At Last it's that Time !!!!

[PMK]

Hi All,

Tomorrow we finally go to pick up our new Expanda.
It's been 3 months & 3 weeks since we paid our deposit. Seems ages ago now.
Thanks to all on this forum for the answers to many questions & all the info I have collected during the wait. All this went to help us with the decision of what to get & what to leave out,
Looking forward to being able to contribute further to this forum in the future with first hand Expanda Experiences & posting the odd blog of our travels also.

Well here's hoping for a good nights sleep, but I doubt it (just a bit excited):whoo:

Until then...... Cheers,

Paul

 

[chartrock]

Congratulations, Paul. Enjoy the moment tomorrow. :target:

 

[Moto Moto]

Well worth the wait trust me!

 

[cruza driver]

Good stuff mate, look forward to following your travels too :thumb:

Also dont forget to post all the info in the new ''My Expanda '' section including any mods and trips

 

[PMK]

Thanks for the well wishes,

Were just about to leave Sunbury & Melbournes turned on the rain again as it has the past few weekends. Would have been nice to have a sunny day. It's gonna be an interesting maiden trip back from Geelong......... At least if we have any leaks they will show up..

Cheers,

Paul

 

[NissPat]

Enjoy the experience mate, we just went thought it a couple days ago. Best feeling driving out of that drive way and all you want to do is head on holidays...LOLOLOL

Good luck

 

[PMK]

Well we're back home....... Did the pick up lessons with Bruce at Prestige Geelong was great, I hope i took it all in.
As we drove out of the yard we could have easily turned right & headed off down the coast but common sense set in & we remembered the 15 yr old at home.
Drove through an absolute pelting of rain all the way home & on checking looks like a little water got in from the front. The canvas end was a bit wet. Not sure if this is normal, I will mention to the dealer anyway. It was a VERY HEAVY rain & we were sitting on 100kmh.
Thats another thing it tows beautifully. I couldn't notice any difference from how the Eagle felt. One thing is we are going to have to get a 100mm drop tongue for the hitch. It towed a little nose up with the Patrols suspension set up.
Once at home the wife just sat inside the van for a while wondering what to do with all the cupboard space......... It's gonna be great !
Well it's still bloody raining hear........ Starting to think I might build an ARK............You know the whole 40 days & 40 nights thing......
Anyway thats it for now when I get some pics I'll post them..... Just 5 weeks before we head off on our first trip over the Christmas Break for 4 weeks.

Cheers,

Paul

 

[NissPat]

Well we're back home....... Did the pick up lessons with Bruce at Prestige Geelong was great, I hope i took it all in.
As we drove out of the yard we could have easily turned right & headed off down the coast but common sense set in & we remembered the 15 yr old at home.
Drove through an absolute pelting of rain all the way home & on checking looks like a little water got in from the front. The canvas end was a bit wet. Not sure if this is normal, I will mention to the dealer anyway. It was a VERY HEAVY rain & we were sitting on 100kmh.
Thats another thing it tows beautifully. I couldn't notice any difference from how the Eagle felt. One thing is we are going to have to get a 100mm drop tongue for the hitch. It towed a little nose up with the Patrols suspension set up.
Once at home the wife just sat inside the van for a while wondering what to do with all the cupboard space......... It's gonna be great !
Well it's still bloody raining hear........ Starting to think I might build an ARK............You know the whole 40 days & 40 nights thing......
Anyway thats it for now when I get some pics I'll post them..... Just 5 weeks before we head off on our first trip over the Christmas Break for 4 weeks.

Cheers,

Paul

Good to see you guys made it home safely bar a small water leak. Surprising how well a little 4 banger can tow these things.
Give it a good work out in the next few days just to make sure all works well....just like we did and are mostly happy except the vent leak...ohh well.

Have fun!

 

[Moto Moto]

Go the mighty Trols!

i also got a 100mm drop tongue due to the 50mm lift. But i saw in another post mfexpanda is getting his OB axle underslung. I will be very interested to see how this goes as i would love to do this as well.

Packing the cupboards is fun, so much space compared to the campers.

 

[PMK]

Go the mighty Trols!

i also got a 100mm drop tongue due to the 50mm lift. But i saw in another post mfexpanda is getting his OB axle underslung. I will be very interested to see how this goes as i would love to do this as well.

Packing the cupboards is fun, so much space compared to the campers.

Yep ! the Patrol certainly does the job....... We were looking at replacing it next year but don't really know what to get to replace it. It's only got 160,000km on it & doesn't miss a beat.

I had a think about the underslung when I ordered the van but the dealer was so against it I gave up. I think the sits high enough for the sort of trips we do anyway. (Sth Aus desert tracks like Oodnadatta & Strez) & I don't want to comprimise the handling by lifting it, Also isn't there a maximum hitch height for the van at around the 450mm mark? Don't want any insurance probs by bending any of those rules.
The only concern with the drop tongue is how it will go over deep gutters. It will still sit at 450mm off the ground so I think we'll be OK.

Cheers,

Paul

 

[cruza driver]

Congrats on the pick up PMK

We have a 75mm drop tongue on the Cruiser and we didn't touch the ground once with it on our trip up the Ood Trk to Alice. We have also towed it in other places where I would expect it to pose a problem but so far its been no problem

 

[PMK]

Congrats on the pick up PMK

We have a 75mm drop tongue on the Cruiser and we didn't touch the ground once with it on our trip up the Ood Trk to Alice. We have also towed it in other places where I would expect it to pose a problem but so far its been no problem

Thanks CD,

I fitted a 100mm drop tongue today & it's just about perfect. Van sits level & the hitch on the car is about 30mm higher than the van. Once it's hitched it comes down a little. I have firestone air bags in the rear of the patrol & has about 15psi in them, so all good with the hitch.

Cheers.

Paul

 

[chartrock]

CD, Moto & PMK, can you guys elaborate on the drop hitches you have fitted? Are they part of a Hayman Reese WDH or are they a solid tongue with a straight drop as in an ordinary type tow bar. ray:

 

[PMK]

CD, Moto & PMK, can you guys elaborate on the drop hitches you have fitted? Are they part of a Hayman Reese WDH or are they a solid tongue with a straight drop as in an ordinary type tow bar. ray:

Hi Chartrock,

Mine is just a std tongue that fits into the towbar reciever except it drops down 100 mm from standard. Very simple.... It's the non adjustable version, just fixed 100mm below standard. I don't use WDH as I have a Trigg Coupling. & the Patrol doesn't drop with the towball weight of the Expanda.

Cheers,

Paul

 

[Pace]

Hey paul, was thinking at work on saturday about the pick up,shame about the weather. They say in my culture that it is good luck when you buy something new and it rains on it on the first day or bird poo lands on it!!!!!!!!. Great to hear pick up was good. Lots to take in, not like the camper thats for sure, we done the same from swan.

 

[cruza driver]

G'day Chartrock,
Mine is the same as PMK's but a 75mm drop down and non adjustable too. Pretty sure Moto's is the same.

It just fits the std receiver on mine

 

[chartrock]

Thanks guys. I have been trying to source one of those with a 6" (150mm) drop so I can get rid of my HR WDH and level my van up. The HR needs to be replaced with a longer one, reducing my rear end clearance. This is not going to happen so an alternative is a goose neck with a larger drop and a different WDH.

 

[PMK]

Hey paul, was thinking at work on saturday about the pick up,shame about the weather. They say in my culture that it is good luck when you buy something new and it rains on it on the first day or bird poo lands on it!!!!!!!!. Great to hear pick up was good. Lots to take in, not like the camper thats for sure, we done the same from swan.

Hi Pace,
Thanks for the reassuring about the rain..... I had heard the one about the bird poo but the rain is new to me. As I recall it rained when I picked up the Eagle also & the Patrol. So maybe that's helped up along the way !

Cheers,

Paul

 

[PMK]

Thanks guys. I have been trying to source one of those with a 6" (150mm) drop so I can get rid of my HR WDH and level my van up. The HR needs to be replaced with a longer one, reducing my rear end clearance. This is not going to happen so an alternative is a goose neck with a larger drop and a different WDH.
View attachment 5695

Hi Chartrock,

When I read CD's reply I got curious & went out & measured the difference between the drop hitch & the standard one. Mine is only a 75mm drop also.:embarassed:That would explain the 30mm difference I have between the car & van unhitched. I was sure I had measuerd this at 100mm.:doh:

By the way when I got the drop hitch, there were different lenghts of the square section available so you could mount it further from or closer in the reciever. Mine sits almost flush against the reciever collar. So that shouldn't affect my end clearance too much from standard.

It's a pain that we got a 50mm lift to gain clearance & then have to use a drop hitch to compensate for the Expandas......... The Eagle sat perfectly level.

Hope this helps,:decision:
Cheers,

Paul