Questions re 1st trip

[Boatboy50]

Hey Guys,

Picked up our new to us 07 16.49.3 Outback recently, and had our 1st shakedown trip over easter.

Our handover was pretty poor, and we're 1st time caravanners, so sorry if the questions are stupid.

1. There is a warning alarm coming I think from the HWS. It beeps twice, quick beeps about 3 seconds apart. It then won't beep for about 5 minutes. It's sperratic and sometimes won't beep for an hour, then again in quick succession. Is this letting me know the HWS has reached temp, or is there something else wrong? It's very annoying while trying to sleep. Is there something i'm doing wrong, like the HWS is not meant to be on permanently when the van is being used? This is on 240V. I havn't run it on gas yet.

2. I couldn't get any reception (nothing at all) on the TV for the kids at Tin Can Bay. Could the TV be analogue and not digital? At my home on the Gold Coast I have had very poor reception on this TV. I have I believe an aftermarket TV aerial, which is about 1.5ft wide by 1ft tall. What's my 1st port of call here to get it sorted?

3. I'm towing with a 2011 Nissan Navara ST (3.0 Tonne tow limit). It tows quite well, but at 110km/h it gets a bit of light feeling with sway. At 100km/h it seems rock solid. Do you guys use load levellers/sway bars on this size rig, even though it only weighs around 2.0T.

4. On upcoming trips we plan on doing some free camping. Is a generator considered taboo by some, or vital?

We are considering a long trip soon, so would like to get these issues sorted out.

Darren

 

[Coastrunner]

I personally love the sound of a solar panel recharging my battery! hehe!

Complete silence.

I also prefer my solar panels roof mounted.

No theft or storage concerns.

 

[Boatboy50]

Hey Mate,

I've got solar panels up there too. I'm just not sure they are up to the task of running everything, where a genny will give me air con, fridge and HWS without using gas or the concern of running out of power.

Darren

 

[chartrock]

The HWS does not have a warning system in it.

Is the noise a deeper sound than an electronic beep? If your 12v water pump is left on, it does give a couple of quick sounds and then stops for a period of time before repeating the noise, depending on how the pressure in the pump bleeds off. Try switching the pump off overnight and see if the noise stops.

Where abouts on the GC are you?

Paul

 

[Burnsy]

Hi boatboy50, I have 16-49-1 no hot water but could be pump as mentioned. Your tv reception could be your arial....is it digital compatible? I use a 12v booster with my arial which is one of those fold up PVC jobs, basically rabit ears and works fine. When I tow,normally at 100k's but at times 110 it can move a bit sometimes especially in wind but the 10k will make a big difference in fuel economy and your really not saving much time. Cheers and enjoy you van!

 

[Coastrunner]

Hey Mate,

I've got solar panels up there too. I'm just not sure they are up to the task of running everything, where a genny will give me air con, fridge and HWS without using gas or the concern of running out of power.

Darren

Hi Burnsy.

I`m only going on my very limited experience but whenever I have gone away to unpowered sites, I`ve only used battery power for lights and the occasional tv. I live down south so haven`t really needed to use the air con to cool us down, I also use the fridge on gas.

I`ve only had a generator for a month. It came with the van I purchased. I`m actually thinking about selling it because I doubt I`ll ever really need to use it.

I`ve got a couple of mates that took a years Long Service and gone around Australia {Lucky buggars}. I asked them both if they used their genies. Only one said he had, and the reason he used it was because he had never used it. He started it and recharged the batteries that didn`t need recharging because the solars did the job. He just wanted to see it going. He said "I paid all this money for this thing, I should at least say I started it." He`s a funny guy.

In saying that, I`m sure there`s others that swear by them. I imagine if your up in northern QL they`re probably the best thing for those hot nights.

 

[Boatboy50]

Hey Guys,

The noise sounded like it was coming from the HWS area, so it may have been the pumps. I'll look into it. As we were tapped into mains water, I never turned the pumps on. Maybe the switch down low was bumped by the kids? I never heard the pump pressure up once though. I'll look into it when I get home tonight.

I'm home based at Parkwood.

As far as the aerial is concerned, I was plugged into my own aerial, and also the parks aerial, and couldn't get anything. I really don't know how to tell if it's digital or not. The two aerials use two different plug ends, I do know that, with both connections on the van. I'll try it again at home and see how I go getting something.

Thanks again for the ideas guys, i'll look into it, and report my findings.

Darren

 

[Thirstyviv]

G'day Boatboy50,
Mate the sound you probably hearing from around the HWS area is actually the water being fed into the van via the mains connection I found this out the other day when down at Wollongong

 

[ElectricGuru]

Hey Guys,

Picked up our new to us 07 16.49.3 Outback recently, and had our 1st shakedown trip over easter.

Our handover was pretty poor, and we're 1st time caravanners, so sorry if the questions are stupid.

Hey yourself, how did the trip go, where did you end up? Don’t forget some photos? Don't worry, no such thing as stupid questions (except the ones I ask my wife... hee hee)

2. Ok, couple of things to check here. Does the antenna require a powered booster to be plugged in the line somewhere? If so then you won't get any reception until the power is on the system. Other thing to check is all of your connections. I had to replace a couple of connections including the external one before I got any decent picture quality. Even the slightest bit of oxide on a tv connector or a kink in the cable can alter the signal and cause interference. All antennas are digital ready, just may be the signal level needs to be a bit stronger to be decoded properly. Post a couple of photos and we might be able to assist.

3. Another thing to check is your weight distribution in the van. If you are not loading the van correctly to have the right downball weight, this can lead to issues. Also check your tyre pressure on both the car and the van. There are several threads here that talk about it from experts in the know.(Check out this thread)

4. A generator is there to give you some high power capabilities and battery charging when the solar might not be working the best, ie bad weather. Depending on the generator capacity, you can run certain appliances no probs like the aircon. (Keep the fridge on gas) If you do get one, do your research as there are many brands and types (Check this thread out). Main thing is with free camping, make sure it is a noise suppressed unit that won't annoy the neighbours.

Solar will easily supply you with what's needed if the load is managed. Do you have LED lights? If not, this can really cut down your power usage and make it very easy to be off grid with just the solar. (Check this thread out - Thanks Boots).

Cheers!

 

[ElectricGuru]

Or this thread on a similar subject regarding power supply selection...

(Sorry, Edit function kept coming up with a 403/404 error)

 

[Boatboy50]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for your help.

This alarm noise really has me stumped. It's definately a digital noise like an alarm.

I've checked the water pumps and they are off. I heard the noise again tonight, on battery power with no power lead plugged in. Microwave, fridge, AC, water heater, Oven, water pumps ect were all switched off. I hung around to try to hear it again for another hour and it didn't go off.:frown: I think I might remove the smoke alarm just in case it's that.

I went through my owners manuals, and apparently the solar panels on board are pretty good, 4 x panels running dual bateries. Almost 6k it cost the orignal owner!

I am running an explorer RV Reception systems antennae. I couldn't get reception again tonight at home! I couldn't find a booster anywhere, although the aerial uses a power lead, so it may be built in.

Another silly question. When should the bed end flys be used? I havn't unrolled them yet in fear of having to put them back in their small sock housing. I sit just in terrible conditions to make sure the bed ends are completely dry? When we bought the van it had rained for a week heavily prior, and the van was completely dry without them. On our trip it also rained a bit and it all stayed dry, again without them.

Here's a pic of the rig hooked up ready to leave. Didn't get any shots of her at the park, i'll leave that until later.

Darren

 

[ElectricGuru]

Hey Boatboy, van looks very nice indeed. I have the 2006 16.49-2 model, very similar.

About the bed end flys, don’t worry about them too much. I have them out every time just to help keep the rain off. They are very easy to fold away, I am at the point where I can fold away the flys and pack away the bed ends myself. Just takes a bit of practice. You should have it down after the 2nd or 3rd beer. One thing though is that I leave the front fly in the van while travelling due to the wind resistance and they can get damaged at 100 km/h.

Just with the alarm, I see by the photos that you have the dual water tanks. Is there a level indicator for the water tanks that may be alarming you that they are empty? Just a thought...

With the antenna, yes there needs to be a power supply plugged in to the coaxial wall socket that supplies power for the boost function to work. I found this info on their website (is this it?) so you should have everything shown on the photo especially the power supply. It looks like there is a LED on the faceplate so if you are not getting the LED when you plug it in, you may have a faulty unit that will need to be replaced. Best to give them a call, their number is 1800 652 705.



So far as the solar, 4 panels with dual batteries should well and truly give you enough to free camp. If you are worried about powering certain devices like laptops or small appliances, you could look at an small inverter but as mentioned, the aircon, kettle, hair dryer, etc will need the generator. The fridge on gas is quite efficient and doesn't use much at all.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

Gil

 

[Boatboy50]

Hey Mate,

Yes, that's the one. It does have the power cord with the LED on the wall.

I also do have a water level sensor, it is reading 3/4 so I don't see that being the issue.

I tested the smoke alarm last night and the battery was dead, but it made a totally different noise to what i'm hearing. Only time will tell I guess.

Darren

 

[relgate]

I dont suppose it has a break away somewhere? Could that be beeping coz of flat battery?

 

[Burnsy]

G'day Darren, sounds a bit like that super cheap auto add on tv where the bloke strips his commodore to find a rattle and turns out it's his missus earrings in the ash tray ... Don't spose the kids have lost a watch or a toy somewhere?? Good luck with it, hope you find it....let us know when you do! Cheers Burnsy.

 

[Capt. Gadget]

Hey Guys,



I went through my owners manuals, and apparently the solar panels on board are pretty good, 4 x panels running dual bateries. Almost 6k it cost the orignal owner!


Darren

Hi Darren Did you buy it second hand or new? if second hand maybe someone has lost a watch of an alarm clock in the cupboard

Just a thought
Cheers Grant

 

[Boatboy50]

Hey Guys,

Just got back onto the site after a while, and found my old thread!

For anyone that seaches for this problem in the future, I ended up working out that the alarm was coming from the battery management system which runs from the solar.

The alarm was to tell me that I had more power drawing than what I had coming in through the solar.

A quick read of the management systems owners manual told me how to decipher the morse code to turn the alarm off!

I've since sold this van, and moved onto a larger one with it's own issues!

Regards

Darren

 

[Brad]

Thanks for the tip Darren.

 

[Glenn]

Thanks Darren, at least you to the bottom of it !

 

[Burnsy]

Ah yes, the old owners manual.....always last resort!