Stoves

We have just replaced our Swift stove after 10 years of continuous use. Yes the back right burner would not stay alight if the oven was warm and the knobs were coming loose....... and it needed cleaning!

Bushtracker usually test many components before adding them to the standard list and Swift have been the standard for many years.

Maybe you are travelling a bit too hard/heavy/fast or with harder tyres than needed on really bad corrugations - but I do not know - however that would be my first consideration. It may also be possible that you have a fault in the suspension system like a broken leaf or some other problem.

I also had a Microwave collapse in the first three months of our full time travel ten years ago - it was a cheap model that I supplied and the factory fitted. The second one did not fare any better. I then had fitted a Sharp model from the factory about seven years ago and no problems since. I lie! it did start 'groaning' recently but a very thorough clean of the small wheels and track under the turntable fixed that.

We run tyre pressures of 22 psi cold in really bad corrugations and only fill one water tank unless we are heading out to camp in dry country for an extended camp. This helps keep the weight down as we are towing with a 100 series.

Regards

John and Jean

Thanks John & Jean for your reply. Yes I have continued to research stoves which might be sturdier but have had no luck. We admit that Swift have been excellent with their follow up service & have helped us out on a few occasions with previous faults. We may just have to pull our old stove out & see if there are ways to reinforce the weak spots. And yes we know that Bushtracker do test what goes into their vans but of course years of continual rough roads do wreak havoc.
And thanks for your suggestions re tyre pressures and speed. We do meet many drivers who are out in somewhat remote areas who are completely ignorant of the importance of their tyre pressures & also the impact of speed. Thankfully we are experienced four wheel drivers who belong to a supportive club (Wangaratta 4 Wheel Drive Club) & have travelled the High Country of Vic, the Simpson Desert, the Canning Stock Route etc ( of course not with the van). And we are oldies ( in age only of course) who don't have to be in a hurry & travel according to the conditions.
Yes we do travel "heavy" sometimes because we DO go very remote & love desert travel with limited water resources. We realise of course that given the travel we have to put up with some problems but were hoping some other "rough it" Bushtracker owners may have had a solution. This is particularly since this last trip our stove situation became very dangerous when the gas pipe to the oven had broken & the gas was leaking into the back cavity & not the oven. Consequently when I lit the oven we had an explosion & flames everywhere. Thank goodness no major harm done & Allan was able to fix the pipe (under instruction).
Another thank you re the microwave solution but again because when the base from our last microwave just "fell off" I feel safer not using one. It was a microwave that Bushtracker supplied ( van is 3 1/2yrs old). It was a lovely luxury when it worked but we can easily survive without one.
Again thanks for your response. As you can see I have had no others. Enjoy your travels, we certainly do.
Wallyandnet

John & Jean, forgot to mention that before this last trip we had a full service by Bushtracker( including suspension). So that aspect should be covered too.
Thanks again, Walandnet.

Thanks Ken for your suggestion. After our scare we will follow that one up. Wally