Hi,
about time for an update on our Penguin.
Since we picked it up on 18th November, we have made 6 trips around Victoria lasting from 2 to 8 nights at 11 different camping spots. 9 were free camping and two were in campgrounds: Walkerville and Princetown. We have been out 23 nights in two months.
We are absolutely loving it! No major worries and no problems with the axle replaced under the ALKO recall.
As expected, we have a few problems we hope to get sorted when it goes in for its first service on 20th February:
The most serious is the leaking door: water leaking between Fiamma awning and roof just above the door, the upper half of the door is misaligned and water gets in at the top of the upper door unless the inside catches are closed, the 'J' strip above the door was not installed!
The breather hose from the top of the water tank is run with a long loop under the main beam before it goes through the floor.
This caused a problem since when it gets filled with water (sloshing in the tank when moving) it causes a vacuum in the tank when the air cools down and subsequently causes an air lock when you try to pump water (air comes from the filler hose).
I reran the breather hose through a cutout in the C cross member and there is now only a minimal drop. No further problems drawing water from the tank.
The 25mm sink drain hose runs from the passenger side to the driver side and is held UNDER the C section cross member with cable ties and I am worried it will get damaged from rocks or low clearance. I have re run the hose inside the C section.
I have made many changes to the Dometic fridge to improve the performance in hot weather. Shade cloth, fridge fan, added insulation, use a crisper tray and other containers in the fridge to reduce the cold air being lostr when the fridge is opened.
With the fridge running on 12V, I have a 0.7V drop from battery to the fridge terminals. On trips over two hours, the fridge will cool by around 2-4 degrees.
The fridge still struggles on days over 35C. The main problem is that we have to open the fridge at least twice around lunch time.
Initially, we would loose 4-6C, so after lunch the fridge would go up over 10C, and then take most of the afternoon to get below 6C. After we added the crisper tray on the bottom shelf, and other trays on the other shelves, the temperature increase is much less and the recovery time is also much improved. I have just done some further insulation around the back of the fridge but yet to see the effect. The other trick I want to try in hot weather is to keep a freezer block in the freezer and to put it in the fridge after lunch to help with recovery. Then put it back in the freezer just before going to bed.
We have never had any trouble keeping ice cream cold. The freezer seems to sit between -12C and -16C whenever I look. I only have an internal mechanical gauge, so I only look at it when I need to open the freezer door.
The brake shoes are now bedded in and downhill on a loose gravel road I can get them to just lock up at 6V, which is 100%.
When we first got the van, I could hardly get any braking at 12V.
Found that other drivers especially trucks have been most courteous. In a normal car, people usually allow for L and P platers, but other drivers don't know that a caravan is being driven by a beginner, hence the slower speed. I usually sit between 80-95kmh in 100kmh zones and never had any agro. The main thing I found is that when changing lanes, once I put my indicators on, it is clear that people behind have given me plenty of room to move across.
Oh well, the holidays are over, and our trips will be limited to 3 day long weekends until April. Then, with a bit of luck, we will get away for two weeks.
To all those on this forum who have contributed so much to reduce the stress with our steep learning curve: Many Thanks!!!
best wishes for this year
Mike and Barbara
