Track Trailer Forum

G'day all,
I fitted an XO500 to our Mk5 Zenith from new, but haven't really liked the way the tube angled when extended significantly. I recently fitted the XO750, which has a collar that keeps the extending tube much straighter.
One certainly doesn't need more than the XO500 for weight, as it has a 500kg capacity which I think is more than enough (empty weight on the wheel is around 200kg).
But XO750 tougher, so we went with that. Tare of the XO500 is a bit less than the XO750 however, if you're tight for ball weight.
Cheers,
Gobi One

Thanks Rob,
Appreciate the quick response. Loads are indeed in shear, so I'm hopeful keeping things tight will present few problems.
Cheers,
Gobi1

G'day Team,
We're getting more serious with our tow vehicle (swapping 2018 VW Tiguan for new Land Rover Defender) and I reworked the 4x plates on the rear deck of our Mk5 Zenith to take Maxtrax mounts / recover boards.
I drilled 10mm holes in each plate, drilled out rivets before installing Maxtrax mounting pins and re-riveting with stainless rivets. Pretty easy, however this was in the standard (thin) plate material.
Q. Have others done this with long-term success, or should I use thicker plates (which I think Track use on their factory installations)?
Love to get the experience of the group on whether I'm in for grief (i.e. cracking), even  if kept joints nice and tight?

Happy adventuring,
GobiOne

G'day folks,
We have a Mk5 Zenith and recently purchased a portable induction stove top from IKEA for $50. It's fantastic when in a CP, so an off-grid unit would be terrific with the right power set-up. Very fast and excellent when the wind blows.
All very well documented of course, but we're certainly converts.

G'day Team,
I've just had my first attempt at draining the (rear) water tank on our Mk5 Zenith. I jacked the RH side up about 100mm, removed the cover and attempted to remove the (Zebra) hand pump supply line to siphon out tank.
Lessons learned:
1. I broke the Whale check-valve when trying to get the tank hose off the check-valve.
2. I also broke the barb off the hand pump whilst trying to rotate the supply line off the barb. Looked like it had been cracked about ½ way from new, but very annoyed as I thought I was being careful.

I rang Tristan at Atlas RV to order a new Zebra pump (and other parts) and questioned line removal for siphoning. He suggested Altas RV simply run the electric pump to drain the tank (as the pump is a good quality unit). Just be sure to not let it run dry for very long. Easy! ... now he tells me.

Happy adventuring,
GobiOne

I'm as bit late to this thread but have recently taken delivery of a Mk 5 Zenith. So far, excellent choice.
I found fitting 60 litre Tactix black plastic boxes ($42.50 from Bunnings) under the bed (2 off) and a third on the RH boot slide work very well. They're nice and deep (800 mm) and two fit nicely under the bed. You do need to remove the grey foot pads from their base (lever off with steel rule or screw driver) as their height is pretty tight. In fact, the LH unit runs into a rivnut from the bed frame so you have to remove the centre (RH) box first. That's fine, as the LH box contains stuff we rarely need to get to (but nice to have)... cordless saw, drill and angle grinder, etc.
For $85 total, there's 120 litres of tough and usable storage.
Happy trails,
Jim

Sorry to confuse Trex,
No, Wesfalia is the Hayman Reese" of Europe. OEM for many Euros I understand.

Key is that they have detachable hitch "arms" with 50mm balls so can't accept DO35s. Though the Alko "Off-Road Ball" hitch seems to work well for less arduous applications.

Thanks Trex,
Can now delivered and on our first trip. The handbrake did need some modifying for use with the Alko hitch... we bought the Alko handle and the spacer for the front and bolted original cable wheel and clevis straight up to the new lever.
Can include photos if anyone interested.

Now, easy to fit on our detachable Wesfalia ball.

Thanks Gumb, Phil,
Appreciate the replies.
The part of the equation that the Carsales article missed, and appears never to have corrected, is that the "Supplement to Owner's Manual for AU 2018 models..." allows for a "tongue loading" (i.e. ball weight) of 200kg if there are up to 2 occupants.
And since there are only going to be my wife and I, we're in good shape. This with a "Maximum Towing Capacity - Braked" of 2500kg (the capacity of the Wesfalia hitch) and a MCW of 4830k (car + trailer).
I think we'll go with the Al-Ko Off-Road hitch with the incorporated Handbrake.
Cheers and thanks,
Gobi1

Hello learned T-Van owners,
My wife and I take delivery of a T-Van next month, and while we have it spec'ced with the DO35, at present our tow vehicle is a VW Tiguan. The Tiguan has a 50mm ball hitch on a Wesfalia hitch arm.

Thus we're looking for a non-off-road hitch for the near term. There are numerous ball couplings, including the Al-Ko off-road ball hitch, but we think we don't really need full off-road capability until we upgrade the tug.

We'd welcome comment from others who may be in this same situation (non-4WD) and have chosen a standard (non-off-road) hitch.

Thanks,
Gobi1