We are planning a week away in early October, so there was no real hurry to have the van back so we left it with Darren and Kathleen for several weeks. During this period, they will perform a service, along with a few additions. The service includes replacing the wheel bearings, wheel alignment and balance, and tyre rotation.
Our bearings are checked every 10,000 km without fail. We have been doing that for many years even when we towed camper trailers, and touch wood, we have never experienced any problems.
Together with a trip, we completed earlier this year and our recent trip away where we covered 5,500 km with 1400 km of that over some badly corrugated dirt roads, it was definitely time for this service.
I normally change the sacrificial anode in our Suburban hot water system. But of late we have experienced lighting issues so the guys at ABCO will change this while servicing the system.
Our current windup Cruisemaster VC stand is being replaced with a new 12-volt jack.
The Bulldog powered jack rated at 3500 lbs, is now standard equipment on all Bushtrackers, and these have found to be very reliable. The jack comes supplied with a handle that can be used in case of power loss. Hopefully, we will probably never require this especially with our current 300Ah lithium batteries and 600 amp hours of solar panels on our roof.
Our local canvas shop has made up the clear cover so it can be used without removal and Ros has made a canvas waterproof jacket that fits over this to further protect it from moisture and UV rays.
Another addition was the installation of tyre carriers that incorporate a fold-down ramp for ease of removing and replacing tyres. So thankfully, in the case of a tyre blowout or puncture, there will be no more lifting heavy tyres weighing in excess of 35 kg.
