Hi All

[Peter D]

The family has just picked up our 2009 17-56 Expanda, complete with loo. Our aging mother has a dream to get a caravan and visit her birthplace - Wiluna W.A. - so here we all are, going shares in a van.

No one in our family has ever gone caravanning, but we're all about to. My sister swore off their camper trailer after their holiday last Easter, and was very keen on the idea of getting a van. She at least has a tow vehicle - a Pajero. I'm going to have to hand the Mitsubishi Mirage in for something a little larger - I'm the one earmarked to do the trip to Wiluna with Mum. Now all we have to figure out is what to do with her cats while we're gone.

My sister originally spotted the Expandas, and we were leaning towards the 16-49-3 for a while there, but the girls upsized the wish list to the double bunks of the 17'. I like the idea of keeping everything as light as possible, but I'm already happy with the twin axle set-up - it has its advantages.

Cheers,
Peter

 

[chartrock]

G'day Peter, and welcome to the forum. A mental picture of a 17-56 behind a Mitzi Mirage certainly indicates a size upgrade is warranted. Congratulations on the purchase and good luck with the hunt for a tug.

So how many of you will be heading to WA and when. We are on our way from the end of July and plan to spend about 3 months on the trip. I'm sure you will enjoy your new mode of holidaying.

Paul

 

[Peter D]

I happen to have a towbar on the Mirage, and just this afternoon I decided that a pic of the Mirage attached to the van (with plenty of weight on the ball) is an absolute must. Stay tuned. I was going to post it here with a story about how I'd decided to save my money and stick with it as a tow car, but you beat me to it. Thinking of a Challenger as a tow car.

It'll just be mother and I on the trip to WA (and maybe a few cats). I've got no idea when it might happen - all I know is it won't be happening during summer.

3 months is a nice long spell. Nothing stopping us from taking that long. Except the cats. What's the thing with cats? Aspirin? Or panadol? I'll have to google...

 

[chartrock]

I happen to have a towbar on the Mirage, and just this afternoon I decided that a pic of the Mirage attached to the van (with plenty of weight on the ball) is an absolute must. Stay tuned. I was going to post it here with a story about how I'd decided to save my money and stick with it as a tow car, but you beat me to it. Thinking of a Challenger as a tow car.

I'd like to see that.

Be careful travelling with cats. They are not allowed in National Parks and a lot of caravan parks don't like them either. They have a tendency to wander off if they are in strange surroundings.

Yeah, Summer is not a good time to cross the Nullabor. But it is a trip worth spending a lot of time on. Go for it, mate and enjoy.

 

[Moto Moto]

Welcome Peter. Good on you for helping your mum to live her dream!

I recon the mighty Mirage can do it, just need a few minor modifications......engine swap, suspension upgrade.............actually go the Challenger!

 

[cruza driver]

The only problem with towing woth the Mirage that I can see is the front wheels might not be on the ground, maybe leaving the jockey wheel on will overcome that problem :rolleyes:

A Challenger does sound good, are you looking at the new ones?

 

[expanda]

Welcome Peter, great to see the family spirit alive in the caravaning community!!!

Pics of the mirage doing wheelies please !!!!!

 

[Peter D]

Well, my plans were foiled - before I could put much weight on the ball the jockey wheel bottomed out:


And it did eventually occur to me that any suspension overload problems could be avoided simply by leaving the jockey wheel down, but what can I say, we live in a world overloaded with rules and regulations, and you can just bet that they'd have a rule against leaving your jockey wheel down when your suspension isn't beefy enough to do the job on its own...

I was thinking of getting an old model petrol Challenger - they're cheap and so am I - but of course the atm of the van is 90kg over the towing limit for the later versions of the old model. So I've been looking at the new ones, and of course the tsunami has turned it into a seller's market just when I'm looking to buy - they've gone up 5g in the last 6 months.

Hang on, it's just occurred to me, I could have got the jack out to remove the jockey wheel and then I could have gone plenty lower. More pics may be forthcoming...

 

[wizzerwazza]

Hi Peter

I rekon the older model challenger will struggle with that van. I friend had one and we towed a boat (prob 1.5T) up to sharkbay. The auto kept overheating in it.
As a suggestion, my folks have a 2007 kia sorrento diesel. It has around 400nm torque and easily tows their 20ft van. And they get around 13-17L per 100 doing this. These cars can be had for around $25000.
I tow with a petrol Jackaroo and it is thirsty. I get up around 25-30L per 100.
I'm thinking my next car will be the 3L patrol.

Had my first trip to Wiluna last year. Bit of an eye opener thats for sure. The pub had steel mesh on all the verandahs.
We camped just out of town at a place called Gunbarrel Laager. They had fairly good facalities and in my opinion is better then staying in town.

http://www.riverblueholdings.com.au/camping.html

cheers

wizzer

 

[Turtle]

Doesn't sound as though the place has changed much, I was there 16 years ago. we stayed in the caravan park at the back of the pub (felt pretty secure with all that razor wire around us).
A lovely spot though, the kids at the school were so exited to see new people. We used every bit of eqipment in the workshop of the road house sraightening a trailer axle (all belt driven gear).
We came across on the Gunbarel Hwy (nothing in tow) and were going to head up the Canning although a late wet stopped that!

 

[Moto Moto]

What a crack up, great photo Peter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck with the hunt!

 

[Bushman]

welcome aboard Pete, love that pic No worries with the little Mirage just fitted her up with a Weight Distribution Hitch and some airbags and ya good go :rolleyes:

On a serious note re the tow buggy, have a look at NP,NS,NT Diesel Pajero as well.

 

[Peter D]

Hi Peter

I rekon the older model challenger will struggle with that van. I friend had one and we towed a boat (prob 1.5T) up to sharkbay. The auto kept overheating in it.
As a suggestion, my folks have a 2007 kia sorrento diesel. It has around 400nm torque and easily tows their 20ft van. And they get around 13-17L per 100 doing this. These cars can be had for around $25000.
I tow with a petrol Jackaroo and it is thirsty. I get up around 25-30L per 100.
I'm thinking my next car will be the 3L patrol.

Had my first trip to Wiluna last year. Bit of an eye opener thats for sure. The pub had steel mesh on all the verandahs.We camped just out of town at a place called Gunbarrel Laager. They had fairly good facalities and in my opinion is better then staying in town.

http://www.riverblueholdings.com.au/camping.html

cheers

wizzer

Oh dear, how to break the news to Mum. (She was born there in 1933, lived in a house with hessian walls, never saw rain until she was 7 years old when the family moved back east. There were four adults and two kids in the car for the trip east - took them 2 weeks, staying in a hotel every second night. I know this off by heart by now because I've been hearing the story on an increasingly regular basis lately.)

I haven't had a close look at the Sorrento - I'll do that tonight. The auto diesel challenger has 50Nm less torque than the manual (350 versus 400), to preserve the auto apparently. But 350 is plenty from what I can tell.

 

[Peter D]

welcome aboard Pete, love that pic No worries with the little Mirage just fitted her up with a Weight Distribution Hitch and some airbags and ya good go :rolleyes:

On a serious note re the tow buggy, have a look at NP,NS,NT Diesel Pajero as well.

I have been looking at the Pajero, how does it fare towing with the independent rear suspension? Is a weight dist hitch a good idea to preserve rear tyres with a Pajero? And would it be less necessary with a solid rear axle tow car?

I'm tempted by the pajero - I can get a near new $60k pajero for the same price as a new challenger. And they don't chew any more juice than the challenger either, even though they're heavier..

 

[Bushman]

I have been looking at the Pajero, how does it fare towing with the independent rear suspension? Is a weight dist hitch a good idea to preserve rear tyres with a Pajero? And would it be less necessary with a solid rear axle tow car?

I'm tempted by the pajero - I can get a near new $60k pajero for the same price as a new challenger. And they don't chew any more juice than the challenger either, even though they're heavier..

Traditionally the Parjero does have a soft rear end (designed for comfort), Mitsubishi recommend the use of a WDH with ball weights over 135kg, the independant rear isn't a problem though you need to do 4 wheel alignments, solid rear end vehicles would also benifit from the use of a WDH though a lot dont. personal prefrence I guess but that the end of the day it really a saftey thing too, i towed my Swan camper without one without to much drama, obviously lighter that than Expanda but it still rocked in around 150 on the ball .

I've towed the Expanda (locally) without the WDH and the difference was evident even over that sort distance, I wouldn't tow without now except were the bars may hinder off-road, access to properties/camp grounds etc. I've also upgraded suspension and added airbags which also made a hugh difference.

 

[wizzerwazza]

I've towed the Expanda (locally) without the WDH and the difference was evident even over that sort distance, I wouldn't tow without now except were the bars may hinder off-road, access to properties/camp grounds etc. I've also upgraded suspension and added airbags which also made a hugh difference.

Hi Bushman, this is a bit offtopic but do you have a trigg hitch on your outback? Mine does and i couldn't get a wdh to suit. I would like one though.

cheers
wizzer

 

[Peter D]

Thanks Bushman. I've really got no idea what tug vehicle to get - they all handle like busses compared to my trusty old 6l/100km Mirage. Whatever it is, we'll probably get a WDH because my sister will be towing with a Pajero. I towed the van home in her Pajero and it felt good in a straight line, but high speed bends made me want to ease off the accelerator - I'm guessing a wdh would help with that problem.

 

[Bushman]

Hi Bushman, this is a bit offtopic but do you have a trigg hitch on your outback? Mine does and i couldn't get a wdh to suit. I would like one though.

cheers
wizzer

G'day wizzer

No I have the standard ball hitch, In your case you can use a WDH however you need a TREGG not the TRIGG the only difference is the receiver bracket on the car, there is an adaptor plate that sits under the TREGG receiver, I have seen these at various shows but can't remember the name of the mob that sell them.
You may want to consider changing the hitch to a DO35 from Cruisemaster Components they are also compatible with a WDH and much easier than a Tregg to hitch up..
Just remember in some off-road situations you need to remove the WDH bars.

 

[Bushman]

Thanks Bushman. I've really got no idea what tug vehicle to get - they all handle like busses compared to my trusty old 6l/100km Mirage. Whatever it is, we'll probably get a WDH because my sister will be towing with a Pajero. I towed the van home in her Pajero and it felt good in a straight line, but high speed bends made me want to ease off the accelerator - I'm guessing a wdh would help with that problem.

Hi Pete

Yeah 4B's do take a little getting use to especially if your only use to sedans etc.
The WDH will certainly tame the handling of the van.

 

[wizzerwazza]

G'day wizzer

No I have the standard ball hitch, In your case you can use a WDH however you need a TREGG not the TRIGG the only difference is the receiver bracket on the car, there is an adaptor plate that sits under the TREGG receiver, I have seen these at various shows but can't remember the name of the mob that sell them.
You may want to consider changing the hitch to a DO35 from Cruisemaster Components they are also compatible with a WDH and much easier than a Tregg to hitch up..
Just remember in some off-road situations you need to remove the WDH bars.

Thought i had heard that advice before bushman

http://forum.australia4wd.com/index...ght-distribution-hitch-with-a-trigg-coupling/

lol
cheers
wizzer