1000 Kilometre Shakedown and Service

Bushtracker recommend that the van has a 1000 km service.

This service includes adjustments to the brakes, checking wheel alignment, suspension inspection and adjustment of wheel bearings and so on....so once we were notified of our handover date and knowing how busy the factory is I arranged to have the van slotted in for its service. That's an eleven day turnaround.  

In our case we were unable to fit all our gear into our Landcruiser prior to our holidays, so we are towing the van home to Sawtell and then returning for the service before heading off for about three months. The round trip is just a tad over the required 1000 km's.
Our plan is to spend several days packing the van and at the same time testing all the systems to ensure everything is working as it should. We don't expect that there will be any problems but if there are they can be rectified at the service. 

Even though I have towed a large van before I was a little hesitant as we made our way out onto the Bruce Highway for the drive south towards Brisbane. 
It's always so busy along here and down past the Gold Coast with endless streams of traffic going in both directions. However, I shouldn't have worried because once we had settled into a rhythm the van towed beautifully behind our Landcruiser. 

As we entered NSW and crossed the Tweed River the traffic congestion greatly reduced and the drive became more leisurely for most of the remainder of the trip. The exception being the Pacific Highway upgrade for about 50 km south of Grafton with speeds mostly at 80 kph, but down to 60 and 40 kph in some other sections.

First job on the list for Ros was cutting and fitting the non slip matting to the surface of all shelves and drawers. We have found that Clark Rubber sell the best product that doesn't break down like the cheaper versions. 

Another change involved replacing the white Dometic fly screens that show the dirt and shrink on the sides over time with a black midge screen and besides it looks far better anyway. 
It then took several days to load the van and another couple of days to ensure that all our systems were working.

A short drive to the local weighbridge the day before leaving to weigh the van and 4wd. It's something we normally do before any trip away. It's all about peace of mind knowing that we are within our limits.  

Whenever we travel north towards the Sunshine Coast towing the van we always break up the journey and spend the evening at the Yelgun rest area just north of Brunswick Heads. The only facilities here are toilets and BBQ's but the area is far enough away from the highway so there is no road noise at night from the almost constant stream of passing B-doubles.

We are staying again at the Big 4 caravan park at Forest Glen. The caravan park has seen better days but we only stay here for a night at a time whenever the van is booked into the factory. 

Drop off time is always 7 am and this park is very close to the factory and there is little traffic to contend with at this time of day. 
The management are more interested in promoting their new venture which makes much more sense. This involves the building of 190 architecturally designed homes with stage one already sold out.   
I'm sure that eventually Natures Edge as it's known will probably encroach on the existing caravan park which will then probably no longer exist. Natures Edge

Well our service went off without a hitch (no pun intended), but then that's what we have come to expect from Bushtracker who IOHO make the best off-road van in Australia.

Tonight we are camping just over 25 km north of the Bushtracker factory.
The Eumundi RV stop is more enjoyable than staying cramped in a caravan park and at just $15 for the night also considerably cheaper. 

The charge includes use of shower and toilet facilities along with a dump point with a maximum two night stay.
We had an enjoyable happy hour with friends Hank and Deb who popped in to say hi. We also had a surprise visit from Stu who I had not seen since 2005.