Techies' Corner

RAINBIRD ROVERS · RAINBIRD ROVERS

Hi all, I have just recently picked up my new van and tow vehicle. I am finding that the 12 pin male to female connector is extremely tight. I have had several vans and trailers in the past but have never come across one so tight. Any suggestions on how to fix this issue. It is a real fight to join both togethe...

Warren-Pat_01 · Warren-Pat_01

G'day, I've been told by car dealers, owners of radio equipment sales shops & my owner's hand book that "people these days don't listen to AM radio!" They stream it, listen to pre-recorded internet music, etc." Well I for one do & when travelling away from the major centres, it is often only th...

oxleigh · oxleigh

My Roadstar pop top has had silicon sealer spread in and along the horizontal seams in the cladding at the rear, the silicon seems to be about 10mm either side of the seam bit is almost invisible until I tow the van in a dusty area, then I have a dusty line across the back of the van on each seam, I have tried to...

jeepnudger · jeepnudger

Have been having Tv reception problems for a couple of years. Have winegard antenna the horizontal/vertical figure 8 style. the reception has been consistently poor. I have checked cable connections all nice and tight. Looked at junction box marked winegard 2way splitter ( marked 1in and 2out co...

J_KZ-1 · J_KZ-1

Evening forum members, On rolling out carefree awning as a pre-trip check, we (the wife) noticed some pin holes in the fabric. I think I read, some time in the past, that you can use liquid paper to fill the holes? If not, can I smear a small dap (smoothed out) of wet area clear silicon, sikaflex or seam st...

Beaver7 · Beaver7

I am looking at a Swagman signature 1998 with a 4hgi 4.6 engine. I have heard they are a bit sluggish so was thinking of adding a turbo charger.Any thoughts. thanks

RobDor · RobDor

New caravan user here and just going everything before first trip. When mains water is hooked up, Im guessing you dont need to use the water pumps ? Use pumps when drawing from tanks ? Also, does water mains go through the tanks or seperate route ? I ask because, Ive done a bleach clean of tanks and water li...

Fozzee · Fozzee

Has anyone done this mod? using the breakaway box without the small battery, deleting the charge system and hooking up the system to work off the caravan house battery?. Have you any Pictures or wiring diagram of your alterations. I have checked this out and it is leagal to do, it needs to be active for 1...

Ram Man · Ram Man

Hi Techies, Well the NSW lockdown has given plenty of time a sit and ponder, what will I do next. Pricing up the cost to have my Roadstar resealed, I was quoted about est $4000 for removing all corner strips, replace with new and reseal. Then they get to it in maybe 3 months, this was the first and only est...

Ronzo · Ronzo

Dear all, looking for some advice here please Its my first time going to an unpowered campsite and just using my van battery for power for 3 nights . Will be using my cook top stove and frig on gas settings obviously but I would like to know how long my van battery will last when using other appliances Ill b...

RobDor · RobDor

Please see attached pic. The material of the black top half on the front ?? I know the bottom half is the black chequer plate stuff, but the top half is like a soft vinyl/plastic stuff with a bit of padding. Know what its called, or where I can get it please ? Thanks

Tony LEE · Tony LEE

Friend needed a replacement for his 2 x 100Ah house batteries while on tour and was offered this battery for what he considered a reasonable price and rang me for "expert approval" first. I could only give him generic advice at the time. Specs seem good and it does have a 3 year warranty so.. Just ha...

Snubby · Snubby

Hi members I have bought a new jayco journey caravan and would like to isolate the on board agm battery between trips, unfortunately I cant locate the battery isolation switch,can anyone help please. If anyone has useful dos and donts about a new van setup it would be appreciate.

Petemox · Petemox

Hi We are on the road at present doing what I refer to as our Spangled Drongo run, as it is the only bird that flys south in the winter. We are finding that in places our Camec instantaneous hot water system cant quite deliver a hot shower. As they are designed to heat up to 37 degrees above the temp of the in...

albro · albro

I am looking at buying a Toyota coaster motor home. Has anyone got any advice.

Prawn · Prawn

I have just serviced my jack to the letter of the law. It jacks up perfectly, and lowers ok with van pushing it down, however if I just want to push the shaft down by hand it is really stiff, almost impossible. Anyone any clues? Thanks.

Rob Driver · Rob Driver

I came across these this morning on the world wide web.It appears that these are approved for use in Australia provided the correct size rating from the table is adhered to.These would be very handy for trailer boat users as there is nothing worse than dropping the threaded pin in the water when secu...

oiddad · oiddad

Hey all. My 2012 Navarra has a "smart" alternator. I have read and heard of people disabling it to make sure maximum volts are passed onto the aux battery. I have a redarc bcdc1225 charger right next to the aux battery in the back. I know how to disable the smart alternator, fairly simple, but is it worth i...

Buzz Lightbulb · Buzz Lightbulb

I bumped into a fellow traveller on the weekend who recommended lithium batteries. My current caravan battery is about six years old and I'm a bit worried that it might need replacing. I also thought that an extra battery would be good for the free stays, charging up when I have power and I also have a sol...

landy · landy

Thought some of you might find this link interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg3qKLBFyQg

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Topic		Started By	Replies	Views	Last Post
	Tight 12 Pin Connection on Caravan to Tow Vehicle (Preview) Hi all, I have just recently picked up my new van and tow vehicle. I am finding that the 12 pin male to female connector is extremely tight. I have had several vans and trailers in the past but have never come across one so tight. Any suggestions on how to fix this issue. It is a real fight to join both togethe...	RAINBIRD ROVERS	11	2799	10:58 PM Jul 28, 2021 by dabbler
	AM Reception in the modern cars (Preview) G'day, I've been told by car dealers, owners of radio equipment sales shops & my owner's hand book that "people these days don't listen to AM radio!" They stream it, listen to pre-recorded internet music, etc." Well I for one do & when travelling away from the major centres, it is often only th...	Warren-Pat_01	26	2529	10:04 AM Jul 27, 2021 by Jaahn
	removing silicon from van cladding (Preview) My Roadstar pop top has had silicon sealer spread in and along the horizontal seams in the cladding at the rear, the silicon seems to be about 10mm either side of the seam bit is almost invisible until I tow the van in a dusty area, then I have a dusty line across the back of the van on each seam, I have tried to...	oxleigh	2	1209	10:47 PM Jul 26, 2021 by Mein
	TV antenna poor reception. (Preview) Have been having Tv reception problems for a couple of years. Have winegard antenna the horizontal/vertical figure 8 style. the reception has been consistently poor. I have checked cable connections all nice and tight. Looked at junction box marked winegard 2way splitter ( marked 1in and 2out co...	jeepnudger	4	1346	07:17 PM Jul 26, 2021 by Radar
	Pin holes in carefree awning (Preview) Evening forum members, On rolling out carefree awning as a pre-trip check, we (the wife) noticed some pin holes in the fabric. I think I read, some time in the past, that you can use liquid paper to fill the holes? If not, can I smear a small dap (smoothed out) of wet area clear silicon, sikaflex or seam st...	J_KZ-1	18	1704	07:02 PM Jul 26, 2021 by STRETCH ARMSTRONG
	Turbocharging an Isuzu 4.6 4hg1 motor in a swagman motorhome. (Preview) I am looking at a Swagman signature 1998 with a 4hgi 4.6 engine. I have heard they are a bit sluggish so was thinking of adding a turbo charger.Any thoughts. thanks	Beaver7	7	2181	05:51 PM Jul 26, 2021 by Aus-Kiwi
	Water Tanks (Preview) New caravan user here and just going everything before first trip. When mains water is hooked up, Im guessing you dont need to use the water pumps ? Use pumps when drawing from tanks ? Also, does water mains go through the tanks or seperate route ? I ask because, Ive done a bleach clean of tanks and water li...	RobDor	12	2078	11:05 AM Jul 25, 2021 by bruceg
	Van house battery as a breakaway battery wiring change (Preview) Has anyone done this mod? using the breakaway box without the small battery, deleting the charge system and hooking up the system to work off the caravan house battery?. Have you any Pictures or wiring diagram of your alterations. I have checked this out and it is leagal to do, it needs to be active for 1...	Fozzee	11	3163	01:11 PM Jul 24, 2021 by Dick0
	Resealing the Caravan (Preview) Hi Techies, Well the NSW lockdown has given plenty of time a sit and ponder, what will I do next. Pricing up the cost to have my Roadstar resealed, I was quoted about est $4000 for removing all corner strips, replace with new and reseal. Then they get to it in maybe 3 months, this was the first and only est...	Ram Man	3	1699	03:56 PM Jul 23, 2021 by Ram Man
	First time off grid caravanning (Preview) Dear all, looking for some advice here please Its my first time going to an unpowered campsite and just using my van battery for power for 3 nights . Will be using my cook top stove and frig on gas settings obviously but I would like to know how long my van battery will last when using other appliances Ill b...	Ronzo	13	2862	09:46 PM Jul 21, 2021 by PeterD
	What is this called ? (Preview) Please see attached pic. The material of the black top half on the front ?? I know the bottom half is the black chequer plate stuff, but the top half is like a soft vinyl/plastic stuff with a bit of padding. Know what its called, or where I can get it please ? Thanks	RobDor	4	1542	12:42 PM Jul 19, 2021 by RobDor
	FUSION V-LPF-12-100 battery (Preview) Friend needed a replacement for his 2 x 100Ah house batteries while on tour and was offered this battery for what he considered a reasonable price and rang me for "expert approval" first. I could only give him generic advice at the time. Specs seem good and it does have a 3 year warranty so.. Just ha...	Tony LEE	2	2801	04:19 PM Jul 18, 2021 by Tony LEE
	Jayco journey 16.51 (Preview) Hi members I have bought a new jayco journey caravan and would like to isolate the on board agm battery between trips, unfortunately I cant locate the battery isolation switch,can anyone help please. If anyone has useful dos and donts about a new van setup it would be appreciate.	Snubby	21	3733	03:58 PM Jul 18, 2021 by KJB
	Pre heating hot water for instantaneous gas hot water system (Preview) Hi We are on the road at present doing what I refer to as our Spangled Drongo run, as it is the only bird that flys south in the winter. We are finding that in places our Camec instantaneous hot water system cant quite deliver a hot shower. As they are designed to heat up to 37 degrees above the temp of the in...	Petemox	17	2466	11:46 AM Jul 17, 2021 by Petemox
	toyota coasters (Preview) I am looking at buying a Toyota coaster motor home. Has anyone got any advice.	albro	9	4279	05:34 PM Jul 16, 2021 by yobarr
	Trailamate jack (Preview) I have just serviced my jack to the letter of the law. It jacks up perfectly, and lowers ok with van pushing it down, however if I just want to push the shaft down by hand it is really stiff, almost impossible. Anyone any clues? Thanks.	Prawn	4	961	02:59 PM Jul 16, 2021 by Radar
	Oh No! Not shackles again (Preview) I came across these this morning on the world wide web.It appears that these are approved for use in Australia provided the correct size rating from the table is adhered to.These would be very handy for trailer boat users as there is nothing worse than dropping the threaded pin in the water when secu...	Rob Driver	2	829	12:49 PM Jul 16, 2021 by Whenarewethere
	"Disabling Smart Alternator - Is it worth it? ( 1 2 3 ) (Preview) Hey all. My 2012 Navarra has a "smart" alternator. I have read and heard of people disabling it to make sure maximum volts are passed onto the aux battery. I have a redarc bcdc1225 charger right next to the aux battery in the back. I know how to disable the smart alternator, fairly simple, but is it worth i...	oiddad	69	21754	12:32 PM Jul 15, 2021 by Mamil
	Lithium battery parallel with old lead acid (Preview) I bumped into a fellow traveller on the weekend who recommended lithium batteries. My current caravan battery is about six years old and I'm a bit worried that it might need replacing. I also thought that an extra battery would be good for the free stays, charging up when I have power and I also have a sol...	Buzz Lightbulb	18	2885	01:05 PM Jul 11, 2021 by VK2FJW
	Lithium battries. (Preview) Thought some of you might find this link interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg3qKLBFyQg	landy	2	1628	12:39 PM Jul 11, 2021 by VK2FJW
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