Just Browsing 20ft or 18ft

slachlan

New Member
Jul 31, 2019
13
14
3
Melbourne
Hi Everyone
We are a family of 4 and have been looking at the Expanda.
Currently we are leaning towards the 20ft for the larger dining area.
Would be curious to get any feedback from people who have a 20ft or have comment on any benefits of an 18ft?
Looking to place our order soon on the new van :)
 
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Joves

Member
May 9, 2019
84
66
18
Sydney
Hi @slachlan,

Welcome to the forum!

I’m sure someone with experience of either and/or both will be along shortly to offer some good info. We have a 20ft being delivered on Friday so, unfortunately, not a whole lot of experience to report back with as yet. I imagine this will change soon enough.

We actually hired an 18ft pop-top a month or so back and spent a few nights in it. Was a great van and a nice way to get a very short feel for what we had/have in store, as we had already ordered our van. We are a family of 5 and found the space, even in the 18ft’er, was great.

I’d imagine the biggest consideration between the 2 would be what you are planning to tow it with. If you have a tow vehicle that will handle the 18ft, but not quite the 20ft, I’d be inclined to let that fact probably make the decision for you. If your vehicle can handle either, then perhaps the slight extra space of the 20ft might be the go. If I’m to be completely honest, as there was a period of time between standing in the one we hired and the one we have purchased, I didn’t notice a huge amount of difference internally. Again, there were a few good weeks between standing in each and comparing them side by side. An immediate switch between the two could possibly tell a slightly different story, but we certainly didn’t feel the 18ft was lacking in internal space... and we have one more rugrat than you guys do!

Hope this helps and best of luck with your search/decision/order!

Look forward to hearing how it has gone.

Joves
 
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slachlan

New Member
Jul 31, 2019
13
14
3
Melbourne
Hi Joves

Thanks for the welcome!

Thanks also for taking the time to reply and providing some insight. Hoping the 200 Series Landcruiser will be up to the task of towing. We are still pretty new to this world and never realised quite how much there was to take into consideration.

We are inclined to lean towards the extra space. And we have also been getting carried away with options and upgrades haha See how we go this weekend when we head back to the dealer.

Exciting times, enjoy the new van on Friday! Where’s the first trip?
Hopefully we haven’t missed the October production run if we make a decision soon.

Cheers
 
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Drover

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2013
12,723
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QLD
All of what @Joves said and Welcome to the Mob, Joves hit the nail on the head with Tow vehicle but the Cruiser should be up to it all right, when ordering fit out bits and bobs, have a good long think about what is really, truly needed as many order all this stuff to be fitted, fancy gadgets which in the long run are jusr maoney that could be spent on fuel being spent on a gadget of little use and don't buy up on camping gear until you find out what is needed.............It is so tempting to buy some great outdoor tables and chairs only to find oyu have no where to store it ro you need tocut back on weight and weight is the main thing.

I think weve covered in @Joves thread a lot of stuff to look at at first up ..............things like having a Snow Flake TV aerial and at least 200w of solar panel if your going to do a fair bit of free camping then have them fit dual batteries, demanding the panels and batteries are included in the weights on the compliance plate so you get your full 400kg weight allowance from the beginning...........otherwise the panels and batteries will end up being deducted from your 400kg and 100kg lost to equipment is not to be laughed at.

Anyway have a good wander about on here, heaps to read, laugh and enjoy ..................................... ask away....
 
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Crusty181

Well-Known Member
Feb 7, 2010
6,854
13,971
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Mentone, VIC
Welcome @slachlan. We're 20ft'ers, but the now highly collectable single-ended variety. We originally wanted the 18ft in the single-ended model, but when we finally went to pull the trigger they'd ditched that model the week prior, dang it.

Our motivators at the time were limited to weight, full bathroom, and club lounge.

Back then the weight difference was significant, now its only 300kg and unlike our previous tow veh your tow veh will be unaffected
The compromised combo bathroom in the earlier models is no longer the issue we faced, with the current 18 having a full bathroom.
The club lounge is good, but now we think that the cafe wouldn't be have been the deal-breaker we thought it might have been.

We opted to have the slide-out lounge deleted from our 20ft'er for a number of reasons (not limited to me not being a fan of them), so not having that in the 18fter wouldn't bother us at all. Im pretty confident we would have been almost equally as happy in the 18fter as we are with the 20fter. (and that just 1% less due to the rule, 'anything I own must, of course, must be the best')

The overall almost 1m body length of the 20ft over the 18ft seems excessive just to achieve what appears to be the half metre of wardrobe gained inside, and the $6500 price difference btw the two models is also difficult to find.

Our only real 100% no compromise deal-breaker in any van for us now would be the absence of a proper pantry, and the 18ft plan doesn't seem to have one so we'd struggle with that. We love the Expanda, but after 11 years of Expandas we are always considering our next step, and any van with no pantry is immediately poo poo'ed. The Jayco Adventurer has grown on us, but no pantry means no Adventurer.

Some other factors with a smaller van are easier towing and reversing, better fuel economy (particularly with the guzzling V8 Cruiser), more efficient for heating and cooling. Less ball weight on the already compromised Cruiser payload. I have a 20fter, so my loyalties lay there, but if your genuinely undecided there some pretty favourable factors tilted toward the 18
 
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slachlan

New Member
Jul 31, 2019
13
14
3
Melbourne
Thankyou everyone for your insight!
Certainly gives plenty more food for thought / consideration in making this decision.
We are heading out to the dealer again tomorrow to try and make a final decision and hopefully place an order one way or another :)
 
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slachlan

New Member
Jul 31, 2019
13
14
3
Melbourne
Hi @Joves
Well success in ordering a new van, but a bit of a last minute change of plans!
We went through all the vans again with the whole family and ended up ordering a pretty optioned up 19ft Journey Outback.
New van arrives late October! :)
We will probably be banished from this forum now?! haha Hopefully not though and still kind of part of that family...
Thanks again for the feedback :)
 

slachlan

New Member
Jul 31, 2019
13
14
3
Melbourne
Hi @Joevee
Good to hear positive feedback on the van! We are very happy with the decision and can’t wait for it to arrive.
Next mission is to get the tow vehicle. A 200 series cruiser is top of the list. What do you use? How do you find it?
Cheers :)
 
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Joves

Member
May 9, 2019
84
66
18
Sydney
Hi @Joves
Well success in ordering a new van, but a bit of a last minute change of plans!
We went through all the vans again with the whole family and ended up ordering a pretty optioned up 19ft Journey Outback.
New van arrives late October! :)
We will probably be banished from this forum now?! haha Hopefully not though and still kind of part of that family...
Thanks again for the feedback :)

Massive congrats, @slachlan!
The Journey Outback’s are a beautiful van. We were looking very favourably at them as well.
All the best with the wait. If you’re anything like me, you’ll spend a lot of time trawling this forum in eager anticipation of it arriving!
 
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RobRoy

Active Member
Apr 20, 2017
108
135
43
Perth
We had the same family discussions. We decided on the 29ft which is due to be delivered in October. I have until then to buy the landcruiser.
 
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willobee

Well-Known Member
Apr 8, 2015
235
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Perth
hi @slachlan not sure where you live but over in the west I have to admit that it is the exception rather than the rule that we eat inside.
granted we have a 16'er but we tend only to eat inside if it is raining really well.
good folding table and some folding chairs and we are pretty happy most of the time.
 
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