Soon to be Starcraft 17.58.3 owner

MickL

Active Member
Feb 28, 2016
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Hi All

Been following the forum for a while but first post here. We have recently ordered a new Starcraft 17.58.3 OB and are currently just fine tuning some of the smaller details.
Thanks to this forum I think I have got most things covered but if anyone can see anything I may have missed I’d love to hear from them.
I have added most things from new that I want as I often mix up my ambitions and abilities and have big plans that never eventuate so I have tried to reduce the things I will have to do to it.

Options added at factory were....

Fibreglass walls all round
Roof air
150watt solar
164L Thetford fridge
Drifter control panel
2 x 12v power sockets - Under hutch at the end of double bed and next to bunks above cupboard
Wind up Antenna, TV, CD with external speakers
Double Power point above buffet below light switch
Annexe light on external drivers side above rear of fridge
External shower to the rear of bottom bunk
Extra hatch door - forward of ext shower hatch
Picnic table
Jockey wheel centre of draw bar
Bike rack
Alko ESC
Extended draw bar
Spare wheel to rear bumper bar
ATM upgrade 100kg extra payload
Caravan cover

I have also requested the two below items and have been told I can request it but the factory may say no. (I know people have had the below things done so if anyone can point me to the threads they are covered in that would be great so I can reference them when discussing with dealer)

3 way light switches and night lights
Tri fold table - For those who have done the tri-fold table would you recommend it and does it cause issues for more than 2 people to sit at?

Only thing I’m not sure about is adding a third water tank. I was considering adding a grey water tank but the cost is double the cost of a normal water tank. I wasn’t sure if I should bother at all or possibly add a third normal tank which I may not use initially and then could just re plumb it to a grey water tank later….Any ideas or thoughts on this would be appreciated as I’m not sure what is different on a grey water set up to justify the cost which is over double a standard tank…

Once delivered we'll have an Anderson from car to battery fitted as well as the ant flap kit. I also have a couple of sirocco 12v fans to fit so not sure if I will get them to do that as well just to save hassle later.

Now the long wait begins. We’ve requested a July / August delivery as I have just ripped down my shed and current caravan carport and have ordered a new larger shed and carport for the new van. As a result I needed time to get that sorted so we had to have a long lead time…..

Towing is with a T/D triton so might look at getting an exhaust and ecu tune done to assist with lag down low but once up and moving its a great car and pulls weight well....

Lastly and kind of off topic. The old shed had a 2.7l x 1.0w x 1.5D besser block and concrete pit in the floor. The new shed will be going over the old spot so I could keep the pit and incorporate it into the new shed slab. Never used it before so just after people’s opinions on keeping the pit vs filling it in….

Thanks again

Mick
 

Dobbie

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Jun 18, 2014
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Congrats on plans and organisation!

Re grey water tank.....it depends on how much you intend to free camp....and where.

We do a lot of free camping and have done so in qld, western and central new, vic, sa and wa. Other states before I even knew what grey water was.

We've put together a super duper grey water collection system for use in places which insist on grey water collection. It's an old 20 litre water container used with a $2 Supercheap funnel. It has a large sign on it which states " grey water only".

That's for when our bucket is insufficient for local regulations.

So far, the grey water "tank" hasn't been needed but, I'm sure, the pc nanny state regulations will catch up with us soon.

We always collect our water and transfer to local vegetation. It's the idiots who free camp on dry ground and run a waste hose anywhere away from their vans that cause the problems. Their water collects in low area, becomes mud and is a health hazard.

So, in answer to your question, will you need a grey water tank often? If not, I would suggest the cost is not justified.
 
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FiveInAVan

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Sep 17, 2015
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Welcome to the Starcraft 17.58.3 wait club! Sounds like you have covered most of your bases with your chosen options. We kept our options paired right down to the basics. The 12v on top of the cupboard near the bunk, is that an additional 12v? I thought there was a 12v and powerpoint above the cupboard as standard?
Hope the wait goes quickly for you. Ours is due off the line in May for a June delivery.
 
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MickL

Active Member
Feb 28, 2016
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Thanks for the feed back guys. I think I will leave the grey water for now and might follow Dobies lead with the grey water jerry can idea.
As far as 12V goes I think there is a 240V point and antenna point there but not 12V socket. I figure if they put one there for inside that cupboard I can change it to a junction box and run points to both bunks and the TV above the cupboard from the one location one I get it. Thats the plan anyway :)
 

17triton

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Feb 24, 2013
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Welcome @MickL to the forum. As you may of seen I picked my van up last week. We ordered the powerpoint at buffet - didn't get put in so got a refund as it would be to hard to retrofit. Ordered trifold - told before build they wouldn't do at the factory. I got them to supply std table unfitted and I am going to do myself. We asked for 600 payload -got 525 which is a little better than the 475std. We ordered extra light on off side- they forgot and Page bros retrofitted. Very happy with our van but frustrated that they can't follow order sheets in the factory. We love our van and so will you. We tow with a Triton and the van is brilliant to tow . The pit could come in handy to get under and tidy everything up under the van.
 
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FiveInAVan

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Sep 17, 2015
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Brisbane, QLD
As far as 12V goes I think there is a 240V point and antenna point there but not 12V socket. :)

Ah yes, sorry, right you are! I wonder where the 12v is that comes with the OB on the inside as standard. Guess I'll find out in June! I never bothered to look where all the power points etc were. We will work with what we've got and besides I like surprises lol. Good idea putting one near the bunk for the kids.
 

Dobbie

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Jun 18, 2014
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The dealer will send you a final plan for you to check and sign off on.....about a month, I think, before delivery.

All points should be on the plan.

It's worth checking it really carefully as they can't change once you've signed off and they start with glue and screws and sikaflex ....and all the other things they use to sew it together.

Then you'll get really excited!!!
 

MickL

Active Member
Feb 28, 2016
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I think the standard ones are outside by the 240 volt point and also under the hutch where the TV plug/ booster is.

My dad found a new adapter that Jaycar just got in which plugs into the 12 volt cigarette jack the TV normally uses. It then has 3 individually switched cig plugs on it as well as a 2.1 amp usb on the wall plug and a 1.0 amp usb on the triple socket.

Basically you unplug the TV, plug in the adapter. Use one of the three on the adapter for your TV and end up with two spare cig sockets and 2 USB jacks. So I'm thinking if I was to get one of them @ $25 I could move the extra 12 volt plug by the main bed to where I want my 12 volt fan and it won't cost me any extra.... They look good and have a little mount that lets you spin the plug around any direction etc...

Jaycar apparently only just got them in last week but they look great.
 
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Dobbie

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Jun 18, 2014
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I'd be careful as some of these extension plugs, with adapters, just decrease the available power to each of the extended plugs.

Depends again on the wiring but I'd opt for properly fitted plugs to make sure they work.

We've tried some extension plug stuff and found it doesn't really work.....one might work but no more than one.
 
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MickL

Active Member
Feb 28, 2016
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Thanks for that info I will keep that in mind. I really only want the TV and possible Sat box running on the cig sockets and the USB's at the main bed for charging phone/s so should work ok in that instance. Generally we wouldn't have all of them running at the same time either.
 

MickL

Active Member
Feb 28, 2016
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So got the call Friday that our van is at the dealer 3 weeks early!

Normally I would be very happy with that but at the moment I don't have anywhere to store it. As mentioned above, I got my old shed ripped down and side of block cleared and since then have had constant delays with just about everything. Shed went up a few weeks ago and we did the slab 2 weekends ago after doing all the plumbing and electrical etc.

My carport was then delivered 3 weeks late which was 2 weeks ago and then prior to installers coming we had days of torrential rain making it impossible for it to be installed. As a result I have had to unpack the carport and its spread all over my back yard! It was looking like being installed this week but we've just had another 50mm or so rain in the last 24 hours so I doubt that's happening! Concrete booked for this weekend is cancelled as well! Needless to say I'm a bit over the rain and mud! I've attached a few pics of the progress anyway as threads are always better with photo's!


IMG_1568.JPG IMG_1715.JPG IMG_1809.JPG IMG_1812.JPG IMG_1843.JPG IMG_1882.JPG IMG_1962.JPG IMG_1979.JPG

Anyway I have organized to go down tomorrow and look over it to make sure that anything not done can be sorted. I just spend half an hour going over the contract and heaps of emails writing a list of extras and things to check. I must say I'm a little bit nervous.....

Is there a checklist somewhere that most people use when checking or picking up new vans?
 

MickL

Active Member
Feb 28, 2016
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OK. Spent an hour or so looking over the van yesterday and was pretty happy with everything. They got most things right except one 12 volt point I asked to be in the back wardrobe was put in the side of the shower wall instead but I can live with that. The cassette door didn't clear the awning leg as expected and they didn't add as much payload as I asked for. The dealer is going to sort out the payload issue for me and the leg I will probably look at doing what Pauly has done and add another bracket next to the original one. All in all pretty happy as they even managed to put the drifta, stereo and solar reg where I asked them to...

IMG_2033.JPG IMG_2034.JPG IMG_2037.JPG
 

bloke

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Apr 25, 2016
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OK. Spent an hour or so looking over the van yesterday and was pretty happy with everything. They got most things right except one 12 volt point I asked to be in the back wardrobe was put in the side of the shower wall instead but I can live with that. The cassette door didn't clear the awning leg as expected and they didn't add as much payload as I asked for. The dealer is going to sort out the payload issue for me and the leg I will probably look at doing what Pauly has done and add another bracket next to the original one. All in all pretty happy as they even managed to put the drifta, stereo and solar reg where I asked them to...

View attachment 43137 View attachment 43138 View attachment 43139
Van and options look great!

How much extra payload did you end up with, and did they charge you for the upgrade?
 

MickL

Active Member
Feb 28, 2016
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SA
How much extra payload did you end up with, and did they charge you for the upgrade?

No charge on payload you just have to ask for it. They only added 25kg so total of 500kg. The dealer is going to sort that out and have more added though as it was agreed prior to build that more would be added.

@MickL , where did they end up putting the solar regulator? I have requested that ours be on the kitchen side of the fridge, away from the top bunk basically.

Our solar control is in that open cupboard to the left of the drifta as I didn't really want to see it. Its a bit hard to see due to the quality phone pics I took. This might help.

IMG_2035.JPG

I love new Vans, pity I cannot afford one......................:(

Either can I ;)

Only think I didn't mention was they refused to do the trifold table as well. We argued for ages about it but it wasn't going to happen so I gave up. They did reduce the width of the table for me though by 150mm which has made the standard table heaps better to sit at.

Only thing to do now which will be done before pick up (could be a while unless the rain stops) is have the stone stomper made and fitted, AFK fitted and having a 6 B&S feed run from draw bar to battery for charging on the go or using my portable solar panels.

Question for the 17.58.3 owners. What specs did your van come in with (tow ball, tare, atm etc). Also is it normal for the cupboard under the sink to be almost useless due to all the hoses etc running through the floor?
 
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