Toy Hauler Phil & Lyn's 17.51-2OB

[Meanderthals]

We 've finally been able to get away from Darwin to pick up our van in Adelaide. As we had to bring our dog with us it meant using a tent. We now have a small 3 person tent for sale very cheap as I never want to use one again. It was 3 nights of cold that killed the joy of the locations.

Anyway that's done with and we're now on our 2nd night in the van. It is crowded though as with all the stuff we brought down, and the previous items I brought down in April, even bigman might have trouble stowing away it all.

During the time the van sat here we had the following fitted:
Grey water tank, 90 litre.
Hitchmaster DO35 coupling.
Internal gas and CO detectors.
Diesel heater.
Remove spare and gas bottles to fit a storage box with gas bottles relocated to inside it along with diesel heater tank. Spare will reside in tow vehicle till we get home and decide where it goes (plenty of ideas on this forum already).

One annoyance is TV won't work. Must be a problen with van aerial wiring as TV is ours and works elsewhere. Another is ALKO ESC wiring issue to be sorted as not working at present.

Phil

 

[chartrock]

Very nice, like the tool box. Lots to play with when it gets home. :drum:

 

[Xpandafan]

Looking good. Enjoy the trip home.

 

[Brad]

Love the toolbox.

 

[17triton]

Looks great! I dont think the diesel heater will get much of a run in Darwin though oh well you will just have to head a long way south to give it arun:encouragement:.

 

[Grano n play]

Nice looking unit there phil , don't forget inside pics.. By the way whats the ramp for, trail bike, jet ski maybe Harley?..

 

[mfexpanda]

Looks great! some more pics ?

 

[Meanderthals]

Thanks all.

Weather here has been terrible, by our standards anyway, so time outside has been limited for good shots. Doubt that wife would allow inside pics before getting more organised. At the moment it looks more like the inside of my shed, or my mind, as in disorganised.

Tool box was an off the shelf job from a specialised place, but then was divided off and shelf done by Dario Caravans in Adelaide who did the rest of the additions. I just needed something done to accommodate diesel tank and this was the quickest and easiest way out since it's difficult to do much when you and the van are 3200 kms apart. Spare had to go so it will reside in car for a while.

Ramp is a Jayco item for Toy Haulers and they wouldn't reduce price to delete it. Could probably use it on my box trailer at home so it has to go back with us. Going to separate the halves and tie in place where spare came from for trip home. We might try taking bikes in the future but certainly not bigger items.

BTW, as to the work done by Darios, I can't fault them for what they have done and their ease of dealing with. This extended to getting more info and pictures of the van that I just wasn't getting from the Dealer. I would recommend Darios to anyone.

As to Jayco and the Dealer, the issues we have with the van are confusion with wiring requirements for the ALKO ESC, no microwave manual, no Drifter control panel manual, the non functioning TV aerial system and the inability of anyone to confirm that all that we had ordered was on the van even though they had it here for over 2 months. This last part was important as I had to fully pay for the van in advance so that I had a proper receipt that the NT Motor Vehicle Registry would accept and give a temporary NT rego for 3 months. I didn't like having to pay for something when I didn't have confirmation of what I was paying for.

To those think that we may have little use of the diesel heater up North, I'll have you know that our water bed has a heater for the dry season and our spa isn't used if water temp drops below 29 degC. Also, our first stop in comming South was at Longreach Waterhole just outside of Elliott and by 11pm we were in track suits and blankets or sleeping bags. A great place that we hope to try again on the way North, but in more comfort than a tent.

Phil

 

[crackacoldie]

Looks great Phil, probably a simple place to start with the TV, would be to ensure the amplifier is on, if it is, I would get Jayco to check it out.

Enjoy the trip home.

Cheers Cracka

 

[Meanderthals]

Amplifier on or off makes no difference and TV just says "No signal". I suspect that someone has either mixed up connections on back of amp panel or someone I used to work with now works for Jayco. He was found to be dry assembling coax connectors at the end of the day so he didn't loose the pieces but then the next day had forgotten which were which. Time before leaving is in short supply so I'll get up top and check cables with a multimeter. Glad I bought one of these.
http://www.txp.com.au/shop/product.php?productid=16302&cat=319&page=1

Phil

 

[crackacoldie]

On one of our previous vans, we had issue with the TV reception, found that the manufacturer had stapled through the cable.

 

[BUSH PALACE]

very nice lookn set up

 

[Meanderthals]

Had aerial checked on way out of town and combiner unit on mast was faulty. Was told that this type of antenna is powered and combiner wasn't allowing power past it. Mast replaced and all good now. Also, has anyone else noticed a small clear plastic bag attached to their mast? While checking ours over to see what was faulty a few days ago, I noticed it and while up the ladder I removed it and inside was a small "E" clip. While talking to person doing the repair today he asked about the bag missing off of the faulty mast. Apparently the clip is a spare for the mast mounting and is usually left attached. I expressed my fellings that between wind, rain and UV I doubted that the plastic bag would last very long. It really should be attached to the antenna documentation given to the owner.

They weren't prepared to tackle the 2 other items that we discovered in the last few days and they would have to be booked in for them. Time taken to replace antenna was more than it would have taken to deal with those items by someone else. Mounting plate for jack in front bin is supposed to be held down by 4 screws. In this case an over zealous installer had screwed 3 of them in so tight that they had broken the heads off. Also a clear plastic water pipe from rear tank was severely kinked and non functional because it went through a cross member and doubled back.

I'll fix both myself on a better weather day but shouldn't have to do it myself. Now where was that email I received a few days ago about a Jayco Customer Survey invitation?

Phil

 

[Meanderthals]

First troubles we struck on returning was due to Builder not having done work in the order we wanted. Our position is that the rear boundary of our property is also the side boundary of our Sons backyard. Our intention was to have the WnP stored in our backyard with access via his yard/driveway. The Builder was supposed to trim off a section of a corner eave so we could get past the house. On arriving home over a weekend we found that our access was still restricted. Fortunately we also have our 2 properties back on to Parkland and that was where the Contractors had been organised to get in and we were able to use that as well.

Now, as to mods. Arranging tie down points was easy for the "A" frame and between the tandem axles but I didn't think much of the rear. Although the WnP's come fitted with standard rear chassis mounting points for a bumper they don't provide them with one, even as an option. The add on tube isn't strong enough for what is possible in a Cyclone but temporarily I ran a chain through them to the cast in ground points. In making up a rear bumper I've incorporated a stronger shackle attachment point. Also, both the chassis rails and the bumper frame have thick walled steel tubes inserted as a crush tube and the whole thing cross bolted together. It was fun getting the tubes up in the frames but at least there is no crushing of the chassis rails with the likelihood of the bolts then loosening off.

I've relocated the spare to underneath the rear with a subframe bolted to 3 cross members and a Hilux chain hoist. It hangs a bit low but not so low that it will be a problem with our intended use. It has crossed my mind to redo the cross members and have a wheel well set in to the floor of the back of the WnP with a covering floor insert. A future mod maybe as it would certainly raise the spare well out of harms way and be easier to get to.

With the rear bumper bar I've not sealed up the ends but have fitted a hinged cover at each end and will store the rear hatch support pole inside.

More to come but haven't taken pics yet, but will over the weekend.

 

[coled1970]

Great looking job. Want to do another one?

 

[Meanderthals]

Great looking job. Want to do another one?

The bumper or the wheel hoist?
Actually it doesn't matter either way as the time has come (in about a week or so and barring a late Wet Season burst) to head South to Katherine, turn right and find the WA coast and keep it on the right until the Vic border (with minor deviations etc) then head North via Horsham, Bordertown, Loxton, Mildura, Broken Hill, Cobar, Longreach, Mt Isa, 3Ways and to home. Well that's the plan anyway and if all goes well it will be late July getting back.

 

[coled1970]

The bumper or the wheel hoist?
Actually it doesn't matter either way as the time has come (in about a week or so and barring a late Wet Season burst) to head South to Katherine, turn right and find the WA coast and keep it on the right until the Vic border (with minor deviations etc) then head North via Horsham, Bordertown, Loxton, Mildura, Broken Hill, Cobar, Longreach, Mt Isa, 3Ways and to home. Well that's the plan anyway and if all goes well it will be late July getting back.

Nah just kidding. Hope you have a great holiday, i know we'll be jealous.

 

[Bluey]

First troubles we struck on returning was due to Builder not having done work in the order we wanted. Our position is that the rear boundary of our property is also the side boundary of our Sons backyard. Our intention was to have the WnP stored in our backyard with access via his yard/driveway. The Builder was supposed to trim off a section of a corner eave so we could get past the house. On arriving home over a weekend we found that our access was still restricted. Fortunately we also have our 2 properties back on to Parkland and that was where the Contractors had been organised to get in and we were able to use that as well.

Now, as to mods. Arranging tie down points was easy for the "A" frame and between the tandem axles but I didn't think much of the rear. Although the WnP's come fitted with standard rear chassis mounting points for a bumper they don't provide them with one, even as an option. The add on tube isn't strong enough for what is possible in a Cyclone but temporarily I ran a chain through them to the cast in ground points. In making up a rear bumper I've incorporated a stronger shackle attachment point. Also, both the chassis rails and the bumper frame have thick walled steel tubes inserted as a crush tube and the whole thing cross bolted together. It was fun getting the tubes up in the frames but at least there is no crushing of the chassis rails with the likelihood of the bolts then loosening off.
View attachment 21117
I've relocated the spare to underneath the rear with a subframe bolted to 3 cross members and a Hilux chain hoist. It hangs a bit low but not so low that it will be a problem with our intended use. It has crossed my mind to redo the cross members and have a wheel well set in to the floor of the back of the WnP with a covering floor insert. A future mod maybe as it would certainly raise the spare well out of harms way and be easier to get to.
View attachment 21118 View attachment 21119
View attachment 21120
View attachment 21121
With the rear bumper bar I've not sealed up the ends but have fitted a hinged cover at each end and will store the rear hatch support pole inside.

View attachment 21122
View attachment 21123
View attachment 21124

More to come but haven't taken pics yet, but will over the weekend.

nice work will try that spare system on my 1756-2 outback if it will work on that van great job looks really good have a great holyday

 

[Meanderthals]

A few things to avoid or to do.
I did the measurements for the frame spacing and then made up the sub-frame on a bench. WRONG. Jayco's spacing of the chassis cross members isn't that accurate. Would have been better to have disconnected van electrics and temporarily mounted the angle iron on them then tack welded the other parts in situ before doing remaining welds on bench. Also, failing to take in to account heat distortion during welding then needs a certain amount of readjustment to make frame square again. Was relatively easily fixed but a pain anyway.
When making the bumper I had to do a couple of 3mm cuts through 3 sides of each tube (from opposite directions) coming out from the chassis frames and then bend and weld them back up so there's a dog leg in each. This gave just sufficient space between the bumper and the rear of the van for the winder handle to pass between them. Half way along the path to the winder mechanism I've placed a bracket with a keyhole in it to help line up the handle as it's not that easy to do otherwise. Also the 4 pads that the tire pulls up against are different front and rear to give the wheel/tire a slight downward angle to the rear and allow the handle to get to the winder. Later in the year I intend to revisit this to make it work better. Probably a guide tube all the way.
The more I think about it though the more I like the idea of cutting through the WnP rear floor and cross members just inside the back hatch and inserting a wheel well. The Toy Haulers lend themselves quite well to the possibility. It would give more clearance under the spare wheel, keep it from getting dirty and no crawling under the back to drag out the spare. Management might object to the idea though so I'll have to arrange a tire changing session in worst possible conditions to help convince her.

 

[Bluey]

A few things to avoid or to do.
I did the measurements for the frame spacing and then made up the sub-frame on a bench. WRONG. Jayco's spacing of the chassis cross members isn't that accurate. Would have been better to have disconnected van electrics and temporarily mounted the angle iron on them then tack welded the other parts in situ before doing remaining welds on bench. Also, failing to take in to account heat distortion during welding then needs a certain amount of readjustment to make frame square again. Was relatively easily fixed but a pain anyway.
When making the bumper I had to do a couple of 3mm cuts through 3 sides of each tube (from opposite directions) coming out from the chassis frames and then bend and weld them back up so there's a dog leg in each. This gave just sufficient space between the bumper and the rear of the van for the winder handle to pass between them. Half way along the path to the winder mechanism I've placed a bracket with a keyhole in it to help line up the handle as it's not that easy to do otherwise. Also the 4 pads that the tire pulls up against are different front and rear to give the wheel/tire a slight downward angle to the rear and allow the handle to get to the winder. Later in the year I intend to revisit this to make it work better. Probably a guide tube all the way.
The more I think about it though the more I like the idea of cutting through the WnP rear floor and cross members just inside the back hatch and inserting a wheel well. The Toy Haulers lend themselves quite well to the possibility. It would give more clearance under the spare wheel, keep it from getting dirty and no crawling under the back to drag out the spare. Management might object to the idea though so I'll have to arrange a tire changing session in worst possible conditions to help convince her.

thanks Phild im thinking of lots of things my vans not even built yet but I like the idea of getting the wheel of the draw bar don't think jayco like putting them on the back bar I think with 4 wheels should we have 2 spears I know we only have 1 for the cars would love to put it them on the back bar should I strengthen it and put it there anyway ?????