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Frequently Asked Questions |  |
What is the load capacity?
What size is the bed?
Can the bed be left made up?
Is wet canvas packed over the bed?
How long is it inside?
Can I easily sleep the family?
What are set-up/sleep configurations?
Does Tvan have built in hot water?
Can Tvan pump water from creeks or rivers for a shower?
Can I carry a portable fridge in my Tvan?
What about storage?
What is the battery capacity?
Can I have disc brakes on my Tvan?
Can we have LED lighting on a Tvan?
What is Tvan constructed from?
What are the cooking arrangements in the Tvan?
Can I carry a boat on the top of a Tvan?
Is it practical to access internal load for roadside
Should I be concerned about quality and security of drinking water?
What is additional water and fuel carrying capacity?
What is LPG carrying capacity?
Can I match tyres?
What is the wheel track?
What if I breakdown?
Can I trade in my caravan
What is the Warranty?
Where can I buy it?
What is the tare mass?
850kgs MkII with 15” steel wheels, awning, poles/ropes/pegs, 1 full gas bottle but no water.
780kgs Tvan Sport
What is the load capacity?
400kgs As per MkII
470kgs Tvan Sport
What size is the bed?
The standard mattress is Queen width by double length, 5’0” x 6'2" (1880mm x 1530mm). An optional clip on bed extension achieves greater than Queen size length. The standard mattress is 6" or 150mm thick high-density foam. Also available are the options of inner spring, pillow top or latex mattresses and under mattress liner (to allow the mattress to breath better) to allow you to tailor the bed to your own individual sleeping requirements.
Can the bed be left made up?
One of the main benefits to owning a Tvan is that the bed always remains made. The bed area is not encumbered or critical in converting Tvan to travel mode. Therefore it's easy to just pull up anywhere and retire for the night.
Is wet canvas packed over the bed?
Tvan eliminates the major problem of wet canvas packed on the bed by stowing canvas in the lift-up hatch well away from the bed area.
How long is it inside?
From the front of the bed to the rear of the tents breakfast bar is 4800mm (16 feet). Deck area under tent is 2000mm long.
Can I easily sleep the family?
Yes. A set of bunks and a porta cot can be set up in the standard Tvan tent and you can still have easy access to the main storage area and bed. Small children have even been known to sleep on the floor under the main bed for quick over night stops without setting up the tent.
Tvan is also available with an optional zip on family room. This room is the same size as the standard tent with good head height, a large window and inbuilt floor allowing up to four children to sleep on stretcher bunks, no sleeping on the ground! These bunks can easily be carried with the stretcher parts made up on top of the main bed during the day as this area remains open and is not encumbered by wet or dirty canvas, allowing quick set up when you arrive at camp. Additional children can be further accommodated in the main tent or optional full annex.
There is only one door to the family room and that is into the main tent for increased security and to help prevent children wandering at night.
What are set-up/sleep configurations?
1. Foul weather or quick overnight: Lower deck, raise hatch, enter and close hatch - 20 seconds.
2. Fair weather, relaxed stop: Lower deck, raise hatch and enter - no need to deploy tent, maximum ventilation - 15 seconds. A slip on Sandfly screen is available to suit this mode.
3. Deploy tent: Lower deck, raise hatch, drop tent from hatch and set up - 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Long stay: Set up full awning (12 mins including tent), with optional annex walls and family room – under 20 mins total.
Does Tvan have built in hot water?
No. Built in hot water systems on camper trailers can limit storage space for your other camping gear and thus reduce your total available storage weight. Hot water can be provided by a portable hot water unit or a cheap and simple 12V pump and shower head in a bucket of warm water heated on the stove or camp fire. This saves on weight, complicated plumbing (less to go wrong) and space. A portable system can then also be used on day trips when the van is being left behind at camp.
Can Tvan pump water from creeks or rivers for a shower?
No. Most 12V pump up systems need to be within four metres of the stream to work. This is generally too close to the water way and could lead to water way pollution with soap sud runoff from the shower. It is important to position your shower as far from the water way as possible.
Can I carry a portable fridge in my Tvan?
Yes. A portable fridge can be carried at the foot of the bed and plugged into one of the 12V sockets, as the Tvan has a large air space inside. When closed, the fridge will function very well even when outside temperatures exceed 40 degrees. This large area allows the fitment of most brands of 12V compressor type fridges on the market.
However, most 12V fridges can be noisy at night and we recommend carrying the fridge in the tow vehicle to isolate the noise from the trailer chassis and sleeping compartment. This also locates the fridge adjacent to the kitchen area and allows for easy day trips with your fridge without having to move its location. If your tow vehicle is an air conditioned wagon then this will further reduce the fridge’s power requirements when travelling.
What about storage?
At first glance Tvan appears to have less storage than other camper trailers on the market. This is not the case! It is just not as obvious as huge storage boxes on the draw bar of the trailer.
We don’t provide small, limited air volume fridge and general storage boxes on Tvan drawbars because this allows you to minimise your loaded ball weight and allows Tvan to have a short as possible drawbar for greater manoeuvrability in tight spaces. Many hard floor flip over campers are longer than small off-road caravans such as our Topaz due to restricted internal storage. This necessitates the fitment of large, heavy storage boxes on the draw bar. This extra ball weight and length further decreases their ability to negotiate Outback and High Country tracks. Tvan is shorter and lighter than many other similarly priced campers.
Tvan’s entire internal space is available for storage when travelling. The usability of the load space can be further enhanced by the addition of a few accessories. The internal roof storage system allows the storage of light but bulky items such as clothes and towels (out of the way). Wall pockets are good for books, keys, torches, etc. so they are within easy reach when going to bed. Under bed storage boxes can be used for everything from food to vehicle spares and the benefit of non-fixed boxes is that they can be easily moved around camp or inside the house for packing prior to departure. Fixed roll out under bed drawers are available as an option but they do tend to rob some storage space due to their frame and roller mounting points, and are not as practical as boxes.
Items you will use most nights, such as kids bunk’s, tables and chairs (even surf boards) can be carried on the bed and secured to the optional bed tie down rails if required.
The kitchen has a large cutlery drawer and pantry storage in its rear for plates, cups, chopping boards, etc. Opposite the kitchen on the right hand side of the Tvan is a storage locker where the poles, awnings, annex walls, family room, and other canvas options can be carried.
There is space for 5 jerry cans as standard for extra fuel or water capacity. A firewood rack is available to allow firewood to be collected from the side of the road while travelling as most popular campsites have very little wood available.
What is the battery capacity?
The standard Tvan battery is a 50 amp hour wet cell lead acid battery stored in the drawbar which has the benefit of quick recharge times and will run the lights for many days and a fridge for at least a day without external inputs. This can be upgraded to a larger wet cell battery, twin batteries or AGM batteries to suit your own power requirements however you need to consider if your vehicle’s charging capacity is up to the task of recharging these larger capacities. Some modern computer controlled vehicle charging systems are unable to satisfactorily recharge AGM batteries without the addition of more complicated circuits (more cost, weight and things to go wrong in remote areas).
The standard charging circuit is via an Anderson plug from the tow vehicle and can be further supplemented by the optional fixed or portable solar panel, 240V 3 stage battery charger option and/or a generator/fuel cell.
Can I have disc brakes on my Tvan?
Yes. We can make Tvans with hydraulic over ride disc brakes but in the opinion of our expert engineers and staff with extensive Outback towing experience, these “push” type brakes are not a satisfactory solution as they do not have the driver’s seat control of modern pendulum type electric brakes. Discs and callipers are also more exposed than drums and prone to damage by rocks bouncing up from the road with certain wheel fitments. New style, electric over hydraulic systems just add to the complexity of the braking system making them very difficult to repair in the Outback. Most of these systems also lack satisfactory handbrakes which allow the safe manoeuvring of your trailer around your home or camp.
Track Trailer assisted in the development of the “Off-road” brake magnets in the mid 90’s and have fitted these to over 1500 trailers. Al-Ko off-road drum brakes have proven to be very reliable, cost effective to maintain and have a good service life (averaging 30,000 to 40,000 km). Drum brakes are still in use on many popular new 4WD vehicles.
Can we have LED lighting on a Tvan?
Yes. Interior LED lights are available for Tvan which offer lower operating temperatures and much lower power consumption. This choice does need to be weighed up against the slightly lower light output and, in some peoples opinion, harsher light colour.
Tvans are also available with optional LED tail, brake and indicator lights. These are much brighter than standard globe lights and are a safer alternative when travelling in very dusty conditions.
What is Tvan constructed from?
Tvans are based on a hot dipped galvanised torque tube steel chassis, designed and manufactured in house at Track Trailer.
They have a fibreglass roof and rear hatch system which, unlike canvas, have great heat reflecting properties.
The walls, floor and internal structures are made from marine glued, router cut plywood. Timber is a great product for camper construction due to its high strength, flexibility and light weight. The walls are cut from a single ply sheet thus eliminating joins and the need for internal alloy frames which can work-harden over time and crack; ply is not subject to this type of degradation. The outer skins of the walls are constructed from powder coated aluminium sheet bonded to the ply to provide protection, further heat reflection and a smooth finish.
The remaining sheet metal is powder coated zinc annealed steel sheet for strength and corrosion resistance.
The deck system is powder coated aluminium for light weight operation.
The tent and awning are made from Australian made Dynaproofed 8 oz canvas. This canvas is strong yet light weight for easy handling and resistance to damage. The canvas is immersed in the water proofing solution rather than just having one side sprayed like some inferior imported canvases. The tent is easily removed from the rear hatch if repairs are ever required (such as a large branch falling on the tent). Some other campers on the market require major disassembly to remove the tent, thus increasing the cost of repairs.
Our testing has shown that in 45 degree ambient temperatures, it is at least a couple of degrees cooler inside the Tvan, whereas traditional hard floor canvas campers in the same conditions are up to three degrees hotter. This is due to the greater heat transmission of canvas. (Nb. Both Tvan and a flip over camper were tested on the same day, sitting in the mid afternoon sun at our Melbourne factory with all vents and windows open and the tents fully set up.)
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What are the cooking arrangements in the Tvan?
The Australian Swift stove fitted to the Tvan consists of two widely spaced 10MJ burners (one large and one small). This gives very flexible cooking with the ability to use large cookware, such as 30cm frying pans, wok or up to 4 smaller billy style pots at the same time. This provides the opportunity for more adventurous camping meals for the larger family. Conventional camper trailer stoves have 5 MJ burners. The Swift stove also comes with a non-stick barbeque plate which is good for general BBQ cooking, toast and even interesting pancakes on the side of the road for lunch!
The kitchen is fitted with two large wind shields without gaps underneath, to assist in windy conditions. The kitchen operates on locking, industrial ball bearing slides that are self supporting (rated to 250kg), eliminating the need for adjustable support legs.
The stove is LPG powered which provides instant heat with greater control, when compared to diesel powered ceramic type stoves, eliminating the need to carry a second fuel source.
The kitchen is located outside and away from windows to keep cooking smells and heat out of the sleeping area. The awning is supplied with a zip-on wind break wall adjacent to the kitchen, for extra protection when cooking in extreme conditions.
Can I carry a boat on the top of a Tvan?
No. You cannot carry a boat on a Tvan due to its compact size, roof vents and rear hatch arrangement. There are some excellent vehicle mounted boat carrying systems on the market, some of them electrically operated. The benefit of this type of system over a camper mounted system is that the Tvan can be left at the camp site and the boat driven down and unloaded directly into the water without having to unpack it and load it onto a separate trailer. Boats and extra trailers further reduce the available load carrying capacity of a camper. Alternatively a good quality inflatable boat (many with hard floors) can be carried in the back of the vehicle to reduce wind load when driving.
Tvan is available with an optional out board motor rack to carry up to a 15 HP motor.
Is it practical to access internal load for roadside stops?
Yes. Lower the deck and raise the hatch, which takes about 20 seconds. This allows access to the primary or second fridge carried in the trailer at the rear of bed. This also gives a convenient area to sit for roadside cuppas in the shade of the hatch.
Should I be concerned about quality and security of drinking water?
An Australian manufactured 70-litre 'food grade' water tank is standard and stone protected by steel enclosure. The water tank is served by electric and hand pumps. A second 70-litre tank is optional.
What is additional water and fuel carrying capacity?
The Tvan has provision to carry up to Five jerry cans in total (100ltrs), Three holders on the draw bar and one on each of the rear panniers. Standard there is a 70ltr water tank with the option of a second 70ltr tank. Bring the total capacity to 240ltr.
What is LPG carrying capacity?
2 x 4.5kg cylinders
Can I match tyres?
Yes you can match rims and tyres to most popular tow vehicles (conditions apply). Please contact your Track Trailer Dealer for specific fitment details.
What is the wheel track?
Track is 1620mm but will vary nominally with various wheel / tyre specs.
What if I breakdown?
Track Trailer can be contacted on 1800 69 88 26 free of charge. We will then consult with you and local repairers to get you back on the road and enjoying your holiday as quickly as possible. We can also arrange freight for any parts that may be required to your next port of call.
Can I trade in my caravan
Many Track Trailer dealers are able to trade in your old caravan or camper.
What is the Warranty?
The Tvan/Topaz warranty covers private buyers against manufacturing faults and defects of the build of the body for a period of three years. The MC2 Suspension and chassis are covered by a five year warranty. Please contact Track Trailer for a detailed copy of our warranty statement if required.
Where can I buy it?
Track Trailer has dealers near most major state capital cities in Australia and in New Zealand. Please see the "Contact Us"page for more information.
