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Hi Vincent - a bit late to the party I'm afraid, but this may be of use to others in the future... We have the Strada Evo 3 and the roller pull-out system gives sufficient clearance when the Alphard tailgate is lifted. We've used it for a few years now and it's served us well on both short and long (eg. Swedish arctic circle) journeys. I believe the Strada Evo, Vario and DL racks use the same pull-out system - the rail pulls away from the rear, but also down towards the ground with bikes mounted.

Hi George, You could take a loook at a previous thread - https://uk.alphardclub.com/forums/topic/6917-tracking/#comment-20580 In addition to the jltechno data, our local alignment guy found a more extensive list of figures, which included the range for SAI and Included angle, which may be helpful. We had an issue with pulling left, in the end we found it was due to a poorly assembled wheel bearing retainer on the rear - 2 of the 4 nuts were missing (!) so the leading edge of the OSR wheel was facing slightly outwards.

Like Geralt, I once had stuff stolen from a tent while I was sleeping, but that was at a festival and I've not felt the need to lock our Alphard camper overnight at campsites. However, if it's a busy city site or one with high turnover we'll go for a compromise - lock with the key fob, then unlock the n/s sliding door manually, working on the basis that anyone opening the side door in the night would make enough 'sliding' noise to wake us. The good news? This doesn't result in an alarm going off when heading to the loo in the middle of the night, but then I've never heard our alarm so I can't be sure that we have one....

By way of a follow up.... I asked around for longer exhaust hangers and found that Powerflex do a range of aftermarket hangers for exhaust modifications. The Toyota Alphard OE hangers are 35mm between hole centres and our exhaust box needed to be just a tad lower to avoid vibrating against the towbar. The Powerflex EXH011 hanger is a universal type and has holes at 40, 60 & 80mm, so can be used to drop the exhaust box enough - for us the 60mm hole was well placed (and the additional 'unused' length of the hanger went above the top bracket, rather than below where it would be nearer the exhaust box). I had to drill the holes to enlarge to 12mm to fit, but this is a fairly easy job if you're handy enough to fit the hangers yourself. There appears to be no need to drop the front rubber hanger on the exhaust box.

Hi David, Try PCT Automotive in Sheffield - they offer fitting instructions, which might help: https://www.pctautomotive.com/vehicles/all/toyota/alphard/mpv/2011

Hi Joe, If Warrington's not too far to travel, you might ask for a price from GasTech to install your cruise control - they specialise in LPG systems and Alphards. Word of warning: cruise control is limited to 68mph, so if you're someone who likes to sit above the speed limit on our quiet UK motorways (as if...) it may not suit you. We've recently returned from a long Scandanavian trip and having cruise control was a real bonus!

We also have a towbar fitted, for bikes and I discovered the bar had also been shortened by the fitter who put our towbar on. HIs solution was to drill a small hole through the bar near the end and put a washer/splitpin to stop the rubber hanger from working its way off the bar. Seems to work... However, I also noticed that the exhaust box was lowered slightly (20mm) to avoid vibration against the towbar, so non-standard hangers were put on by the fitter. All was well until these perished over time and needed replacing - but Toyota hangers no longer fit and I'm now looking for a longer version (55mm b/w hole centres rather than 35mm). Has anyone with a towbar fitted found longer rubber exhaust hangers (don't have to be Toyota, of course)?

Hi George, The unladen axle weights for our Gen 1 facelift Alphard are 1070kg front, 800kg rear; total 1870kg. The gross vehicle weight (GVW) is 2255kg (allowing for 7 passengers at 55kg each...?), but there appear to be no data on how this loads on each axle. You might assume the extra passenger weight loads on the rear axle more than the front, but without loading up the car and placing it on a weighbridge it would be difficult to be precise. Following our camper conversion the weighbridge info indicated that the weight of our additional van furniture loaded almost exclusively on the rear axle. We also load bikes on a towbar bracket, which increases rear axle weight and marginally decreases front axle weight. As a result we went for 109/107 tyres on rear to take max 1030kg per tyre and 101 on front (825kg per tyre) – with plenty of leeway to avoid overheating etc. From memory, I think the original tyres when imported were Yokohama 97 load rating (730kg per tyre). Ultimately, once you've finished your own conversion it’s weighbridge data for your laden vehicle that will help you decide. You’re right that conversion and/or fully loading with 7 passengers (most likely >55kg each!) could exceed the stated GVW. John Hollis started a thread on this in early 2021 – see: https://uk.alphardclub.com/forums/topic/619-overweight-vehicle/#comment-11210

Hi all, I've noticed the outer lower weatherstrip between glass and front o/s door has hardened and snapped at one end. I'm able to source a replacement, but wondered what the procedure is for stripping the door panelling off / moving glass in order to gain access. Have any forum members who've taken on this task be able to give any tips please? Thanks

Hi Philip, We had ours done by a local reputable bodywork shop - I could be wrong (others on the forum will soon let me know...), but I don't think they need to be familiar with the Alphard in particular, just familiar with undersealing techniques for any vehicle. We had ours treated a few years ago and we check each year to see if it needs 'topping up' (no need...).The treatment was upol with added waxoyl, our sprayer said the underside was clean enough to avoid prior steam cleaning, so it wasn't too pricey. As you probably know, roads aren't salted in Japan, so I gather this is the reason that vehicles aren't undersealed. In the UK, on the other hand....

Hi Paul, You've thanked others for their responses to your queries, but I'd like to thank you for your responses, which I've seen in a number of threads - always helpful! As they say, the end of one adventure is just the beginning of another...

Hi Joanna, We had a a towbar fitted (bought from PCT Automotive, Sheffield - fitted locally). We bought an Atera Strada Evo bike rack, which has a roller pull-out system, when unlatched the rack can be pulled away from the rear with the bikes still on, which then allows enough room to lift the tailgate. T'was a great find! As Roger has already said, I think there would be a problem with suspending bikes on the tailgate itself because of the additional weight, both lifting it and keeping it held open.

Hi Francis, A few additions which have really helped: 1. we had an LPG conversion, which paid for itself over 24000km (approx 14500m), Lpg is cheaper, both here and abroad, and somewhat better for the environment than petrol. The LPG filler is tee'd to fill the Gaslow for cooking as well as fuel tank. 2. Also, we had a canopy-type awning fitted, originally thinking it would be useful shade, but actually it really comes into its own in the UK climate when extended about a third to act as a rain porch/drying area (avoids it flapping about in foul weather when fully extended). 3. We had blown air heating fitted, but hardly use it - a small oil-filled radiator is much quieter on chilly evenings. Worth noting, however, neither heater would be good for wild camping because of the electricity draw... Glad you've opted for underseal - a must!

Hi Ross, t'is a 13-pin connector

Hi Andy, Yes, we're still using it and it works fine. My only gripe is that the slider release mechanism (which you operate with your foot) is plastic rather than metal - it could be more durable; that said it's worked fine. Regarding security, the handle that tensions the rack on the towball has a keylock once in position. The arms which hold the bikes in position also lock (at the bike end) – at the rack end there’s no lock but, from memory, a pin in the arm itself stops the arm from being released once a bike is locked to it. I guess all locks can be broken, but then the thief would have an unusable bikerack! In addition, we normally thread an ordinary bike lock through wheels/frame for peace of mind when on the road, but I’ve not felt I needed this extra security once on a campsite.