T5 Kombi Beach availability

[BrianJ]

Looks great, you did a good job replicating the kombi beach name sticker, but we have grown attached to the decal now so ours will have to stay put.

Since my last thread, we have bought an external screen tent, the oztent RV3 screen room: http://www.oztent.com.au/Accessories...p?ProductID=11 This will act as an enclosure for our table and chairs for shade and keeping insects out plus as a place holder if we leave the camp site during the day. For overnight we just use our awning tarp.

Also a Primus portable 80W solar panel to keep the house battery topped up during extended stays in places like NP where there are no powered sites. Hopefully we are completely set up now.

Have fun, we will be staying at Cotton Tree at the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane later this week, hope the weather holds.

Brian

[tapsy]

Looks great, you did a good job replicating the kombi beach name sticker, but we have grown attached to the decal now so ours will have to stay put.

Since my last thread, we have bought an external screen tent, the oztent RV3 screen room: http://www.oztent.com.au/Accessories...p?ProductID=11 This will act as an enclosure for our table and chairs for shade and keeping insects out plus as a place holder if we leave the camp site during the day. For overnight we just use our awning tarp.

Also a Primus portable 80W solar panel to keep the house battery topped up during extended stays in places like NP where there are no powered sites. Hopefully we are completely set up now.

Have fun, we will be staying at Cotton Tree at the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane later this week, hope the weather holds.

Brian

Hey brian sounds good, we have the **** weather here so you should be fine sounds like you have retired is the fridge still working in that spot for you? we have been just putting it behind the drivers seat cause the plug's right there. we will look into the tent, it looks OK thanks for the link.
i'm not techo so how does the solar panel hook up? we had our first drive away last weekend 450km and it drives like a dream..... havn;t slept in it yet

[BrianJ]

Only trouble putting it behind the drivers seat is that the metal drawer can't open properly. On the wood cabinet is good, you can always run an extension down the right side and run the fridge lead across to meet it.

Solar panels are rather large and heavy to store, but they are in a cloth carry bag and fit beside the bed against the drivers side wall. I have put a cigarette lighter plug on it so it just plugs in at the drivers seat socket and sits outside.

I'm glad you like the way it drives, I think mine is amazing on the open road and love driving it.

Brian

[tapsy]

Thanks for the help Brian, decided that we will mount the fridge on the cabinet.
seen some brackets on ebay, but are older ones that don't fold down when not in use, a newie that folds is about $100 for a waeco 35L suppose it depends if it stays put all the time?

[BrianJ]

We screwed this one for $80 to the cabinet top, which also stops the wood slide top from moving:
http://www.engelaustralia.com.au/ima...tsl530-540.jpg

Getting things set up to your liking so they are placed for safe storage and convence is a bit of a challenge. There are little nooks and crannies everywhere and there is always something that will fit perfectly if enough thought is applied.

Brian

[tapsy]

how does that one work? does it 'slide once in place? or is it fixed the name implies that it slides. By screwing down the slide lok did you use screws that were long enough to go through the top part of cabinet to the second layer to keep it from moving

the waeco was is quite different, this is the newer one that folds down still very different to your engel one

hope this works http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-Waeco-Uni...QQcmdZViewItem


http://www.waeco.com.au/products.asp...d=21&catId=21#

[BrianJ]

The feet slide in and clip, but can be released again by a small lever if you want to remove the fridge. I did use 4 long screws that went right through the two wood tops and put nylon locking nuts on the under side of the drawer cabinet. As I said in an earlier post, I also have a strap to hold it from the rear inner mudguard as boots and braces in case of an accident.

Brian

[tapsy]

looks like a neater solution than the waeco one

[tapsy]

We have also had electricians fit a 240V inlet and wiring so we can use powered sites, which costed about $800.Brian

with the 240 volt inlet what did you actually get on the inside?

we are looking to do this too, as you know we have got the Beach earlier than expected and it is great as we have time before moving to the country (in a year or two) to set everything up while in town as i'm sure it will be easier and cheaper.

I notice on one of your pics that the inlet plug is white? do they have black ones?

[BrianJ]

with the 240 volt inlet what did you actually get on the inside?

we are looking to do this too, as you know we have got the Beach earlier than expected and it is great as we have time before moving to the country (in a year or two) to set everything up while in town as i'm sure it will be easier and cheaper.

I notice on one of your pics that the inlet plug is white? do they have black ones?

There is black ones available, and we are thinking of getting one or painting the white one to match the car. For some reason the electrician didn't seem to be able to get black even though I asked him.

On the inside we have one double switched socket just behind the fridge which the mains lead for the fridge goes into, and one spare for outside extension lead etc, and the other is where the flip out ash tray is opposite the sliding door, behind the drivers seat. When the ashtray is removed the hole is about the right size. Only trouble now is that since I bought the solar cells which you can see in the blue pack beside the bed, it covers the power sockets, so I might have to move them to the left a bit.



The mains circuit breaker is a bit tricky. At first we were going to have it in the boot somewhere on the same side as the inlet, but worried that luggage might knock it off, so ended up with it inside the plastic cover panel inside the back on the right. As it is about 3-4 inches thick and the space was about that size near the forward end, we had it mounted there and cut a rectangle hole in the cover so only the switch top is seen. Only trouble is that when you try to remove this side cover, the plastic clips break and you have to go to VW and get some more. Also it is hard to cut the hole so it fits perfectly when the cover is replace.



Its not an easy job overall, and we had a bit of trouble finding a shop that would do it, but we found one that would come to our house and I already had a lot of stuff removed such as the rear bed stand and some of the gray side covers before they arrived. So in my case I more or less came up with the design and they just did what I wanted.

I also got a written certificate to make it lawful.

Brian