Newbie advice on vans and beach driving in Queensland

Submitted: Monday, Jun 16, 2014 at 19:22
ThreadID: 108279 Views:8576 Replies:7 FollowUps:7
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Hi All

My partner and I are finally looking to get rid of the tent and tarp setup and buy our first van. We have a budget of around $20k and want something that we can take on the QLD and northern NSW beaches (Fraser, Bribie, Teewah, Rainbow etc), as well as some gravel/dirt track campsites. Other than that though we are not looking for a van that we can take on any really serious off road tracks or off road holidays. I will be towing the van with a Mitsubishi Pajero v6 3.6L petrol.

I'm aware that good clearance will be important on the beach having towed our trailer across some of these beaches before. Based on our research so far we believe we have shortlisted our choice of vans down to the list below..

Jayco Swan Outback (2004 to 2008)
Jayco Expanda Outback (2004 to 2005)
Coromal Silhouette 421, 422, 451 (2004 to 2008)
Windsor Rapid Off Road (2002 to 2004)

My understanding is that all Coromal Silhouette vans are off road and have independent suspension. Even though they might be a bit better in quality than a Jayco my real concern with them is the clearance in the soft sand. The same goes for the Windsor Rapid Off Road.

I would really like advice from anyone who has owned these vans before and more importantly whether you have taken them across some of the beaches I have mentioned. I would also be really interested in any known defects I should be looking out for on these makes and models of vans.

Finally if there are other makes and models of vans anyone would recommend in our budget which has 2 double beds, good storage for the wife and good for beach camping then that would be great to know as well.

Thank you in advance for your help.
Peter
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