alternator usually means charge and sediment light come on Possibly this isn't always the case (I'm no expert!). Coming home at night a few years ago, I sudenly noticed that my voltmeter was consistently reading under 12V. I don't think that the alternator had completely died at this point, but it ...

Digital gypsy I don't have a complete lead, but I do have a spare plug from an original lead (ie the plug which fits into the original Mazda socket on the outside of the van, once you unscrew the cover). This plug is all you actually need, since you'll want to wire it onto a standard hook-up lead in...

The 240v conversion was pretty easy. I was lucky to have the original Jap hook-up lead though, so could follow the method in the club factsheet. Having the LB in the back does have the slight advantage of improving its performance in sub-zero temps Not that we really need the fridge then

Yes I do - it was factory fitted to my Bongo. It's useful enough, but would be a lot better if the battery was under the bonnet. You lose a lot of potential storage space in the kitchen unit. I converted my unit to run off 240v, we're usually wild camping, so it doesn't help much. We generally have ...

The original fridge fitted in the Mazda kitchen unit is a compressor fridge. I can't remember the make off-hand (Bongo is off having new front shocks), but it's a fairly high quality unit & is pretty effective. A bit more power hungry than the more modern versions though.

I simply cleaned off the rust with a Dremel grinder, treated it with Kurust & then painted over it. Seems to have worked so far (a couple of years)

Yes, had thought of running the whole pipe using flexible hoses, but there would still be the issue of sorting out the pipe ends. It's certainly not undoable, but would be easier if direct replacement lines were available. Probably part of an on-going project to look at replacements.

I though that it might be worth posting this as a heads-up. A couple of weeks ago, on a rather wet day, I noticed a fair amount of oil washing off down the road after I parked the van (2.5TD). On investigation I found that one of the metal oil lines from the auto-box had developed a fracture. I mana...

Fairly normal behaviour for the AFT I'm afraid. With increasing age many of us are finding the need for a little manual help to get it extended the last inch or so Other than lubricating the tracks, rollers & struts, there doesn't seem to be much that can be done.

The noise you hear is probably the valve in the exhaust closing. If I understand the theory correctly, then closing the valve restricts the exhaust flow & makes the engine work harder - thus causing it to warm up more quickly. The problem is that the valve has a tendency to stick shut, thereby r...

Bow & stern tie-downs are always a good idea! Especially since the AFT rack mounting points are quite close together. I find that it's worth using 2 tiedowns to the bullbars (as an upside-down V) to help stop the boat twisting sideways in a cross wind. A single tiedown at the rear is usually eno...

We also need to take the weight of the roof rack in to the total,as this can easily be forgotten. I haven't actually weighed the rack assembly, but I reckoned that it would be about 10kg. Overall, I may be overloading the roof slightly above the 60kg limit, but have had no problems with security of...

Maximum roof load on the AFT is 60kg. I happily carry either a pair of open canoes or a pair of sea kayaks (total weight of either combination around 50-55kg), on a Karitek rack mounted to the standard AFT rack mountings. Having inadvertantly knocked the rack on a ferry, hard enough to bend the moun...

[quote="Ron Miel"]Quatrac 2s are no longer made in any sizes to fit Bongos but are now reserved for smaller car-size wheels. The 2s are actually the Quatracs which major on (and depend for all their effectiveness on) low temperature tread compound - and, this far south I've found them grea...

Lifesure had no issues with my running Quadtracs when I spoke to them last year. The Quadtracs have proved to be good under all conditions for me, but they're all-season tyres, rather than full winter tyres. The low temperature compound means that they're far more effective than summer tyres on cold...