Avan Aliner Travel Preparation - out of storage and on the road

[@michaeljohn7398]

Thank you for posting these very helpful tips, very much appreciated. Cheers from Michael. Australia.

[@CandidTourists]

You are welcome thanks for stopping by the channel ! 😁

[@givemespace2742]

I hope the roof vents / skylights on ours are robust when we pick it up. It was 46C here yesterday and it will be parked in the open with a cover on.

[@CandidTourists]

Wow 46 !! We as tasmanians would literally melt in that weather .. I hope the vents will hold up . I think ours do well as the van is older .. we have some insulation in our cover which helps but we are lucky to get a handful of day 30 plus down here

[@stevenparkin6486]

Did I see two roof vents, 4 feet apart? If so, how do you cycle them? For example, one venting in, one venting out? Or both venting out with windows open as air draw? Or the reverse of that? Are vents also fans? Comment at will. Steven, Utah, USA

[@CandidTourists]

Hi Steven The vents are not fans at all and they are mostly for venting out. Another window open slightly in the fan helps with this. We usually slightly open both on a cooler evening and fully when its warmer. We find it does help the condensation if opened. There is a tiny window near the bed that we use along with the vents and find that is enough for air flow during a cold evening. In summer here in Australia we have all windows wide open and the circulation is pretty good. Its possible you could install a solar vent with fan but with all our tripping so far it hasnt been necessary. Thanks for stopping by the channel :)

[@tugboat8475]

So your van sits permanently in your driveway backyard all year long and you use the cover correct? Our back yard has room for a van but not a shed. You mentioned storage As in storage?

[@CandidTourists]

Thats correct we dont have a garage so we just place the cover over it on our driveway. When I say storage I just mean packed down with the cover over it :)

[@deborahearly4423]

Can you advise me re battery. I’m new to Avan Aliner and the van has been in storage since end of May. I’m going away Monday but lights and fridge not working. I didn’t realise you needed to keep it powered while in storage

[@CandidTourists]

First step would be to put the battery on charge to see if it will hold power. If it doesnt you will need to get it tested and possibly purchase a new battery particularly if it is beyond saving. You dont need to constantly have it powered in storage. We have solar set up for ours so it always gets some trickle charge going into it but other owners will plugged the van into the house power weekly (see below) to ensure it maintains a good charge for when going away. In order to get power to the van you will need a 15amp to 10 amp converter so you can plug the cord coming out of the van into the coverter and then the cord from the converter into a 240V power socket which will then safely power the van without tripping your electrical box on the house The Fridge will only work on battery if you have the capacity to either have it connect through an anderson plug to your vehicle whilst driving where it will continue to get charge from your car battery. Once you are able to plug in the van your fridge will run on electricity or alternatively if it is a 3 way fridge you can run it on gas. The fridge will take quite a few hours to feel cold. If it still isnt working it may be faulty.

[@laurenrobinson9541]

Is the van easy to open up fully by lifting the roof and sides? I am looking at getting an A'Van and will be travelling by myself. It looks relatively easy though not sure if that is due ti the age of your van. Also, if it is raining would you need to wait until it is not raining to stop rain getting in the van? Many thanks, Lauren.

[@CandidTourists]

Hi it is relatively easy to get the van up I find getting it down more problematic .. I can get it but need to go side to side twice ..but I have seen some videos about how people who have shoulder problems have a pole to assist … there are always people at sites who can give a hand also . The newer models should be quite smooth to use ours gets stuck a little sometimes. You can put it up in the rain because it takes very little time you get very little rain inside … we have Lao put it down it the wet … we didn’t get any water inside as a result but do put it up again on a dry day to air out if we have ..just to make sure 😁

[@M4S4life]

What year is your Avan? just got one myself, also second hand and well looked after.

[@CandidTourists]

Ours is a 2011 model. I still cant believe how well looked after it was when we got it. We were so lucky! Hope you are getting out and about in yours and enjoying new places 😁😁