Change of Camper...Eagle to a Tvan...plus intro.

[markeaust]

G'day all,

Whilst I have posted a few times on the forum, I thought I'd better introduce myself and explain why the change from an Eagle to the Tvan....

In relation to the Eagle, to be honest, I really love this camper.  It is simple, strong, voluminous and tows like a dream with the wonderful MC2 suspension.   We have been lucky to have had this camper for the past 8 years and during that time have done some great trips ranging from the Victorian High country, West Coast, East coast and lots in between.  Some off road trips and lots of on-road.  It has never let us down and has been a great introduction to the world of campertrailers, both for us 'parents' and the kids.  I do have a memory of coming home from Perth travelling alone and trying to do the trip in the shortest possible time and 'wishing for something easier for those trips where I was on my own'.  I even started drawing up plans for some different types of tents that could be attached o the top of the locker system, for those types of trips, but never went ahead with it....  I also had quite a few modifications made to the canvas on the Eagle, simply to enhance ventilation and expand the options for the awnings and 'external undercover' areas. I also did some nifty upgrades to the wiring, installed some LED lights and increased the charging options. It is safe to say that I will be very sad to see the Eagle go (though I do have a friend wanting to buy it, so can keep a good eye on it and maybe even camp in it occasionally...   I have no doubt it will give the new owner years of reliable service... may even come with some after-sales service and advice.... ....over a few beers no doubt...

So the move to a Tvan was the obvious choice for us, even though we still have 2 little kidlets.  Very quick to set up, no more climbing over each other to the bed, still fits the 'bunks', external cooking arrangements and a higher level of comfort, in preparation for a 3+ month adventure next year...    .  Got the car sorted, now the camper sorted....

I was lucky to find, right here on the forum, a very well cared for Tvan, with lots of accessories and some high quality modifications (thanks Cracka.... ).  It is a 2005 Mk II, has electric/hydraulic disk brakes, bed extension, shade sail, FULL awning, portable shower and chemical dunny.....      http://www.tracktrailerforums.com/index.php?topic=1667.0   It has certainly lived up to the ad and I was able to simply hook it up and tow it from Southern NSW to Melbourne without a hassle at all. 

First shake down trip was to Casterton for the Kelpie Muster a couple of weeks ago (the boys just love dogs and we have a kelpie ourselves.. )   

Shake-down trip notes:

1. Tows like a dream (just like all Track products....)

2. Brakes are sensational (elec/hyd/disc).  I must pull these apart one day to see how they all work. Best to understand in case of failure...

3. Bed was very comfy....until both my kids climbed in....      Went without the bed extension, but will likely fit this in future, given I'm 6' tall.

4. Storage: Coming from the vastness of storage of the Eagle, with the fantastic locker system, it was always going to take some trial and error to get a real handle on where the best place is to store everything. I did some 'culling' before the trip and everything was fine, but we like to experiment... So far had all food in 'tucker box' on rear floor of Tvan, plus big box with Weber Baby Q and some bush cooking items. Lots of stuff on the bed, including the kids bunks (must get them back on there...     ) and thermarests, interior carpet for tent floor, fold-flat chairs x 2, plus the kids sleeping bags...just looks a bit messy, but nothing moved. Rough track would see me tie down this stuff and pack a bit better.  I have also been reading all the posts on packing and storage...some great ideas on the forum....

5. Put up full awning (without end walls and front wall)...had no instructions, so took me about 1.5 hours to figure it all out      and I'm impressed with how it all works. I should be able to pop this up pretty quickly in future.   Shade sail for another time or at home on a nice day soon...

6. Kitchen. Previous owner removed the built in stove and used a wok burner. To me, this 'extra' stove takes up space to store, so I've replaced the original stove (?Swift) and lit it to make sure it didn't blow up...     will be testing this out to make sure it works OK, but first fire up was positive.    This has freed up a fair bit of space under the kitchen bench, so all eating utensils, plates, mugs, glasses are in there, plus coffee, tea, billies, kettle, sugar and the like. Overall a great little storage area. I did tend to carry FAR too much stuff in the Eagle lockers which I never used, so ditched most of this "just-in-case" stuff.

7. Set up...hard floor and tent....easy peasy. Much better than the Eagle, though a little smaller, maybe just in the 'width', but the bunks just fit along the back end, so all good.

8. No notable interior condensation, probably due to the full interior lining and my obsession with ventilation.  It was pretty cold with temps probably down to close to 0 C on those nights...    but all stayed pretty warm and no drips on face.

9.  TV was a hit with the boys...had movie night all on the bed....    Going to have to really think about this one for future trips.  I want the kids to be outside mostly and perhaps leave the TV to when the weather is really horrible.  Is nice to have though..   Hence the fire pit I knocked up....   http://www.tracktrailerforums.com/index.php?topic=1137.msg13799#msg13799   Let's hope this helps keep them out of the tent....

Conclusion:  Wife, kids and dog all happy = me happy too.

Looking forward to lots more 'experimenting' and years of happy 'tweaking'  (and exploring this great country to  boot....   )

Hope to see some of you out on the tracks...

Cheers,

Mark and Fleur

[Flood]

Welcome Mark and Fleur,

Looks like a good buy for yourselves and appears like your wasting no time in putting it to good use.
My wife and I have had ours for about 2 mths and have had a couple of quick trips but for now can't wait till summer.

Cheers Mark and Tracey.

[markeaust]

Thanks Mark,

Yes, we're very happy with it. Next job is to install the MPPT solar controller.....should be a bit of fun doing things to the high standards set by Cracka.....

Got a few days off here and there in July, so also hoping to take the kidlets away for  a few days here and there also....who cares if it's winter.....

Cheers,

Mark

[nicki01]

Welcome Mark,
Enjoy your Tvan, we have had our 2006 model since Xmas and love it, still tweeking ours have just bought 140w solar panel which we used on our last trip which was great for our phones and camera charging and gave us extra backup for the engel as we used it as a freezer on our last trip and our travelling buddy used his as a fridge.

Nicki