20.63-1

xpanda

xpanda

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Kerry Miles said:
Thanks again! I had a quiet afternoon so the wife and I ducked over to Bayswater to check out a 20.63 without the slide that they had in the yard ready to deliver (prob to one of you!)

Andrew - Double check your table sizes, Ive now seen 4 20.63's 3 with slide outs and one without and the table in the non slide model was twice the size!! After looking at this van today the slide out looks like a complete waste of money, you prob get room around the table for 2 extra kids but the table is only 1m square so it would even make playing poker hard!! Not to mention that the battery has to go into the boot and you lose alot of the storage under the seats. tread your own path mate but the ones ive seen have locked us into the non slide model. I'm getting 3 quotes, before i pull the trigger. I just hope the local dealer looks after me, but i won't hesitate to go elsewhere if he doesn't

Relgate - AC is standard and can't see the benefit in upgrading to an IBIS for $900 to get climate control and a remote. ESC is def on the list.
Looked at the base station briefly but the bunks are a little spartan for the kids, plus i'd be worried about opening the door to find the back end of the van missing or on fire or something!! lol! Outdoor shower might get a mention over lunch tomorrow i reckon , thanks mate

Xpanda - The nav has a dealer fit towbar and its rated at 3t with 300kg towball weight. theres no mistaking that its a big van but every time we reconsider, we come back to it as it just has everything! the OB adds 200kg and the dealer i spoke with said that the OB version won't tow as well as the on road version. he reckons that the higher tyre walls and the higher van is not as stable.

Antman, Chartrock - Thanks for the input, i was thinking of a 300w solar kit but then found out today the vans don't come with an inverter! so now i'm thinking that there is no need for a big solar system. bloody hell i would have thought in this day and age an inverter would be a no brainer, that way you could camp anywhere regardless of powered sites and what not. anyhow, like i've said i'm pretty green.
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Hi Kerry
Your right the 20 has a great layout - by the sounds of it we looked at the same van and we also liked the non slideout dinette (very roomy, and also nifty how the table can be completely removed and it becomes a lounge). Sounds like your ready to take the plunge & good on you
 
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Peakay

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May 14, 2013
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small world, The dealer said that he showed someone through a few days ago!! cheers, yep just waiting to see who is going to give us the best deal, then try and forget about it for 3 months so that we can sleep at night!
 
Antman

Antman

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Re your solar, if you decide in the future to free camp heaps, you can always purchase a brief case solar setup ready to charge your batteries and portable inverter if you have 240v stuff to run. Save heaps of money this way and then only take them when you need them.

Just thought of something else I have not seen you mention, were you looking at having an anderson plug on the van and car? The reason i ask is that if you do decide in the future to have a brief case setup the anderson plug makes it pretty simple to plug in. :) I also use my anderson plug on the car to plug my 12v compressor into. Puts the compressor down the back of the car and then can reach all tyres easily. :)
 
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Peakay

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Cheers mate, ive got one at the front of the tub that my second battery plugs into (The navs have no room under the bonnet for a second bat) i guess I could just run a long lead off the plug to the van. Would this be instead of a hot wire in the 12 pin plug? or is this for charging the battery in the van? i assume the second so that you can just plug the solar panel into it to charge.
 
Andrewm02

Andrewm02

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Feb 25, 2013
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image.jpg
Hmmm that's interesting, I'm not sure how you get a larger table into a a smaller space. Heres a couple of pics. Top with no slideout and below with slideout. We did debate whether it was worth it, but once we saw it in the flesh we were sold.


image.jpg
 
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Peakay

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yeah its a wierd set up. the lounge is bigger in the slide out model, 2 adults can sit side by side (back to bed or fridge) but the table is half the size. Sorry mate i missed your final decision, with or without??
 
Antman

Antman

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Hey mate
I have a 7 pin plug from car to van and then the anderson. The anderson does basically replace the hot wire in the 12 pin from my knowledge. The beauty of the anderson is a much larger cable and quality of power for charging the vans battery but more importantly to keep good power to the fridge whilst it is running on 12volt whilst travelling.
And yes so you can plug the solar straight into it to charge the van back up. :)
 
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Peakay

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a bloody good idea, now i just need a shed big enough to work on the van in! I don't reckon id get the dealer to fit it as they will charge me profit plus 30% on parts for 10m of cable. cheers
 
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relgate

relgate

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Kerry Miles said:
Antman, Chartrock - Thanks for the input, i was thinking of a 300w solar kit but then found out today the vans don't come with an inverter! so now i'm thinking that there is no need for a big solar system. bloody hell i would have thought in this day and age an inverter would be a no brainer, that way you could camp anywhere regardless of powered sites and what not. anyhow, like i've said i'm pretty green.
Click to expand...


Check this out
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/271097486502?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I think it's the one that ROnEM has.
 
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Peakay

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thats great, it does look impressive, but for us the kids are only little so the bigger table was better suited for us. the pic was just another version of yours. showing the 1m x 2m table (approx size)
 
ROnEM

ROnEM

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Burnsy

Burnsy

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Another thing to consider Kerry is the ibis aircon is a true reverse cycle heating, I think we paid an extra $800 and well worth it if its cold. Standard models and correct me if I'm wrong have a heating element and will not produce the same amount of heat. My mate has the standard aircon in his 18, last time we were away he asked me if my heating was working ok, there is a big difference. Just something to consider.

Cheers.
 
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Peakay

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May 14, 2013
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Ordered today!!

Thanks for all the input guys, i gave each idea some thought, used some and didn't others.

The shopping list.....
  • 20.63-1 without slide out (it just didn't seem to give any extra room as the 300mm or so that it extended out was taken up by the 300mm bigger lounge)
  • extended drawbar
  • gas bayonet - they won't fit 2 any more due to gas regs
  • extra light forward of the main door
  • jockey wheel moved to inside A frame
  • external shower
  • 150w solar kit
  • antenna and provision for tv
  • privacy screen
  • few extra 12v points
  • ESC
  • shelves in the robe
  • Full annex
  • Drifter control panel
  • aux battery
  • stuck with the double bunks and got the bed conversion for the main table
I was able to buy local in the end as they were substantially cheaper than Melb and Geelong! Thanks again for all your help!
 
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