Planning to head to central Australia - Advice for prepping caravan and car/spares

[Drover]

Also, yes a good idea to carry a spare set, even if you don't know how to change them the mechanic that comes out to rescue you will be very happy if you can pull out the right set to fix them, so will your missus as you could end up roadside for a few days.

I do think it is wise to have an idea of removing the hubs, checking and adjusting bearings and brakes, they have a pattern of not conforming to service schedules and ruining trips because of a simple 5min check.

A 10" bearing would be found on a Steam train, FB Cranes, ships drive shaft....lol,lol, I think they mean for a 10" drum/hub which would mean bugger all at a bearing shop is it Ford or Holden they may well ask.................Surprisingly after I had pulled Big Mals wheel off to check it all out to get the numbers I found they actually have it noted in the service book but Mal is a Coromal, I would have checked anyway as I'm not all that trusting.

 

[Jared01]

Thanks very much for all the replies.

I am no mechanical expert, but I did try to imagine how the wheel all went together if the bearings were 10".

I was hoping Jayco would know the parts numbers if I provided them my chassis number etc. Guess not :-(

I could not even get the wheel offset out of them.

 

[bigcol]

I was told that Jayco uses the Landcruiser hub stud patten as a basis for their wheel hubs

as I wanted to "streamline" my tug and Van to have the same wheels and tyres

still havent found my "round tuit"

 

[Drover]

I was told that Jayco uses the Landcruiser hub stud patten as a basis for their wheel hubs"

I'd heard that also but then Nissan RoH rims fitted my 14.44 perfectly, another urban myth ?

 

[bigcol]

I'd heard that also but then Nissan RoH rims fitted my 14.44 perfectly, another urban myth ?

contrary to popular belief

Landcruiser and Patrol have same stud patten

just the off sets are different

 

[Drover]

So that's the thing then, never looked st it all that much, basically grab rim from pile if it fits hub then its the right one sort of thing.

 

[Crusty181]

Thanks very much for all the replies.

I am no mechanical expert, but I did try to imagine how the wheel all went together if the bearings were 10".

I was hoping Jayco would know the parts numbers if I provided them my chassis number etc. Guess not :-(

I could not even get the wheel offset out of them.

Ha, 10in refers to the size of the drum. Jayco had my bearing size from my supplied chassis number

 

[MDS69]

If you are at 1 year old consider a service especially prior to your trip. In your service get the wheel bearings repacked and ask them to record the bearing numbers whilst apart.

 

[RickB]

. If you have a Thetford oven go and ask for the rubber grommet kit for the oven glass (thats the grommet kit that you only get if you ask)

Are you saying to ask Jayco for the grommet kit or Thetford?

 

[Crusty181]

Are you saying to ask Jayco for the grommet kit or Thetford?

Our travel buddies who's oven door exploded have a New Age van. Im not sure if it was Thetford or New Age that supplied the grommet kit. I did check the Jayco models on display at Page Bros and not one had the grommets. I suspect the Jayco dealer should have them, or get them for you

 

[Jared01]

Hello,

We are heading away in a little over 2 weeks time (Friday 29th June)

I have ticked most things off the list but want to ask a few more things that come to mind.

1). There is mention about adding more screws or longer screws to the drawer runners. How does this help? Does it stop the drawer from opening too or only falling out?

2). I got under the van and plugged up all the holes I could see. I did look around the wheel arches and can see quite large gaps around the inside of the outside edge between the caravan wall and up under the plastic looking carbon fibre edge skirting thingies (on the back side of the red arrow in the photo). The gap looked like it went up within the caravan walls. Is this the area people are referring to? I wonder if I took the skirting off I could see what needs to be done. I will try to get some photos of what I am talking about though. The green line areas looked sealed well.

3). Regarding coreflute boards or duct tape over the vents, advice was to leave the top fridge vent uncovered. The rest of the vents, should they be covered when travelling and uncovered when using the van?

4). From a recent trip back from the Gold Coast to Sydney in one hit, everything in the freezer stayed frozen. So we are planning on freezing lots of meat/mince and putting it into the caravan freezer. When we are driving it will be on 12v and then gas when we stop. We just then move what we need to the fridge as we need it. Does this seems like a good idea? We have no separate car fridge/freezer.

 

[Crusty181]

You must be very excited @Jared01, Im excited for you

We are heading away in a little over 2 weeks time (Friday 29th June)

I have ticked most things off the list but want to ask a few more things that come to mind.

1). There is mention about adding more screws or longer screws to the drawer runners. How does this help? Does it stop the drawer from opening too or only falling out?

The screws in my cabinet carcass fixed section runners are very small in both length and gauge. Very light ply wall, corrogations and drawer weight combine to flog the screw and they often just fall out. I replaced the screws with a longer and next gauge up type. More importantly i glued weight baring plates to the cabinet wall under the runner to eliminate all the sheer pressure from the screws. 40k km and some awesomely buggers goat tracks abd all the drawer are still there. If you want some pics, let me know

2). I got under the van and plugged up all the holes I could see. I did look around the wheel arches and can see quite large gaps around the inside of the outside edge between the caravan wall and up under the plastic looking carbon fibre edge skirting thingies (on the back side of the red arrow in the photo). The gap looked like it went up within the caravan walls. Is this the area people are referring to? I wonder if I took the skirting off I could see what needs to be done. I will try to get some photos of what I am talking about though. The green line areas looked sealed well.

The area you have marked with green is where I had most of the dust ingress. Mine wasn't sealed at all, so before we left I sealed it along your green line. As for the other area you mentioned I seal that along the joint inside the van but thats never been such an issue

3). Regarding coreflute boards or duct tape over the vents, advice was to leave the top fridge vent uncovered. The rest of the vents, should they be covered when travelling and uncovered when using the van?

Yup

4). From a recent trip back from the Gold Coast to Sydney in one hit, everything in the freezer stayed frozen. So we are planning on freezing lots of meat/mince and putting it into the caravan freezer. When we are driving it will be on 12v and then gas when we stop. We just then move what we need to the fridge as we need it. Does this seems like a good idea? We have no separate car fridge/freezer

I cant comment on other brands, or models for that matter but my 150ltr Dometic fridge works very very well on 12v, regardless of the length, distance or ambient temperature. A 100 years ago 3 ways may have suffered on 12v but Ive never had any issues with raising fridge temps and Ive driven in 44deg and my longest drive with the fridge on 12v is around 17 hours. Ive had the same experience with the last and current fridges which are both tropical rated (as all newer fridges are). If the temperature went up inside my fridge on 12v Id taking the bloody fridge back

 

[Jared01]

Thanks for the reply Crusty.

I am very excited. Perhaps over planning a little but that will make for a better trip. I'm sure things may happen that I didn't think of but we can learn from this and improve it next trip.

I bought some coreflute board today and cut it to size for all the vents except the top fridge vent.

I bought 5 x 1M lengths of armaflex and mostly protected the water pipes going to/from the water tanks.


I took one of the screws out of the draw runners and was shocked at how short in length they are as well as gauge, so will head off to bunnings to buy the next gauge up and length too. I might glue them in also.


Is the only reason drawers fall out because of the screws and not because of the latch inside the drawer perhaps not being long enough too?
I didnt think the draw runners would come off, but rather the drawers would slide out because of the latch not being long enough.
If it is only the draw runners issue I will just get longer/fatter screws and put more of them in the runners (there are so many holes to put screws, like about 1 dozen per runner)

I was going to get a piece of dowel wood cut to length and screw it vertically in front of the drawers evertime we travel and then remove when stopping (like in the photo below).

Crusty, if it is not too much of a hassle, I would like to see the pics of what you have done with your drawer runners.

Good to hear your fridge runs well on 12v as does mine so I will store our meat in the freezer and run with that plan. Looks like there will be 2 weeks without any major shopping so we are working out what to take and eat.

 

[Smirke]

I had one of my draw runners break, but that was because I've got heavy pans in that draw (baccarat ones). When I looked, my draws weren't screwed into any kind of cupboard, they were held on to the side of the van with little plastic 'c' channels. Bit stupid in my opinion, as they were a PIA to replace.
On another note, none of my screws came out at all, and no dust came into my van at all, which I was surprised at.

 

[Crusty181]

Is the only reason drawers fall out because of the screws and not because of the latch inside the drawer perhaps not being long enough too?

None of my drawers opened or suffered any damage, and all the latches are fine. I didnt re-engineer much I just shored up what I seen as potential weak points. The screws Jayco use are tiny because they have reduced the ply thickness from 12mm to 9mm, and normal 16x5 cabinet screws are too long and pop out the other side of the ply. With Jaycos light ply, those little screws have no bite at all. I grab some pics

I didnt think the draw runners would come off, but rather the drawers would slide out because of the latch not being long enough.

I had 3 drawer runners come off just driving up the Pacific Highway to QLD a month after we bought the van back in 2014, one was because of the 'C' channel thing @Smirke found

When I looked, my draws weren't screwed into any kind of cupboard, they were held on to the side of the van with little plastic 'c' channels.

Aint that the weirdest hardware adaption you've ever seen. I wouldnt use them is a house reno (and houses dont move). I had those plastic "things" on the 2 drawers under the robe so I ditched them, made a frame inside the carcass and refitted runners properly.

 

[Jared01]

I will have to take a further look at my drawers. When I drilled the hole for the diesel heater controller, it seemed thicker than 9mm.

I did buy some 6 gauge 16mm screws and had planned to change them all over, but will check it further.

I am trying to figure out what the c channels or plastic c channels being referred to are.

Is it something in the photo below (image 1), or is it on the drawer itself (the channel shown in image 2)?

Image 3 looks like the parts installed for the drawers

Or perhaps your drawers were installed with something like image 4?

 

[Crusty181]

I will have to take a further look at my drawers. When I drilled the hole for the diesel heater controller, it seemed thicker than 9mm.

I did buy some 6 gauge 16mm screws and had planned to change them all over, but will check it further.

I am trying to figure out what the c channels or plastic c channels being referred to are.

Is it something in the photo below (image 1), or is it on the drawer itself (the channel shown in image 2)?

Image 3 looks like the parts installed for the drawers

Or perhaps your drawers were installed with something like image 4?

Maybe theyve gone back to the 12mm, which would be a cost backflip Jayco rarely do ... but hey, you cant continually make thing cheaper and cheaper for ever

Pic 1 is just the cabinet wall mount half of the drawer runner. Pic 2 shows the other half of the drawer runner, which forms the drawer side. Pic 3 is the same cabinet wall half of the runner, but the drawer half part is for timber sided drawers (once used by Jayco, but not any more). Pic 4 are a very cheap cabinet mount slides for rebated timber sided drawers

I upped the screws in the runners and glued the mdf plates under the runner to eliminate any sheer force on the screws. The runners Jayco use are standard cheaper cabinetry runners and have a lot of vertical slop. Corrugations will encourage the drawer to jump up and down inside the wall mounted runner. Any decent prolonged corrugations will see those tiny original screws give up quiet easily; and glued on plates take all the drawers weight and all the up and down bouncing.

The smaller mount holes in the drawer runners are 5 gauge. Be mindful of that your screws dont sit proud in the runner because the wheel on the drawer side will clip the screw heads; the wheel will also clip the 5 gauge screws that arent in straight.


The plastic "C" clip is for fresh air mounted runners, which is so incredibly stupidly in a caravan it completely defies any logic. I wouldnt use the the useless things in a house kitchen, never mind anything that moves. I made some solid structure inside the cabinet to mount the runners properly. You thankfully may not have them

 

[Bluey]

Dont know if its been said but for my 2014.....1756 outback there are 2 sizes for the bareings a normal set and a diffrent sized bigger set and the blokes didnt know and couldnt find out which i had untill they took mine off lucky i had the smallar size as the bigger size cost heaps more only going by what im told by van repaireres

 

[Jared01]

I sussed the drawers out and will advise what I have done later tonight.

 

[Jared01]

Ok,

Now I am finally on the same page as you guys.

I have always been focusing on the kitchen drawers.

Each of our kids (3 of them) have one of the "wardrobe" drawers in the rear of the caravan for their clothes which currently weigh bugger all.


We have the same "C channel" type fixing for the wardrobe drawers. There is only 1 screw in the front of the runner and at the back the runner is just kept in the "C channel". Looks like I will have to do something like you did Custy181 with some wood in between the wall and runners to provide more support for the runners.

I took out the 1 screw and replaced it with an 8 gauge 16mm screw and put some glue on it too.


I also took out all of the screws from the runners in the kitchen drawers and glued them back in and replaced some of them with 8 gauge 16mm screws and relocated some of the smaller ones to other parts of the runners where cables may be near. Crusty181 you are right, inside the drawer there is 9mm wood which the runners/drawers are built on/into.

Was good to check out the drawers and fix up the screws a bit because I discovered one of the drawers under the dinette table was loose due to the bracket (picture 6) that screws the wood to the floor was undone. I purchased some more L shape brackets to make it even stronger so it doesn't happen again (some of the brackets under the bed were also coming away from the floor)

https://www.bunnings.com.au/dreambaby-child-safety-mini-multipurpose-safety-latch-4-pack_p4210869

One of our friends with a Jayco Expanda believes the only drawer related issue I will have (on corrugations) is the drawers coming out due to the latches not holding so well but sounds like you guys have not had that problem?

If this is a potential problem, I thought of a few different ideas but possibly settled on putting the below child lock thingies on both ends of each drawer to the side in the hope they will not open.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/dreambaby-child-safety-mini-multipurpose-safety-latch-4-pack_p4210869