Geist Owners - The World of Geist Caravans & Motorhomes

I have just finalised the last part of the Geist manual now and with some last type setting and legal wrangling we believe we can finally send to print. It has been longer drawn out due to the many changes we had to make and setting of the book. It is a massive publication and I hope all of you that have been waiting so long can understand that we just had to make it right. Talk to members soon through the newsletter.

Catch you on the track.

Geist Runner

Many people have been waiting for the Australian Geist manual to be released. We are in the last stages of getting this ready. Members will have first access and we are confident it will be prior to Christmas. The latest newsletter is being released to members later today.

We are still working on a new website for Geist owners and Imported RVs. These should be ready in early new year. Please excuse the lack of quality in this site until we can launch our new one.

We will have lots of new tips coming out soon. Stay tuned members.

Catch you on the track!

Geistrunner

It appears that some Geist caravan owners still believe that they don’t need to get their BPW/Winterhoff 3000 coupling complied with for Australia OR they believe there is a plate that says it can tow only 2000kg already on the A-Frame, silver in colour. This silver coloured plate is only referring to the chassis capacity, not the coupling. The coupling compliance label is under the handle itself and clearly says 3000kg. Please don’t misunderstand the real necessity to have the correct compliance plates on your van. In the event of an accident or road transport authority inspection there are no “I misunderstood” opportunities. If you are not clear on whether your coupling is compliant or not, simply email me at support@geistowners.com or call me on 0427 878 645 otherwise follow the links on the menu bar above to order a compliance plate. Already NRMA, GIO and RACV have put out letters to their insured customers asking them to fix this issue up. It is not a requirement for the insurance companies to notify you of your obligations, but you can bet your bottom dollar they’ll be checking if you have to claim. Catch you on the track. Geistrunner.

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL GEIST OWNERS IN AUSTRALIA

It has come to the attention of www.geistowners.com that the BPW/Winterhoff 3000 coupling used predominately on the Geist caravan in Australia has not had the correct compliance.  ADR 62/02 calls for such components to meet Australian Standard AS 4177.3-2004 “Coupling Bodies for Ball Couplings.” The standard requires for the coupling to display correctly the approved towing capacity of the coupling that meets the ADR’s (Australian Design Rules). For this type of coupling 2000kgs is the maximum permissible. The BPW/Winterhoff 3000 Caravan/ Trailer coupling states an incorrect rating of 2800-3000kgs and an ambiguous rating of 3000kgs under the handle.

To correct this issue full testing was carried out under controlled conditions at Department of Infrastructure Test Facility No: T2857. As a result the BPW/Winterhoff 3000 Caravan/ Trailer Coupling met the requirements of ADR 62/02.

To correct the incorrect stamping of the coupling all BPW/Winterhoff 3000 Caravan/ Trailer couplings or derivatives of this model MUST have attached in the correct manner, an approved identification plate ensuring correct towing capacity of the coupling. In addition the VIN number of the applied trailer/caravan and batch or serial number of the coupling is to be shown on this plate. It is important an approval number also be registered on the plate that will identify back with the original testing.

www.geistowners.com commissioned the testing of the BPW/Winterhoff 3000 Caravan/ Trailer coupling and will issue an identification plate on a fee per plate basis. A database of known caravan/trailer VIN numbers will be made available to the Department of Transport and Roads for distribution to State Transport Authorities.

Failure to place an appropriate identification plate may lead to corrective compliance being requested by State Transport authorities at great cost and risk of insurance defaulting on any accident that may occur.

A summary of the testing report is sent with the identification plate to verify the testing procedure to any appropriate authority.

Mr Treasure said,”A big thank you to the www.geistowners.com members who pre-ordered their id plates to enable the commissioning of this compliance test to occur. Without our members none of this could have occurred and it would have meant every user of this coupling would have had to replace their coupling with a new one of lesser quality at an estimated price of $900-$1300 including fitment. Unfortunately there is still a cost to fix this issue but it guarantees some certainty in the coupling that as users, we believe to be one of the best in the world”.

A link to order the corrective id plate and approval number can be found on the www.geistowners.com website.

The full test report along with photos is being sent to the federal body, Department of Infrastructure and Transport for full approval.

The Classifieds section of the website has been down for some time until I could repair it. I am happy to say that it is now operational and members and Geist Owners may now access it. There is also a section for non Geist owners to put their vans into this classified area. We have many interested Geist owners and potential owners visiting this site daily so feel free to advertise your part or van here.

Catch you on the track

Geistrunner

Just a short couple of weeks await us all meeting up again for the latest GG. With 50 vans attending we will again break the world record for privately owned Geist caravans in one gathering. We have fishing trips, tennis, treasure hunts, garden talks, boat cruises, entertainment, seminars and more over the week. Without our wonderful volunteers we would never been able to get this GG happening. This member only event is again subsidised by www.geistowners.com and aims to bring even more Geist owners together.

Catch you on the track.

Geist Runner

I have had some www.geistowners.com members familys have been caught up in the horrific floods in Queensland. Some very dear friends of mine have relayed some very close call stories to me that happened in Toowoomba too.

Diane & Murray McGee forwarded this account of the floods to me just recently.

We have not had much sleep this week with a phone call on Tuesday morning at 3.30am from our daughter Vanessa, she lives alone in her lovely home at Bellbowrie. She was frightened as the alarms were going off over at the Coles Supermarket. She walked out the front of her home and saw the water 100 mtrs down the street slowly coming her way. About 4.30 the SES knocked on her door and told her to evacuate, the day before she had started to put some things in plastic containers but because she is 1.8 above the street line with a besser block retaining wall in front we never anticipated it would go beyond that. She took a few things and headed for a friends place up in an adjoining street on higher level.
As the water crept up and up and then beyond her retaining wall, she was a little hysterical. Out on the footpath ringing us and crying neighbours further up the cul de sac asked if she needed help, 20 people then descended on her house with tools and utes and started to take her furniture apart, within a few hours her whole household furniture was relocated to a spare garage up the end of the street She was just so grateful and overwhelmed by these neighbours she didn’t even know.
At her friends place she had no vehicle access to her home, so they put ladders up and climbed over fences to get a look at her place.
When she saw it was inside her home and knee deep in water she really dispaired, they told her if would most likely go up to the gutters like the ones down the street.

Luckily this morning things were looking better as it stayed at the knee deep height, because the river didn’t rise as high as first thought. By 2pm this afternoon the water had receeded and she was able to get in and have a good look around.
Insurance Allianz wont cover anything, so hopefully the gyprock walls will be ok when dried out, Vanessa had porcelain tiles throughout except for 2 back bedrooms, so that is good, just worried about Kitchen cupboards. If they are damaged she will just have to live with it for awhile as she is like many people affected, not earning any money, if she isn’t working she is not earning.

We can’t get down to her as the Blackbutt Range has a landslide issue and then Toogoolawah, Esk and Fernvale are all cut, PLUS all roads to Bellbowrie are cut, the Coles supermarket went right under and no food supplies are getting in, its a big young family area and lots of babies and small children with a sprinkling of older ones, including a fellow Geistowner member.
On the news they said the Army were going to do a food drop at some stage. Tomorrow she is going in with a stack of volunteers to clean walls and floors, people she had never met. What a great neighbourhood.. We feel so helpless at not being able to get down to her.

Vanessa had a really tough 2010 , and we were hoping 2011 would be a better year for her, but we are all very grateful and blessed that a flooded house is all we had to deal with….

Thanks to Diane for sending this through. We are all thinking of you and your family at this time.

Catch you on the track.

Geist Runner.