Hello from New Zealand

[GSGracie]

Hi all
Just about to buy a motorhome (Mirada V10 petrol with slideout). Anything I should know before getting in the deep-end? We intend to buy the vehicle and pay it off before I retire to cruise around New Zealand in it, playing golf and visiting wineries.
I have read a couple of threads on Diesel Vs Petrol, but would also like to know if there are any problems with slideouts and leaks, etc.

Looking forward to joining the wider RV community, and having a ball!

[RVThere]

Not sure about the construction of a Mirada, but here in the US, the slide outs usually have a gasket that seals out any leaks. Also the slide out may have a roller awning that helps direct the rain to the outside.

I had two 'petrol' powered MHs and switched to diesel about 2 years ago. Diesel is great when you need power to climb mountains and tow a car.

PS - Welcome to iRV2!!

[tedward1555]

Welcome GS.. You will definitely find answers here and meet friends. Maybe you could treat us to some stories of your travels around NZ as well as some photos. I doubt we'll ever get there ( in our rv's).
Good Luck and happy trails
Ed

[Max Hubrich]

GSGracie,

Welcome to iRV2. Can't comment on your motor Home. We love ours (we're retired)

I flew with a New Zealand pilot in my Viet Nam days. His name was Major Dick Lowery (we were Forward Air Controllers -FAC's). Great pilot and a super guy.

Best of luck in your travels,

[Theberrys]

Graham

Welcome. Some great memories from trips to Auckland to call on Air New Zealand. Great Red Snapper fishing.

Dick

[GSGracie]

Well - have the bank loan so all is go! The Mirada is a 1999 34MBS, beautifully maintained. Will be picking it up at the start of June and the first trip will be over 1000km (~800 miles to you imperial users!) so we should get to know all of the quirks quite quickly. Will have 4 days, but as new drivers of a big RV we will be taking it slow. Looking forward to hitting the road - gently!

[tworootless]

G'day.
I lived in the land of the long white cloud with my Kiwi other half for 3 years. We toured both islands extensively. If you drive over the hills to Akaroa, be very careful. It was an awakening adventure driving on such a narrow roadway with NO room for mistakes! After we arrived, we then discovered the low road. So don't take the high road, even though the view takes one breath away.
Two great stop overs if you haven't been there; Murawai Council Park just outside Auckland on the coast. Gannet Colony here...
Lake Wanaka. Outrages sites and town.
Bye-the-bye, my wifes family is from Wellington and now lives on the Kapiti Coast.

[GSGracie]

Well, we have the RV.

Drove it 1000km from Auckland to Christchurch, only one minor mishap driving when I swung left too soon after passing through a gate and collected the right hand edge of the back of the bus on the gate post. Only minor damage, and you learn from your mistakes, eh? Windscreen wipers packed up in heavy rain, the drivers side secondary arm broke on a public holiday in NZ. Managed temporary repairs, so no worries.

I have found that the RV has one 12v battery for the engine, two 6v batteries just for the levelling legs, and ONE 12v for the rest of the bus!! Is this normal? Hardly seems like enough storage, and certainly not enough to freedom camp. Also, the batteries are liquid and lose their charge quite quickly when parked up. I need to put solar panels on the top and put at least three AGM batteries in to provide sufficient storage for my needs. The engine runs like silk, and to quote someone else on here "could tow an anchor up a waterfall..."

I am also looking to replace the venetians blinds which rattle terribly when driving, with the day/night blinds I have seen on other vehicles. Does anyone have a contact for where I can order these? I cannot find where to purchase spare parts on the Coachmen website.

Looking forward to eventully living in the RV, but pleased to have it to test first!

[GSGracie]

Electrical problems are still confounding me! I can't keep charge in the batteries, and recently, when we took some friends out in the van to show them the layout and have pizza, we parked up in an empty subdivision, and used my new LED lights in the coach (1.5W) and had the generator running continuously. When I turned off the generator, there was not enough power in the coach batteries to bring in the slide! We had driven for 20 minutes, and had the generator running for at least three hours. I had to restart the engine, to get enough power to start the generator, so that the engine could be islolated so that the slide could be brought in. I need to put in a lot of work on the electrics and it is bugging me and making the whole process less enjoyable. Solar panels and new coach batteries are the next step, but I need to save $5000 before I start this. Oh well - what doesn't kill me, makes me stronger.

[jperry29]

For your batteries to draw down so rapidly I would expect that the one 12V house batterie has been completely worn out. In fact one or more cells may have a a dead-short. If, when you replace the house battery, you still get very fast depletion, then something is going on in your coach. There may be something that is putting a heavy load on the battery.

Does your coach have an inverter? Is it on? An inverter can consume power even if you do not have any high voltage appliances operating. But it will not pull down a healthy battery in 20 minutes.

[Hoghead]

Welcome to the group. Winnebago uses MCD Innovations for their solar shades and I believe they have day/nights as well. The web site is www.mcdinnovations.com Hope to get down your way in 2 years and rent a MH for a couple of months.

[jperry29]

And since Dick started it... I too have enjoyed some snapper fishing in the Bay of Islands.

[GSGracie]

the fuse for the front cabin lights in a 1999 Mirada 34mbs? There are two small swivel lights in the top of the panel above the windscreen and they have both cut out, but the bulbs are ok. I have found a fuse box under the hood, and one at teh back in the bedroom, but both seem to have no blown fuses.

Is there a quick way to tell if the little coloured push fuses have blown, and where is the one I am looking for? Many thanks in advance...

[jperry29]

The fuse box under the hood should be just for the drive train and driving cabin. The fuse box in the bedroom should be for all the coach equipment.

The colored fuses are transparent, you just pop it out, hold it up to the light and look to see if the fuse is good. Sometimes it is so obvious you do not even need to hold up to the light.