Track Trailer Forum

Sept 2014 Track Trailer Tvan. It was a Tanami model but has lots of upgrades from other models.

It has been hired out during it's life but is in good condition - it has always been well maintained. There are no holes in the canvas. The biggest issue is some stone chipping on the front.

There is a 2.5x2.5m awning over the kitchen that is almost brand new - I'll include an older one for spare parts.

A "Stone Stomper" net is included - this goes between the Tvan & car to stop rocks flying up (damaging either the Tvan or bouncing back and smashing the rear window of the car).

Tyres are in good condition - the spare is brand new. Also has a rim based tyre pressure monitoring system (all 3 wheels) and a Redarc TowPro installed.

Roof has a 60W solar panel - this has always been enough to power the lights, water pump and radio. It is protected with a low voltage cutout so it cuts out at 50% to protect it.

It has a new foam mattress. I'll include some spare deck legs.

Pickup from Artarmon, Sydney.

$37,500

on Gumtree - https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/artarmon/camper-trailers/track-trailer-mk3-tvan-sept-2014-build/1256290616

We're heading from Perth up to the Pilbara, Karlamilyi National Park, Kimberley, Bungle Bungles then back to Sydney starting 6th May and back by 18th July.

I've been looking at the historical weather records and it seems that it's unlikely to go below 10c at night in the Pilbara/Karlamilyi/Kimberley/Bungle Bungles. That would be pleasant enough at night and the kids should be able to manage ok by rugging up.

Is that most people's experience of those areas at that time? I'm imagining we'll sit around the fire for a bit then they'll go to bed reasonably early.

On the way back I'm not sure exactly which way we'll go or how long we'll have - it depends on how much we find to do in the Kimberley region. It seems that it will be quite a lot colder at night as we head into the centre and further away from the cost.

The big question is... do I bother organising a diesel heater for the Tvan? I've got one sitting on the shelf but haven't had time to put it in. I'm also toying with the idea of making it portable so we can use if we go tent camping. But I'm pushed for time so I'm not sure where it should sit on my list of priorities.

Do people think a heater would make evenings/more pleasant in the Pilbara/Kimberley? In Central Australia? Or should we just toughen up a bit and be ok?

I'm looking to get my stone guards Rhino coated to (hopefully) prevent some of the stone/dirt damage. Is anyone else interested? I think the more we get done the cheaper it is. I'm looking at using a guy out at Richmond - he was at the 4wd show at Eastern Creek last year.

Send me a PM if you're interested - I'm aiming to send mine off on 9th March (1 week away).

Hi all

I'm picking up our Firetail at the end of Feb and bringing it back to Sydney. If anyone would like me to bring things back from Track Trailer I'd be happy to. You'd have to have it all organised/paid for with TT and arrange to collect it from me in Artarmon/St Leonards. I'm not sure I can bring back a front box but most other things should be ok.

Has anyone installed a Redarc Manager30 in a Mk4 Tvan? They are 445 x 185 x 79mm - pretty big. If I go that way I wouldn't have the standard chargers installed (this would replace them).

Would it fit in behind the instrument panel or is it too long/wide/tall?

There's another thread going on about Topaz LiFePO4 conversion - see http://www.tracktrailerforums.com/index.php?topic=2434.0.

I didn't want to hijack it with discussions about Tvan batteries since the storage locations are a bit different.

Background - we've got a Firetail on order for end of Feb delivery and I'm trying to work out what we're doing for battery power. We're heading up to the Kimberley and Pilbara next May for 10 week, camping with 3 kids.The plan is to run a freezer in the Tvan front box and a fridge in the car. From experiements with our Mk3 Tvan we found that the 105AH AGM battery and 60W solar panel won't keep it going for very long on a hot day - we tried it once and the battery was flat in no time.

I'm aware that we could get some portable solar panels and them around all day when we're stopped to keep the battery charged. But that doesn't fit with how we operate - we spend all day our exploring.

So I'm looking at fitting out the Tvan with LiFePO4 (Lithium iron) batteries. For me the main advantage is the depth of discharge without damage - I gather you can safely take them down to 20% and still get thousands of cycles out of them. So a 100AH LiFePO4 battery should have 80AH of usable capacity vs 50AH for an AGM battery.

I'm an electronics engineer during the day so I'm happy tinkering to get the setup right - I might even build my own Battery Management System. I realise that others have different skills so the route I take may not be suitable for everyone. I'm also a bit of a cheapskate so I'm trying to do this on a budget...

Before anyone chimes in with "but they catch fire" - Lithium Iron - LiFePO4 - batteries are quite different to Lithium Ion (no "R" in ion) batteries as used in phones/laptops/etc. Lots of threads I've read elsewhere get sidelined into a discussion on the differences between the two and the safety implications.


Enough background! I poked around TheLandy's Tvan on the weekend (thanks Baz!) - the left hand battery box is about 165mm deep, 265mm wide (at the base - not the seal) and 335mm long. I've spend a fair bit of time looking around at individual LiFePO4 cells - they are 3.2V and varying capacities. They range from $US0.90/AH to $US1.20/AH + freight (so a 100AH cell is $US90-$US120).

It is possible to buy 12V 100AH LiFePO4 battery packs - they have the battery balancing and safety stuff built in. They fit in the same spot as an AGM battery but they are kinda pricey - in Australia they seem to be $1000-$1500. Or 3-5x the cost of the AGM battery they replace. I'm not going down that path.

I looked at all sorts of cell combinations and can't see how to get more than about 200AH into the two Tvan battery boxes - the cells are all just the wrong size. The battery box needs to be a bit deeper or wider or longer - even another 5mm in width or height would be enough! It looks to be possible to use both boxes and make up a 200AH battery pack (4 x 100AH cells in each side, 2 in parallel, then in series - 2S2P).

Some other cells would fit under the bed along one side (John from TT tells me it's 295mm high). There are lots of options but it looks like the battery pack will be between 70 & 110mm wide and 500-800mm long. I was thinking of making an aluminium "shield" to protect the cells from impact when we put things under the bed.

Things are moving along - if I'm ordering the cells from China I have to do it this week so they can go with a sea freight shipment for my work. If anyone else is interested in getting some sent over drop me a line ASAP.

hi. More of a "FYI" than a query but I thought it might help someone.

Our Mk3 pump stopped working recently. The Tvan electrics checked out ok so I pulled the pump out. The pump would run if I bypassed the pressure switch on the top so I pulled it apart. There were 2 philips head screws to remove the pressure switch assembly from the pump. To get the assembly apart you need to undo the 2mm allen key (which sets the pressure sensitivity) a bit to reduce the pressure on the spring them it comes apart easily.

Amazingly the diaphram at the top that pushes the pressure switch was full of dust. While most of the pump is well sealed it seems the pressure switch part at the top isn't! The switch also isn't sealed or waterproof.

I cleaned all the dust out and reassembled it. I wound the pressure sensitivity allen key back to about the same point as before and it all works ok now (pump runs normally and stops if you close off the sink valve).

If you need a spare switch a Jaycar SM1039 will fit (after you remove the metal lever from it). I've put a spare in our "spares" box, just in case.

hi

We're getting a Tvan in about 2 weeks and I'm not sure what to do with the brake controller. I want to be able to let other people use it who don't have a brake controller in their vehicle so was thinking of mounting the controller in the Tvan. The one we hired from Independant Trailers in Canberra was done like that - with a connector so the trailer brake controller could be disconnected if there was one in the vehicle.

I asked the Redarc guys if I could put their TowPro one in the trailer and they said it couldn't be put in the trailer because

QuoteThe TowPro has to be mounted in the towing vehicle so it can be correctly calibrated for its position in the vehicle and where the driver can reach the control (which is required by law in most states).

I'm sure the calibration issue can be worked around. I've read the NSW regs and I can't see anything there which says the driver has to be able to reach the controls (only that they have to be able to apply the trailer brakes from the cabin, which happens when you put your foot on the vehicle brakes).

Is there any reason a proportional controller like the TowPro or P3 wouldn't work if mounted in the Tvan? It's going to experience the same deceleration as if it was mounted in the vehicle. I realise it wouldn't be adjustable but we can live with that.

Peter