Getting The Van Ready For The Next Trip.

patrolst · Senior Member

Getting The Van Ready For The Next Trip.

patrolst · Senior Member

After the service is done and van is part way ready to roll, what do people do to check their appliances?

1. Fridge to make sure it operates on all 3 functions i.e.:- Gas, Battery, 240vlt's

2. Air-conditioning i.e. :- Running & Cleaning.

3. Heater i.e.:- 240vlt's, Diesel.

petengail · Guru

We are going off from north of Brisbane in a couple of days and one thing I will not be checking is the heater lol

Cruising Cruze · Guru

were you going to Pete ??

Rip and Rosie · Guru

We get the van serviced regularly, and each trip note anything not quite right and get it fixed.

Other than that, before we leave next time we check the tyres.

..... but then it's never too long between trips.

patrolst · Senior Member

The reason I posted this thread to see if people actually know when they go on a trip if the fridge works on all 3 services.

I have known people who have started on a trip fully confident that the service is done and all is in order. Only to find out when they arrive at their destination to find the fridge 12vlt has not been operating and they have to find a fix or go with out.

We have a 25amp C-Tek Charger, which I charge the battery with and as I have the fridge hooked to the van battery I can run the fridge on 12vlt for a 3-hour period while the battery is getting charged. After 3 hours the freezer and fridge cabinet gets cold enough for the test to confirm the 12vlt is working correctly.

The 240 and gas are easy to test.

The air conditioning (Dometic in roof) I went for the test and all I received was a "clunk-clunk". Test came to a Holt. I turned of the 240vlt and removed the Cowell and found enough mud wasp nests to 2/3rds fill a square ice-cream container. Once cleaned and vacuumed and blown out with an air hose all the unit mechanism was sprayed with "Enox Spray". The unit fan seems to be a bit quieter now as a couple of big lumps of mud were attached to the fan and was possibly putting it of balance. The return filter pads over the years have been washed and re-installed this time they were replaced with new filter pads.

Heater 240volts generally just a light blow out and wash similar to the 240vlt fan.

Diesel heater get run about once a month but this time the van interior was 32deg so I decided to run both A/C & Heater together and the required test was done.

So now all that is left is the final checking of the wheel nuts and the tyre pressure prior to leaving.

I have also found Mud Wasp nests in the furnace flue at the rear of the fridge.

Boothie · Senior Member

The problem I have is that if it breaks down then I have to get it fixed. If I can't get it fixed, the milk turns to yogurt, the meat gets turned to Jerky over a fire and I am obviously somewhere I shouldn't be because I can't fix it and I deserve to be bitten by the Mosquitos and Sandflies.