our new car

[marg and greig]

hi all we have just brought a new nissan navara duel cab, diesel, auto to tow the new star craft by jayco the van is 20 ft and as we are new to all of this any hints for traveling and towing would be a great help

 

[KraftyPg]

Welcome to the forums marg and grieg.

There is quite a number of towers on this forum who will no doubt be along later with some good tips to help you along the way, and for the "what not to do" when towing tips I can pretty much cover those. First and foremost never copy me, second don't tell my insurance company

 

[joe2006]

Hello Marg & Greg & welcome.

I have only owned the Navara since the stert of the year & only done about 5 or 6,000ks towing.

I figure your van has a tare of 1900 or 2000kg & an ATM of about 2400kg.

When I bought the Navara, both the Salesman & Service Mmmanager (forgive me I stutter) said to tow in overdrive which is contrary to what I had always heard & contrary to what I usually did.

A few forum members also suggested to tow in overdrive & try to get the transmission into overdrive at the earliest opportunity.

After towing with the Narara both in overdrive & locked out of overdrive & I wholeheartedly agree with the advice given.

If conditions are suitable & the transmission stays is overdrive, the fuel consumption is what I would consider quite good but by towing in 4th rather than overdrive, my experience has been the consumption is appauling.

I believe that my van would be quite a bit heavier than yours & it is sometimes difficult to maintain speed and therefore keep the transmission in overdrive.

That said, mine is an ST & you have not stated what model you purchased. The STX has more power & the D22 has less (although you obviously don't have a D22).

Anyway that is my No.1 tip but check with your Service Mmmanger just to be on the safe side.

And be careful if you are considering air bags!

Happy travels

 

[scottybobcat]

G'day guys and welcome to the forum

 

[Old.Tony]

Welcome to the forum!

My wife and I love travelling and towing our 18' Future Systems van around the place. Not much to recommend just yet (I could go on for a while about brake controllers and weight distribution hitches but I don't know what you have already). Here's a couple of things for the Navara specifically:

* Use overdrive. Don't be afraid of it. If the car senses some engine strain it'll kick down for you no problem at all.

* Get a pair of those $5 "roo whistles". They're designed to scare the roos away but all it does is call 'em to you. However, the goats, sheep, dogs and rabbits all run the other way. To avoid roos, don't drive for much more than an hour after local sunset.

Enjoy the ride, the D40 is lovely on long hauls.

 

[LLadnar]

Welcome and enjoy your travels

 

[Gonzo]

Hi guys and welcome .
I drive a D22 (one of the under powered cousins) Ha ha .
And I not long ago towed my van from Brissy to Darwin and back , And I had a hard time keeping it under 120kph (In the Northern Territory that is ) Travelled no probs in top Gear.

 

[ljacko78]

tips on travel (not the model of ute as thats personal choice / comfort etc):

1 - when you're travelling along some thinner roads where the bitumen seal isn't wide enough for 2 cars, just travel a little slower. Bigger vehicles typically get right of way so dropping some wheels onto the gravel shoulder can be un-nerving for caravans but you have to do it. Trucks / triple road trains, buses won't necessarily slow down so you'll have to.

2 - the roo whistles - I had two on my ute and in three years living NW Qld, I hit 4 roos. You never know if they work or not. Roos can't turn quickly on the spot - they have to jump forward and twist / turn in air. So when theyre on should of road, they'll likely jump on road first, then off, so allow some time to avoid. but don't swerve to miss them. Too many accidents happen when people swerve to miss hitting little thins like birds, cats, or roos. Esp with a van on. Its not nice, but etter to hit the animal than injure people in a possible can crash. Roos wshitles - if I didn't have them on perhaps I'd have hit more - hard to tell. but for 5 bucks.....

3 - Rest areas - where ever caravan pulls up at night between May and Oct thru Qld. And overload the little toilet blocks. Have a little thought about where you're driving, and what to expect facilities wise. Use dump points in caravan parks and don't dump into creeks or septic tanks that just can't take the volume of wastes dumped out by everyone wanting a free camp site.

4 - if you can't do 100kph when towing, when you get to an overtaking lane, don't try to speed up. Its a huge p!ss off when I'm driving at 80 following a caravan and then as soon as an Overtkaing lan 300m ahead sign turns up, they speed up to 120kph.... really!!! It happens so often its not funny. Let people pass you

Enjoy the traveling (I'll be doing plenty myself one day)!

 

[Old.Tony]

Luke, what a brilliant reminder ....

In our caravan we'd been using AquaKem in the bottom tank. It certainly breaks down the waste quickly (3-4 hours) but in past formulations it wasn't very friendly to composting or septic toilets. Composting toilets are common on highways and in forest parks.

I've started using a blue bio additive that I found in Rays Outdoors (I'd originally found it on the 'net and Rays happen to sell it). Instead of adding 150ml and 3 litres of water like I had to with the AquaKem, I add 25ml of this stuff and 1 litre of water - in a 20L waste tank, that leaves more room! I use the same chemical in the top tank and we've noticed that there's no more bad smell coming from the toilet. The blade also seems to work more smoothly too - so it has a lubricant in it too.

Even better, this Bio stuff is perfectly suitable for use in septic or composting toilets, so if you HAVE to dump somewhere, using this chemical will NOT harm the processes in the roadside toilets. Just don't use detergents to clean up - or if you have to, double-dose the tank.

All that said, of course, using a proper dump point has advantages - including a hose that lets you flush out your waste tank and refill your top tank.

 

[joe2006]

Some people swear by napisan products, the cheaper generic brands generally having more active ingredient (Sodium Percarbonate) which is safe for biological toilets, or in fact is claimed to assist with the biological action.

I bought some Odour-B-Gone tablets which are a lot more expensive & have the same active ingredient (sodium percarbonate) however neither product is suitable for our purpose.

The toilet our van is used for No.1’s only (I have to empty it) & sodium percarbonate requires No.2’s to work, however I understand that a dash of yogurt to the cassette will act as a suitable replacement for No.2’s.

Whatever product you purchase, just make sure it is suitable for your purpose & as others have said, is disposed of in a manner appropriate for the product.

Not having had a toilet in the van before, we bought the Odour-B-Gone & was not told the requirement of No.2’s, so it pays to be careful or ask.

 

[Old.Tony]

I tried the Napisan idea. I didn't want to touch the other "home brews" because most of them had ammonia or chlorine and I was looking for something bio-friendly so if I was in need of emptying it in a highway toilet I wouldn't destroy it.

Napisan is rubbish. It doesn't work. The toilet stinks and the best thing you could do, if you were insisting on using this product, is to use a tree for your toileting and stuff your small clothing items (undies, hankies, socks) in the waste tank and let the movement while you're driving agitate the washing so that by the time you get to where you're going at least you'll have clean undies.

I've never tried Odour-B-Gone (probably should have) but with the new stuff, I don't need it.

 

[joe2006]

Yeah my toilet stunk too with the Odour-B-Gone tablets but in our case I think the ammonia smell was wifies pee.

I use Portasol Toilet Sanitiser now because I like the smell & I think it is ok for septics (the casette goes down ours when we get home anyway) but I don't think it is any good for drop toilets etc. Mind you how do you know when a drop toilet is functioning properly? The number of resident blowies perhaps?

Why it it no matter how careful I am, I still get splashed with the contents when I empty the cassette? There is always a bit that gets on me. Just as well there is only No.1's on board.

 

[Old.Tony]

Emptying the cassette in a normal flushing toilet is always NOT fun, I have to do it slowly so it doesn't splash everywhere. In drop/composting toilets it's much easier.

Latex gloves are a bonus, just bin 'em when finished, they come in inexpensive boxes of 100.

 

[joe2006]

I reckon I must have ADHD.

After 1 post & I am OT

 

[Old.Tony]

I wouldn't say that. We just gave people more tips about an important subject relating to caravanning.

 

[joe2006]

Too true Tony.

Back to the original topic, another thing I have discovered, due to my concern regarding the Nissan towbar (problem with the early version) I fitted a Hayman Reese unit. It can be difficult to connect the chains on the Hayman Reese towbar as they connect right up under the bumper (assuming that your model has a bumper) and in hindsight I would have got the Nissan one fitted.

So if you have not fitted a towbar yet, it might be something to consider.

 

[Old.Tony]

Joe, I have the HR hitch and I just added a couple of D shackles to the thing and did 'em up nice and tight. Resolved the problem for me.

 

[joe2006]

I have read that more than one D shackle per chain is illegal. I know the issue has been discussed an number of times elsewhere and someone quotes the actual regulation.

It usually comes up when the question of extending chains is discussed & somebody suggests adding a second D shackle to the horror of some.

I have never looked into it and honestly have no idea if it is correct. Just like some saying that you must use rated shackles. Mighty big those rated shackles!

 

[Navvic]

Welcome and I'm looking forward to hearing about all your trips. We might even bump into each other

...However, the goats, sheep, dogs and rabbits all run the other way. To avoid roos, don't drive for much more than an hour after local sunset.

Enjoy the ride, the D40 is lovely on long hauls.

So do the goats & sheep etc know what Tony is rumoured to do with them or is it the whistle..... you decide

And don't travel with dave coz he's a roo magnet

 

[Old.Tony]

I have read that more than one D shackle per chain is illegal. I know the issue has been discussed an number of times elsewhere and someone quotes the actual regulation.

It usually comes up when the question of extending chains is discussed & somebody suggests adding a second D shackle to the horror of some.

I have never looked into it and honestly have no idea if it is correct. Just like some saying that you must use rated shackles. Mighty big those rated shackles!

I can't find anything on the law relating to multiple shackles. One of the staff at a trailer place told me that the shackles I'd bought were stronger than the chain I was putting them in, so I have some confidence in them.

I did just read some mention that insurance companies were looking at the shackles and were using non-rated shackles as a means to deny claims - so the best advice is to get rated shackles.

Hopefully someone will find out if multiple shackles is a legal issue.