Happy to report a very successful first trip!
6 days at RAC Busselton. We were so comfortable and everything ran so smoothly we didn’t want to leave. Alas, back to work and kids back to school tomorrow. Looking forward to our next trip in 3 weeks to Horrocks!
Towing
The van towed like a dream. Felt extremely solid on the road. No sway. Even when road trains passed I could barely feel it affecting the van at all. Comfortable all the way to 100 kmh. A slight push in open highway with crosswinds as expected.
Have not had the van weighed but if I had to guess probably somewhere between 2600 - 2800 kg. Ball weight was about 275 kg.
Hiccups
Hot brake drums on arrival
A few calls with Austrack Perth. Whilst they couldn’t directly assist (it would need a workshop inspection), they were happy for me to conduct inspections and simple fixes without voiding the warranty. They also advised I could submit a warranty claim and get a quote from a local shop if needed, with approval required before any paid works proceed.
Got each wheel in the air. Bearings looked good, greased correctly, wheels spinning freely. Even with the car hooked up to activate the brake controller there was no drag unless brakes applied. Ended up backing off the shoes slightly anyway.
One side appeared to have had the magnet stick at some point during the trip - some interesting wear on the magnet and plenty of dust as evidence. Interestingly though, both sides were hot, not just that one.
Trip home was smooth with no hot drums and no binding from the electric brakes at all. I had also backed the brake controller off slightly (Tow-Pro in manual mode).
Heading in for its first service and inspection soon, so we’ll see what comes of it.
Awning moment
Accidentally hit the awning close switch while exiting the van one day with it fully set up - straps, anti-flap kit, the lot. The motor stopped responding entirely. During pack-up I wound it in by hand about a quarter of the way, then tried the switch again and it came back to life. Big sigh of relief!
I already have the flip-up cover panel for those switches sitting here ready to go. That’s top of the to-do list this week. Lesson learned the hard way!
See Electric Cassette Awning - Reset After Switch Bump and Switch Cover - Preventing Accidental Bumps.