17' Series Hi to all from Dad, Mum & twin 5yo boys from the ACT

[Big Gee]

Hi Everyone,

I have been a member of this site for some time but until today have not made any posts. So firstly cangrats on such a great friendly community. My wife & myself are avid campers and in the last 10 years made the natural progression from tent to kids, then camper trailer, then 14' Expanda and now we are proud owners of a 2010 17.56-2 Outback which we bought new from Jayco Canberra towards the end of 2010.

I have attached a pic or two.


Best Wishes Shaun

 

[relgate]

Very nice and welcome. Is that a chainsaw I see? Looks like fun

 

[Big Gee]

Yep a chainsaw it is. We met my Uncle and his family near Braidwwod that weekend towards the end of winter 2011. I always cart a saw when free camping. I am so happy we had it that weekend it was freezing.

 

[cruza driver]

:welcome: Big Gee great looking set up with the Prado too.

 

[chartrock]

Nice rig, Shaun, thanks for the photos. Enjoy the forum.

 

[BUSH PALACE]

Welcome aboard shaun and co great times ahead dont forget to share your travel stories / photos

 

[MolongMick]

Welcome aboard Shaun, this is a great place to share ideas and thoughts and to ask many questions.

Enjoy the new toy.

 

[Deano]

Hey Shaun, all the members on here carry a wealth of info. Hope to see some pics of your future adventures.
Cheers Deano

 

[kolega]

Hi Shaun, looks a great setup, how do you find towing the expanda with your Prado, I have the same car and considering a 17-2 expanda. How do you find towing it with the Prado and How is it on fuel economy. David.

 

[Big Gee]

Hi Shaun, looks a great setup, how do you find towing the expanda with your Prado, I have the same car and considering a 17-2 expanda. How do you find towing it with the Prado and How is it on fuel economy. David.

Hi David,

The Prado goes really well. Infact it turns quite a few heads on the highway whilst towing the van.

We have the six speed manual which I am happy with but I find I have to be careful with the clutch. I quite often use low range when parking the van & getting it out of our driveway.

Fuel economy is a bit of a touchy issue in our household at the moment.

With the van on & BFG A/T's we average about 18 litres per 100k's
no van with BFG A/T's Fitted we average about 12 litres per 100k's
no van & Dunlop S/G's fitted the Prado runs about 8.5 litres per 100k's..............

I can only put the difference in economy down to the weight of the BFG A/T's.


Shaun

 

[Capt. Gadget]

Hi Shaun Welcome

Funny you should say that I have just put a set of Cooper SST's on my ranger and the the fuel economy has gone up from an average of 13-100 to 16-100 from the Factory tyres that were on there. I still have the old ones so I might have to put them back on and do a comparison run just to see !

 

[cruza driver]

G'day Shaun, just a question re the tyres, Are they the same size as the ones you replaced? This has an effect on economy.

 

[Big Gee]

G'day Shaun, just a question re the tyres, Are they the same size as the ones you replaced? This has an effect on economy.

Hi Cruza,

They are the same size! The tyre dealer put it down to weight. When I checked this later the BFG's weigh as much as the old tyre & rim combined. I guess this has to have an affect somewhere. I love the tyres though they stick the the road very well.

I guess these are the sacrifices we make.



Shaun

 

[Moto Moto]

Welcome to the forum.

I had the same issue going from the factory highway tyres to BFG A/T's. Both the same dimensions, but the more aggressive tread really makes a difference to performance and economy. Wouldn't change back to the H/T's for anything though. Love the versatility of the A/T's!

 

[cruza driver]

Hi Cruza,

I love the tyres though they stick the the road very well.

I guess these are the sacrifices we make.



Shaun

Your right about the sacifices we make plus the aftermarket tyres generally have better side walls too.

 

[BUSH PALACE]

Hey guys with your cooper tyres check out your sidewall strength / ply its not there anymore , the tyres ballon out even with higher pressure which is giving you a larger foot print on the black stuff thats where your fuel is going ,thats only needed on the dirt. Then when its time to lower your pressures for off road use you stand a chance of rolling your tyre from the rim.Sorry i sell tyres and am not a lover of the cooper ive seen too many disasters which read the fine print wont cover.
Myself i run Toyo MT on the cruiser and had covered 73k with 7mm left and Bridgestone 673 mud terrain on the van which ive found to be the best yet.
Sorry for waffling on

cheers Russell

 

[chartrock]

Myself i run Toyo MT on the cruiser and had covered 73k with 7mm left and Bridgestone 673 mud terrain on the van which ive found to be the best yet.
Sorry for waffling on

cheers Russell

That's not waffle, BP, that's the info we need from people in the know.. Keep up the good work. :first:

 

[cruza driver]

Hey guys with your cooper tyres check out your sidewall strength / ply its not there anymore ,
Sorry for waffling on

cheers Russell

Waffle away Russell, I've got nearlly 80k out of my BFG muds and they have excelled my expectations
(sorry for the hijack Big Gee) :focus:

 

[Big Gee]

Tyres are so controversial. ha! it's bit like the old Holden versus Ford fight!


Big Gee