Off Road Caravans

Motherhen Fusion Predator is made by Paradise Caravans why call them off road if they can not go off road strange

Same reason car makers put awd in a vehicle that is not capable of offroad. SALES!!! There is plenty of vans out there that are marketed as off-road that I would not be comfortable taking off road.

Supreme Getaway- solid off road van and fair value for money compared to some of the better known off road vans. The Territory will falter before the Getaway van in my opinion.

Cheers, Trevor.

Trevor,
The Territory is only tempory looking at a second hand landcruiser because you are limited.

Michael

Still, check the fine print on the Supreme range. The first time i saw the disclaimer was on the Supreme on line brochure when doing research some years ago. I don't think the disclaimer is on their website now, but we met people with a nice big new Supreme Getaway and the same disclaimer was on a plate in the boot.

Mh

Mh,

I don't know what the Supreme website says but I know what I have put mine through and that's enough for me to say what I said about them. The big downside with the Supreme Getaway is the weight and getting tyres to suit this, as the ones issued with my van were very inadequate in my opinion.

Cheers Trevor.

Hi Trevor, good to hear the Supreme is a success.

On tyres and wheels, we prefer to have them the same as the tow vehicle. Our Bushtracker started out with Landcruiser wheels, then had Patrol wheels when we bought it, and since we changed from Patrol to F250 it now has Ford wheels.

Have you had any tyre issues with the original tyres?

Mh

The original tyres that came with my brand new van were Olympic overlanders 235 75 15. These lasted about 3500km before sidewall bulges appeared and the tyre distributor in Rocky told me I was overloading them. As the van was supplied to me like this and the weight in the van was within van limits I was offered full refund and opportunity to exchange them for something more suitable. I think G/Y wrangler ATR's went on next (same size) but they were cr@p and showed bad wear signs quickly. I ended up sourcing some Firestone CV3000 tyres in a 225 70 15 that have a very high load rating and 3 sets of these later I have been very impressed and much happier with tyres on the van. Each set of these firestones have got me about 80 000km and the current set has done b/ville track, nthn Flinders, Innaminka, bore track and a heap of other smaller offroad forays as well as plenty of blacktop without a puncture. I can't recall the last puncture I had with the firestones if I have had one at all????

I agree the van and car should ideally have interchangable tyres but I am hesitant to change the winning combination after such a good run. Tyre pressures have been constantly changed to suit the conditions. Slow towing is not one of my strong points so lack of speed has had nothing to do with the longevity of the tyres.

Only spot I would hesitate to take the Supreme is in the sand as they are way to heavy for this. The Patrol does cope towing in a bit of soft sand driving at Inskip Pt (Rainbow beach) but I would not take it to Fraser Is for example.

Cheers, Trevor.

We too avoid sand Trevor. When we towed the Bushtracker with the Patrol (3 litre auto) we steered clear of sand. With the F250 and the caravan loaded up, pulling of the road in sandy areas meant a hasty retreat back to the road before we sunk.

We had a good run with tyres last year. No problems at all on the road. Then we parked the caravan in front of the house, and a tyre went down. We must have picked up a nail when we got home.

Mh

Kevin to answer your points
4.only up to three weeks
5. single axle
3. two people
2. from ready 1850kg I believe
1. high clearance is all we will need
My wife is opting for a second hand van but I would like a new one have been searching the net for months now and yes we are going to the show on the weekend thanks for your imput.

michael

This is where we differ slightly :-)

we will travel for a few months at a time hopefully

we want a tandem axel

2 people

same weight or close to

and high clearance.

Margo wants a new van and I would be happy with a second hand one !!!!!

D200Dug,
Why tandem over single and yes I will most likely end up with a second hand van,maybe.

Michael

Again from someone with no hands on experience :-) !!!

I am told and I imagine they tow better over corrugation having one wheel down and one up would be more stable than just one wheel bouncing about.

We plan longer trips over dirt tracks so think this is a good idea, less problems if you do blow a tyre and easier to back up and park.


Just what I have been told and think sounds reasonable.

I have not towed a van but did spend years towing boats behind a V8 Kingswood that had no power steering. I did not need to go to the gym to build my arm muscles back then :-)

Motherhen,
Thanks I will check them out must have missed them some how in my searching,
the Fusion Predator starts at $36,000.00 and if adding a shower they tell me $42,000.00 there abouts Crusader is dearer around to end of our budget of $50,000.00

Michael

D200Dug
Going this weekend and yes we are down to about five vans but mainly like the Fusion Predator made by Paradise vans and the Crusader x country as this has the 16" wheels you talk about and have a 6'2" queen bed with 6' galvanized chassis both nice looking vans.

Michael

As I said we went last year but had NO idea what we were looking at or for !

Our experience of caravans was yelling abuse at them for blocking the road :-) {something we intend not to do }

We are heading down on Wednesday to have another look.

we have an Evernew caravan and have taken it off road. It is extremely strong and we are very happy with our van. Evernew have been around for 40 years. The owner, Bruce is a very easy person to deal with and builds the caravan to you specifications. if you go with Evernew you wont be disappointed.

Pete

When we get a bit more organized we plan to head down to Victoria and have a look at their vans.

May I ask where you are based and could we have a stickybeak at your van sometime please ? if you are close by of course.

D200Dug,

We are located in Hobart and you are welcome to come and look at our van anytime. You will find Bruce and Darren at Evernew most helpful. you need to know what you want in a van as their vans are all custom made to your requirements. We have had caravans before and have been looking around for quite a while for a new van until we met people camping in Isisford Qld with an Evernew van. They helped us make up our mind.

Pete

Steve with regard to the territory i have been looking around and on this site

http://www.productreview.com.au/showitem.php?item_id=42197§ion=REVIEWS&next=4

most don't say much good about them in fact a bit scary and i will strike off the Coromal that makes it a little easier.

Michael

MH,
Thanks for your help I will now look at duel axle and yes my wife prefers a pre-loved rather than new looking forward to the show will be there Saturday.

Michael

Malcolm,
Kimberley Karavan real nice but out of our price range and the wife wants a shower/toilet.

Michael