2014 Expanda OB 17.56.....

[Buckleys]

I got some nice cannisters and i reckon they're similar size to the ones you have. Didn't have any luck finding a spice rack so i rang our jayco dealer and he said theres 3 different ones in the book. If you're out in your van could l pretty please have the measurements of the basket size of your racks? Then i'll order it from jayco. My husband thinks l should stop looking at everyones photos on this forum! lol

Yes Michelle, we pick our van up in September.... my husband is "quivering" with my mods list already!! Love this forum!

 

[Pace]

I also wanted to find a better place for the bed end poles (I think that's the name for them) as it is PITA to go outside sorting through the boot get it.. Bought couple of hooks (excellent idea by someone).. and it worked a treat. Hope you guys like it too...

We place them in the mattress and fold up together when bed goes away.

 

[michelle menzel]

Very impressive, i'm borrowing my nanas heavy duty sewing machine to do some work on our boat so might have a go at some dust covers how do yours attach to the vents?

 

[TRAKADU]

Very impressive, i'm borrowing my nanas heavy duty sewing machine to do some work on our boat so might have a go at some dust covers how do yours attach to the vents?

Hi Michelle, I have used "Saw n Stick" Velcro. Sawed the non stick strip on the material and stuck the sticky strip around the vents on the van (if it makes sense)
We used a normal sawing machine to do the job as the material I bought was quite thin..


Cheers TRAKADU

 

[Stephen Galvin]

Hi Mate great thread and Mods I just got mine as well same model and drove it back to WA . After reading your thread I might like to add a few things worth checking as Mine had some issues on the 10 day trip coming home. I ripped three brake lines apart as they were wired to short if the trailer got some bounce. So check this I rewired soldering the wires together as couldn't find the plugs then heat shrink then Conduit , cable tied across the suspension ( The new Independent) cable tied and made sure there was heaps of slack . I did it this way as it could jam in the springs the way Jayco did it as well as to short. Also did 200km of very good dirt and noted stone damage behind the back wheels of the van so bought some mudguard extensions today and the drains were starting to get battered. So I will protect these as well, longer guards will help.

In regards to your stone guard I had one of these on my camper and would not have one again! peppered the back of the car with rocks and even though I didnt bust a rear window I saw a lot that had on my trip around Oz I have just ordered a Stone Stomper. Also in regards to the wiring of your tank sensors just check as small wires and very exposed. I have redone mine.

Anyway great thread I am now following you as well . Think I will start my own thread of what I do but will be doing some of the same things you have done.

Quick question where did you get the rings for the straps to hold the table in?

Galvo

 

[Bluey]

AND...final couple of modifications.... some dust covers to cover the vents while travelling.. (These should come off once appliance are in use particularly when the fridge using the GAS to power up). I also installed a 12V charger kit which also had USB chargers.

Jayco made provision for the second battery so I installed the second battery (120AH Full River). The inverter is also in however, ran out of time to do the wiring... next week I think... .. I want to put a coloured GPO and a volt meter.

Some pics of the rear-view camera I installed some time ago and my toolbox which I finally got a chance to organise..... Thanks guys TRAKADU

wow trakadu ur unstoppable love ur work was it hard to mount camera and run the cable should come to our beaufort lake van park weekend

 

[TRAKADU]

Hi Mate great thread and Mods I just got mine as well same model and drove it back to WA . After reading your thread I might like to add a few things worth checking as Mine had some issues on the 10 day trip coming home. I ripped three brake lines apart as they were wired to short if the trailer got some bounce. So check this I rewired soldering the wires together as couldn't find the plugs then heat shrink then Conduit , cable tied across the suspension ( The new Independent) cable tied and made sure there was heaps of slack . I did it this way as it could jam in the springs the way Jayco did it as well as to short. Also did 200km of very good dirt and noted stone damage behind the back wheels of the van so bought some mudguard extensions today and the drains were starting to get battered. So I will protect these as well, longer guards will help.

In regards to your stone guard I had one of these on my camper and would not have one again! peppered the back of the car with rocks and even though I didnt bust a rear window I saw a lot that had on my trip around Oz I have just ordered a Stone Stomper. Also in regards to the wiring of your tank sensors just check as small wires and very exposed. I have redone mine.

Anyway great thread I am now following you as well . Think I will start my own thread of what I do but will be doing some of the same things you have done.

Quick question where did you get the rings for the straps to hold the table in?

Galvo

Thanks Galvo. Good to hear that you liked the thread and hopefully we can share ideas which is why I like this forum. I am glad you got home safely. I do have couple of questions in regards to what you mentioned above.
1. When you said brake lines, did you mean the cable which runs from the front to back wheels? (the metal wire for electric brakes)
2. So you had stones bounced back from the Stone guard onto your back window?? (I thought it is there to stop it) please confirm

By the way, I bought the rings and straps from Bunnings but can't remember how much I paid for it.. it wasn't that expensive...

Cheers TRAKADU

 

[TRAKADU]

wow trakadu ur unstoppable love ur work was it hard to mount camera and run the cable should come to our beaufort lake van park weekend

Hi @Bluey,
I think I am nearly there with my mods and looking forward to go somewhere soon.. . The rear-view camera was not that hard to install. However, you need to be a bit careful - the rule is measure twice and drill once . I measured more than twice to be honest particularly when I had to drill the back fibreglass for the camera. The cable was run from inside to the bottom of the van and then through a whole (which I drilled on the floorboard) to outside. Then the cable was sent underneath the chassis to the front draw bar (you will notice there are lots of factory drilled wholes in the cross chassis bars which you can utilise). Lot of cable ties to secure the cable and heaps of Sikaflex to cover the wholes to waterproof. I can take some pics on the weekend and post here if you like.... photos always help....

Cheers TRAKADU.

 

[cruza driver]

Time it reward yourself @TRAKADU with a trip after all this work

 

[Stephen Galvin]

Hi Trakadu I will start a thread so it is easier for others to find and sea . but here goes

On all the wheels near the brakes is a white connector plug connecting the brakes to the main electric cables going to car these all but one ripped out and were damaged only one survived they either got caught in the spring or were to short I never ran over any animals

This is the back left its the only one that was working when I got back to Perth. And as you can see its not very well done.

Repaired hardwired and soldered

Some Pics of it finished offSee how I ran across the top then away from the springs. As leaving slack close it could be blown back by wind into the springs then squashed or jammed ripping them apart.

Hope this helps I picked up the fittings from bunnings today and also that grip for the step already on Thanks

Might want to check your tank sensor wiring this is how I cleaned mine up just needs a dob of Sika now. But wires had no protection and were just shoved everywhere and were on sharp gal edges.

 

[Stephen Galvin]

Forgot to mention about the stone guard, Yeah what happens is the stones get picked up off your rear wheels or front and bounce up or get flicked up, if the mesh on the screen is tight they act like a trampoline and shoot the rocks back at rear of car depending on the angle they hit at. Stone Stomper is designed to keep the rocks below the chassis and actually protects the A frame as well. Check out this thread as holden_man.2268/ has done some great rock/Dustproofing as well http://www.expandasdownunder.com/threads/hms-central-australia-trip.3136/ The guards do protect the front of the van/camper but there are some side affects in my experience.

 

[Drover]

My shade cloth stone screen I have the material a bit slack and you can actually see the stones some times just lazily falling away as they hit it, need the screen to absorb most of the force from the rocks. I found I had to go over all cables, pipes and connections, most needed some sort of improvements or correct instalation. The 12v electrics and plumbing was crap.

 

[Bluey]

Hi @Bluey,
I think I am nearly there with my mods and looking forward to go somewhere soon.. . The rear-view camera was not that hard to install. However, you need to be a bit careful - the rule is measure twice and drill once . I measured more than twice to be honest particularly when I had to drill the back fibreglass for the camera. The cable was run from inside to the bottom of the van and then through a whole (which I drilled on the floorboard) to outside. Then the cable was sent underneath the chassis to the front draw bar (you will notice there are lots of factory drilled wholes in the cross chassis bars which you can utilise). Lots cable ties to secure the cable and heaps of Sikaflex to cover the wholes to waterproof. I can take some pics on the weekend and post here if you like.... photos always help....

Cheers TRAKADU.

check out the thread on the weekend at beaufort lake September 19 til the 21st just the weekend beaufort not far away from us maybe 2 hrs or a bit less as for pics all pics are good pics im good with dirt and digging we call it bulking !!!!!!! digging a big hole last big one was 27 meters new cancer hospital im not so good with things like u I never want to wreak anything if it dosnt go to plan

 

[TRAKADU]

Hi Trakadu I will start a thread so it is easier for others to find and sea . but here goes

On all the wheels near the brakes is a white connector plug connecting the brakes to the main electric cables going to car these all but one ripped out and were damaged only one survived they either got caught in the spring or were to short I never ran over any animals View attachment 24477
View attachment 24476

This is the back left its the only one that was working when I got back to Perth. And as you can see its not very well done.
View attachment 24478
Repaired hardwired and soldered
View attachment 24479
Some Pics of it finished offSee how I ran across the top then away from the springs. As leaving slack close it could be blown back by wind into the springs then squashed or jammed ripping them apart.
View attachment 24480 View attachment 24481 View attachment 24482

Hope this helps I picked up the fittings from bunnings today and also that grip for the step already on Thanks
View attachment 24485

Might want to check your tank sensor wiring this is how I cleaned mine up just needs a dob of Sika now. But wires had no protection and were just shoved everywhere and were on sharp gal edges.View attachment 24484

Hi Galvo,
Appreciate taking the time to post the photos as it helped a lot. Now I understand the problem and will do the same in mine too. It did cross my mind while I was working underneath the Van as some of the cables are heavily exposed and not adequately protected .

Thanks again - TRAKADU

 

[TRAKADU]

check out the thread on the weekend at beaufort lake September 19 til the 21st just the weekend beaufort not far away from us maybe 2 hrs or a bit less as for pics all pics are good pics im good with dirt and digging we call it bulking !!!!!!! digging a big hole last big one was 27 meters new cancer hospital im not so good with things like u I never want to wreak anything if it dosnt go to plan

haha...talk about bulking.. I am trying to "bulk" in the gym too.. but so far it is not happening . Look out for the pics next Monday as by the time I get home it is pretty dark during the week....

TRAKADU..

 

[Stephen Galvin]

What I found was that they had cable tied the wires to short so now I dont have the cable ties close to the edge of the van there was also a loop of some spare cable fixed I opened this up to give me more length. Basically removed all the cable ties heat shrink overe the plugs and then conduit is the best way. then across the suspension and up as per pics. There is a small hole in the corner of the gussets that run underneath the suspension arms I was able to get a cable tie up through and around the conduit as a fixing point. Good luck
Im on the Table today .

 

[DRW]

Hey @Stephen Galvin the Thor 190 in your signature is that one of those silly bloody engines things you strap to your back with a parachute? If it is your bloody mad, they look like so much fun!!

 

[Stephen Galvin]

Fun with a capital F Yes mate thats the one still havnt flown this new motor . Love it as it packs away in the back of the cruiser and I can launch pretty much anywhere heres a vid I did of Red Bluff on Quabba Station Video starts after about 1 min Im crap at editing so excuse that

 

[TRAKADU]

After reading Galvo's spill on what happened to brake liners, I thought it is a good idea to protect them now (better to be safe than sorry)...
While I was under the Van I thought I might insulate the drain pipes at the same time. Hopefully, it'll do the job (remains to be seen)...

 

[TRAKADU]

Finally, connected the inverter to the battery . Went with a coloured GPO for the inverter power so the Misus and the kids would know which one to use while free camping. Also connected the CO/Gas leak monitor. I installed it facing the Fridge - thought that would be the best place to detect nasties...