MDC Cruizer Highside Forward Fold review, the good the bad and the ugly

[@MiniLuv-1984]

Wow, what a fantastic video. Love the mods. We just bought a used GIC Dominator - looks remarkably like the MDC, so pretty much all you guys showed us made sense.

[@yulegowild7616]

Thanks, we're pleased you enjoyed the video

[@ailo4x4]

Hello from sunny old Blighty! I'm a retired US military guy who got stationed in the UK, married a local and stayed. Go figure. My misses and I are both long-distance overland travelers. I had been trying to figure out how to get one of these for a year-long adventure in Africa with our old Defender. She has a sister in Adelaide and we were doing the maths when, lo and behold, a Highside Cruiser (nearly identical to yours) came up for sale here in England! I absolutely snapped it up before anybody else could. It was a Scotsman who bought it in Oz, did a Big Lap, and then brought it home. Honestly, they are rubbish campers for UK weather due to all the rain and canvas but we love it. We have done some of the same mods, like and dislike many of the same things as you, and I'm really glad to see some inew deas that we can try out. Unfortunately, ours did not come with the big folding rack on top. I might fabricate one to hang solar panels off of as you have. Btw, I did see another MDC video where the guy had put his tube pole up on the folding rack near the hinges. It kept the weight of poles nearer the center line and out from under the trailer. Might be a good idea for you if you bash your pole tube when off-road. Cheers, y'all!

[@yulegowild7616]

Our pole container was originally attached to the rack, but we found pushing the rack back over the camper with the weight of the poles a challenge. The container isn't that low, I think its the angle of the camera sometimes. The water tank underneath is actually lower. We've bashed the camper up and down lots of ruts and only scuffed it once but not enough to damage it. Have fun travelling in your camper trailer.

[@01fitter1]

The battery monitor is a Renogy unit. I’ve had one on the battery system in my RV for over four years without fault and it is a 24v/7Kwh lithium system with 3K (yes 3000) watts of solar. I’d suggest its power supply is being interrupted OR check the plug connections of the cable running between the display unit and the shunt, which is fitted to the Neg terminal of one of your batteries. Check these things thoroughly before replacing. Yes, there Are others on the market that are more Expensive and even have Bluetooth, but the Renogy unit is More than adequate for monitoring battery state of charge, charge/discharge rate, which is Likely why the previous owner opted for IT, but spent serious $$ on an Enerdrive solar charge controller.

[@01fitter1]

I’d add a cable drag chain to the fridge slide. This completely encloses the cable to protect it. I’d do the same for the kitchen slide for the plumbing lines and electrical, that way they can stay permanently connected. An internally partitioned chain should be used to separate the water/gas/electrical supplies for the kitchen slide. Something I’m sure MDC considered but decided not to due to the additional labour cost.

[@Mrdipsay]

Unsure on the Evakool fridges, but cant you flip your fridge 180 and then do the same to the lids to each zone? Then can run a shorter cable to power and not worry about it getting caught.

[@TheJanope13]

you've got to change the full and empty voltage settings on the batteyr monitor. if it reaches a certain voltage, it will automatically set it it 100% and same for 0% for empty. you can just set them both to 0v which diables them. it is not needed for lithium batteries or set full to 14.5v and empty to 10.5v

[@marcochavanne]

I work in commercial AV and we use Snakeskin sheathing on cables for our lecterns and setups that are moved around. You could find some cheap and use a bungie to pull it back inside.

[@jennyyule1000]

That sounds like a fantastic idea, we will give it a try.

[@andrewford80]

4:45 You ever looked at cable chain? Seen a few good implementations of it to keep your cables safe. It's used on machinary and stuff, CNC, robotics.

[@yulegowild7616]

Thanks, I'll look into your suggestion. We love it when people come up with great ideas.

[@robsstuff4176]

I have a MDC Explorer forward fold and fitted a cable chain to the fridge slide for the power lead, fixed that issue with the lead getting caught in the slides.

[@yulegowild7616]

Yes someone else commented about the cable chain. Definitely going to look into purchasing one. Thanks for watching, happy travels.

[@zubinirani6620]

Good video guys. Thanks for your input into camping and tips. Do you have more info on the diesel heater? Safe travels.

[@yulegowild7616]

Thanks we're pleased you enjoyed the video. The Diesel heater is just a Chinese ebay special, it barely uses any fuel, so really economical. We might do a video on the setup, so stay tuned. 😉

[@dwaneroberts]

Hi guys you have a good set up there.we have same trailer not used yet still sorting thing out,how does it go if you need tow out from behind it looks like the pipe pole holder might be int the way or is it just camera angle.

[@yulegowild7616]

Yeah its just the camera angle, it does connect with the ground occasionally in really bad terrain but only a few scuffs. You have to watch the next video to understand what I mean. 🤣

[@markr8019]

ARB fridges can be pluged in either end to negate the problem!

[@yulegowild7616]

But how do you see the control panel if its at the back of the cupboard?

[@swaggysp5900]

I’m pretty sure you can turn the fridge around which would fix your cable issue

[@yulegowild7616]

If we turn the fridge around then the controls would be at the back and we wouldn't be able to access them.

[@mic7946]

Hey there, hope you don’t mind me asking but I’m just entertaining longer remote trips and wondering how you’ve found getting gluten free supplies while on remote travel in Australia as a coeliac?

[@yulegowild7616]

Definitely don't mind, I was really worried about my food allergies, but I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to purchase gluten free food, even at the Tip. In some places it was really expensive, and I couldn't always find coconut milk. Eating out was a bit of a challenge, but most places had at least one option. I am very sensitive, and I get anxious around food, but I didn't have any problems. Thanks for watching, happy travelling.

[@explore_moor]

Pantry / fridge door clash - cant you just screw in the strut on the pantry to shorten it so they dont hit. My Black Series Patron doesnt hit. Same set up.

[@yulegowild7616]

No unfortunately

[@kaijones8850]

Where’d you get the foam topper from?

[@yulegowild7616]

It's an 8cm Queen size Giselle memory-foam mattress topper with bamboo cover. Sorry I can't remember who we bought through but we only paid about $130, and it is really comfy.

[@bhg00]

Good video

[@yulegowild7616]

Thanks, pleased you enjoyed it.

[@peekay13aus]

ARB have a cable guide kit for around $25

[@yulegowild7616]

Oh wow, thanks for that information, ill pop in when we pass one next. Thanks for watching 😃

[@peekay13aus]

@Yule Go Wild your very welcome, I seen it on one of the groups on Facebook, about to use my father's highside for our family of 6 and if all goes well we will be buying it, seeing the conditions you have put yours through shows that it would be more then capable for what we would want to use it for

[@yulegowild7616]

@@peekay13aus Oh its definitely capable, we are trying to be gentle at the moment because the car is new and we don't really want to scratch it yet... But the camper is really tough, I think it will take a lot to damage it. What I love the most is everything inside is in exact same spot as where we left it. I was so worried the china cups would bash around and break. Safe travelling 😄

[@zeushellrider27]

Cable snake

[@brandoncooke176]

‘Umm, ummm” “umm uuuuummm” The more you “uuummm” the more painful it is to listen to you. 🙄