Fuel Consumption Follow Up

Meant to add to my reply that I have yet to do an accurate consumption check on my manual 3L TD Prado while towing (a 1940Kg Caravan) but on one occassion I did 810K on 96 litres (all highway at about 100 KPH). I think that equates to about 11.85 L/100

Very Happy with that.

Hi there Cruiser, yeah plenty of rain but still had a great time. The Big4 was packed but everyone really nice and friendly, didnt bother going on the beach to give it a run due to the rain and the wind would have blown a dog off its chain. We had a few people having music and fires and stuff going but by about 11pm didnt hear any thing from them all was good. Hey there pretty good figures with that size van. Glad it all went ok. I kept a look out for you. Regards Steve M

I was going to come on down the road to wards Moorlands and cut across the old sand mining track to Crowdy, but the w/e got away on us with drink/eat/chat etc and obviously didnt make it.

Maybe next time.

Hi there Tesse, that was nearly all free way driving and a distance of just over 900klms,Just looked at speedo, 912klms to be exact and that was including two runs back into Taree on the weekend to see the boat races. I think 900 odd klms with camper on is a fairly good estimate. I set the trip meter to zero before leaving home and had 2 chock o block tanks and refilled 3klms from my house. We didn't bother going on the beach due to it raining so would expect it to be allot higher if I had been punching through the sand. If I was getting in the 20's I would be selling it and buying a cruiser. Two of my mates have them one another auto and the other a manual, for some reason the auto always get better then the manual I think because the manual is up around the 3g mark at 110klm where the auto with the overdrive like mine is only revving at 2.5g at 110, must be the difference. I would also expect higher if I was towing a mid/full size van. Another mate of mine has a patrol and said his fuel increases by 3 to 4 litres per 100 when he has his full roof basket on reckons its like a parachute. Going again in a couple of weeks to Queensland so will give it a good run but that's without camper so expecting low 12's we will see. Just spoke to my mate prior to typing this who is a Toyota Mechanic and said to check your air flow meter as they build up with dust and will pump more fuel due to reading being wrong back to the computer. He said this is common with them, he did mine the first week I bought it when he took it in for a check over for me. If I started having those figures (20's) constantly I would be putting mine back in the paper. As said above if I had a big van which yours obviously is or am punching through the sand then I would expect that. Hope you had a good easter no offence taken everyone entitled to there opinion. Regards Steve M

Hi there PatNav, where you Located ?? Your welcome to come and have look at our camper if you want and will give you the figures we payed for ours including annexe. I'm located Glenmore Park (Penrith). Regards Steve M

Yeh Stephen
Have you been up the NEWNES i was up there about 6yrs ago it has a nice camp ground at the newnes itself ,Iam thinking of taking the camper for a test run on a weekend just an overnighter. If you or anyone else would like to join us would be great have not made a date yet but we dont have mant ties so we are prity flexable
Cheers!!!

Hi there PatNav, as said before I had some major issues with my first one and sent it back due to alot of major faults, the one I have now still has one or two minor ones but nothing worth worrying about. Please check that trailer over properly as to make sure its not my old one. I have the treg coupling as well which was also on my first one, myn went back to St Marys so be wary. Check under the trailer for surface rust, pull the poles apart and check they havnt coroded, check where the 4 poles connect from out side the camper and go through the canvas and connect on the angel of each internal pole that there is an actual hole through the canvas for each awning support myn only had 3 and the awning roof sags pooling water when it rains. When looking from the front looking into the camper the one just to the right of the door was missing. When connected to the car there was an upward dent on the metal just in front of wheel arch where the transit guys tryed lifting it with the fork lift. There was a hole on the back wall directly behind the second pole from the bed. Check out the ply under the bed it was all water damaged. On the corner of the bed just to the wright of the ladder where you climb up to get on the bed you can see daylight through it which is what damaged the ply. Also there were screws coming up through the ply from under neath and were too long and came up and through the timber into the foam matress. The wheels were also way too wide and they hung out past the guards. The stiching was also coming apart on a couple of the seams behind the poles up on the roof area. It will also still have the holes on the inner draw bar where the plate goes form the manufacturer. I have a heap of photos here that I took of that camper to send too them with all the faults if you want to send me your email address I can pass them on to you. They also bullshi#ed to me and told me the vanvas was Aussi made its not its from China which was pointed out to me by some one on here but must admitt it seems fairly good quality supposidly 14 oz. Now after saying all that I dont want to turn you off one as the one we have now is great to tow and no water leaks and is fairly quick to assemble and as they say you get what you pay for, BUT please check it over very thourouly to make sure its not my old one you dont want it. The one I have now its supposidly a series two it does have a lot of changes made and quality was a huge improvement. Where they are located they are only a couple of streets away from the salt water and I reckon my one was a demo which had been assembled for a while. DONT order it without checking it over. The bloke that owns the company was a pri#k to deal with and I threatoned him I was going to drive it and the hilux through his plate glass window of his showroom before they come good and he's lucky he did cause I had two mates ready for a quick trip over in 2 days time and would have done it without fail also told him I was going to take it to Penrith camping show and put signage all over it. At the end of the day it was all sorted and I got a brand new one no cost to me. I have tomorrow off it you like I can go over and have a look for you and make sure its not my old one. I am not metioning the name on here as you know who I'm talking about. Regards Steve M

Thanks Stephen
I will have a look at that on friday if i get the chance to get there otherwise it will be saturday ,but the 1 i looked at was structually well an i did look at mattress and base the matress was custom made from clark rubber and the base was all good no sign of dampness ,i also checked under trailer and all good it did have small scratches where jerry cans go but normal where an tearyou sound like me fussy LOL but all in all it was in good shape he did tell me of the prob's with the earlier model an that they have made changes to one's after 10/06 this one is a 11/06 but ya i was happy with it an will be getting it as they say ya get what ya pay for but it only last as long as you look after it..
Cheers
P.S thanks for the offer to look at it but ya its all good might be able to meet up and test it out ??Cheers

Hi there madfisher, yeah I wasnt babying it I was pulling up mooney, hawksbury, and up out of Ourimbah and was 110 all the way kicked out the overdive and put the foot into. I looked at probably around 7/8 of them. Have heard of them doing in excess of 300k and still going well. I was actually looking at GXL's but same as you all had high klms and had more hits than Elvis Presley. Some of the crap out there that people advertise as in excellent condition then when you drive all over Sydney to look at them and they are sh#t boxs you start to get really annoyed wasting time and fuel I can see why some people buy new to save the hassles, but if your patient then you will find one. I test drove the 2.7 but after driving the V6 did notice a big difference in get up and go and as far as I know you can only get the 2.7 in RV form and you dont get duel tanks with the 2.7 only in the V6 so that didnt suit me but might suit you. Myn has 150k on it and has all the service history which has been done by Lander and Castle Hill Toyota. It has a few little rattles but am slowy finding them and shutting them up. I copped a cracked windscreen coming back today and has spread already across and heading up the screen but you cop that and I'm covered for a new screen once a year so doesnt bother me. The 3L turbo diesel (1KZ) is a ripper of a motor and has excellent fuel economy around 9/10 per 100 most of the time even towing but are around 10k more for the same vehicle but if doing a lot of towing especially a full size van and concerned with fuel economy then they would be the way to go. Were looking at updating the camper next year to possibly a jayco pop top so didnt want to spend all the funds on the car itself. I did look at a couple of pajeros and found them to be bloody nice to drive,to be honest I think they are more comfortable than the prado but I was looking at resale down the track and also my best mate works for Toyota so he knows them inside out. Check out the mitsi's as well very nice especially the GLS the last of them 1999 model with the square front guards very well appointed. Regards Steve M

Steve Hi again,
Most of the 1kz that mates have are not that brilliant on fuel arround 11 to 12 l per 100ks .
Mate my 4 runner only has 75kilowatts and a 65l tank so anything would be an improvement, but has been a reliable old girl , and because I have looked after it I am having trouble finding a better vehicle.
Steve I know where you are coming from drove all the way from Bathurst to Sydney to look at a Jack that was surpposed to be excellant, the guy had spent thousands on sound gear etc and the had done no maitance, the oil was almost off the dip stick and putrid.
Have a good day mate
Pete

Hi there Pete, I would do a search on here in regards to the jacks and see what you find, from what I have read on here I would never own one. No doubt there are plenty of people who have them and have had no issues but it wasnt that long ago on here some one was getting rid of theres due to spending $$$ all the time in repairs and the cost of parts for them are extremely expensive. I dont own one never have and never will but there are plenty of people who wouldnt own a prado either so each to there own. Regards steve M

Hi Steve,
I think it was mainly the diesels that had the problems and they had plenty. I have done a search and could not find to many problems with the 3.5 v6 but you are right parts are dear.
I had one of the 2.6 s which was the last of the old series sold it at 218000 and the young chap I sold it to put another 80000ks on it before writing it off .

The diesels would send you broke,
I am also looking at challengers I have heard they give excellent fuel economy but they dont all have lsds
The Dog and Lemon guide recomends The petrol Jacks but gives a thumbs down to the diesels. You will be pleased to know that they give their highest recommendation to prados
Cheers Pete

Hi there Pete, I looked at the challengers as well but found there are virtually no accesories available, cant even get a snorkel, and no one that I rang did a dual batt system so crossed that off my list. Yes I was referring to the diesels in the jacks. I dont know if its the same V6 motor in the jackeroos as the rodeo but if it is most people I know including the bloke at work reckons they go like the clappers but drink fuel the same as a petrol cruiser which is pretty thirsty when you compare the weight between the two vehicles. I actually rechecked my consumption and was wrong when I looked at the litres. I got my neighbour to double check my figures and it was 12.8L per 100 not 13.8 even better totally rapped with that. I presume we are doing it wright. Started with full tanks trip meter set to zero. After trip refueled her up and divided the litres put in by the klms done ??? Got the 12.8L per 100. Yes pays to check all avenues when looking at updating. I loved the old hilux for its off road capability and the no hassles old 2.8D but I was sick of being last on the que and people having to wait for me on every hill. Didnt bother me too much when it was just us but when touring with other people its annoying and having to turn the air off so I could get as much power as possible and with the diesel screaming one end and the wife the other cause I had turned the air off on a 30+ degree day it was starting to annoy me. I was seriously looking at the diesel 2.8 turbo rodeo's but could not find a good one and if it was good in the body department it had huge klms or if one had low klms it had no service history or it was a tradesman ute and was knocked around and no service history so I gave up after waiting so long. We got 10k for the old girl without the canopy which I just sold on ebay last week for $320 + all the bits and pieces I had for it, spare filters, old/used radiator hoses and belts, water pump etc ended up getting $800 for it all including canopy so really got $10,8 for the old thing but it was the service history that sold it and condition. Even though it was used for off road and did some fairly hard stuff I never punched the floor pan or even the SR5 side steps were still like new so pays to look after them. An ex mate of mine was helping me try and find one when I first bought it and he would ring and say found one but when I rang them they had no service history so wouldnt touch them. He ended up getting the sh#ts with me cause I was too fussy cause I wouldnt touch them with out the books, but hey its payed off when I sold it. Only advertised it for a week and a 1/2 and it was gone. Dont think the prado will be as good off road and not sure wether water crossings are going to be an issue being petrol but will find out I suppose. Be patient you will find what your looking for. Regards Steve M

lol STEVE,
I can relate to turning the air off, every time Sal sees that add on tv were yhe guy wont turn the air on she wacks me.
I was always more than happy with the 4runner, till I started working for Hertz driving arround in d4d luxs, xr6s etc hasa ruined me.
I was interested in the fact that your prado gave good fuel economy in auto, in the Jacks you have to go manual to get any sort of economy. The diff is 100ks per tank roughly.
We also have a 3lt Paj which is a lot more comfy than the runner(superb seats) and quite a bit more thirsty than the runner. 15lt per 100 or 18 mpg with a canidian canoe on the roof. 31s ats knocked it arround a bit also
Cheers Pete

Hi Mark, Dont think there's any hidden fuel savers that I know of. It was all virtually freeway driving, 5 mins from my house I'm on the M4, then the M7 then M2 then hit Pennant Hills rd then F3 then Pacific Highway. Obviously the same coming home. The only running around I did was back into Taree twice to watch the boat races (love boat racing didnt even know it was on till someone told me, wife was spewing LOL ) And that was pretty much it except we did get cought in the traffic for about 2 hours (took us 7 hours from Penrith to Harrington) and then another on the way home but is was moving only just). Its up around the 15 mark around town but will fill again next tuesday to see what I get. This will be all around town no freeway/highway. I was truly expecting 15/17 up and back so will see how it goes when we go to Frazer will obviously chew more on the island itself. I wouldnt be upset by your figures as this sounds the norm, maybe myn was luck or some thing I dont know but as said I wasnt babying it was sitting on the speed limits all the way. Actually while I'm speaking to some one with the same vehicle when you brake and stop then take off again do you notice like a second movement once you have released the brakes and acclerate, its hard to describe it's like a bush has worn and there is movement. I think it feels to be coming from the back. My mate who works for Toyota says he has felt it in other prados but not all. I am taking it to a 4wd specialist next monday just to see if anythings loose or there is an actual bush worn. I have also been told its common its just the rear calliper releasing itself when the foot comes off the brake but I dont think that is it as it seems to be more when you take your foot off the brake then touch the accelerator. Any Idea or you dont have that feeling in yours ??? Regards Steve M