Update on the Roachie situation.....

Gee John, that sounds like an ideal set-up!!!

Hope you're going to post a thread covering the build???

Cheers

Roachie

G'day Steve,

Still got the old Ultimate....haven't been doing much travelling over recent years as our kids are at an age now (teens) where they don't want to travel with us, but youngest is still too young (14) to leave home alone for more than a night or 2.

Hoping to start building up to do more short trips over the next 12 months or so, then changing to something a bit bigger (ie: caravan maybe?) for an extended trip.

Cheers

Roachie

You've done alright out of the Ulty - very nearly convinced us when we were dithering. Ended up sticking with a decent solid van.

All the best pal.

G'day Dave,

Good to hear from you mate.....

I looked at a 200, but by the time I added all the fruit to it I would've spent almost as much as the Chev and still not had anywhere near the 1037nM of torque or as much room....and especially the payload!

It has long been a contention of mine that virtually ALL the big Japanese wagons are under-done when it comes to GVM.....usually it's about 600kg difference between tare and GVM. So, you load the family in, a couple of bags of clothes, a fridge and fill up the tanks and you're over GVM before you even add a bullbar etc etc....

It's only a matter of time before the law enforcers have a huge crack down.

Cheers mate,

Roachie.

PS: thanks for reminding me of 2 of my many mishaps....hahaha

nice - that should get you into Woolies car park, no worries

;)

What a beast! Good on you, my dream rig!

G'day Dean,

No mate, not a member....just loaded the pics onto photobucket and then loaded them from there.

Ahhh, those were the good old days......all that banter with my mate Lucy and his Toymota Droopcarrier!!! hahaha

Cheers mate

Roachie

Sad to see all the oldies go .. used to love reading their opinions on everything. Bit too sanitised here nowadays to get too involved. Get more action at a Sunday church service.
Nice rig Roachie. Glad you stopped by on your way through. Merry Christmas ... (or will the thought police want this to be shifted to another thread ... ).
OBJ

Thanks Scrubby....I reckon it was Amsteel Blue that I had on my Patrol back about 9 years ago......

Roachie

G'day mate,

Yes, we are still in Kadina, in the new house we built about 4 years ago, which is behind the one we used to live in....so we're not on the main road anymore. Not sure which of the 2 houses you are referring to.

The house on Agery Road (at the end of South Terrace) was sold by its owner and is now a Housing Trust residence for a family from Point Pearce!!!

Cheers

Roachie

Hi Bill,

Ok mate, may call and say Hi one day. The houses I was referring to are the two you have mentioned. You owned the block behind the one now being rented by the Point Pearce family. Feel sorry for you with them moving in there.

Cheers and all the best for Xmas and 2015. P&J

G'day Motherhen,

Thanks for the warm welcome....hope you're pleased with the big Effy.

Have a Merry Christmas.

Roachie

G'day Captain,

Yes, I know what you mean about "age"....

I can see there may be some serious discussions in our household in the coming years.....SWMBO wants us to keep the Ultimate, but I'm getting to the stage where I don't want to spend 10 minutes setting it up every day, so am thinking that a wobbly box will be a good idea.

Anyway, time will tell.....

Have a safe and Merry Christmas mate...

Roachie

G'day Bill.....yes it's good to be back.

I guess we all move on with our choice of vehicle and trailer etc.

Have a great festive season mate.

Roachie

Cheers Bob; thanks mate...

Roachie

G'day Axle, Yes mate I still remember you and the Landy....

I finished up with the bank in mid 2009 (redundant...yeehaa for the package!!!).

As for the spares.....I'm going to have to rig up a winching system I reckon! I'm too old to be hoisting 35s up above shoulder height!

Cheers for Merry Christmas mate.

Roachie

Well crikey, things do change Roachie, although I'm still in banking!

Sold all "The Landys" and drive a 79 Series dual cab these days.

As they say, there are two kinds of Landrover drivers, those who have changed over to a Toyota, and those who will !!

Good to see you back, and the new vehicle looks great!

Cheers, Baz...

G'day Baz,

I once heard that 95% of all Landrovers ever made are still on the road!!!

The other 5% eventually made it home!!! hahahaha

Hope you're still enjoying banking....they couldn't ever hope to offer me enough dough to entice me back. hahaha

Cheers for a happy new year mate.

Roachie

Thanks Mick,

Yes, I looked seriously at a 79 series dual cab with canopy etc (but not stretched). In the end I decided to shell-out a few extra sheckles for what I hope will be a lot more truck. Time will tell I guess.

I was just talking to Lucy on the blower and he reckons these big yank tanks are an absolute "beach" to park anywhere.....he was considering what a certain western Victorian RAM owner has been going through when he made the comment.

I will just have to accept the size.....

I now drive a long wheel base Toyota Hiace for a mail contractor and have to tow a trailer most of the time. Trying to park that rig in the main street of the various towns can sometimes be an exercise in frustration and occasionally prompts pedestrians to pass comment on my reversing skills as I reverse parallel park into places where others seem to balk away from!!! hahaha. So, hopefully I can shoehorn this big girl into some tight spots too..hahaha

Have a great Christmas mate...

Roachie

"a certain Western Victorian RAM owner" doesn't have too many issues as long as you can get a few car parks together. Lucy couldn't keep up with us these days.

You are saying above about the torque figures. Pretty academic when you get over 1100 Nm of torque, then think the tuning chip. Today for instance, I needed to get past a caravan tootling along at 80-85 and a squirt along as stable as you like, back to the speed limit in time to see a candy car coming our way pursuing a car heading toward us. I won't say what I got up to, but the BT is over 3t and towing is effortless.

Incidentally when I get the camera and screen going for the rear, I will reverse park again as I have done before. The Ram on it's own is easy.

Thanks John...

Cheers Jeff......I will see how things go and contribute when I think I can say something worthwhile...

Merry Christmas.

Roachie

Merry Christmas to you too Des and Eileen....

I still see Pesty occasionally....in fact going to Lake Bonney on New Years eve and camping on north side with him and a few others.

It'd be great if you can come over and say g'day or even bring the "T" and camp with us if you don't have family commitments.

Cheers mate

Roachie

We're heading to Coobowie on Sat for a few days. Not sure when we will be back but will call in on the way back to see if your there.

Des, I take the mail down the peninsula every day, as far as Yorketown, where I then have to spend a couple of hours (from 0900 to 1130). I usually have a nap in the back of the van for an hour, then go to the bakehouse for an early lunch around 1030.

So, if you should happen to decide to wander over to Yorketown, give me a call....I have to work 29, 30, 31 and 2nd (I have to come back from Barmera on the evening of 1/1 to be able to do my run on Friday morning, then head back after 1400 when I knock off).

Anyway, if that doesn't work out, then by all means swing by Kadina if it's not too far out of your way.

Cheers mate

Bill

G'day Glen and thanks for your thoughts on the Chev. I think all 3 of the big yank tanks are pretty sound these days. Even the Effy 6.7 is apparently MUCH better than the old Powerstroke 7.3

You touched on a bit of a sore point when you mention taking up 4 spots at the local supermarket carpark!!!

Before my current 100 series, I had a GU Patrol, cut down to dual cab and canopy (quite similar looking to this new beast in a lot of ways) with a Chev 6.5 under the bonnet......it was always considered too big to park at Woolies!!!

Anyway, I will have some fun with it...

Cheers

Roachie

Thanks Leigh......I've just got to make sure I use it well and often!!

Roachie

John,

No mate, never had twin snorkels.

However, on the GU I had with the 6.5 Chev, I ripped out the Safari snorkel that had been on it and fabricated a 4" steel snorkel using rubber bends.

It was pretty agricultural, but provided a lot better breathing for the big engine.

Not sure I've ever seen a GU with twin snorkels....would be a bit difficult to plumb-up the driver's side to the air box... can't see it being a goer mate.

Cheers

Roachie

G'day Glen,

Mate, I can't wipe the smile off my face!

The trip home to Kadina was almost 2300klm through 4 states in 49 hours (1600 Friday to 1700 on Sunday).

Friday arvo after picking up the Chev, I drove a few hours to Dalby; 275klm.

Because of flood waters either side of Broken Hill I had to drive down the Newell Hwy to Narrandera (where I stayed on Saturday night at my brother's place); 1,050klm.

Sunday I went from Narrandera to Kadina, via Mildura; 950klm.

Overall fuel economy was 14.7L/100 which is at least 2L/100 better than my 100 series can do without a trailer.

The Chev is just so bloody POWERFUL!! It accelerates like a sports car and is VERY comfortable. I'm still learning about all the bells and whistles it has. The canopy id HUGE. It has 2 fully enclosed fridge slides....one of which is a drop-down type that can take a 80 litre fridge. It also has 3 full-size batteries and a full-width pair of draws for tools etc. Even with all those items in there, it was still able to accommodate the 6 original wheels and tyres which came with the rig.

Anyway, I will keep working out how it all goes over the coming weeks and months.

Cheers and thinks for asking.

Roachie

GRUNT eh Roachie? Great too with the Ram. Interesting the tootle I did from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane the day I picked up, the average was under 10L/100. General running sees under 14L/100 even with our hills. I can get resets of the fuel consumption with a press of a steering wheel button. I have a hard tonneau, but not yet worked out all the space.

You will be smiling I know!

G'day Andrew,

Looks like all the old Nissan die-hards are opting for the added creature comforts offered by the various opposition companies!! Well, what can I say, the bones are getting a bit brittle with age and need to wrapped-up in soft leather!!! hahaha

That new mafia wagon of yours looks pretty flash mate!!! Have fun fitting it out with all the bits and pieces. Did you get the GVM upgrade prior to it being registered?

My decision to buy the Chev was based mainly on its torque and towing capacity and the inherent stability it provides. However, it is rather large and I'm going to keep the 100 series for the time being as I don't know that I will be able to tag-along with others in the 4WD Club if they have a trip planned with some winding tracks through trees etc. Time will tell.

Cheers for now mate.

Roachie