Finding the caravan we want

Wow. 12 month wait. Hope it doesn't blow out further. Do you have to wear price increases over that time. Regards,Bob.

No the wait for imediate delivery is 7 months to have one built to your specs, or the dealer in Geelong has a couple in stock.

We dont need ours till dec and price is locked in till then. The next price rise is due Dec 2013.

I would be very surprised if you could find a van 16 to 18' with a full ensuite. I think you will have to go up a couple of feet in length to a minimum 20'...

Cheers
Merv

Love the Lotus range of vans.
they sure do tick all the boxs.
just wish we had gone down that path.
maybe next time

Geoff

Not so Merv, Lotus do a 18 footer with full ensuite.

Heather, as well as a 6'4" queen bed we have 2 bunks, great floor plan and all possible bells and whistles. We ordered our special build van last friday and will be ready in June, 6 months is not too bad.

Sorry forgot to mention its 17.5 feet

We have the very first Elite Goulburn OFF roader ever built, and we had it built to our specifications, they now have this as a standard model and they informed me that they are selling 2 a week.
We had a few issues that have now all been sorted out. The worst was the Hume windows but they don't use these now, their new type are great.
We have driven over 20,000 kms with over 2,000 kms off the black top.
Oodnatta track, Gibb river road, old ghaun railway, Chambers Pillars, Merini loop and more.
Ours has the control rider suspension, but they now use cruisemaster as it saves about 40 kgs.
We are very happy with ours now and would take it anywhere with no issues.
Single beds, 135 watt solar, duel batteries, full ensuite, inverter, diesel heater, Ibis A/C, tregg hitch, rims to match 4.2 TD Patrol.
Hope this helps
Regards Hugh

Hugh, are you the people they use for their Gibb River road report on their website??

I met the owner (or one of) at the recent pre Xmas Brisbane Cravan Show (Bald headed guy can't think of his name but he's on the roughly done Youtube Clips they do).

It ticks all the boxes for us except my wife has her heart set on a Cafe Dinette...and it doesn't have one of those!!

I do love my off roading so must admit it's well and truly at the top of the list (at this point).

Sadly I am limited as we only have a Prado (weight wise), so getting what we need, and keeping it under 2000Kg is a bit of an issue, and that one is bang on the money!!

It was not me that did the GRR report, I think I saw the van that was involved, it had a broken shocker on the cruisemaster suspension ( the van I saw in their workshop had just come back from a GRR trip ).
peter is the bald headed guy, he is one of the 2 partners, pretty good to talk to. I went over our van with him after we had completed over 20,000 kms over 2 years. I suggested a few improvements, will be interesting if he follows up on it.
The weight would be a problem for you, ours is about 2,300kgs fully loaded.
With the controll rider suspension, it tows easily and I would take it anywhere, but drive to the conditions, when on rough roads I drop the tyre pressure to around 30 PSI.
I hope you find something suitable.
best of luck
regards Hugh

Our Prado can pull 2500Kg, so 2300Kg fully loaded might be fine.

At the pre Xmas caravan show up here I had a look at one (with Peter), and he said it was 1980Kg "dry"

Having never had a van before I imagine 500Kg inclduing the water will be tight BUT doable.....hope I am correct in saying that??

I must admit I probably wouldn't do the GRR in any van, but it would be nice to have a van that can go just about anywhere.

However I keep hearing the "buy a van that will do 80% of what you'll need as you'll almost never find one that does 100%"

normal rule of thumb is, single axle allow 300 kgs and duel axle and 400 kgs.
Note 2 x 90 lt water tanks full, 180 kgs.
2 x 9 kg gas bottles, 18 kgs.
water in hot water service, about 18 kgs.
slab of beer and a couple bottles of wine, 10 kgs
generator and fuel about 30 kgs.
food about 25 kgs ( depending on free camping or not )
doesn't leave much for clothes and other minor things that you may need.
Don't put anything in if you don't need it.
I carry ( at times ) fire wood and extra water and fuel so I am on the limit.
I don't fill up my 2nd water tank until I am close to my final destination. helps to keep my weight down. I have 2 seperate water tanks so always leave home with full drinking water tank.

Graham, we are Perth based and suggest you check out the Free Spirit off-road caravan range before making any final decisions. They are made in Caloundra, Queensland and have some very interesting features. The company's web site (freespiritcaravans.com.au) has heaps of info and reviews - worth a look. While a relatively new company (been producing since late 2008), the various owners are rapt (there is an owners' blog you may wish to visit - FOGblog. Just google it.). Mike & Helen