Kedron Compact CP5

PeterV

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Mar 25, 2015
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Turramurra, NSW
Well, after having thought about it for some time, we have finally put a deposit down on a new 16’ Kedron Compact CP5. Very similar to the van @yabbietol bought a couple of years ago. Similarly configured with an island bed and full ensuite, diesel heater, aircon, 200 ah lithium battery, 12 volt fridge with external compressor, 300 watts of solar on roof, and new to Kedron, a 60 watt solar awning over the front window. There is also a wall mounted washing machine in the ensuite.

Water storage includes 60litre filtered drinking water tank, 100 litre shower water tank and a grey water tank. Hot water system is a Truma instantaneous gas system.

Probably the main change to Terry’s van is the A frame. It’s longer on the CP5 and has a large box which can hold the annex walls in the top section, a generator on the driver side section and various bits and pieces in the passenger side section. There are also 2 gerry can holders plus 2, 4.5 kg gas bottles. We have asked for a bike rack to be added to the top of the storage box.

This van will probably be too heavy for our Pajero so we will either be getting a tow ball weight upgrade (to 300 kgs) or getting a new car.

Delivery is not until October next year, so we will still have a few more trips left in the Expander.
 

DRW

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May 29, 2013
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Sounds like fun times coming, our van is due end of October this year, no way could I wait till October next year but ya gotta do what ya gotta do if you want one I guess, good luck sounds like good choice they make a good product
 

1DayIll

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Apr 26, 2016
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South Morang, Victoria
Well, after having thought about it for some time, we have finally put a deposit down on a new 16’ Kedron Compact CP5. Very similar to the van @yabbietol bought a couple of years ago. Similarly configured with an island bed and full ensuite, diesel heater, aircon, 200 ah lithium battery, 12 volt fridge with external compressor, 300 watts of solar on roof, and new to Kedron, a 60 watt solar awning over the front window. There is also a wall mounted washing machine in the ensuite.

Water storage includes 60litre filtered drinking water tank, 100 litre shower water tank and a grey water tank. Hot water system is a Truma instantaneous gas system.

Probably the main change to Terry’s van is the A frame. It’s longer on the CP5 and has a large box which can hold the annex walls in the top section, a generator on the driver side section and various bits and pieces in the passenger side section. There are also 2 gerry can holders plus 2, 4.5 kg gas bottles. We have asked for a bike rack to be added to the top of the storage box.

This van will probably be too heavy for our Pajero so we will either be getting a tow ball weight upgrade (to 300 kgs) or getting a new car.

Delivery is not until October next year, so we will still have a few more trips left in the Expander.

Such a long wait for a Van! Not sure I would survive that long!
 
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PeterV

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Mar 25, 2015
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Such a long wait for a Van! Not sure I would survive that long!
We knew there was an extended delivery period so we ordered earlier the van earlier than we otherwise would have. We have the last trip planned for the Expander in the middle of next year, then we’ll put it on the market.
 
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yabbietol

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Sep 2, 2014
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Congratulations on ordering your new van, we have had our 16' single axel Kedron now for 3 years and are still very pleased.
It has travelled on lot of rough roads (e.g. earlier this year the Great Central Road and Wooleen Station, last year the plenty highway) and performed really well.

The van has had some minor fixes, all done by Kedron. I cannot stress how good their after sales support is, we just had a service done last month. We make a point of taking our van back to them in Brisbane at least once per year. This time our first major service repair items, two outside bearings and one brake magnet. Kedron did this as part of the normal service and charged only extra $100 for replacing these items. They also fixed a couple of little repairs as usual at no charge.

I really like the CP5, if it was us buying it we would get the airbag suspension, a very nice set up. If buying a new Kedron, also look at even more solar (we have 460W on roof fitted by Kedron and 160W folding panels) and we also would increase Li Battery to 300Ah or 400Ah. We still have yet to get a generator and most likely will not need one the Li battery is lighter and with car DC to DC charger is usually at 100% after a days drive, more capacity would be nice for rainy days, but we manage most bush camps with 200Ah.

The diesel heater is great, make sure you plug the inlet and outlet of the heater to keep the dust out. I just did a complete rebuild of ours due to dust clogging it up, now have a couple of corks on strings which we remove to run the heater, they work well. Easier than removing heater and replacing gaskets, etc. We also like our compressor fridge and its large freezer.

You may find CP5 will tow Ok with the Pajero, we did for the first year, but we have now towed with the LC200 Gx for 2 years and find it much nicer and easier. The Pajero was legal, but did work hard, also our ATM was 2500kg and towball weight was 200 to 220Kg. We had the van designed for towing with the Pajero (or Prado), so legal from day 1.

We saw a new CP5 Kedron16' at Cowra Showground a few months ago, they parked next to us and we did the tour, a very nice van.

Regards
Terry and Ellie

PS If you are down Queanbeyan way, direct email me and drop in for a coffee (and van tour) and chat.
 
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PeterV

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Mar 25, 2015
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Turramurra, NSW
Congratulations on ordering your new van, we have had our 16' single axel Kedron now for 3 years and are still very pleased.
It has travelled on lot of rough roads (e.g. earlier this year the Great Central Road and Wooleen Station, last year the plenty highway) and performed really well.

The van has had some minor fixes, all done by Kedron. I cannot stress how good their after sales support is, we just had a service done last month. We make a point of taking our van back to them in Brisbane at least once per year. This time our first major service repair items, two outside bearings and one brake magnet. Kedron did this as part of the normal service and charged only extra $100 for replacing these items. They also fixed a couple of little repairs as usual at no charge.

I really like the CP5, if it was us buying it we would get the airbag suspension, a very nice set up. If buying a new Kedron, also look at even more solar (we have 460W on roof fitted by Kedron and 160W folding panels) and we also would increase Li Battery to 300Ah or 400Ah. We still have yet to get a generator and most likely will not need one the Li battery is lighter and with car DC to DC charger is usually at 100% after a days drive, more capacity would be nice for rainy days, but we manage most bush camps with 200Ah.

The diesel heater is great, make sure you plug the inlet and outlet of the heater to keep the dust out. I just did a complete rebuild of ours due to dust clogging it up, now have a couple of corks on strings which we remove to run the heater, they work well. Easier than removing heater and replacing gaskets, etc. We also like our compressor fridge and its large freezer.

You may find CP5 will tow Ok with the Pajero, we did for the first year, but we have now towed with the LC200 Gx for 2 years and find it much nicer and easier. The Pajero was legal, but did work hard, also our ATM was 2500kg and towball weight was 200 to 220Kg. We had the van designed for towing with the Pajero (or Prado), so legal from day 1.

We saw a new CP5 Kedron16' at Cowra Showground a few months ago, they parked next to us and we did the tour, a very nice van.

Regards
Terry and Ellie

PS If you are down Queanbeyan way, direct email me and drop in for a coffee (and van tour) and chat.

Thanks Terry,
I’ll contact Paul and ask him about your suggestions. I hadn’t thought about the air bag suspension and don’t know a lot about it. Extra solar panels sound good as does the larger battery. There will be a weight impact, but I’m pretty sure we’ll sell the Pajero. We have had it for 8 years and done 200k klms so, notwithstanding how good it’s been, it’s probably time to replace it. If we do, then that eliminates the weight issues... of course it creates a cost issue. I believe Toyota may be releasing a successor to the LC200 late next year, so perhaps there will be deals on LC200 stock.

Thanks also for the heads up on the diesel heater.

Louise & I are always looking for an excuse to head off to Canberra, so we may take you up on your offer of coffee and a van tour.

Cheers,
Peter
 
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yabbietol

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Sep 2, 2014
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Depending on how you use your van, extra solar and battery capacity may save weight by not needing to carry a generator (which is heavy) and associated fuel. We planned to get a generator for our van 3 years ago, with generator locker installed pre purchase. We have not bought a generator yet and most likely will not. The locker is now just more good storage.

If you are looking for a LC200 have a good look at the GX model which is about $10K cheaper than the GXL. The GX is designed for the mining industry and is same running gear as the GXL. Dealers do not want to sell you the GX so you may have to shop around, they never seem to have a GX at a dealer for you to look at and they are always 3 month wait. Dealers make more $ out of the more expensive models. We went from a Pajero to a GX and are really happy with comfort and performance. Have a look at the Tow vehicle thread on this forum, I have talked about our GX and it modifications. A friend of ours just bought a GX and is still waiting for delivery, a local Canberra dealer was not very efficent or keen about selling them a GX so far it has taken them a few months.

Make sure when you plan your visit email first to make sure we are home, we have a couple of short van trips planned in the next couple of months.

Regards
Terry

expandasdownunder.com/threads/new-landcrusier-gx-200.9076
 
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PeterV

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Mar 25, 2015
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Thanks again Terry,

I bought a new generator a few years ago and sold it within a year. Just didn’t like the noise. Much rather get the solar power and batteries right. We also have a portable 120 watt panel we use to follow the sun. It’s especially useful when we go to Arakoon on the NSW North Coast as you park the van between pine trees and therefore, the sun is on the roof for only a short period each day.

Just went through your New LandCruiser thread. So much great info. This forum really is a great source of information, and with none of the “atttitude” you see on some other forums.

We are still tosssing up the various LandCruiser options, but hadn’t given much thought to the GX up to now. We also thought about getting a near new car, but they hold their value so well you might as well just buy a new one.

We like the the Drifta drawers you had installed. Always been impressed with what Drifta do. What do you use them for? Do you do a lot of camping without the van?

BTW, we would definitely contact you before heading down. We’ve got a few more short trips planned before the end of the year. We’ll look at these and contact you with some possible dates before leaving.

Cheers
Peter
 
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yabbietol

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Sep 2, 2014
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The Drifta draws are good I use them for storage of tinned food and mechancial bits (like 150l air compressor, socket set, spanners, etc). Drifta also offer a hidden locakable compartment for valuables that sits behind the rear seats which I wish we got. The fridge slide is useful and of course I would not be without a cargo barrier. Thanks to good advice on this forum I did not get the Toyota cargo barrier which is of poor design, in that it takes up a lot cargo space with its supporting straps.

We use to do a lot of camping, but the van is comfortable and can get into some remote spots, so these days we generally just do day driving trips and day walks based from the van.The set up of Drifta’s draws means we have our car fridge, Drifta table, emergency food and water, first aid kit, Tread (like Max) tracks and we just throw in a couple of chairs, sandwiches, a Thermos of tea for a comfortable luch and morning tea in the bush.

We also have a set of folding solar panels and they are good for when you can only park in the shade and they help a lot on cloudy days.The Kedron fitted DC to DC charger on our van also came with its own seperate solar regulator and Anderson plug so extra solar beyond the solar panels fitted on the roof. So additional solar can easily and safely be fed into the van battery (it is best to bypass the folding panel regulator, so you only have the on board regulator feeding the battery).

Regards
Terry
 
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PeterV

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Mar 25, 2015
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It may have taken over 12 months, but our new van is almost ready. Will be picking it up early December, in the meanwhile, here are some photos.
 

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rags

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Peter, You have chosen well, they are a nice van. We live within a couple of kms of the Kedron factory and actually saw a similar van yesterday that was new and shiney and appear to have been just picked up by its smiling owner.

Also if you are looking for somewhere to stay when you come to pick up the van we have a fully self contained seperate dwelling on our property for guest stays overlooking the Sth Pine River and as I say within a couple of minutes of the Kedron Factory
 

PeterV

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Mar 25, 2015
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Turramurra, NSW
Thanks @rags. I’m sure we’ll likewise have huge grins on our faces when we pick it up.

Thank you also for the very appeal accommodation offer. My family live on the Gold Coast and I think I’d be disinherited if I didn’t stay with them.
 
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PeterV

Active Member
Mar 25, 2015
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Turramurra, NSW
Thanks @Drover, yeah, the wait is hard, but we actually ordered it earlier than we otherwise would have because of the long wait. We wanted to collect it in time for summer so we ordered the van 6 months earlier than we would have had we bought a new van from say, Jayco.

We’re now really looking forward to our first trip up to Arakoon on the NSW mid-north Coast.
 

mikerezny

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Sep 11, 2016
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Congratulations. It has been a long wait. If I was in the market for an all bells and whistles van, I would certainly put Kedron at the top of my list. You don't see too many used ones for sale.

While you are waiting to go away, it might be worth considering making a list of every gizmo installed in the van. Then make sure you get hold of a printed copy of the manual for each gizmo and store it away in a folder. Also good to find out the warranty for each item. You may never have to use them, but if you are out in the sticks and something is not working, having the manual might just be the difference between continuing to enjoy your holiday or having to come home.

cheers
Mike
 

yabbietol

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Sep 2, 2014
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Queanbeyan NSW
Congratulations. It has been a long wait. If I was in the market for an all bells and whistles van, I would certainly put Kedron at the top of my list. You don't see too many used ones for sale.

While you are waiting to go away, it might be worth considering making a list of every gizmo installed in the van. Then make sure you get hold of a printed copy of the manual for each gizmo and store it away in a folder. Also good to find out the warranty for each item. You may never have to use them, but if you are out in the sticks and something is not working, having the manual might just be the difference between continuing to enjoy your holiday or having to come home.

cheers
Mike

Hello Mike and PeterV

Congratulations Peter on the new van the photos look great.

Mike's idea is a good one, when we picked up the van Kedron gave us a folder with all the manuals of each bit of kit in it. We have added to with any new bits of kit we have bought, the folder travels in the van and has proved most useful when travelling. We claimed on the warranty for our TV in Canberra and got a loose antenna socket repaired, all done via local TV agent, though we did keep Kedron in the loop.

4 years for our van now and just did a trip to Central Australia this year and few shorter trips since then and still like our van a lot.
So pretty sure you will enjoy it.

We once a year make a trip up to Qld to get the van serviced by Kedron and this has proved very worthwhile they often fix little things at no charge. This year at our Kedron service we replaced the shower door and the microwave, we chipped in some of the cost and Kedron payed some, both items had suffered from all the corrugations and dirt roads, though serviceable the microwave door made strange noises and the heavy glass shower screen door kept needing adjustment. So after talking to Kedron they agreed to replace both at a very reasonable cost to us, not bad for a 4 year old van.

Safe travels in the new van.
Regards
Terry
 

PeterV

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Mar 25, 2015
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Turramurra, NSW
Thanks Terry, I have a feeling the kindle will be left unread for a period while I go through all the manuals. All part of the fun of getting a new van. Glad to hear your experience with the van and with Kedron continues to be good, provides a bit more reassurance that we have made the right decision.

It‘s interesting that you still take the van to Kedron to be serviced. I had imagined that we would get it serviced locally, but given we head up to the Gold Coast each year, I might change the plans and look to getting the guys at the factory to service it.

Today I had the brake controller, UHF and the two anderson plugs fitted to the car so it’s just about ready for its towing duties.
 
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