Track Trailer Forum

It is with great regret that we a selling our Topaz. It served us well over the last 8 years.
This topaz has been extremely well looked after, serviced very regularly and always garaged when not being used.
It has full internal kitchen and rollout external Bushman BBQ and 60L ARB Fridge/Freezer.
It comes with near new canvas awning and all side walls, as well as a rollout Thule awning.
It has just been serviced and brakes and gas struts replaced.

This Topaz has lots more features.  Please contact Harry for more details.

Located in Brisbane
Price is $88,000
Contact Harry Mobile 0417193528

Hi All,
I'm touching up a couple of marks on the kitchen bench in my 2015 Topaz 2 Savannah and I need to get some touch up spray paint. Does anyone know the paint code or the name of the colour? It's a bit more beigey grey colour than the lighter walls, cupboard, drawers and trim around the windows.

Harry

I've just replaced the rubbers in my Koni shock absorbers on the Topaz and was wondering how tight to tighten the Nylox nuts.  The nuts can be tightened right to the end of the thread which squashes the ends of the rubbers in a fair bit and doesn't allow any movement. The nylox locking nuts will allow for a lighter tension without coming loose.

What do others do?

Harry.

Just checking under the Topaz after the Round Aus trip.  Have anyone had this corrosion occur around the drain holes on the hot water (rear) tank and have any idea on what could have happened?  I don't want to start pulling the tank out if it's a job for a specialist because it's not easy to get to.  I routinely put hydrogen peroxide in my tank too which might cause the corrosion rather than just a wet patch.  The tank was a quarter full and the area around the corrosion was dry.  The forward water tank has no corrosion at all.

I have gas fuses on my Topaz gas cylinders.  If I connect a cylinder to the regulator system (in the back hatch) to connect the gas to the three taps (Stove, HWS and Space Heater) but leave those 3 taps OFF, and turn the gas on, energise the gas fuse so the line to the 3 taps is pressurised, then turn the cylinder off, the pressure in the gas fuse gauge slowly drops over a few hours until the gas line has no pressure.  This indicates that there is a very small leak somewhere.  Ideally, the gauge should not move.

I have checked every fitting between the cylinder, gas fuse, regulators and the 3 taps using soapy water and can't see any leaks.  I've changed cylinders and I've changed gas fuses as well.  I think that the leak is so small that it can't be detected with soapy water.

Perhaps that small a leak is acceptable.

Any comments?

Harry

I've had a few issues with servicing my Topaz Savannah.  I've had it serviced 5 times, 3 in Brisbane and 2 in Broome.

Often the wheel nuts aren't all properly tightened after a service

A brake magnet required replacement on the second service and I found out the next year that the magnet that was installed was a 10" drum magnet not a 12" one

While changing a tyre near Derby this year, I just happened to check the tyre for wobble before releasing the jack and there was considerable wobble.  I had to turn the castle nut one complete revolution to hand tighten the bearing.  At the service in Broome I was told that the bearing had not been tightened correctly in the last service.

These issues all occurred after services at  Tracktrailer approved service centres in Brisbane.

I'm starting to lose confidence in getting my Topaz serviced at an approved service centre and I'm seriously considering doing all future services myself.  I then have only my self to blame if they are not done properly. What is the point of spending approximately $300 on a service if it's not done properly?

I have also heard that insurance could be invalid if  servicing has not been performed by a qualified mechanic but I'm not sure that is correct.  Any comments?

Do most people do their own servicing?

Harry

Just putting it out there to see if I'm the only one that's had cracked Dynamic rims.  I had one last year, and another this year. My Topaz Savannah is 4 years old and has done about 70,000 km.

Last year while coming back from Western Australia I had one cracked rim just coming into Kununurra coming off the Great Northern Highway (bitumen).

This year, it happened on the Nullarbor (another bitumen road), although both times I had travelled on the Gibb River Road as well.

From memory, both rims that cracked just happened to be on the battery side of the Topaz.  A minute crack forms in one of the  welds that holds the spokes onto the rim and tyre pressure decreases by about 1 psi per hour.

I have to replace this latest cracked rim and I'm wondering whether another brand might be the go.  At the moment this cracked rim just has a tube in it as I couldn't get a new rim easily in Port Lincoln, so I just use it as the spare.  The tyre company assured me that I could continue to use this until the tread wears out and then replace the rim when I replace the tyre.

Harry

I'm hoping that someone here knows the answer.  I'm having battery Power problems in my Topaz.  When off the grid, my 2 x Fullriver 100 ah batteries won't run my ARB and  Isotherm fridges overnight.  The batteries as the sun goes down are 100% charged and by 4 AM in the morning are 82% charged (which sounds reasonable) but when either fridge cuts in, the voltage will go down to  about 10.7V and fridges won't run.  Turn the fridges off and the voltage will come back (sometimes slowly) to about 12.5 indicating about 82% charged.

I had this problem last year and replaced both batteries thinking that the batteries (only 3 yrs old) were the problem.  Current batteries are only 12 months old.  The batteries have never been below about 80% charged and when at home, they are always being trickle charged by the Projecta 25A battery charger which came with the Topaz.

Any suggestions? I'm currently travelling through Western Australia and if I can't fix this, I will either have to always be in powered sites or only use one fridge. This is very restricting.

I'm having a problem with the hot water pump in the Topaz.  Every time the pump is activated, it will run for up to 10 minutes before it will stop.  Once it stops, then all is OK indicating that there are no leaks anywhere.  The line stayed pressurised all last night and the pump did not turn on once.  As soon as I turn the hot tap on, the pump turns on, I turn the tap off and the pump may run for a further 10 minutes (average is about 3 - 6 minutes).

Any clues on how to fix this?  As the pumps are difficult to get to, I need to have a plan before I start getting in there!

I'm having trouble with the fitting that connects the gas hose to the Topaz BBQ. It's the same fitting that I think is on the Tvan stove. When I plug the female end on the hose into the male end fixed to the BBQ, gas slowly leaks out and confirmed using soapy water. All 5 ball bearings are in place in the fitting, both sides have been cleaned to the best of my ability. Haven't pulled the fitting apart though. The fittings are 2.5 yrs old. I have noticed that if I twist the female connector around, I can find a spot where gas leaking is minimal but still there. It leaks enough sometimes that you can smell gas. Has anyone had this problem and is there a fix. I'm in Kununurra at the moment so I don't like my chances of buying one here.


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Hi All,

I've got the keys to the lolly shop again!  My friends who own Crane Winery and B&B have gone to Fraser Island for 2 weeks and left me in charge again!  If you're passing through Kingaroy in the lovely South Burnett area of South eastern Queensland, please drop in for wine tasting, gourmet cheese platters and wine sales or just drop in for a chat. I'll be here for the next 2 weeks.

Harry and Bev

Hi All,

I need some guidance in this.  I would like to install another LED spotlight on the right hand side of our Topaz.  We find that when we are on non powered sites and are trying to conserve power, we use the spotlights rather than the long overhead LED strip.  However, the spotlights aren't near enough to give a good light over the table.  They are great for over the bed though but the table misses out. 

I would like continue the wire along from the two existing spotlights that hang down from the overhead locker and put another light closer to the wardrobe, probably mid way between the existing lights and the wardrobe.  I assume that there is a channel directly under the overhead locker which is designed to carry wiring and I would like to know how do you get access to this.  Is it sufficient to just remove the few rivets at the end and carefully bend the channel down along its length or do I have to remove all the rivets and completely remove the channel?

I have an Isuzu MU-X with factory towbar and tow a Topaz Savannah.  A while back I towed the Topaz from Kingaroy to Dubbo and noticed when I got there that the R Clip which holds the Pull Pin (which holds the towing tongue in place) was missing.  I assumed that it had been stolen by mischievious children or heaven forbid I forgot to to put it in. I was extremely lucky that the pull pin didn't come out as I would have ended up with only the chains holding the Topaz to the car. I then bought a lockable Pull Pin that also has an R Clip and have used that since.

I was uncoupling the Topaz this morning after our recent 10,000 KM trip (Cameron Corner, Strezlecki and Oodnadatta track etc ) and noticed that the straight side of the R Clip was bent backwards slightly so the springy side wasn't even holding on the pull pin.  If the R Clip had been upside down which can happen - it does move around a bit, then it would have fallen out.  I now suspect that this is what happened the first time the R Clip went missing.

I'm hoping that someone on the forum may have had this problem and can advise me on what to do to prevent it happening again. I have been towing trailers and campertrailers for about 30 years and never had this problem.   

Moving to the Topaz shortly so sadly my Tvan of 3 years has to be sold. Here are the details.  It is in Kingaroy at the moment but it will be back in Brisbane on the weekend. I will be advertising it on the weekend.

2002 Tvan
Good condition
Hitchmaster DO35 Hitch
Levelling indicator on drawbar
Standard 15 Inch Steel rims 6 stud 130mm offset 
Tyres: Goodyear Wrangler LT  M+S  265/75R15 NEAR NEW
Checker plate deck.
Firewood rack
4 Jerry Cans
2 x 4.5 KG gas cylinders
Full Awning + 3 side walls,  front wall,  skirt, Sail Awning and Ensuite  in great condition
Curtains
Bed extension and bed tie down rails
12V Caframo fan
Porta Potty (NEVER used)
Internal ceiling overhead storage pockets
4 interior swivel lights converted to LEDs and tent section LED strip light
Multi stage battery charger + 2 x 100 AH batteries (NEAR NEW)
Rear insect screen
Slideout stainless steel kitchen with 2 burner stove, sink and cutlery drawer
NEW shock absorbers (2 months old)
NEW hard floor springs
Spare parts and Manual
Water tank and level monitor
2 Pin type legs and 6 original hard floor legs
Stored undercover when not in use
2nd Owner.  Estimated mileage 35000 km
$27500
Location: West End Brisbane
Contact Harry 0417193528

Hi Forum.  I'm hoping someone can help me rather quickly as I am in Birdsville and going down the Birdsville Track tomorrow (Monday).

A week ago on route to Birdsville, I noticed that the left hand shockabsorber had developed a leak leaving oil on the inside tyre every morning.  Carrying one spare, I replaced it in Thargomindah and consequently ordered 2 more from Track to be delivered to Innamincka.  They were promptly despatched but were lost in transit to Innamincka.  I then went to Birdsville thinking that all should be OK, however,tvan just to get me out of troublethis morning, I have just discovered that the righthand shock absorber is now also leaking. No spare!

Is it possible to put any shock absorber on that looks the same and has a similar travel ?

If this leaking shockabsorber goes while I'm travelling, how will I know, and what damage would it cause travelling with a faulty shockabsorber?

Is there any Tvan owner out there in the vicinity (Birdsville, Marree,Adelaide etc) who can sell me  spare to get me out of trouble?

Harry

As my electricial knowledge is limited a little, I am hoping that someone can help/explain to me the protection of electrical circuits in my 2002 Tvan.

While camping by the Lions Rd in the QLD/NSW border ranges last weekend, I plugged a friends 12V fluoro light  into one of the merit sockets.  The fluoro light had frayed wires (which weren't particular heavy duty) where they went into the light, and consequently shorted.  After about 5 seconds wondering why the light hadn't come on, I noticed that the wires to the light were fairly hot maybe about 50 degrees centigrade and rising.  I disconnected immediately. 

I wonder why the  fuse on the front chassis did not blow.  I had already changed that fuse from 30A to 20A some time ago, and it didn't blow.

Is there something I am missing here?  Tvan wiring is supposed to be rated at 10A.  Does that mean that the fuse should only be 10A.  I would have liked to put a 10A large blade fuse in place of the 30A, but I don't know whether they are available.  Supercheap didn't have them.  The smallest I could get was 20A.  The current (not intended as a pun!) system doesn't seem to offer much protection.

The next question is.... does everything I plug in to a merit socket need to have its own fuse.  Most applications that are plugged in eg lights, chargers, TV etc dont have their own fuses.

Any comments? I would sure like to sort this out for peace of mind.

Harry

Hi Forum,
We have just returned from 8 weeks travel from Brisbane to the gulf country and back, and while we were camped in Mt Isa, I had a small electric shock while kneeling on damp ground and touching the drawbar of my 2002 Tvan while the Tvan was connected to mains power via the outside connection.  I immediately thought that it was a problem with the power at the campground as I wasn't plugged into the usual earth leakage type sockets but just a normal exterior point and decided to just be careful until I returned home to Brisbane (ie not touch the chassis and neal on wet ground at the same time).  On return to Brisbane I asked an ex-electrician friend of mine the best way to check it out and after some research, he suggested that I buy one of those testers that plug into any electrical socket and test that the wires are connected correctly.  I checked out my house socket that I use for plugging the Tvan into and it ested OK, the lead tested OK BUT when I tested the 2 sockets inside the Tvan on the yellow/orange box, the tester indicated that the neutral and active wires were reversed on the 2 sockets.  This alarmed me somewhat, so I checked the wiring on the external socket on the Tvan (after removing 4 rivets) - the wiring was correct.  I then removed all the screws to remove one side of the orange/yellow box and found the 2 wires reversed just before the power goes to the internal sockets.  Please refer to the attached photo.  If you look closely, you can see the blue neutral wire going to the "1" connection and the brown active wire going to the "N" connection.  Now I bought my 2002 Tvan second hand 2 years ago and it was in perfect condition and as far as I can determine, the internal electrics have not been fiddled so I tend to think that it may have been a fault from day one.  Has anyone else had a similar problem and perhaps we should all be testing that the wiring is correct. 

I have just returned from a 3 day camping trip to Fingal Head where the weather wasn't ideal.  Our 2002 Tvan had some water leaking problems.
Firstly, there was water pooling on the little ledge just over the lower hatch seal and dripping onto the floor

Secondly the bow (the bar you push out to hold the canvas out) had drips of water on it after a day or so indicating that the water was coming through the canvas where the metal bow was touching it.  The metal was dripping in quite a few places.

Thirdly, water was leaking in around where both the side walls zip onto the awning.  I have previously put wax on the stitching but it still leaks.  The water seams to be coming in from the top zipper stitching which also stitches the flap onto the canvas to protect the zip.

I've had other brands of campertrailers and have never had a problem before with water leaking through the canvas stitching or where the bows touch the canvas, and I have camped in more severe rain than this.

I'll attempt to attach a few photos if someone can tell me how to make the file size < 200kb as stated in the attachment rules. 

If anyone can help me, I'd really appreach it because at the moment I just cant rely on being dry when it rains.