REGULARS
Q My questionrefers
to two common
items. Firstly:thejockey
wheel. Whatisthe
purpose oftheseona 3tplus,caravan?A vanof
this size can'tbemanhandledandtheydoseem
to create issuesinsomelocations.
The otherrelatedobjectisthegrabhandle.
Manufacturersstillinstallthese,yettheiruseis
questionable.
Not big issuesbutonesthatmustbeinmany
minds.
LouHatton,viaemailA They aregoodquestions.Therereallyisn’ta
good reasonfora jockeywheelona 3000kgplus
van, exceptformaybegivingthevana nudge
when hitchingup,particularlywithsomeoffroad
hitches. I’mwithyouonwonderingwhygrab
handles arefitted.ApartfromlookstheonlyuseI
can think offorthemis tohanga towelon!
MalcolmStreetQ My newcaravaniscomingupononeyear
old and forthemostpartweareveryhappy
with our van.
However, thereisonenigglingproblemwiththe
3-way absorptionrefrigeratorandonthehotter
days around30C,thefreezerrunsat-4orbetter.
The fridge,however,strugglestomaintain
anything lowerthan+8.If leftovernightin20C
ambient temps,thefridgewillmake+ 5Cor
+6C, but willnotmaintainit duringtheday.My
understandingisfoodsafetempsare+4Cor
lower. Thefridgemanufacturermaintainsthisis
fine. I live andtravelinQueenslandandthisyear
we are planninganextendedtripthroughsouth-westQueenslandstartinginApril.
Aremyexpectationfromthisfridgetoohighor
istheunitnotmeetingthegrade?
I amnotaloneexperiencingissueswiththis
brandofrefrigerator,othersarefittingshade
sailsandorhighvolumefanstoimproveairflow
overtheheatexchanger.
Anysuggestions?
PeteNeumann,viaemailAUnfortunately,3-wayfridgesdohavea bitof
a probleminhottertemperatures( justwhenyou
wantthemtoworkproperlyofcourse).Apart
fromchangingtoa 12Vcompressorfridge,the
bestsolutionsareasyouhavesuggested.One
oftheessentialoperatingitemswitha 3-way
fridgeis goodventilationbehindthefridge– so
makesurethefridgeventsareclearandthereis
nothingblockingtheairflow– sometimesthat
canbea problemfromtheoriginalinstallation.
If installingfans,I don’tthinkyouneedhighflow
ones.I understandthatsomepeoplehavehad
successwithnothingbetterthanthefansfroman
oldcomputer!A shadesailis fairlycheaptoo;just
makea smallonetocoverthefridgeventsand
surroundingareaatthebackofthefridge.
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THIS
towingproblem,sendyourquestionto
[email protected]
‘Tech Talk’ in the subject line or send a letter
to Caravan World Tech Talk,
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ein
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If you’re stumMONTH
LETTER
OF THEQ We have a gas/electric hot water system in
our caravan. We regularly check and change
(when necessary) the sacrificial anode. We have
been told that if we use the hot water system on
gas it will last longer than if used on electricity.
Is this correct or does the anode protect the
unit from corrosion?
Thank you.
EricandRobynHull,viaemailA Hi Eric and Robyn,
A sacrificial anode is there to prevent corrosion
of the water tank and is more to do with the
corrosive effect of the water, more than the
effect of the heating element.
Personally, I just go with whichever fuel
supply is cheapest at the time, i.e. if hooked up
to mains power in a caravan park, then use the
electricity.
Malcolm StreetABOVE Is there a need for grab handles on jockey wheels?