Hi all thought I would drop in and post some pics of the new van. We took it away for a a couple of weeks over the xmas hols for it first trip and are totally wrapped with it.
Crusader Family Getabout
- Thread starter Angus
- Start date
This one is 20 ft 10 in we wanted a bit more room than the 19 ft van and with this one we got a cupboard for kids clothes (amazing how many 19 family vans don't have a cupboard for kids clothes) and a decent sized combo shower toilet.
Not a bad guess then from just a tree and a piece of concrete! Just sayin!
Yes certainly is good spotting we love it there we have our two weeks at xmas and try to get up there for a few weekends during the year.
We had been looking at a lot of family vans for a long time knowing that we would move on from the Expanda and crusader were the ones we kept on coming back to. When it clears up I will get a few more pictures to put on here.
yep they are a great van and you get what you pay for, they have now released a more budget friend models as well however layouts and options are limited, to keep within the budget
It's one of then vans we kept going back to as well as they were one of a select few that said they could help get tow weights etc write for the Pajero , it's just unfortunate that cant say the same for the dealer we had intended to use.
Hey Angus
Looks great!
We're about to sell our beloved Eric the Expanda (specced up 2011 17 56 2 outback) and go a triple bunk Family Getabout after nearly 2 years of umming & ahhhing... Love to hear your thoughts on your van re what works, what you'd change, add and so on.
Really impressed with how phenomenally flexible and creative Crusader are prepared to be, so we've given them a very, very long detailed list they're happy to build to and we're in the final design stages now.. Perfect timing to add or modify now!
Cheers
Walksie
Looks great!
We're about to sell our beloved Eric the Expanda (specced up 2011 17 56 2 outback) and go a triple bunk Family Getabout after nearly 2 years of umming & ahhhing... Love to hear your thoughts on your van re what works, what you'd change, add and so on.
Really impressed with how phenomenally flexible and creative Crusader are prepared to be, so we've given them a very, very long detailed list they're happy to build to and we're in the final design stages now.. Perfect timing to add or modify now!
Cheers
Walksie
@The Wadamses they look a very nice van and yes extremely flexible to change things around. Not like I have been to the dealer three times this week or anything 
Salesman not pushy like another place who double teamed me and tried to get me to sign now and they throw in steak knifes He rather get us a van to keep for ten years.
Be interested to know what your spec'ing up? I thought Waeco 215l, 240 Solar, 2 or 3 100ah Batteries, extra 12v, get rid of the pantry for more bench space. Not sure L shape or Club lounge. Sarah likes the separate shower/toilet and maybe the front loader, so could be goodbye to the big rear boot if I got the combo ensuite 20" layout..The slide out kitchen is nice although your lost half your tunnel space.
@Angus is around I PM'd him a few times thanks again for the info mate
Salesman not pushy like another place who double teamed me and tried to get me to sign now and they throw in steak knifes He rather get us a van to keep for ten years.Be interested to know what your spec'ing up? I thought Waeco 215l, 240 Solar, 2 or 3 100ah Batteries, extra 12v, get rid of the pantry for more bench space. Not sure L shape or Club lounge. Sarah likes the separate shower/toilet and maybe the front loader, so could be goodbye to the big rear boot if I got the combo ensuite 20" layout..The slide out kitchen is nice although your lost half your tunnel space.
@Angus is around I PM'd him a few times
thanks again for the info mate
Hi Dave
Based on a whole lot of trawling forums and dealerships (with steak knife options at every turn :lalala, and with much appreciated help from some of the awesome campers on this forum, we've decided on
- largest fridge
- full 24" rear boot.. we reckon is gold for a family of 5.
- spare tyre underslung so we get to use all the boot space
- 3kg sphere top-loading washing machine (uses heaps less water than the front loader, so important for us for free camping), and I really like the way they can bolt it in the centre of the rear boot; out of the way, still really accessible.
- slide out kitchen with checkerplate lid that folds over with drop-down legs to create an instant bench
- will definitely get solar.. still not sure how much (love people's feedback about this!!??!)
- inverter point with wiring to some powerpoints in kitchen, lounge, bed and outside (for 2000W psw inverter or bigger to run nutribullet/vitamiser that gets used daily, coffee machine, and hair straighteners among lots of other stuff like laptops!)
- a few safety features like ESC Electronic Stability Control
- full annex with a verandah to go over the slide-out kitchen
- Diesel heating; a must for us in Tassie, and according to Michael from Crusader (who's been as sensationally helpful as Gary), a whole lot cheaper to have installed at factory than after market
Are still maybe-ing about
- battery system ... lithium is a packet more; just trying to decide if the benefits outweigh the extra cost or not.
- air con.. really like Christian @StoneStomper's setup in his Crusader X-Country, and he had a heap of other great specs.
We're definitely going Club Lounge; I don't like the way the way the L-shape lounges kind of 'fall away'.. i think all the family energy goes with it. I much prefer being all able to face each other, and i think it 'holds the energy' (in terms of social interaction) in a much more powerful way.. part of the whole joy of caravanning for me! We'll move the door along as far as we can to make the lounge as long as possible. (Could've been a good foot to the front of that triple-bunk van we both saw this week without changing anything else in the layout... i went backwards and forwards and checked, as you probably noticed!).
We're going with a combo shower toilet because
- want to keep the van short as possible
- don't need it separate
- really like the vanity basin in the main area for the kids, as per one of their layout options.
- can still put over head cupboards in ST combo so can maximise storage.
They've been awesome at helping with tow weight too... had no idea wheel placement could make hundreds of kilos difference to tow-ball weight. They seem all over that too, so we can have pretty much everything we want and still keep it comfortably below 180kgs to keep the Pajero happy, which is a huge bonus, because we really want to keep that.
Going back for more finalising decision-making next week - will be sure to see what the slideout kitchen does to tunnel space; thanks for the heads-up... hadn't actually considered that!
Happy deciding to you too, Dave
Based on a whole lot of trawling forums and dealerships (with steak knife options at every turn :lalala
, and with much appreciated help from some of the awesome campers on this forum, we've decided on- largest fridge
- full 24" rear boot.. we reckon is gold for a family of 5.
- spare tyre underslung so we get to use all the boot space
- 3kg sphere top-loading washing machine (uses heaps less water than the front loader, so important for us for free camping), and I really like the way they can bolt it in the centre of the rear boot; out of the way, still really accessible.
- slide out kitchen with checkerplate lid that folds over with drop-down legs to create an instant bench
- will definitely get solar.. still not sure how much (love people's feedback about this!!??!)
- inverter point with wiring to some powerpoints in kitchen, lounge, bed and outside (for 2000W psw inverter or bigger to run nutribullet/vitamiser that gets used daily, coffee machine, and hair straighteners among lots of other stuff like laptops!)
- a few safety features like ESC Electronic Stability Control
- full annex with a verandah to go over the slide-out kitchen
- Diesel heating; a must for us in Tassie, and according to Michael from Crusader (who's been as sensationally helpful as Gary), a whole lot cheaper to have installed at factory than after market
Are still maybe-ing about
- battery system ... lithium is a packet more; just trying to decide if the benefits outweigh the extra cost or not.
- air con.. really like Christian @StoneStomper's setup in his Crusader X-Country, and he had a heap of other great specs.
We're definitely going Club Lounge; I don't like the way the way the L-shape lounges kind of 'fall away'.. i think all the family energy goes with it. I much prefer being all able to face each other, and i think it 'holds the energy' (in terms of social interaction) in a much more powerful way.. part of the whole joy of caravanning for me! We'll move the door along as far as we can to make the lounge as long as possible. (Could've been a good foot to the front of that triple-bunk van we both saw this week without changing anything else in the layout... i went backwards and forwards and checked, as you probably noticed!).
We're going with a combo shower toilet because
- want to keep the van short as possible
- don't need it separate
- really like the vanity basin in the main area for the kids, as per one of their layout options.
- can still put over head cupboards in ST combo so can maximise storage.
They've been awesome at helping with tow weight too... had no idea wheel placement could make hundreds of kilos difference to tow-ball weight. They seem all over that too, so we can have pretty much everything we want and still keep it comfortably below 180kgs to keep the Pajero happy, which is a huge bonus, because we really want to keep that.
Going back for more finalising decision-making next week - will be sure to see what the slideout kitchen does to tunnel space; thanks for the heads-up... hadn't actually considered that!
Happy deciding to you too, Dave
Thanks for the detailed post and was nice to quickly meet you the other day.
We spent hours on this yesterday, the fact they can do whatever you want and each van I have seen is a different design yes you wonder what will work best for you We looked through around different van layouts of other models as well.
As 4 kids we where thinking of going a 4 bunk van although we end up with a really small combo shower and not much cupboard space.
There are a lot of vans with the 21'6 layout every manafacture has one so you think it works
For us I do not want to go too long.. I need to move the Spa fence etc to fit in anything over 8.8m. Length limits your driving turning circle, van spots etc. Our current tug the Disco 350/3500 although do not want to get near that.
The whole reason for us upgrading now is our twins Asthma gets bad when cold. Our current van has no ensuite, last year was fine over winter we went out every month for 3-4 days as they where still in nappies. This year 3 aborted weekends away and we did the Expandas get together in a Cabin. So either we go spring/summer months only and maybe up north as Melb summer can still be cold or get a new van.
My long service due end of next year as well.. I love to do a half lap..
The musts for us:
Two Solar to start with 240w. Some people here have a lot more.
2-3 Batteries depends on Fridge. I use CPAP so thats 50amps a night.
Diesel/LPG Heater, Current car is not diesel so thinking LPG.. Actually thinking the new HWS/LPG model
http://www.truma.com/int/en/heating/combi-4-e.php
Large fridge
Extended height roof to give more height to each bunk.
Did not think of putting inverter in on build thats a great idea thanks.
Spare under van
The question for us are:
Two or three water tanks?
Fridge: 3 way or Waeco style.
Club vs L shape: If we dropping one table down as a bed is a L shape better as you have the length. It also make the van look more open inside. We can put a chair on the end so easier to fit 6 of us around. Although your idea moving the door down so extra space is a good one.
I really like the large club lounge found in the big Expanda's. Not sure can get that big
Combo vs separate ensuite. Do we take up a lot of space for something you do not use much. We have 4 boys who cannot aim so I always thought a combo you can just shower off
Internal vs external boot. I love that rear boot although you loose a foot of internal space if I keep to the same length. It also adds I think 200kg so have to think of overall weight. If we do not go slide out kitchen and a traditional front boot like the model there now then chairs,BBQ etc will fit in those fine.
Slide out kitchen or not: If we do not go rear boot we need the room in the tunnel. If we want to set the annex up you need a front wall the zips up.
Bunks on side wall or boot: Side wall equals large windows more open although takes up more space. I like how @Angus has done it in the plan above. He picked up two extra pantry/wardrobes. and kept his length down.
Washing machine: If we go internal machine and no rear boot we loose a shelf in the cupboard with top loader. We could also just use our small dual tub we have now and not go inbuilt..
Grey Water: Do we go for a tank or a portable device. Some free camp sites now getting strict.
Bench space vs pantry cupboards? Need space for coffee machine
Silver or white
We spent hours on this yesterday, the fact they can do whatever you want and each van I have seen is a different design yes you wonder what will work best for you
We looked through around different van layouts of other models as well.As 4 kids we where thinking of going a 4 bunk van although we end up with a really small combo shower and not much cupboard space.
There are a lot of vans with the 21'6 layout every manafacture has one so you think it works
For us I do not want to go too long.. I need to move the Spa fence etc to fit in anything over 8.8m. Length limits your driving turning circle, van spots etc. Our current tug the Disco 350/3500 although do not want to get near that.
The whole reason for us upgrading now is our twins Asthma gets bad when cold. Our current van has no ensuite, last year was fine over winter we went out every month for 3-4 days as they where still in nappies. This year 3 aborted weekends away and we did the Expandas get together in a Cabin. So either we go spring/summer months only and maybe up north as Melb summer can still be cold
or get a new van.My long service due end of next year as well.. I love to do a half lap..
The musts for us:
Two Solar to start with 240w. Some people here have a lot more.
2-3 Batteries depends on Fridge. I use CPAP so thats 50amps a night.
Diesel/LPG Heater, Current car is not diesel so thinking LPG.. Actually thinking the new HWS/LPG model
http://www.truma.com/int/en/heating/combi-4-e.php
Large fridge
Extended height roof to give more height to each bunk.
Did not think of putting inverter in on build thats a great idea thanks.
Spare under van
The question for us are:
Two or three water tanks?
Fridge: 3 way or Waeco style.
Club vs L shape: If we dropping one table down as a bed is a L shape better as you have the length. It also make the van look more open inside. We can put a chair on the end so easier to fit 6 of us around. Although your idea moving the door down so extra space is a good one.
I really like the large club lounge found in the big Expanda's. Not sure can get that big
Combo vs separate ensuite. Do we take up a lot of space for something you do not use much. We have 4 boys who cannot aim so I always thought a combo you can just shower off
Internal vs external boot. I love that rear boot although you loose a foot of internal space if I keep to the same length. It also adds I think 200kg so have to think of overall weight. If we do not go slide out kitchen and a traditional front boot like the model there now then chairs,BBQ etc will fit in those fine.
Slide out kitchen or not: If we do not go rear boot we need the room in the tunnel. If we want to set the annex up you need a front wall the zips up.
Bunks on side wall or boot: Side wall equals large windows more open although takes up more space. I like how @Angus has done it in the plan above. He picked up two extra pantry/wardrobes. and kept his length down.
Washing machine: If we go internal machine and no rear boot we loose a shelf in the cupboard with top loader. We could also just use our small dual tub we have now and not go inbuilt..
Grey Water: Do we go for a tank or a portable device. Some free camp sites now getting strict.
Bench space vs pantry cupboards? Need space for coffee machine
Silver or white
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For those who have not seen the rear boot this one has some nice pictures.. They can do something like this with smaller combo shower and a wardrobe next to it if we want to keep size down.. Although small lounge.
http://www.crusadercaravansmelbourne.com.au/?vehicle=family-getabout-combo-196
http://www.crusadercaravansmelbourne.com.au/?vehicle=family-getabout-combo-196
sorry @Angus hijacking your thread
Went back again they are working out a few ideas for 4 bunks.
Sarah and I had a idea of putting a top bunk across the back of the van and going for combo ensuite..
Although I had a idea looking at @Angus plan in run the three bunks across the back one top one down the side with cupboards under and washing machine. Then it gives us room for another cupboard next to bunk and you have the cupboard in front of the combo shower.
We have to go longer length.
Hopefully doable
Went back again they are working out a few ideas for 4 bunks.
Sarah and I had a idea of putting a top bunk across the back of the van and going for combo ensuite..
Although I had a idea looking at @Angus plan in run the three bunks across the back one top one down the side with cupboards under and washing machine. Then it gives us room for another cupboard next to bunk and you have the cupboard in front of the combo shower.
We have to go longer length.
Hopefully doable