First Trip in the new Prado
Submitted: Monday, May 17, 2004 at 20:23
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Member - StevenL
Hi All,
I have just returned from the first outing in the new Prado that I collected from the dealer last week. The vehicle performed magnificently.
I did a simple loop from
Adelaide up to
Quorn (it was cooold in the
campground), out through the Central Flinders to Wilpena,
Brachina Gorge, Parachilna,
Blinman (good burger for lunch at the
Blinman Inn), back to
Hawker(wimped out and took a waaaarm cabin), then back to
Adelaide.
Visited a couple of forumites along the way. Pesty made me welcome on the way up with a coffee and a chat. Willem made me welcome on the way back with soup followed by some fantastic ice cream and PP sauce (Prickly Pear for those that have to ask!). It was great to put faces to the names and the hospitality was first rate.
Only problem with the vehicle was a dislodged foglight in the alloy bar. It was a very comfortable ride, even over some fairly bad corrugations on the Wilpena to
Brachina Gorge road. No problems with the Cooper tyres, they felt good and solid and look hardly marked after several hundred k's of stony dirt roads(some pretty big and knarly looking stones too). There was heaps of room inside and it swallowed all my gear easily. Much better than the Honda Civic!
I finally managed to get in a bit of photography so I now have a couple of decent shots for the rig
pic! My website seems to have fallen from the perch over the weekend so that will have to wait till I have time to sort it.
Now that I have that first trip out of the way I will try to contain myself from spontaneous posting of endless details!!!!!
Cheers
Steven
Reply By: Al & Mrs Al (Vic) - Monday, May 17, 2004 at 20:26
Monday, May 17, 2004 at 20:26
sounds like you had fun Steven...I hope there's plenty of PP juice for me when I'm there in a few weeks....hhahahaha
AnswerID:
58970
Follow Up By: Member - StevenL - Monday, May 17, 2004 at 20:29
Monday, May 17, 2004 at 20:29
Gee that was quick!
You got a "New Post" alert hooked up or what????
I am sure Willem has a bit of PP left for you. He was afraid at one point that you wer going to pass him by!!!!
Steven
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Al & Mrs Al (Vic) - Monday, May 17, 2004 at 20:32
Monday, May 17, 2004 at 20:32
nah...I hit refresh and there you were...ahhahaha...got all sorts of alerts for emails though....drives Al mad when he's actually inside and not in the shed....
as if I'd pass Willie by..dear me..I'd never be forgiven...ahahhahaha....
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Member - Bradley- Monday, May 17, 2004 at 20:48
Monday, May 17, 2004 at 20:48
Fantastic, nothing better than breaking in a new toy and having a ball is there !!
Glad to hear it went
well, apart from the dicky light, probably just not attached properly by the apprentice.. Don't spare the details, thats what we're here to see :-) ..
SO - whats next on the list of mods / improvements for the new beast ??
cheerio.
AnswerID:
58980
Follow Up By: Member - StevenL - Monday, May 17, 2004 at 21:00
Monday, May 17, 2004 at 21:00
Thanks Bradley!
Over the next 12 months I think I have narrowed down the list to:
Snorkel, 130ah 2nd battery, cargo barrier, bonnet and headlight protectors, Hayman Reese H/D towbar ($100 cheaper than genuine!), front recovery hooks.
After that the Credit Card should be about knackered!
Yep! you are right. Nothing like playing with a new toy!!!
Cheers
Steven
FollowupID:
320645
Follow Up By: Member - Bradley- Monday, May 17, 2004 at 21:17
Monday, May 17, 2004 at 21:17
ahhhh, all good stuff i see. Credit card ?? whats that, they try to cut
mine up if i hand it over !! hehehe, reminds me i should put some coin back in there soon...
Yes the
snorkel with a properly sealed inlet pipe will save the worry about the front bar to guard liner problems..
Save your pennies for the servicing !! i'm tipping that the new td loves a bit of high quality oil.. Give us a message if you need some advice on the spec, if i don't know i will ask the lab at work. New diesels need really good oil that can hold the soot in
suspension longer. Extended drain intervals are now a thing of the past due to the new diesel being introduced.
See ya later buddy.
FollowupID:
320649
Reply By: Member - Bernie. (Vic) - Monday, May 17, 2004 at 21:26
Monday, May 17, 2004 at 21:26
Hi Steven
Nothing like going on that 1st big drive, not suprised some thing came loose we did that area around
Easter and the roads /tracks, creek beds can be rough, a very nice area though
Brachina Gorge especially, did you call at the
Prairie Hotel for a drink ?
Cheers
AnswerID:
58990
Reply By: PradoBoy - Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 00:12
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 00:12
G'day Steven,
Ha! The first good size drive - sweet hey! And the Flinders too - nice spot to do it. Been years since I've been there - wanna go back!!!
Weird that you had a problem with the lights. Usually all that sort of stuff is
well and truly sorted before you take delivery. Worst recurrent problem with my 2001 RV TD is thatit keeps blowing map lights! Currently got some
suspension problems too - but after 100,000Km's gotta expect teh original shocks to be a bit tired hey! Gunna do the
Suspension RSN.
What's the web site you mentioned? If you've got some of your pics up I'd like to take a look. Can you please email me the address?
Great to hear you had a good trip! The first of many I am sure! If you're ever up in
Brisbane look me up and I'll show you up through Great Sandy NP, Fraser etc.
Cheers,
PradoBoy
AnswerID:
59021
Follow Up By: PradoBoy - Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 00:13
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 00:13
Forgot - seeing as I'm not a member yet - you can't see my email address.
ross@barton.id.au
Cheers,
PradoBoy
FollowupID:
320668
Reply By: Bazza - Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 09:18
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 09:18
G'Day Steven,
Glad to hear your enjoying your new ride. I 've had my 120V6 since last December and it still brings a smile to my face. I'm still in the early stages of setting it up, that's something you've got to look forward to. Your issue with the foglight reminded me of the one problem I have with
mine .... the blinker/
parking light in the bar, next to the foglight ....it has a coloured blinker globe and an "old fashion" festoon globe for the
parking lamp. The festoon globes on
mine both fail with increasing regularity. It's a pain. I've checked that the connections are secure but feel that these types of globes are not that reliable. I'm thinking of changing the fittings to an LED type, if available. Anyway ..... if that's the only problem I ever have with the Prado, I will be a very happy person.
Enjoy the ride,
Regards,
Bazza.
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Des Lexic - Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 09:58
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 09:58
G'day Steven,
Glad the trip went
well. Flinders is a great spot. You weree lucky as I never got offered any PP juice. Must be in the bad books.
I hope I can get it real dirty for you in June. cya then.
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Follow Up By: Willem - Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 11:53
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 11:53
Aaaaahhhhhhhhhh....nooooooo you are not in the Bad Books...you just don't arrive at PP Juice Time............Steven just struck it lucky yesterday......next time come for lunch and then the PP Juice will be there for you...promise(that is if Lynda and her entourage don't devour it all.........hahahahaha)
Had 13mm rain yesterday and overnight.
Cheers
FollowupID:
320703
Follow Up By: Al & Mrs Al (Vic) - Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 17:01
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 17:01
hey Willie...I can't guarantee that we won't devour it all...we might go a bit mad...we've heard so much about it...ahahhahaha...
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Reply By: Joe - Thursday, May 20, 2004 at 19:54
Thursday, May 20, 2004 at 19:54
Hi Steven,
Good to hear you enjoying it.
On my first long trip into high country one of my fog lights fell out and other would have followed shortly after.
After falling from my vehicle, 6 other 4wd missed running over it, and tail end charley sees it and says hey , that looks like a Prado fog light on the trail !,over the radio. so we stop and yep we have a hole where the fog light was.
REturned to dealer and had him refit with tappers with thicker shanks and all seems ok after another 3 small trips.
THe whole bull bar fit up/innerr guard/water ingress simply shows how poorly Toyota Australia have planned and designed these upgrades/products.
Maybe it should be left to Japenese in future!
Regards
Joe
AnswerID:
59464