux does.👍😊

[Mustang]

We now have a mixture of AGM & Lithium batteries, problem the older controller does not have a lithium selection.
So rather than outlay dollars for a Lithium blanket , I have been able to buy a 30A lithium controller for just $49.00 .

Set up with quick change clips I only need to carry one blanket.

[Mustang]

One thing we found wanting out west was compressed air. The vehicle air con "pollen filter" clogs up quickly, affecting the vehicle's temperature gauge.
Also the tow vehicle "air filter" needs constant cleaning, easy with "air". Now we have a Carafan filter fitted to the caravan, it will also need attention.

Enter the air tank & tyre compressor permanently fitted behind the rear seats for instant action, tyre inflation or compressed air.

 
These twin cylinder air compressors  ($150) pack a punch these days, unlike the old ARB single I have been struggling with for years.
The tank was just $69 from ebay, without fittings. My neighbor used to work in the mines, so no issue with parts. 

[Mustang]

On our recent outback trip the "Trailermate" became cantankerous, not that it let us down, quite the opposite, on any angle it took both of us jumping on the drawbar to get it to release. I fitted an O ring kit recently, and at $40 for a few o rings I was reluctant to spend more. 
SHMBO
came up with this idea:


The images tell all, a nice extension as well.  link

[hughdeany]

Hi Mustang,
Had the same thing happen to my Trailamate,the extension tube had slightly bent,so a gentle tap of the hammer on the tube is enough to get it to go down,so now good for another 10 years!
Cheers
hughdeany

[Mustang]

Sept 23, 2021 8:37:26 GMT 10 hughdeany said:

Hi Mustang,
Had the same thing happen to my Trailamate,the extension tube had slightly bent,so a gentle tap of the hammer on the tube is enough to get it to go down,so now good for another 10 years!
Cheers
hughdeany

I never removed the trailermate from the drawbar. We caught it on an unusually high cattle grid.
So when "she" decided to buy the Boss, who am I to argue, we still use the Trailermate as a jack in the workshop.
Cheers
Brent
PS: Let me know when you have some model vans to sell.

[Mustang]

I will not carry fuel in Plastic Containers.
When I  finally had to use this container out west after some serious gravel roads I was amazed how many stones were in the holder chaffing away at the base of the can.

So I made up a false floor for the holder to allow the stones to filter through. The holder also had one lousy drain hole, not the case now !

[Mustang]

It seems that as you live in a van for months that there is a price to pay, this trip has been the usual, cupboard stays, gas fittings, wheel bearing dust caps popping off, the new BOS jockey wheel broke off at the worm drive, drainage from the basin sink leaking,
BUT
this little gremlin lead us on a merry chase, the fridge would not set to 12volt.

 This was a 20 amp fuse.

 Positioned here right in the middle of the mother board, inside the lower fridge vent!!!!!! 
  We now have an in line fuse extension that reaches outside the board, to save an hour on my knees the next time this little  sucker gets too hot.                                                     
The cable that supplies the power to the fridge was located in the 12 pin plug, this revealed the plug had been too                    hot at this point, so we made up a separate Anderson connection.  
                                                      All working fine now.

[Mustang]

When we are in Launceston, we camp at our good friends printing works.


His professional eye noted the blistering Roadstar decals & suggested we remove them before they turn brittle.

Nothing suited this little black duck better than to remove all Roadstar signage.

The new front