Simon & Melissa's Family 17.56-1 Touring Adventures

[Simon]

Hi Everyone
This post has been along time coming. Finally picked up our van at the start of November and taken it for its first fun run. I am pleased to say that everything was in order, and only a couple of minor issues encoutered, eg loose screws, poor caulking and a snapped screw - all fixed by yours truely.
We bought our van at Bayswater Jayco - great service and hand over. The low down on the package we got our van is as follows:

• 17.56-1 'Touring'
• Underslung Axles
• Anderson plug to battery
• Reich Caravan Mover + heavy duty jockey wheel (this is fantastic unit and a god send!)
• Extended Drawbar
• Extra Gas Bottle
• Gas bayonet
• Hotwater set up + external shower
• Wineguard Antenna
• 100 Amp Battery + solar panel & regulator
• Drifter Control Panel
• Alpine Annexe + floor matting (sunshade kit included also)
• Waterproof bed end covers

Potential future mods:

• Alko ESC (I regret not getting this straight away)
• Shelves to both cupboards (with hindsight should have got this factory fitted to save time)
• Toolbox for drawbar
• Move spare wheel to back
• Bike carrier
• Extend Hot/Cold water to Annexe side for camp kitchen set up and
• Add a 'spare room' to rear of annexe for external shower/portable toliet room

I tow her with a 2013 Toyota Prado with the following mods (plus wish list mods):

• Redarc Towpro (updated model for Alko ESC)
• Anderson Plug and battery isolator
• Tough Dog 2" lift + airbags to rear (to come)
• TJM bullbar + winch (to come)
• TJM snorkel (to come)
• Upgrade tires with this set has worn

 

[dagree]

Congrats @Simon looking forward to some trip reports and mod pics as they happen

 

[Simon]

A few people has asked me to post something about the caravan mover once I had tested it out. See below! And yes the ugly bloke is me with the remote.

I must say I am really glad I got it. Getting it into our driveway takes no more than 10 minutes and definitely no shouting and screaming between the misses - marriage saver!

It takes a bit of back and forward moves to turn the van given the tandem axle - the single axle version is much quicker - the noise is a little disconcerting, but it does the job brilliantly.

I thought also that it would run the battery down alot, but it barely took a single bar of the juice metre display on the drifter control panel. I would highly recommend it for those who have tight driveways, and not confident in reversing large vans.

 

[davemc]

@Simon very tight squeeze would not of been so fun without the movers.

 

[Crusty181]

@Simon What a brilliant device. If my long suffering partner seen that, Id be pestered to get it; and my little man would think it was the best remote control car ever. Great sales video ...... and congrats on the new van

 

[Simon]

@Crusty181 I'm surprised Jayco don't promote/market it as I reckon they would encourage more people to take up caravanning and buy their vans. Jayco are the only ones I came across who would factory fit this, which when I found out that they could the decision was a no brainer.

@davemc I have about 300mm room between the steel posts of the carport on either side. An accidental qtr turn of the steering wheel if backing it in and I reckon that I would take those posts out and do damage to the van. The mover is so precise I can move and stop it an inch at a time!

Another bonus is putting the van on the tow ball is a breeze. I walk the van over the tow ball and then lower the jockey wheel. If the coupling doesn't want to engage, I just move the van with a few small movements and then it falls onto the ball and locks in - easy as pie and I never have to get in and out of the car to keep checking.

 

[davemc]

Pity they do not work on the outback, although I think someone said Purpleline does...We had it on the list to get..
Not sure how it will go up our hill across the rocks though

 

[Simon]

Just got back for a couple weeks in Portarlington. Will post some pics soon. I had to do some unexpected mods to the bed end covers. The wind kept pulling them off studs and sliding them off the rails. Ended up putting eyelets and tie downs on every corner. Not the most attractive of looks but did the job. Anyone else had this issue, if so how did you deal with it.

 

[Crusty181]

Just got back for a couple weeks in Portarlington. Will post some pics soon. I had to do some unexpected mods to the bed end covers. The wind kept pulling them off studs and sliding them off the rails. Ended up putting eyelets and tie downs on every corner. Not the most attractive of looks but did the job. Anyone else had this issue, if so how did you deal with it.

Weve been using our BEF but havent had a lot of wind. But i did wonder how they would fair in the wind. Mine wouldnt fit anyway, so i had to mod them before we'd even use them.

Ours is quite snug now, so hopefully the wind wont cause to much issue. One other issue is the gas struts only just barely hole up the lid with the BEF attached, so I be getting a higher charge in the strut when we get home. The Stabilus factory is only 5 min from home and theyll gas to any pressure .... ie just a bit more as opposed to the next of the shelf higher pressure

 

[Kenshi123]

Looking forward to seeing the pics and reading about the trip to Portarlington mate. Great looking setup you have there mate.

 

[bigcol]

I went and put some Velcro on the van, and had the other side stitched to the BEF
now, I put the press studs on, and "wipe" down the BEF so the Velcro connects......

sorted..............