AROUND-OZ MOTORHOMES

Stan & Maree Bennetts 33' Dryden Trailer Home Review - continued . . .

The outside cooking facilities leave nothing to be desired. Adjacent to the pull out BBQ is a great storage drawer for all your cooking gear.

More attention to detail - note the wheel brace attached to the bin wall. Actually how many RV manufacturers even bother to give you a brace? The box on the left is used as an extra step when you are on a sloping site - a nice touch and fully carpet covered.

We liked the easy access with no bending over, to the grey water, black water, and draining the fresh water tank. Amazingly you cannot drain the water tank on most products made by Australia's largest manufacturer. All the items shown in the bin come as standard. The sullage hose supplied is the top quality smooth bore type. Drinking water goes in via a Whale pressure reducing inlet - one for each tank. Interestingly the macerator is located right next to the discharge point thereby reducing the chance of blockage.

This is typical Dryden - look at the detail on this water tank. There is no way these will fail or work loose on badly corrugated roads. All tanks are metal and all are fully supported on metal mountings - no plywood to rot or become loose.

The generator bin works very well indeed. We once saw an owner of a very expensive motorhome lose a finger pulling out a battery slide. Drydens are well aware of these design shortfalls and their slides are therefore very safe. This compartment is right next to the batteries so there are no voltage gobbling long runs of cable. The 1800 watt inverter is in the same area. Drydens use light starter cable for all long runs.

This is the heart of the hydraulic system. It is dual purpose being used to power the slide out as well as operate the stays. No short cuts whatsoever are taken with the hydraulics with safety paramount. All cylinders have pilot operated check valves. What this means is if a hydraulic hose fails the cylinder remains locked in position. These valves are not cheap at around $400.00 each. The slide out has additional equalising valves to control the flow to both cylinders. Many American imports do not have this valve and this is why so many jam on opening or closing.

The hydraulics are extremely strong. You can for example completely jack the wheels right off the ground to make tyre changing easy and much safer - particularly on sloping ground. Note the square tube running parallel with the cylinder. This reduces the load on the gland seal and piston rod. This RV uses Alko rubberised suspension giving the best possible ride currently available

Right across the front is a huge storage area. This contains the twin gas bottles, the four batteries, the hydraulics and the charger. When locked for security you can even gain access to both gas bottle valves in case of fire. Note the attention to detail on the gas bottle clamping system. The toggle bolts make for easy changeover. The rubber insertion keeps them looking like new for years - a brilliantly simple idea.

Having a mesh floor in this compartment makes sound engineering sense. Should a battery every explode due to overcharging the blast exits downwards causing absolutely minimal damage.

One spare wheel is kept under the RV at the rear with a very neat winch lowering mechanism. The extra spare wheel is carried in a special compartment right at the front of the RV - under the bed actually but accessed from the outside.

In summing up this is the best 5th wheeler we have ever come across and at under $200,000.00 represents fantastic value as it is right up there at the top of the luxury market.

Bob & Chrissy Eustace