Hi there. Couple of questions please? my very best friend has just bought a 2006 vw van. They have overhead cupboards on one side but would like overhead cupboards on the other side too. Would anyone know where they could get new cupboards made in the Melbourne, or outer melbourne area? Also, they would like to tow a trailer to take the generator etc for free camping. Is there a towing capacity for motorhomes, ( I am only familiar with vans. ) and also with the tow bar,does that fit under the rear step?? Difficult to open rear door with trailer attached ????
Hi Dianne,
Looks like your question has not attracted any attention.
I just Googled "Caravan Repairs Melbourne" and there are heaps of them to choose from down there..
As for the tow bar it should have a plats on it with it's Max capacity stamped on it.
The van should also have a complience plats on it that shows the GVM = Gross Vehicle Mass i.e. the max weight of the vehicle loaded and also the GCM= Gross Combined Mass i.e. the Total weight of both the vehicle AND the trailer..
As for opening and closing the door my guess is that it would depend on the length and shape of the tongue.
Hi Gooba, is this for a Victorian registered MH? If so, the manufacture's tow recommendations are pretty close to Vic's GVM regs. This should be found in the handbook that came with the vehicle. As for the towbar, there's a couple of options but these come with possible hassles. A towbar UNDER the bumper may have to be custom made. This will be far costlier and may be illegal in the ground clearance minimum is infringed upon. An OVER bumper tow bar that has the larger style goose neck can be turned upside down (towball must also be reversed). This type of goose neck is designed to be used one way for standard sedans etc and the other way for taller vehicles in order to keep the trailer reasonably level. The problem is that your trailer could be too far out of level for safety. Re cupboards, any cabinet maker can do the job using the existing cupboards as a 'template' (used to be several in Lilydale Industrial estates off Cave Hill Rd and Beresford Rd). You might even be lucky enough to find decent flatpacks that match. Just remember that there may be modification regs that apply to your State.
Thanks for your replies. The tow bar was fitted today, my friend is happy with it but I haven't seen it so I can't give any feedback at the moment. Regarding the cupboards, he bought it from a dealer in Campbellfield but frustratingly it didn't come with not " one " handbook . So he was blind to how the fridge worked, the van aircon (which seemed to be hiding ) or anything!! Just blind!! It does have an old Britz embalm on the front roof area so he was going to ring them and see if they could shed any light. He's working it out. The old trial and error. I just thought as I'd had several queries resolved on this site I may be able to help. Again, thank you for your thoughts, I'll pass them on.
Happy travels! Oh by the way, my friend is doing his first shake down trip with us on the cup weekEnd.
