Hi Guy's. We picked up our 2016 16.49.4 Touring a few weeks ago and have had 1 night away in it which has led to a few newbie questions that I want to clear up;
- We've had a Swan previously but never had a roll out awning. Ours is a Carefree with new vinyl and tube. What should we be wary of as I know some people pack them up when the wind gets up, or use ropes to tie them down (our van came with 2 ropes with the spring ends and wooden tension adjuster). Does the wind lift and tear them? Or break the arms? Are they reasonably safe to leave wound out if tied down whilst away at the beach or on a day trip?
- The innerspring mattresses are a joke. We had a roughly 5cm Ikea memory foam topper on top of it and could still feel the springs. We previously used this on the foam mattress in our Swan and slept better than at home. We will be adding a thick wool under blanket over the Christmas trip to see if that helps enough. I've even found a mob in Melbourne that will do custom 16cm thick memory foam with the zip up the middle. We have a Tempur mattress at home so like the memory foam feel. Unfortunately they can't provide a sample to lie on so unsure if we should drop $5-600 on it as a leap of faith.
- The fresh water tank is about 80% full. Is there a bung or valve on the tank to drain it? We have no water pump. I don't want to carry the weight and have bought an inline filter for mains water, as we really only stay in caravan parks.
- We bought ours with storm covers but no privacy screens. Do they both use the same track for fitment? I'd probably find privacy screens more useful.
- 1 drop down ALKO steadie has snapped at the top of the swinging arm. I've ordered a replacement but they all barely swing down to vertical on our touring model. Is that fairly standard? The new 1 I've ordered says they are 17mm winding nut. Has the size changed in the last 3 years? I couldn't get any smaller than a 19mm ratchet on our installed ones, I'm almost certain it wasn't me getting too fierce with the impact driver that damaged it, but will be using a drill with torque limiter in future.