When it came to buying your last caravan & tow rig to see you into retirement & beyond, how long did it take you to research before buying? And did you get it right the first time, or did you find that you missed anything that you perhaps overlooked or over bought?
I ask as we are now coming to this point later this year. While we know what we want & are giving this process due diligence with a fine tooth comb, I am wanting to ensure that we do not overlook anything at all.
Just after peoples experiences & their thoughts.
Aus-Kiwi said
09:10 PM Mar 30, 2018
Depends ? We actually bought our before we retired . In our case a motorhome . Ok we have changed a few things . Like twice the solar . Less dependance on generator . Fitted compressor fridge . Added a better battery charger and extra 120 AH battery . Two extra seat belts . Longer annex . Although we mainly use the awning only . We free camp a lot . Spend the money so we can . Instead of spending our time and money in camping grounds. I find it funny seeing people in camping grounds . They are near the same . Some people hardly leave them ., maybe have no experience or confidence to do it on their own ? I have MR licence so have more options . Itâs tajen us two years on ( off home at times ) the road to get things sorted . Or more the point getting familiar to camping style .
fwdoz said
09:23 PM Mar 30, 2018
The compressor fridge is the one I am yet to look at Aus-Kiwi. More efficient for free camping I take it?
Radar said
09:33 PM Mar 30, 2018
fwdoz wrote:
When it came to buying your last caravan & tow rig to see you into retirement & beyond, how long did it take you to research before buying? And did you get it right the first time, or did you find that you missed anything that you perhaps overlooked or over bought?
I ask as we are now coming to this point later this year. While we know what we want & are giving this process due diligence with a fine tooth comb, I am wanting to ensure that we do not overlook anything at all.
Just after peoples experiences & their thoughts.
Hi fwdoz, interesting name.
For us it was a progression from camping, then camper trailer, first caravan and now the one we have now which I believe we will have for sone time yet.
Now the tow vehicle is a bit different, I had me toy where I was throwing a few dollars at it then the Mrs. Finance said enough is enough. So we brought ourselfs a pretty cool crewcab with good horse power, nice colour. Now this is where you need to be super careful, it had good weight load rating (ratting is a ratting) to tow caravan, not as high as some but it was all I needed.
After a couple of extended trips we realized the rear suspension was not capable of carrying the load and the tow ball weight for long hauls. $2000 latter problem fixed with a great suspension up grade. The car can now carry a load for thousand of kilometers, not just around the corner.
If the sales people had of been more honest we would of had the suspension upgraded done before taking delivery of the car, after asking will it tow my caravan and carry the weight.
That is my big warning to you. Set the car up to tow a caravan.
fwdoz said
09:40 PM Mar 30, 2018
Thanks Radar...
I initially wanted 4wdoz but this seemed to be taken everywhere, so fwdoz it became.
My current tug has got airbags which help with towing but our current van is not a huge one (under 1700kgs laden). When we get our next vehicle I had already factored in the suspension as factory is nowhere near satisfactory if you tow something a bit heavier. If I manage to pick one up where this has already been done then that will be a bonus.
yobarr said
09:47 PM Mar 30, 2018
fwdoz wrote:
The compressor fridge is the one I am yet to look at Aus-Kiwi. More efficient for free camping I take it?
Im not an Electrician,but I fitted a 175 litre Evakool compressor fridge after I was told that a compressor fridge
uses only 30% as much power as a 3 way fridge. Just saying,as there is bound to be someone who will disagree!
I took two years to set my car and van up,and in about 3 months I will be on the road.....forever?
Tomorrow I will write more....
Cheers
fwdoz said
09:53 PM Mar 30, 2018
I hope that you thoroughly enjoy the fruits of your labour yobarr. We took ages setting up our old 4WD & van, so this time we expect to get it as close to perfect first up with a bit of tinkering afterwards if necessary. It is about eliminating anything of a major alteration/addition later. Having owned a few vans, we think we are on the money, but it still pays to ask for others opinions as I am sure everyone expects to get it spot on first time.
HandyWalter said
11:12 PM Mar 30, 2018
If you get a vehicle with air suspension, then no need to beef up suspension and no need for a WDH. Also the ride is unbelievable. I get 14l per 100K on average. Try getting that with others towing at 100kph with a 2.5T Van. BUT a new Landrover/Rangerover will cost you north of $110K. They also allow you the best carrying capacity, than any other car if you get close to 3.5t towing limit, unless you opt for the American beasts . Then its a case of trying out caravans to see what you like in terms of layout, type and size. We hired different caravans until we settled on what suited us. Even so it was still a compromise between size, weight and suitability for where we wanted to go. When it rains I wish the van was bigger as it is a bit small (17') inside, but when towing on off road situations its great to have something more manouverable than 20'+. Everybody will have their own views and biases (mine being LR).
Peter_n_Margaret said
11:20 PM Mar 30, 2018
fwdoz wrote:
When it came to buying your last caravan & tow rig to see you into retirement & beyond, how long did it take you to research before buying? And did you get it right the first time, or did you find that you missed anything that you perhaps overlooked or over bought?
I ask as we are now coming to this point later this year. While we know what we want & are giving this process due diligence with a fine tooth comb, I am wanting to ensure that we do not overlook anything at all.
Just after peoples experiences & their thoughts.
We knew what we wanted after having another vehicle for 12 years, but knew that we would not be able to afford it, so spent 3 years looking for the right vehicle and then another 18 months (3,000 hours +) turning it into a motorhome from a worn out tour bus.
You can never get everything right with your first rig. We had 12 years of experience with out first before building our current vehicle. It has served us well, but changes and improvements never stop.
My advise is to get something, but expect that you will want to change it after a couple of years once you know how and where you want to travel.
What suits you won't suit anyone else and, frankly, you don't have much idea what you really want yet and what you really want will change and evolve over time.
You WILL overlook lots of things, just expect that this will be so.
Cheers,
Peter
Aus-Kiwi said
11:21 PM Mar 30, 2018
Out bush . LPG IS expensive . It lasts 3 weeks . Ok for the people who go on Hollidayâs when working for four weeks at a time . Plus the fact 3 way have horrendous temperature control and VERY slow to get to temp. Plus while driving only 12v can be used !! Which is lucky to keep temps while in 12v . We fitted 12v compressor 230 litre fridge / Freezer doesnât draw anymore current than a 60 litre portable. Just set and forget ., I leave it on while home also . A years supply of LPG pays for solar easy . Plus once fitted itâs FREE !!
Desert Dweller said
06:17 AM Mar 31, 2018
We started looking at cheap second hand caravans priced around $12,000. We quickly realized that we wouldn't get anything suitable at that price & raised it to $20,000.
Same thing again, raised our figure to $25,000. We spent months looking around at musty smelling caravans that had done a lot of work.
Lots of dog hair & wiring hanging out from the walls where the previous owner had removed something.
Plenty of rust & bodgy DIY jobs too.
We got totally fed up with looking at someone else's cast offs & decided to buy new.
We bought our new caravan 6 years ago for slightly less than $40,000. It was our first caravan. We'd been shopping around for over 6 months.
We wanted high clearance, single axle around 17ft, a decent roll out awning & a battery system.
We've spent around 3 years in it so far, our trips total would be around 80,000kms.
The only thing we've done to it is buy new tyres, replace the ceiling lights with LED's & replace the house battery recently with a slightly larger capacity one.
The 90ltr Dometic 3 way fridge has been a pain in the bum, breaking down 3 times.
We buy things & keep them forever, we've had our boat for over 20 years.
We're not interested in changing caravans & will be keeping our ''first & only'' forever.
In fact we're not really interested in caravans at all, it's the travel that's our interest, bush walking & photography.
We're not out to impress anyone, we wash our ute & caravan about twice a year.
We bush camp the majority of the time, nothing of interest to us in a CP.
-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Saturday 31st of March 2018 06:23:53 AM
the rocket said
08:33 AM Mar 31, 2018
Bought a colorado and We already had a smaller caravan. First yard we looked at. There was was. 25 foot, leather club lounge, dining chairs n table, queen bed, ensuite and best of all 2 tv's. liked it, bought it. Must have been meant to b. 3 years on living permanently. We r happy little vegemites.
Dougwe said
09:02 AM Mar 31, 2018
Hi Bob and Deb,
I had to do a life change in 2014 to save my sanity (I heard that Woody). I was up in Townsville at the time spending winter with my daughter and two grandchildren so first up spent a bout a week researching tugs on the internet. I already wanted one of the popular 4x4 utes so then started test driving. After test driving all the different flavours I finally chose the Colorado twin cab ute and have loved it since. Only thing I would change and it might still happen is instead of the genuine Holden canopy I should have got a 'shed' on the back, aluminium canopy, much more room and easy access all round.
Next, on my return to VIC, I had already started researching though, I started looking around for a aluminium tent. I had already ruled out pop tops and 5th wheelers and wanted a full ensuite with sepparate toilet and shower. I checked a few second hand ones out and ruled second hand out. I then went with a mate to where he bought his van from and liked a few when he mentioned a different flavour one near the gate. As soon as I approached it I could see my name all over it so after a discussion with the manager and he writing down all my wants a deposit was paid.
I have now been living in it full time and even though I had problems, some major, they were all fixed and I have since and only in the last couple of weeks, made a few upgrades and changes to the 12v system but love it. I am solo but it has plenty of room for two in the 20ft of space.
The only other thing I will add is, make sure all the weights are under the listed weights as things are a change'in out here in the playground and there are men and women running around with pen and paper that could cost ya heaps if your rig is over weight. It's not happening a lot yet but it is happening. I was waved in only a couple of weeks ago but after about 10 mins told to move right along and "well done". YES! I was very happy to be checked too. I had only checked myself on a weighbridge two days earlier and all was good.
Keep Safe on the roads and out there.
yobarr said
09:06 AM Mar 31, 2018
Hi Bob....I will watch this topic with much interest,but I would like to say at this point that if you intend
to purchase a van over 3000kg ATM,absolutely FORGET the current batch of twin-cab utes.Some owners
will waffle on about doing XXXXkm with no problems,and the salesman will assure you that these cars
can tow 3500kg. They cant. Im not sure what your needs/wants are,but IF you purchase your car first,
you will at least know the maximum size van that that car can SAFELY tow,and you can search accordingly.
Should you choose to first purchase the van,and fall in love with something around 3500kg ATM,you are
severely restricted in what car will tow it.Other than a small truck or a Yank Tank,the only twin-cab that
will do the job is a 70 series Land Cruiser,perhaps with a 3760kg GVM upgrade,which will allow you to safely
tow 3500kg ATM,and remain legal at you GCM of 6800kg. Good luck with your research. You no doubt will
get much advice,and many opinions,so sorting the chaff from the hay will be fun!
Again,FORGET the popular twin-cabs if you want to tow a van over 3000kg ATM.
Cheers.
-- Edited by yobarr on Saturday 31st of March 2018 10:21:00 AM
Dougwe said
09:21 AM Mar 31, 2018
Agree yobarr. I had all that in mind at the time I was looking etc. I made sure the aluminium teepee was well under the Collies max. I didn't want to over work the Collie.
Sorry Woody, I said that W word. I will take myself to the naughty room NOW.
rockylizard said
09:29 AM Mar 31, 2018
Aus-Kiwi wrote:
Out bush . LPG IS expensive . It lasts 3 weeks . Ok for the people who go on Hollidayâs when working for four weeks at a time . Plus the fact 3 way have horrendous temperature control and VERY slow to get to temp. Plus while driving only 12v can be used !! Which is lucky to keep temps while in 12v . We fitted 12v compressor 230 litre fridge / Freezer doesnât draw anymore current than a 60 litre portable. Just set and forget ., I leave it on while home also . A years supply of LPG pays for solar easy . Plus once fitted itâs FREE !!
Gday...
I know you are speaking from your own experience, and your opinion is drawn from that.
However, the image you are painting of the humble 3-way frudge is somewhat coloured.
I am now into my ninth year travelling full-time and have found the 3-way frudge suits me without problem.
LPG lasts 3 weeks - one 9Kg bottle yes ... most of us carry two and therefore when the first runs out, we have three weeks before we need to get a refill ... and it is usual to be travelling through a town with 'acceptable' price for either re-fill or swap-and-go in the coming three weeks.
3 way have horrendous temperature control - I disagree. Certainly if one is camped/travelling in an area with over 35deg temps constantly it has to work hard - and not as effectively as it does in cooler weather, but as a traveller full-time, I spend my time in the 'more comfortable' temperatures and therefore the 3-way copes excellently.
VERY slow to get to temp - I disagree. Starting from zero on 240v (or gas) it is up to temp within at worst a couple of hours.
while driving only 12v can be used !! Which is lucky to keep temps while in 12v. - My 3-way maintains 5degC in the frudge on 240v or gas. When leaving a campspot in the morning, with frudge on 5deg and then driving, even for a number of hours (sometimes all day) the frudge is still on 5degC when I get to my destination ... the whole time being on 12v from the vehicle.
Jest sayin'
..... and now back on topic ... it took me three years of searching for the 'perfect' van. I ultimately gave up, and sat down with a manufacturer and got one 'custom-built'. Now nine years on, I haven't regretted the purchase. I have added solar panels but other than that it is pretty much as bought.
Cheers - John
Peter_n_Margaret said
09:45 AM Mar 31, 2018
"LPG lasts 3 weeks - one 9Kg bottle".
That is over 17 X 9kg bottles per year on a full time basis. Our gas consumption is less than 1 1/2 X 9kg bottles per year for cooking and I would like to get rid of that too.
Work out the annual cost of that anywhere away from the cities...... apart from all the other differences (add the open flame dangers, dust ingress,.......)
I doubt that anyone who changes from gas to compressor fridge ever changes back voluntarily? Would you have one at home?
That is on topic.
Cheers,
Peter
Radar said
10:33 AM Mar 31, 2018
rockylizard wrote:
Aus-Kiwi wrote:
Out bush . LPG IS expensive . It lasts 3 weeks . Ok for the people who go on Hollidayâs when working for four weeks at a time . Plus the fact 3 way have horrendous temperature control and VERY slow to get to temp. Plus while driving only 12v can be used !! Which is lucky to keep temps while in 12v . We fitted 12v compressor 230 litre fridge / Freezer doesnât draw anymore current than a 60 litre portable. Just set and forget ., I leave it on while home also . A years supply of LPG pays for solar easy . Plus once fitted itâs FREE !!
Gday...
I know you are speaking from your own experience, and your opinion is drawn from that.
However, the image you are painting of the humble 3-way frudge is somewhat coloured.
I am now into my ninth year travelling full-time and have found the 3-way frudge suits me without problem.
LPG lasts 3 weeks - one 9Kg bottle yes ... most of us carry two and therefore when the first runs out, we have three weeks before we need to get a refill ... and it is usual to be travelling through a town with 'acceptable' price for either re-fill or swap-and-go in the coming three weeks.
3 way have horrendous temperature control - I disagree. Certainly if one is camped/travelling in an area with over 35deg temps constantly it has to work hard - and not as effectively as it does in cooler weather, but as a traveller full-time, I spend my time in the 'more comfortable' temperatures and therefore the 3-way copes excellently.
VERY slow to get to temp - I disagree. Starting from zero on 240v (or gas) it is up to temp within at worst a couple of hours.
while driving only 12v can be used !! Which is lucky to keep temps while in 12v. - My 3-way maintains 5degC in the frudge on 240v or gas. When leaving a campspot in the morning, with frudge on 5deg and then driving, even for a number of hours (sometimes all day) the frudge is still on 5degC when I get to my destination ... the whole time being on 12v from the vehicle.
Jest sayin'
..... and now back on topic ... it took me three years of searching for the 'perfect' van. I ultimately gave up, and sat down with a manufacturer and got one 'custom-built'. Now nine years on, I haven't regretted the purchase. I have added solar panels but other than that it is pretty much as bought.
Cheers - John
Well said And I could not agree more about the 3 way, our 2012 model is great.
There is more to owning a caravan then the poor frig.
yobarr said
10:58 AM Mar 31, 2018
rockylizard wrote
3 way have horrendous temperature control - I disagree. Certainly if one is camped/travelling in an area with over 35deg temps constantly it has to work hard - and not as effectively as it does in cooler weather, but as a traveller full-time, I spend my time in the 'more comfortable' temperatures and therefore the 3-way copes excellently.
VERY slow to get to temp - I disagree. Starting from zero on 240v (or gas) it is up to temp within at worst a couple of hours.
while driving only 12v can be used !! Which is lucky to keep temps while in 12v. - My 3-way maintains 5degC in the frudge on 240v or gas. When leaving a campspot in the morning, with frudge on 5deg and then driving, even for a number of hours (sometimes all day) the frudge is still on 5degC when I get to my destination ... the whole time being on 12v from the vehicle.
Jest sayin' Cheers - John
Hi John....I have no reason to dispute your assertions,but in all my time researching stuff for my van
I only ever found two types of reviews of 3 way fridges.....Bad and REALLY bad,so it seems that you perhaps
have the only one in Australia that is any good? Anyway,I took my 3 way out,and gave it to someone who
I dislike, along with the Lemair washer,which used far too much water,and occupied the spot where I now
have installed the 5kw inverter for my 540 AH of Lithium batteries,which are charged by 8x190 watt Solar
panels.This enables me to run my Mitsubishi Heavy Industries AC whenever I like!
Cheers
Aus-Kiwi said
11:24 AM Mar 31, 2018
Guys I was asked about my my 2006 3 way fridge freezer . Why I replaced it ? Having the new compressor or latter model 3 way with auto changeover to have constant power . I too often forgot to change settings . It had 2 extra fans in duct for efficiency.. having sold the 3 way for good price . Iâm more than happy with compressor fridge . One can only really comment who has changed . It still seems to me the smaller light trucks as in Colorado, Ranger . Etc are a little under size . A few years ago it was Landcruiser or patrol .. We donât have the larger F series trucks here anymore . Having said this . I have run into families who have bought a duel cab truck as in Mitsubishi/ Fuso etc Saying itâs the best thing they have done . Trouble is . There is a little fabrication required . Softer front springs maybe ? Although modern trucks ride pretty well . So many options ? Not saying one is better over the other .
pomme said
11:43 AM Mar 31, 2018
Hello Fwdoz,
I bought a 20 ft caravan with separate shower and toilet, air conditioner on the roof and two all season hatches on the roof, inside we had the optional two recliners instead of a club lounge or whatever.
Three solar panels (120watts each) and two extra 120amp batteries were next.
now when we (the wife and myself) get back from our next trip i will be taking the air conditioner of the roof and the two four season hatches.
a split system will be put in on the side and the whole roof will have solar panels on it, you can't have enough solar panels in my humble opinion.
PS, our three way fridge has worked perfectly up north and in the tropics.
Pomme.
fwdoz said
12:41 PM Mar 31, 2018
Thanks for all the replies overnight everyone! Nice to hear of everyones experiences & the processes you each went through. I agree that everyone will be different in their approach no matter how seasoned they are & there is always something that will crop up that requires an alteration.
This time up I am going to opt for 3 solar panels (3x 200W) & the 2 batteries. Will get the same panels as before as they are great in poor light. Given what we have currently this should be ample power for us. I expect our van will be 2700-2800 at the very worst, but hoping to find one under 2500 laden. Seems to be a few around that fit the bill with a shower & toilet at that weight. Either way we will know the right one when we see it.
We keep revisiting our options/choices of what we like to ensure we are both on the same page. You can never look at too many vans or vehicles. We just pretend we are living in them. Years ago we used to test them out with what we liked; nowadays we test them out by what we dont like as we find it easier to eliminate anything that is iffy. The ones with maybe 1 or 2 maybes & no dislikes is a step in the right direction.
My vehicle will have a secondary fuel filter in case of dirty diesel & a decent range fuel tank/economy. As long as the seats are comfy for long trips I will be happy as I hate having a sore back.
I wake up every day as we get closer to our purchase time & ask the wife when we are hitching up. Absolutely itching to get out there & see more of this great country of ours!
yobarr said
02:04 PM Mar 31, 2018
pomme wrote:
Hello Fwdoz, I bought a 20 ft caravan with separate shower and toilet, air conditioner on the roof and two all season hatches on the roof, inside we had the optional two recliners instead of a club lounge or whatever. Three solar panels (120watts each) and two extra 120amp batteries were next. now when we (the wife and myself) get back from our next trip i will be taking the air conditioner of the roof and the two four season hatches. a split system will be put in on the side and the whole roof will have solar panels on it, you can't have enough solar panels in my humble opinion. PS, our three way fridge has worked perfectly up north and in the tropics. Pomme.
Certainly you cant have too many Solar panels! As well as keeping batteries topped up,they
help to keep the whole van much cooler by shading the roof from the suns rays. I have
9x 190 panels on my van,one of them being a spare in case another one dies.
Cheers
yobarr said
02:13 PM Mar 31, 2018
fwdoz wrote:
Thanks for all the replies overnight everyone! Nice to hear of everyones experiences & the processes you each went through. I agree that everyone will be different in their approach no matter how seasoned they are & there is always something that will crop up that requires an alteration.
This time up I am going to opt for 3 solar panels (3x 200W) & the 2 batteries. Will get the same panels as before as they are great in poor light. Given what we have currently this should be ample power for us. I expect our van will be 2700-2800 at the very worst, but hoping to find one under 2500 laden. Seems to be a few around that fit the bill with a shower & toilet at that weight. Either way we will know the right one when we see it.
We keep revisiting our options/choices of what we like to ensure we are both on the same page. You can never look at too many vans or vehicles. We just pretend we are living in them. Years ago we used to test them out with what we liked; nowadays we test them out by what we dont like as we find it easier to eliminate anything that is iffy. The ones with maybe 1 or 2 maybes & no dislikes is a step in the right direction.
My vehicle will have a secondary fuel filter in case of dirty diesel & a decent range fuel tank/economy. As long as the seats are comfy for long trips I will be happy as I hate having a sore back.
I wake up every day as we get closer to our purchase time & ask the wife when we are hitching up. Absolutely itching to get out there & see more of this great country of ours!
When you put the second fuel on,make sure that it is BEFORE the factory filter.Most factory filters are
around 3 microns,and aftermarket filters range from 5 microns up to a ridiculous 30 microns.
Pretty pointless putting a 5 micron filter after the factory 3 micron product,as anything that
squeezes through a 3 micron filter is going to fly through a 5 micron setting!
Rather than mess around with gas bottles,it also is worth considering a diesel heater for air AND water....
I chose Truma....
Cheers.
Aus-Kiwi said
02:26 PM Mar 31, 2018
Yep love our diesel heater . Donât use too often . Inland gets pretty cold at night .. after set low just enough to keep temp around 2am .
the rocket said
04:31 PM Mar 31, 2018
Aus-Kiwi wrote:
Out bush . LPG IS expensive . It lasts 3 weeks . Ok for the people who go on Hollidayâs when working for four weeks at a time . Plus the fact 3 way have horrendous temperature control and VERY slow to get to temp. Plus while driving only 12v can be used !! Which is lucky to keep temps while in 12v . We fitted 12v compressor 230 litre fridge / Freezer doesnât draw anymore current than a 60 litre portable. Just set and forget ., I leave it on while home also . A years supply of LPG pays for solar easy . Plus once fitted itâs FREE !!
We live full time in our van, have no trouble with our 3 way fridge
yobarr said
04:52 PM Mar 31, 2018
the rocket wrote:
Aus-Kiwi wrote:
Out bush . LPG IS expensive . It lasts 3 weeks . Ok for the people who go on Hollidayâs when working for four weeks at a time . Plus the fact 3 way have horrendous temperature control and VERY slow to get to temp. Plus while driving only 12v can be used !! Which is lucky to keep temps while in 12v . We fitted 12v compressor 230 litre fridge / Freezer doesnât draw anymore current than a 60 litre portable. Just set and forget ., I leave it on while home also . A years supply of LPG pays for solar easy . Plus once fitted itâs FREE !!
We live full time in our van, have no trouble with our 3 way fridge
3 ways are tolerable in the Southern states,and up to about 35 degrees Celsius,but after that they have no
chance of keeping the beer cool! Definitely a No Go in the Tropics! I decided that mine had to go,and as someone
else has already noted,I never have heard of anybody replacing a compressor fridge with a 3 way.
Not worth running the risk of having warm beer!
Happy travels.
Cheers
Desert Dweller said
06:48 PM Mar 31, 2018
yobarr wrote:
the rocket wrote:
Aus-Kiwi wrote:
Out bush . LPG IS expensive . It lasts 3 weeks . Ok for the people who go on Hollidayâs when working for four weeks at a time . Plus the fact 3 way have horrendous temperature control and VERY slow to get to temp. Plus while driving only 12v can be used !! Which is lucky to keep temps while in 12v . We fitted 12v compressor 230 litre fridge / Freezer doesnât draw anymore current than a 60 litre portable. Just set and forget ., I leave it on while home also . A years supply of LPG pays for solar easy . Plus once fitted itâs FREE !!
We live full time in our van, have no trouble with our 3 way fridge
3 ways are tolerable in the Southern states,and up to about 35 degrees Celsius,but after that they have no
chance of keeping the beer cool! Definitely a No Go in the Tropics! I decided that mine had to go,and as someone
else has already noted,I never have heard of anybody replacing a compressor fridge with a 3 way.
Not worth running the risk of having warm beer!
Happy travels.
Cheers
Our 3 way fridge doesn't cope when the temperature hits more than around 30 degrees.
Beer temp is not a priority we don't drink it, we've been wine drinkers for 45 years.
Radar said
07:01 PM Mar 31, 2018
yobarr wrote:
the rocket wrote:
Aus-Kiwi wrote:
Out bush . LPG IS expensive . It lasts 3 weeks . Ok for the people who go on Hollidayâs when working for four weeks at a time . Plus the fact 3 way have horrendous temperature control and VERY slow to get to temp. Plus while driving only 12v can be used !! Which is lucky to keep temps while in 12v . We fitted 12v compressor 230 litre fridge / Freezer doesnât draw anymore current than a 60 litre portable. Just set and forget ., I leave it on while home also . A years supply of LPG pays for solar easy . Plus once fitted itâs FREE !!
We live full time in our van, have no trouble with our 3 way fridge
3 ways are tolerable in the Southern states,and up to about 35 degrees Celsius,but after that they have no
chance of keeping the beer cool! Definitely a No Go in the Tropics! I decided that mine had to go,and as someone
else has already noted,I never have heard of anybody replacing a compressor fridge with a 3 way.
Not worth running the risk of having warm beer!
Happy travels.
Cheers
I learnt years ago not to argue with beer drinkers.
We keep our need to be cold drinks in the spare frig in the ute, nothing worst then trying cook half frozen meat or spreading frozen butter because we want super cold beer
-- Edited by Radar on Saturday 31st of March 2018 07:08:17 PM
yobarr said
07:35 PM Mar 31, 2018
Radar wrote:
yobarr wrote:
the rocket wrote:
Aus-Kiwi wrote:
Out bush . LPG IS expensive . It lasts 3 weeks . Ok for the people who go on Hollidayâs when working for four weeks at a time . Plus the fact 3 way have horrendous temperature control and VERY slow to get to temp. Plus while driving only 12v can be used !! Which is lucky to keep temps while in 12v . We fitted 12v compressor 230 litre fridge / Freezer doesnât draw anymore current than a 60 litre portable. Just set and forget ., I leave it on while home also . A years supply of LPG pays for solar easy . Plus once fitted itâs FREE !!
We live full time in our van, have no trouble with our 3 way fridge
3 ways are tolerable in the Southern states,and up to about 35 degrees Celsius,but after that they have no
chance of keeping the beer cool! Definitely a No Go in the Tropics! I decided that mine had to go,and as someone
else has already noted,I never have heard of anybody replacing a compressor fridge with a 3 way.
Not worth running the risk of having warm beer!
Happy travels.
Cheers
I learnt years ago not to argue with beer drinkers.
We keep our need to be cold drinks in the spare frig in the ute, nothing worst then trying cook half frozen meat or spreading frozen butter because we want super cold beer
-- Edited by Radar on Saturday 31st of March 2018 07:08:17 PM
Luckily I also have a 40 litre Engel for the stuff that is not so important,like butter!
When it came to buying your last caravan & tow rig to see you into retirement & beyond, how long did it take you to research before buying? And did you get it right the first time, or did you find that you missed anything that you perhaps overlooked or over bought?
I ask as we are now coming to this point later this year. While we know what we want & are giving this process due diligence with a fine tooth comb, I am wanting to ensure that we do not overlook anything at all.
Just after peoples experiences & their thoughts.
The compressor fridge is the one I am yet to look at Aus-Kiwi. More efficient for free camping I take it?
Hi fwdoz, interesting name.
For us it was a progression from camping, then camper trailer, first caravan and now the one we have now which I believe we will have for sone time yet.
Now the tow vehicle is a bit different, I had me toy where I was throwing a few dollars at it then the Mrs. Finance said enough is enough. So we brought ourselfs a pretty cool crewcab with good horse power, nice colour. Now this is where you need to be super careful, it had good weight load rating (ratting is a ratting) to tow caravan, not as high as some but it was all I needed.
After a couple of extended trips we realized the rear suspension was not capable of carrying the load and the tow ball weight for long hauls. $2000 latter problem fixed with a great suspension up grade. The car can now carry a load for thousand of kilometers, not just around the corner.
If the sales people had of been more honest we would of had the suspension upgraded done before taking delivery of the car, after asking will it tow my caravan and carry the weight.
That is my big warning to you. Set the car up to tow a caravan.
Thanks Radar...
I initially wanted 4wdoz but this seemed to be taken everywhere, so fwdoz it became.
My current tug has got airbags which help with towing but our current van is not a huge one (under 1700kgs laden). When we get our next vehicle I had already factored in the suspension as factory is nowhere near satisfactory if you tow something a bit heavier. If I manage to pick one up where this has already been done then that will be a bonus.
Im not an Electrician,but I fitted a 175 litre Evakool compressor fridge after I was told that a compressor fridge
uses only 30% as much power as a 3 way fridge. Just saying,as there is bound to be someone who will disagree!
I took two years to set my car and van up,and in about 3 months I will be on the road.....forever?
Tomorrow I will write more....
Cheers
I hope that you thoroughly enjoy the fruits of your labour yobarr. We took ages setting up our old 4WD & van, so this time we expect to get it as close to perfect first up with a bit of tinkering afterwards if necessary. It is about eliminating anything of a major alteration/addition later. Having owned a few vans, we think we are on the money, but it still pays to ask for others opinions as I am sure everyone expects to get it spot on first time.
We knew what we wanted after having another vehicle for 12 years, but knew that we would not be able to afford it, so spent 3 years looking for the right vehicle and then another 18 months (3,000 hours +) turning it into a motorhome from a worn out tour bus.
You can never get everything right with your first rig. We had 12 years of experience with out first before building our current vehicle. It has served us well, but changes and improvements never stop.
My advise is to get something, but expect that you will want to change it after a couple of years once you know how and where you want to travel.
What suits you won't suit anyone else and, frankly, you don't have much idea what you really want yet and what you really want will change and evolve over time.
You WILL overlook lots of things, just expect that this will be so.
Cheers,
Peter
We started looking at cheap second hand caravans priced around $12,000. We quickly realized that we wouldn't get anything suitable at that price & raised it to $20,000.
Same thing again, raised our figure to $25,000. We spent months looking around at musty smelling caravans that had done a lot of work.
Lots of dog hair & wiring hanging out from the walls where the previous owner had removed something.
Plenty of rust & bodgy DIY jobs too.
We got totally fed up with looking at someone else's cast offs & decided to buy new.
We bought our new caravan 6 years ago for slightly less than $40,000. It was our first caravan. We'd been shopping around for over 6 months.
We wanted high clearance, single axle around 17ft, a decent roll out awning & a battery system.
We've spent around 3 years in it so far, our trips total would be around 80,000kms.
The only thing we've done to it is buy new tyres, replace the ceiling lights with LED's & replace the house battery recently with a slightly larger capacity one.
The 90ltr Dometic 3 way fridge has been a pain in the bum, breaking down 3 times.
We buy things & keep them forever, we've had our boat for over 20 years.
We're not interested in changing caravans & will be keeping our ''first & only'' forever.
In fact we're not really interested in caravans at all, it's the travel that's our interest, bush walking & photography.
We're not out to impress anyone, we wash our ute & caravan about twice a year.
We bush camp the majority of the time, nothing of interest to us in a CP.
-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Saturday 31st of March 2018 06:23:53 AM
Bought a colorado and We already had a smaller caravan. First yard we looked at. There was was. 25 foot, leather club lounge, dining chairs n table, queen bed, ensuite and best of all 2 tv's. liked it, bought it. Must have been meant to b. 3 years on living permanently. We r happy little vegemites.
I had to do a life change in 2014 to save my sanity (I heard that Woody). I was up in Townsville at the time spending winter with my daughter and two grandchildren so first up spent a bout a week researching tugs on the internet. I already wanted one of the popular 4x4 utes so then started test driving. After test driving all the different flavours I finally chose the Colorado twin cab ute and have loved it since. Only thing I would change and it might still happen is instead of the genuine Holden canopy I should have got a 'shed' on the back, aluminium canopy, much more room and easy access all round.
Next, on my return to VIC, I had already started researching though, I started looking around for a aluminium tent. I had already ruled out pop tops and 5th wheelers and wanted a full ensuite with sepparate toilet and shower. I checked a few second hand ones out and ruled second hand out. I then went with a mate to where he bought his van from and liked a few when he mentioned a different flavour one near the gate. As soon as I approached it I could see my name all over it so after a discussion with the manager and he writing down all my wants a deposit was paid.
I have now been living in it full time and even though I had problems, some major, they were all fixed and I have since and only in the last couple of weeks, made a few upgrades and changes to the 12v system but love it. I am solo but it has plenty of room for two in the 20ft of space.
The only other thing I will add is, make sure all the weights are under the listed weights as things are a change'in out here in the playground and there are men and women running around with pen and paper that could cost ya heaps if your rig is over weight. It's not happening a lot yet but it is happening. I was waved in only a couple of weeks ago but after about 10 mins told to move right along and "well done". YES! I was very happy to be checked too. I had only checked myself on a weighbridge two days earlier and all was good.
Keep Safe on the roads and out there.
Hi Bob....I will watch this topic with much interest,but I would like to say at this point that if you intend
to purchase a van over 3000kg ATM,absolutely FORGET the current batch of twin-cab utes.Some owners
will waffle on about doing XXXXkm with no problems,and the salesman will assure you that these cars
can tow 3500kg. They cant. Im not sure what your needs/wants are,but IF you purchase your car first,
you will at least know the maximum size van that that car can SAFELY tow,and you can search accordingly.
Should you choose to first purchase the van,and fall in love with something around 3500kg ATM,you are
severely restricted in what car will tow it.Other than a small truck or a Yank Tank,the only twin-cab that
will do the job is a 70 series Land Cruiser,perhaps with a 3760kg GVM upgrade,which will allow you to safely
tow 3500kg ATM,and remain legal at you GCM of 6800kg. Good luck with your research. You no doubt will
get much advice,and many opinions,so sorting the chaff from the hay will be fun!
Again,FORGET the popular twin-cabs if you want to tow a van over 3000kg ATM.
Cheers.
-- Edited by yobarr on Saturday 31st of March 2018 10:21:00 AM
Sorry Woody, I said that W word. I will take myself to the naughty room NOW.
Gday...
I know you are speaking from your own experience, and your opinion is drawn from that.
However, the image you are painting of the humble 3-way frudge is somewhat coloured.
I am now into my ninth year travelling full-time and have found the 3-way frudge suits me without problem.
Jest sayin'
..... and now back on topic ... it took me three years of searching for the 'perfect' van. I ultimately gave up, and sat down with a manufacturer and got one 'custom-built'. Now nine years on, I haven't regretted the purchase. I have added solar panels but other than that it is pretty much as bought.
Cheers - John
That is over 17 X 9kg bottles per year on a full time basis. Our gas consumption is less than 1 1/2 X 9kg bottles per year for cooking and I would like to get rid of that too.
Work out the annual cost of that anywhere away from the cities...... apart from all the other differences (add the open flame dangers, dust ingress,.......)
I doubt that anyone who changes from gas to compressor fridge ever changes back voluntarily? Would you have one at home?
That is on topic.
Cheers,
Peter
Well said And I could not agree more about the 3 way, our 2012 model is great.
There is more to owning a caravan then the poor frig.
Hi John....I have no reason to dispute your assertions,but in all my time researching stuff for my van
I only ever found two types of reviews of 3 way fridges.....Bad and REALLY bad,so it seems that you perhaps
have the only one in Australia that is any good? Anyway,I took my 3 way out,and gave it to someone who
I dislike, along with the Lemair washer,which used far too much water,and occupied the spot where I now
have installed the 5kw inverter for my 540 AH of Lithium batteries,which are charged by 8x190 watt Solar
panels.This enables me to run my Mitsubishi Heavy Industries AC whenever I like!
Cheers
I bought a 20 ft caravan with separate shower and toilet, air conditioner on the roof and two all season hatches on the roof, inside we had the optional two recliners instead of a club lounge or whatever.
Three solar panels (120watts each) and two extra 120amp batteries were next.
now when we (the wife and myself) get back from our next trip i will be taking the air conditioner of the roof and the two four season hatches.
a split system will be put in on the side and the whole roof will have solar panels on it, you can't have enough solar panels in my humble opinion.
PS, our three way fridge has worked perfectly up north and in the tropics.
Pomme.
Thanks for all the replies overnight everyone! Nice to hear of everyones experiences & the processes you each went through. I agree that everyone will be different in their approach no matter how seasoned they are & there is always something that will crop up that requires an alteration.
This time up I am going to opt for 3 solar panels (3x 200W) & the 2 batteries. Will get the same panels as before as they are great in poor light. Given what we have currently this should be ample power for us. I expect our van will be 2700-2800 at the very worst, but hoping to find one under 2500 laden. Seems to be a few around that fit the bill with a shower & toilet at that weight. Either way we will know the right one when we see it.
We keep revisiting our options/choices of what we like to ensure we are both on the same page. You can never look at too many vans or vehicles. We just pretend we are living in them. Years ago we used to test them out with what we liked; nowadays we test them out by what we dont like as we find it easier to eliminate anything that is iffy. The ones with maybe 1 or 2 maybes & no dislikes is a step in the right direction.
My vehicle will have a secondary fuel filter in case of dirty diesel & a decent range fuel tank/economy. As long as the seats are comfy for long trips I will be happy as I hate having a sore back.
I wake up every day as we get closer to our purchase time & ask the wife when we are hitching up. Absolutely itching to get out there & see more of this great country of ours!
Certainly you cant have too many Solar panels! As well as keeping batteries topped up,they
help to keep the whole van much cooler by shading the roof from the suns rays. I have
9x 190 panels on my van,one of them being a spare in case another one dies.
Cheers
When you put the second fuel on,make sure that it is BEFORE the factory filter.Most factory filters are
around 3 microns,and aftermarket filters range from 5 microns up to a ridiculous 30 microns.
Pretty pointless putting a 5 micron filter after the factory 3 micron product,as anything that
squeezes through a 3 micron filter is going to fly through a 5 micron setting!
Rather than mess around with gas bottles,it also is worth considering a diesel heater for air AND water....
I chose Truma....
Cheers.
We live full time in our van, have no trouble with our 3 way fridge
3 ways are tolerable in the Southern states,and up to about 35 degrees Celsius,but after that they have no
chance of keeping the beer cool! Definitely a No Go in the Tropics! I decided that mine had to go,and as someone
else has already noted,I never have heard of anybody replacing a compressor fridge with a 3 way.
Not worth running the risk of having warm beer!
Happy travels.
Cheers
Our 3 way fridge doesn't cope when the temperature hits more than around 30 degrees.
Beer temp is not a priority we don't drink it, we've been wine drinkers for 45 years.
I learnt years ago not to argue with beer drinkers.
We keep our need to be cold drinks in the spare frig in the ute, nothing worst then trying cook half frozen meat or spreading frozen butter because we want super cold beer
-- Edited by Radar on Saturday 31st of March 2018 07:08:17 PM