Just curious, but what was the ball weight with the bikes on? I have the ISI bike carrier on my parkes mk3 and it was 320 on the ball with 2 bikes. Ball weight from factory said 223 on the plate, but once you add diesel for the heater, 1 gas bottle, a full fridge, same camp chairs and a table… your over the 300kg allowed on the plate 😮
@@adamriley6468 the plate allows for 350kg. We checked the weights before we left loaded with full water tanks and gas. We’re just under on the van and the car but it was close. The bike rack sits as far behind the tow ball as we can get it which helps.
No upgrade. We opted not to install a bull bar so we avoided the need. We weighed the van and car before we left and we were just under GVM and GCM. Cheers
Great VLOG, thanks 👏👏 Just a few tips, if I may. If you need to overtake a truck, call the rear number plate or mining number and say "I'm going to poke my nose out, seen?". You'll get a response. The clear hose filler, get an inline tap from Bunnings and place it near the filler; that way, you can stop the flow when you need to - keep it as a one-person job. 06:45 I trust that you have high-mounted diff and transmission breathers Otherwise you need to wait for the diif and transmission to cool down so they don't suck in water. 07:00 You're low on the back axle and high on the front axle, even when towing a light caravan. You need to reduce your tow ball weight by redistributing weight. 11:30 get a central spreader bar and cut a slice through the middle of a hollow pool noodle and slide it on; it also reduces slapping and subsequent noise . You have awning setup like me. Invest in a Tie Gear setup to hold the awning down at either end. Place the pegs about a foot towards the middle, then tie down. I have drilled out the pins on the top of the legs and replaced them with 15mm M8 bolts and Nyloc nuts; trust me, those pins will fail at some time. I also utilise bent spigot poles from Supapeg (need a 7mm drilled hole, in the black support bar) to prevent the awning from collapsing when the legs experience a gust and the weak tightener comes loose.
@@stuartkcalvin amazing advice Stuart! Water crossings were fine. We have a wading depth of 800mm and we didn’t go more than 500mm during the Gibb. We have now got a spreader bar but still need to get the pool noodle. It’s been great for rain and wind as it provides just enough tension in the awning to allow water to drain properly. Picked up a hose splitter that allows me to do both tanks at once. Great purchase. The original water hose was useless so I bit the bullet and bought a decent water hose. Water pressure on the east coast is way higher than I’m used to so I tend to back off the water when connecting direct to the van. I’ve tried to get as much weight to the rear to minimise ball weight but it’s a work in progress. She tows really well so I’m not too concerned as kings as we’re not over the ball weight. Thanks for watching and safe travels!
@@Campbell-Adventures I mispoke, you need to increase your ball weight to get van to a nose-down posture. You need high-mounted breathers for the transmission and diff, OEN are two low and will suck in water when warm - it doesn't matter what you're wading depth is.
It's always a good thing to get in early with new VLOGers. Following and I hope that you do well. 👏👏
Amazing , watched again and just loving it❤
Wow you are making magical memories 🎉
Well done! What a great adventure.
That is awesome, amazing 🎉
Great vid guys, Karijini is incredible. Might need to invest in some tow/extended mirrors if you haven't already :)
@@tahliazemke3613 we have them now. The rear camera was ok but two mirrors are a better option.
The only one with no opinion is Hazel , a chip off the old block of Granny Annie😀😀😀
Just curious, but what was the ball weight with the bikes on? I have the ISI bike carrier on my parkes mk3 and it was 320 on the ball with 2 bikes. Ball weight from factory said 223 on the plate, but once you add diesel for the heater, 1 gas bottle, a full fridge, same camp chairs and a table… your over the 300kg allowed on the plate 😮
@@adamriley6468 the plate allows for 350kg. We checked the weights before we left loaded with full water tanks and gas. We’re just under on the van and the car but it was close. The bike rack sits as far behind the tow ball as we can get it which helps.
Hi,
Have a similar van and mux,
Did you guys need a gvm upgrade?
No upgrade. We opted not to install a bull bar so we avoided the need. We weighed the van and car before we left and we were just under GVM and GCM. Cheers
Great VLOG, thanks 👏👏
Just a few tips, if I may.
If you need to overtake a truck, call the rear number plate or mining number and say "I'm going to poke my nose out, seen?". You'll get a response.
The clear hose filler, get an inline tap from Bunnings and place it near the filler; that way, you can stop the flow when you need to - keep it as a one-person job.
06:45 I trust that you have high-mounted diff and transmission breathers Otherwise you need to wait for the diif and transmission to cool down so they don't suck in water.
07:00 You're low on the back axle and high on the front axle, even when towing a light caravan. You need to reduce your tow ball weight by redistributing weight.
11:30 get a central spreader bar and cut a slice through the middle of a hollow pool noodle and slide it on; it also reduces slapping and subsequent noise . You have awning setup like me. Invest in a Tie Gear setup to hold the awning down at either end. Place the pegs about a foot towards the middle, then tie down.
I have drilled out the pins on the top of the legs and replaced them with 15mm M8 bolts and Nyloc nuts; trust me, those pins will fail at some time. I also utilise bent spigot poles from Supapeg (need a 7mm drilled hole, in the black support bar) to prevent the awning from collapsing when the legs experience a gust and the weak tightener comes loose.
@@stuartkcalvin amazing advice Stuart! Water crossings were fine. We have a wading depth of 800mm and we didn’t go more than 500mm during the Gibb.
We have now got a spreader bar but still need to get the pool noodle. It’s been great for rain and wind as it provides just enough tension in the awning to allow water to drain properly.
Picked up a hose splitter that allows me to do both tanks at once. Great purchase. The original water hose was useless so I bit the bullet and bought a decent water hose. Water pressure on the east coast is way higher than I’m used to so I tend to back off the water when connecting direct to the van.
I’ve tried to get as much weight to the rear to minimise ball weight but it’s a work in progress. She tows really well so I’m not too concerned as kings as we’re not over the ball weight.
Thanks for watching and safe travels!
@@Campbell-Adventures I mispoke, you need to increase your ball weight to get van to a nose-down posture.
You need high-mounted breathers for the transmission and diff, OEN are two low and will suck in water when warm - it doesn't matter what you're wading depth is.