YOUR RVs
Three years ago, a new drug saved Ian Sherlock’s
life. Without it, I wouldn't be writing this story!
Then Cheryl, not to be outdone, had a fight with
a roller door that smashed her ankle and hip. They
replaced her hip the very next day but it's been a
long fight back to nearly normal.
Ian has been having a bit of hip trouble as well
and, by the time you read this, will have gone in
for a new hip, too.
When I stayed with them a few years ago, they
had a nice house on a 100-acre bush block and
towed a big Bushtracker caravan behind their
Land Cruiser. But since their health problems,
they decided to sell 50 acres and the house, and
move into a lifestyle village near Maitland, NSW.
They have not stopped travelling and attending
Australian Caravan Club musters, though, and so
they have bought a you-beaut motorhome with
all the bells and whistles and a new car to tow
behind it.
LOTS OF GRUNT
The Iveco chassis can support an all-up weight
of seven tonnes but the rig only weights 4.6
tonnes from the factory. A heavy vehicle licence
is required to drive it, but both Ian and Cheryl
have one.
Before they bought a ‘toad’, as the Yanks call a car
towed behind a motorhome, they were getting
around 13 to 15 litres per 100km, but increases
quite a bit when towing their Suzuki Grand Vitara.
The engine, driving through an eight-speed
automatic transmission, has plenty of power to
handle the heavy rig when loaded.
The couple tow a Grand Vitara 'toad'.
“Is there anything you haven't got,” I asked when
they told me about all the things that are
operated electrically. Two slide-outs, the
awning, the step, the levelling system,
etc. Two lithium batteries provide
power for all their gadgets and a
Redarc system keeps everything
charged. Having 430W of solar
on the roof helps, of course,
but a 2kVA Honda generator
sits in a locker in case
the weather gods
have a bad hair
day or three.
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