We just bought this van secondhand, and it came with nothing.
We get the idea from previous vans how to work things, but I like physical copies, in case we have no internet to look it up.
I mean: the 3 way fridge, the gas stove top, the grill, the electric pump for the water, the roll out awning, the van itself, etc.
We had hell of a job lifting the roof on the Pop Top, but watched Videos, then found the same question asked here years ago, and we worked it out
Thanks
Grams
laurieoz said
08:08 AM May 30, 2019
I have downloaded all the manuals for components in my motor home from the manufactures sites (PDF Files). I keep them on my lap top byt they can be printed out if you want.
Just do a google search for the manual of the fridge etc.
Laurie
2weis said
08:10 AM May 30, 2019
i have never seen a manual for a caravan (ill admit i dont know all brands ) the best you can do is download manuals for all the separate appliances in the van or as you are doing now ask forums online Brian
SouthernComfort said
08:34 AM May 30, 2019
It's one of those peculiarities in the caravan industry, manufacturers don't produce manuals. Had our van from new which came with a swag of manuals for the various appliances and attachments, but not for the van itself. I've never understood why it's so difficult for them to produce an owners manual, similar to what you get with a car.
Whenarewethere said
08:50 AM May 30, 2019
Just about every industry now only provides on line manual or downloadable PDF. In remote Australia you are stuffed. I print off key parts of manuals.
I bought a Fuji Xerox C2255 printer as it was the smallest printer at the time I could get which came with full sized cartridges & the least wasteful ink being powder, & duplexer to save paper. So I could print off maximum number of items at the least long term cost.
Grams said
08:56 AM May 30, 2019
Thank you all
Ill do searches on everything and print off the manuals. I always like to have manuals to refer back to. Its just we have plugs we have no idea where they go to and for what. Having a manual for the van would explain all this
Thank you again.
Grams
Cupie said
09:03 AM May 30, 2019
I agree with the previous comments ... but it is all just typical of parts of the Au caravan industry.
Way back in time when I got my Jayco manufactured it came with a complete suite of manuals that covered all appliances and the van itself .. much like the owners manuals that you get with a new car. The sales person spent hours with us both walking us through the bits & pieces & invited us back for refreshers if we wished.
When I upgraded to 12v Solar I wrote an extensive manual that stays with the van.
When I sell a house I always put together a file of all the relevant documentation (including Plans, paint colours, details of improvements & repairs as well as fixed appliance documentation. Included are photos of installation & repairs to in ground plumbing & drainage, power & comms services including locations et al). Extremely handy for the new owner.
I'm surprised that your 2nd hand van didn't come with a folder of similar documents.
I would expect to do the same for a van & it's something that I would look for when purchasing a second hand one ..
Tells you something about the previous owner/dealer & perhaps how the van has been looked after.
edit .. The key thing that wasn't included with the van documentation was a low volt electrical wiring diagram. But I fixed that by drawing up one myself & updated it when I did the Solar conversion.
-- Edited by Cupie on Thursday 30th of May 2019 09:05:59 AM
-- Edited by Cupie on Thursday 30th of May 2019 09:08:55 AM
Mamil said
10:46 AM May 30, 2019
I guess I was lucky then that my new van came with a manual for the van itself, plus all the manuals for the various components and appliances in a nice plastic folder. But, as others have said above, the manuals for all the appliances like fridge, water pump, stove, are available online these days, just need to spend an afternoon in front of the computer downloading and printing them off. As I've done various mods over the couple of years I've had it, I have also drawn my own diagrams for the van DC wiring, car hookup, AC wiring, and plumbing, which I keep in the same folder and will be passed on to any future owners so they can make sense of things.
-- Edited by Mamil on Thursday 30th of May 2019 10:50:12 AM
Grams said
12:45 PM May 30, 2019
Hi,
I asked Jayco is they had any information on the van itself. But they said the van was too old so I did a search and found someone had done a road test on this model and year, so I copied that out.
I found manuals on the Electrolux Fridge (also aka Dometic), the microwave, absolutely nothing on the Vanette Gas Stove and Grill.
I got written instructions on how to put our awning up and down
So thats the basics done.
This van has had several owners and wasnt looked after. So Im not surprised that it lost all the manuals. But it will be looked after now and it has most of the important manuals. Im keeping them all in a folder.
I too keep all manuals, improvements, repair bills, etc. the last house we sold had a massive folder bulging with papers
Thank you
Grams
Whenarewethere said
12:58 PM May 30, 2019
Cupie wrote:
When I sell a house I always put together a file of all the relevant documentation (including Plans, paint colours, details of improvements & repairs as well as fixed appliance documentation. Included are photos of installation & repairs to in ground plumbing & drainage, power & comms services including locations et al). Extremely handy for the new owner.
I did the same when we sold our parents house, also when I sold my own Unit.
When I bought new property, nothing, & keys also missing. Some people try to be courteous, others couldn't give a stuff!
I have put together a ring binder with copies of manuals for stove, dish washer, air conditioning, water filter etc, for tenants of my investment unit.
Olive Oil said
05:19 AM May 31, 2019
You can Google most appliance manuals, download them as a PDF & then print them off.
As for the caravan, its just a box on wheels.
Whenarewethere said
07:16 AM May 31, 2019
Lack of printed manuals in most industries is all about externalizing. Once upon a time you were also given a wiring diagram.
StewG said
04:08 PM Jun 4, 2019
Like many others, we bought our JB Caravan new and were given a 3 hour personal introduction to the various features and switches, etc. which I videoed and replayed later to clarify certain points. We were also given a thick folder with manuals of most of the appliances and gadgets fitted. A few items were missing which we remedied by a web search and print-off. Some items were not covered at all. Notably the wiring diagram and labelling of circuit breakers. I have since labelled the circuit breakers and figured out most of the wiring.
One of the "light" switches puzzled us for a year or so, as it wasn't covered in the introduction. It finally dawned on us that it was a fader switch for the sound system; turning on/off the outside loudspeakers. We belatedly apologise to all those other camper neighbours for suffering our TV/radio noise while we were snug inside the van listening.
dorian said
05:47 PM Jun 4, 2019
You can get an online PDF instruction manual for a $20 toaster but not for a $30K car or a $160K motorhome.
We just bought this van secondhand, and it came with nothing.
We get the idea from previous vans how to work things, but I like physical copies, in case we have no internet to look it up.
I mean: the 3 way fridge, the gas stove top, the grill, the electric pump for the water, the roll out awning, the van itself, etc.
We had hell of a job lifting the roof on the Pop Top, but watched Videos, then found the same question asked here years ago, and we worked it out
Thanks
Grams
Just do a google search for the manual of the fridge etc.
Laurie
i have never seen a manual for a caravan (ill admit i dont know all brands )
the best you can do is download manuals for all the separate appliances in the van
or as you are doing now ask forums online
Brian
Just about every industry now only provides on line manual or downloadable PDF. In remote Australia you are stuffed. I print off key parts of manuals.
I bought a Fuji Xerox C2255 printer as it was the smallest printer at the time I could get which came with full sized cartridges & the least wasteful ink being powder, & duplexer to save paper. So I could print off maximum number of items at the least long term cost.
Ill do searches on everything and print off the manuals. I always like to have manuals to refer back to. Its just we have plugs we have no idea where they go to and for what. Having a manual for the van would explain all this
Thank you again.
Grams
I agree with the previous comments ... but it is all just typical of parts of the Au caravan industry.
Way back in time when I got my Jayco manufactured it came with a complete suite of manuals that covered all appliances and the van itself .. much like the owners manuals that you get with a new car. The sales person spent hours with us both walking us through the bits & pieces & invited us back for refreshers if we wished.
When I upgraded to 12v Solar I wrote an extensive manual that stays with the van.
When I sell a house I always put together a file of all the relevant documentation (including Plans, paint colours, details of improvements & repairs as well as fixed appliance documentation. Included are photos of installation & repairs to in ground plumbing & drainage, power & comms services including locations et al). Extremely handy for the new owner.
I'm surprised that your 2nd hand van didn't come with a folder of similar documents.
I would expect to do the same for a van & it's something that I would look for when purchasing a second hand one ..
Tells you something about the previous owner/dealer & perhaps how the van has been looked after.
edit .. The key thing that wasn't included with the van documentation was a low volt electrical wiring diagram. But I fixed that by drawing up one myself & updated it when I did the Solar conversion.
-- Edited by Cupie on Thursday 30th of May 2019 09:05:59 AM
-- Edited by Cupie on Thursday 30th of May 2019 09:08:55 AM
I guess I was lucky then that my new van came with a manual for the van itself, plus all the manuals for the various components and appliances in a nice plastic folder. But, as others have said above, the manuals for all the appliances like fridge, water pump, stove, are available online these days, just need to spend an afternoon in front of the computer downloading and printing them off. As I've done various mods over the couple of years I've had it, I have also drawn my own diagrams for the van DC wiring, car hookup, AC wiring, and plumbing, which I keep in the same folder and will be passed on to any future owners so they can make sense of things.
-- Edited by Mamil on Thursday 30th of May 2019 10:50:12 AM
I asked Jayco is they had any information on the van itself. But they said the van was too old so I did a search and found someone had done a road test on this model and year, so I copied that out.
I found manuals on the Electrolux Fridge (also aka Dometic), the microwave, absolutely nothing on the Vanette Gas Stove and Grill.
I got written instructions on how to put our awning up and down
So thats the basics done.
This van has had several owners and wasnt looked after. So Im not surprised that it lost all the manuals. But it will be looked after now and it has most of the important manuals. Im keeping them all in a folder.
I too keep all manuals, improvements, repair bills, etc. the last house we sold had a massive folder bulging with papers
Thank you
Grams
I did the same when we sold our parents house, also when I sold my own Unit.
When I bought new property, nothing, & keys also missing. Some people try to be courteous, others couldn't give a stuff!
I have put together a ring binder with copies of manuals for stove, dish washer, air conditioning, water filter etc, for tenants of my investment unit.
As for the caravan, its just a box on wheels.
Lack of printed manuals in most industries is all about externalizing. Once upon a time you were also given a wiring diagram.
One of the "light" switches puzzled us for a year or so, as it wasn't covered in the introduction. It finally dawned on us that it was a fader switch for the sound system; turning on/off the outside loudspeakers. We belatedly apologise to all those other camper neighbours for suffering our TV/radio noise while we were snug inside the van listening.