The maiden trip is a 7 week journey to the NT and SW QLD. We are now at the 4 week mark and have had no major issues.
Isuzu NPS - Having arrived in Alice at the end of week 1, we were concerned to find what appeared to be some form of leakage from one of the rear wheel hubs. Additionally, oil was weeping slowly from the rear diff. After some phone calls to ATW and Isuzu we found the Alice Isuzu dealer and deduced that the rear hub was just dust collection on some residue on the wheel but that the diff was leaking due to a poorly seated washer. This was fixed in about 2 mins by the local dealer "Airpower". We had to call on their services again when we returned to Alice 2 weeks later having lost the spare set of truck keys. Very nerve wracking knowing you only have one key to the truck. Anyway, all fixed again with a new key now cut and programmed. The truck itself is relatively quiet cruising along with most of the noise being wind noise from the large mirrors, quite loose windows and poorly sealed doors. Despite this there has been no problem so far with dust entering the cabin.
Fuel Economy - we left home weighing about 5400 kg. Travelling at abt 90 kph (2000 rpm) the fuel economy was about 17.5 L/100km. With the cylindrical tank it is very difficult to refill to a consistent point so have had to work this out over several fills. The fuel gauge does not read accurately - don't know if this was a result of the larger tank installation. Only with a very slow process of filling until I am able to see the fuel in the tank can I get the gauge to read anywhere near the full mark and fill to a consistent point. With a speed reduction to 80 kph (1800 rpm) the fuel consumption fell to 15.5 L/100 km. All in all very happy with both those figures as I was expecting worse and half the 4WD towing vans are doing worse.
The House - after 4 weeks we are very happy with the living space. The white interior makes it feel open and bright and there is enough room for two people to move around. So far we have had temperatures ranging from 0C to 33C. We only have thermometers inside so no technical comparisons inside/outside. Impressions are that the closed house (lid down) in full sun is never hotter than outside and maybe a bit cooler. At night I suspect that without any heating, body warmth and cooking will make the inside temperature anywhere up to 10C warmer than outside.
Condensation - in cold temperatures we get some condensation with all or most of the windows zipped up. In the cold mornings, there will be a light sheen of condensation on walls and ceiling, this is no problem. On the aluminium extrusions around the top of the walls condensation gets quite heavy to the point of droplets forming around the entire surface which sometimes have to be wiped down. I wonder whether this would be solved by the metal being covered with felt or some other material. My only concern about this is the possibility of dripping onto the bedding if we set off before this condensation has a chance to dry. Even sleeping with 2 windows open (with some other occupant resistence I might add in zero degree temperatures!) reduces but does not solve this issue.
Issues - We have had a few minor failures but nothing drastic: the bedside fan has stopped working, the stairway light worked for one day, and the hot water system has been intermittently leaking. Daniel did some tightening and application of new plumbers tape and hopefully that will have solved the issue. It never seemed to be losing a lot of water although we were concerned at the glycol levels.
The Airhead Composting Toilet - we made a decision that if there were reasonable facilities available, we would use them. The Airhead is a waterless toilet. Liquids and solids are separated - by the design - not by any action by the user! In practice, we (by which I mean not me) empty the liquids tank every 3 to 4 days. We have taken no action with regards to the solids tank other than turning on the fan every so often. We have followed the advice from the distributor's website and add a sugar mixture to the liquids tank whenever it is emptied and cleaned and have a spray bottle of vinegar and water mixture to spray into the bowl after any use. Over the 4 weeks so far, we have had temperatures above 30C mark and 0C mornings here in Alice. So far there has never been any suggestion of smell from the toilet. The additional bonus is that it is a chemical free system and we do not have to constantly seek out dump points to deal with the toilet waste responsibly. Not that many of those travelling seem to be troubled by this notion of responsible waste management.
Webasto Diesel Stove - very happy. Yes it takes some minutes to warm up, on the other hand you can turn it off minutes before you are finished cooking as the retained heat continues cooking for about 5 minutes after shut down. We just put a silicon mat over the top if we want to use the still warm surface. It is also very useful for drying the tea towel!
Webasto Diesel Hot Water - considering this is German made we find the instructions surprisingly sparse. On days when we drive for several hours there is enough hot water created by the heat exchange for 2 short showers and the dinner washing up without even starting the hot water system. In fact, in 4 weeks we have started the HWS only about 5 times and once was merely to get some hot air from the heater!
The Shower - works well. Merely fixing the shower curtain at the bottom with a piece of Velcro - as suggested by Diane - holds the curtain taut and keeps all the drips in the shower base. The slatted cedar shower base also works well. The shower area is a multi-use area storing dirty boots and other things out of the way while we are camped.
Cab access - don't use it for access on a daily basis mostly as we store so many items in the space behind and between the truck seats : cameras, coats, storage box, empty backpacks, cab window screens. It is a requirement of course to be registered as a motorhome and is very useful to quickly access the truck from the house but the smaller than normal access doorway is not a negative for us. It has also been good on occasion to be able to lock the house from the inside. Good to be able to close off the truck to help with heating the house and also to keep light out.
The Vinyl Roof Skirt - working well. This morning at 0C still folded down without any problem. Having sandwiched a layer of insulation between the vinyl sides means it is completely opaque unlike the amount of light that is visible through even double thickness vinyl on similar installations eg on pop top caravans. If you want to sleep in, you can.
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