Before looking at the hail we came head to head with at Byron Bay I think it best I clarify a few points on our relationship with Sunland/Queensland Caravan Centre. This is being done following several discussions held with fellow travellers and as we all like to do check each others vans out, not as nosey parkers but more so to look at designs and van layouts, it is always good to pick up some new ideas. Caravan parks seem to be a better proposition for viewing vans and talking direct to the owners rather than caravan shows talking to a sales guy from a caravan manufacturer/supplier; the opinions you get from us the owners are or should be unbiased.
On our web site we are totally honest and provide comments and our opinion on parks we have been in along with what we think on the area concerned. I must emphasise OUR OPINION as this is what it is; all of us have an opinion and just because we provide ours yours may be totally different. You may thoroughly enjoy a park and township that in our opinion was pretty ordinary; this is your opinion and also warrants comment.
Our caravan was completed in July 07 after over 9 months of design considerations and the the standard build time. It was important to Linda & I to customise the van to some extent as we are looking at a long term adventure. During this time we got to know the team at Sunland quite well as we went through the wants and don’t wants and several design modifications. Sunland are very accommodating in most changes but unlike some other manufacturers Sunland will only make these changes as long as it does not affect the safety and towing dynamics of the van.
On completion all was well but we did have an electrical fault at the batteries and some minor problems with a stereo system, water pump and some air bubbles on our floor. The water pump was a pain as it was intermittent and hard to track down but this has now been resolved, the stereo was also replaced with a better unit (in our opinion), the battery system was replaced and the floor fixed. It was frustrating for both parties however Sunland were committed to fixing the problems and did so without confrontation and to our satisfaction.
Our first hail storm was at Bribie Island in November 07; APIA approved the repairs and we opted to get these fixed after our Christmas holidays. We booked our van well in advance with Sunland and the whole roof, hatches and some side panel were replaced and the van ready for us to collect 2 weeks later. The repairs which totalled $9800 were first class and done in quick time considering how busy they were.
In summary, we are not paid, sponsored or subsidised on our travels by Sunland / Queensland Caravan Centre. When we discuss our caravan and experiences with other travellers these are our thoughts and opinions, we do blow the Sunland trumpet as we are very pleased with our Longreach and the service we have received, however we do also discuss the problems we have had. We are pleased to show others and our home as we are very happy with our lot; we do this because we want to not because we have to.
Now onto the Byron Bay hail. The duration was 3 – 4 minutes with stones up to slightly larger than golf balls; it was probably not the size but the force and sharpness factor. In the van it sounded like canon fire.
Above is under the awning about 5 minutes after the storm; the wind and force was strong enough to bring the hail well inside the awning.
Above is the ground cover sometime later; the motorhome you see next to us (Terry’s) ended up with a severely damaged awning and all of the plastic covers on the roof were holed.
Above is our awning; we had 18 places where you could see daylight, the awning did not have holes the skin had been stretched which de-laminated the colour.
Above shows the main size of these stones; note the spikes which in the main caused most of the damage.
Above is one of the hatches in the bathroom, both suffered the same fate; you can see the split that opened up about 25mm. during the night half of this hatch blew off onto the grass; fortunately we had no further rain after the storm had passed through.
Fellow travellers now ask us which way we are heading and usually go the opposite way; seems we have a reputation of hail going where we go.
Hoping this is the last we see of hail although we are now getting belted with high winds and rain at Scarborough just north of Brisbane. The Scarborough hotel lost part of its roof and several windows 2 nights ago (20th) and there has been major damage to houses in the area, we are about 1km from where this happened. This story along with pictures will be in the next post.
Will post again soon – David & Linda – The DavLin Rig
