This month, our Dethleffs Motorhome hits the ripe old age of 10 years old. It’s amazing how things creep up and need doing.

About this time of the year, there is a list of things that we need to do to keep Rafe in good shape…

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The annual service done at North Shore Diesel who have looked after it from day 1.

As we’d only done 6000 k’s since the service last year, we elected to skip the fuel filter for a year instead having an additive added in the fuel to nail any Diesel bug that might be lurking.

As they do most years, the Technician, Ben also did a pre-COF check and found a led marker light above the windscreen had died. We managed to get one from Zion Motorhomes, the Dethleffs agents and Ben was able to install it for me.

Interesting reading through the invoice, they also forced a DPF filter burn which is good.

The COF always a stressful time but thanks to the pre Cof check and the light replacement, it sailed through. Interesting though, the VTNZ tech invited me down into the pit to show me the brackets holding the Grey Water tank behind the back axle. It was empty of course and was light enough to lift up above its support about an inch. It has been like this since it was new so I’m not too fussed about it but I will put a couple of Rubber strips to pack the gap with big cable ties to hold the rubber in.

Insurance and Registration   one for the Budget 🙂
Big outgoings here!

About a month ago, we decided that our Queen centre bed was getting a bit uncomfortable and started looking at what we needed to do after 10 years. We decided that the feather topper over the mattress had done its dash as some of the feathers were starting to leak out onto the floor. After reading on Facebook, some NZMCA’rs are getting a good run from a Bamboo Memory foam Topper which was on special for just under $200 and its really comfortable. The bed is a little higher but really nice.

The other thing we did in the bedroom is we reupholstered the Headboard which was a bit of cheap brown vinyl stapled to a sheet of ply and pretty hard if you slipped off your pillow.
We bought some good quality foam and some other stuff that covers it and some new good quality light grey vinyl and I re upholstered it and put it back in… much nicer.
Bedroom done!

Just before the last COF late last year I got a huge stone chip on the right-hand headlight. Amazingly it was a chip! I sanded it up and filled it will some clear Araldite and coated the Headlight with a left-over Headlight repair kit I used a few years ago but in doing so, removed all the nice 2 pot lacquer I had done professionally three years ago. It was chipping in form the edge anyway and was starting to go yellow, so time was pretty much up.

I booked it in to a place I found in Albany called Final Touch who specialises in coatings for paint and headlights. They quoted me between $150 and $250 depending on what was involved. It took two of them 2 hours to sand off the three coats of chipped lacquer! But they look amazing and now have a Ceramic Glaze on them which should be good for up to three years and it’s much easier to fix then.

The other 10 year upgrades this year have been the Dome / Mi Box Upgrade.

The Lithium Phosphate Battery upgrades was a massive upgrade too. People told me it would “change your life” which it has 🙂 Apart from the Lithium change we also went from 200-amp hours to 300-amp hours.

On the way to get the headlights done, I checked it at their next-door neighbours Carters Tyres to see if my tyres needed rotating, they were due but the experts there thought they were wearing well and were fine where they were so one job less to do.

So, we’re off for the Matariki weekend. I’m not sure where yet but Rafe’s ready and so are we 🙂  Safe travels everyone.