Track Trailer Forum

Thankyou for your response. I'm undergoing a rapid learning program with the Tvan.

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

 The seller is correct.Is the extra anderson solar input a Track feature? Can I connect the 200W blanket to the solar input without a big loss in efficiency?
Yes to both questions

Hello. I have just bought a Murranji mk111 which has a 60 fixed solar panel on the roof. This is nowhere enough to power the 40 liter Engel so i purchased a 200 watt blanket with no controller. This was because the seller has an Anderson plug fitted next to the 240 volt inlet plug on the right hand side of the van. He told me that to use the anderson plug I should not have a controller on the blanket. My question is this - reading this forum and other sources,it seems that two solar inputs should not be run through the one controller particularly with such a variation in outputs . The van is fitted with a Redarc 25 amp 1225 dc charger. Is the extra anderson solar input a Track feature.  Can I connect the 200W blanket to the solar input without a big loss in efficiency.
Thankyou in advance.

Pinchweld is not normally glued on. The pinch holds it on.
The rubber seal that goes around the mouth of the van and seals against the rear hatch is joined with a loctite super glue that is specially designed for rubber

None of the pinch weld on our mk4 appears to be glued.
(This is for everything, main tent hatch, and all side hatches)
I've previously fixed / tightened the seal on the main tent hatch, and it could just be pulled up.

I believe there's a couple of posts where people have 'partially' glued the seals to:

• Join ends (just the ends are glued together)
• Dabs / spots to stop it moving / creeping.

If you really want to glue it, I'd be using something like Sikaflex-227 Auto And Construction Sealant, but again, I'd be going light on.

I am about to replace some of the seals with the Schlegel Pinch Weld sold by Track. The original seals appear to be glued on. Is this something that is necessary? If so, what sort of glue would be best?

Wow thanks for the detailed response. Very useful.

I can understand why you want the aircon, but by comparison the Caframo Sirocco fans only use ~1.4W on low, up to ~4.2W on high.

Table taken from manual Sirocco

Fan Speed	Current Draw (Amps) – 12 Volt	Current Draw (Amps) – 24 Volt	RPM (12 & 24 Volt)
Low	0.12	0.06	1100 ±100
Medium	0.22	0.11	1400 ±100
High	0.35	0.21	1700 ±100

And double the numbers again for His and hers 

It'll run fine, but the challenge isn't usage, it's putting the energy back in.

• Yes. Use a 50A Anderson.
  Yes there are other ways to do it, and yes you don't actually need the full 50A throughput, but the start-up current exceeds a cig-plug rating.
  Andersons are also common, robust, and give you flexibility in the future.
  
  • As suggested, wire it separately with its own fuse. I prefer a 'MIDI' fuse, but a Maxi will also work.
• Yes — assuming ~150W in Eco mode, you should get ~13–14 hours.
  Caveat: This is effectively a one-shot (or two ~7-hour sessions). Without a lot of solar or driving, you'll be going backwards each day.
• Start to add 'accessories' (like a fridge), and the numbers only get worse.
• Adding an extra anderson
  Assuming the MK5 is similar to the MK4, the batteries are commonned in the drivers side battery box.
  Just add an extra cable there for your fuse, and run the cable to wherever you need. (I'd avoid taking the electrical panel apart if possible)
• The MK4's already had an anderson on the outside next to the 240V inlet, so you could repurpose that.
  I added an extra anderson internal to the drivers side hatch, but that means you'd need to leave the hatch open.

High-level explanation
(Averaged numbers)

Lithium basics

• Voltage
  Lithium runs at a higher voltage, so I'll assume ~13.5V
  (NOTE. This is optimistic, especially if you're draining the battery down to 20%)
• Discharge Floor
  You can safely discharge lithium's further than lead-acid, but how much depends on the make / model, and lifespan may be affected.
  I'll assume a 20% floor (Maximum of 80% usable power)
• Capacity
  Based on the above, this gives you ~2,160 WH to use.
  200Ah × 13.5V × 0.8 ≈ 2,160Wh

Usage

• I'll assume worst case Eco draw of 150W
• Runtime
  With nothing else running, that's ~14 hours max
  2,160Wh / 150W ≈ 14 hours
• Any other loads reduce this (e.g. a fridge can average 20–60W per hour)
  
  • As this is for summer use, we'll assume a worst case of the fridge at ~60w per hour, which reduces the max Eco time from 14 hours down to ~10 hours

Recovery
(this is the real limitation)

• 8 hours of Eco use = ~1,200Wh of power you need to replace
• Solar:
  (Both assume no other loads, good solar orientation, and realistic averages for VIC summer (but do not account for shade, overcast, etc))
  (Assumes peak VIC summer output of up to x5-x6 solar output per day (vs. x~3 in winter))
  
  • Using the Standard 120W solar
    ~550-700Wh/day will require ~1.5-2 days to recover 8h Eco use
  • Just adding a fridge (no other loads), this is now ~2.5–3 days to recover
  • If you've got the 200W solar upgrade
    ~900-1,200Wh/day → ~Just over 1 day to recover 8h Eco use
  • Adding a fridge (no other loads), this is now ~1.5–2 days to recover
• Alternator charging:
  Assuming the 40A Redarc BC-DC charger, set to max current and with appropriate cabling, alternator, etc.
  1,200Wh / 540W ≈ 2–3 hours of driving
• Adding a fridge (no other loads), this is now ~3-3.5 hours to recover

I'm sick, so probably worth sanity checking the numbers above, but as mentioned, what ever you take out you need to put back in . . . .