RV MAIL
LETTERS FROM THE ROAD
WATER WEIGHT BUDGET TRUCKS
Regarding the article about vans being
weighed by police (GoRV #13), wouldn’t
dumping the fresh or grey water then make
the van unstable for towing safely? Surely it
would be more stable with the water in the
tanks as the weight would be lower in the van. A few weeks ago, I read your very good
article about used 4WDs under $20,000
(GoRV #2), and your advice was to “look
outside the box”.
You mentioned a couple of makes, one of
which was a Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo
Diesel. Well, I did a bit of research and
finished up buying a 2012 model for $18,000,
with admittedly high mileage of 217,000km,
but it has a full service history and is
absolutely immaculate both inside and out.
It seems that it was used as representative's
vehicle and had not been offroad.
So far I have done over 1100km, mostly
to get it home, and it drives like a dream. It
is even covered by a 20,000km/12-month
warranty. I bought it to replace my ageing
Hyundai and also to tow my 2500kg van,
which I am confident it will do comfortably.
Once again, many thanks for an interesting
article and good advice.
Irene Davey
Via email
Hi Irene, as a general rule, a caravan is
indeed more stable with full water tanks
as this will help lower its centre of gravity.
Having said that, for short trips to, say, the
nearest caravan park under the direction of
police, as mentioned in the article, I don’t
think there’s too much of an issue for the
majority of caravans. – Ed
ESSENTIAL SATPHONE
On reading about the Rawlings family
trip (Outback Travel Advice: Medical
Emergencies, GoRV.com.au), I would have
to also recommend a satellite phone to carry
as an essential item in remote areas. We
were travelling the Stuart Highway when we
came across a serious accident. As we were
on a more isolated stretch between towns,
no truck drivers could call for help. We were
the only travellers who had a satellite phone
and were able to call for help. Even when the
police finally arrived, they also had to use
our satphone.
Joanne Hagan
Via email
Michael Sheridan
Via email
ARTICLE LINKS
POLICE CARAVAN INSPECTIONS
MEDICAL EMERGENCIES
BUDGET TOW VEHICLES
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