14' Series Looking at getting an Expanda 14.44-4

[AussieKermit]

Hey Everybody,

I am new here and also new to Caravans. My wife and I are keen to get into this awesome lifestyle and are looking at possibly getting the Freedom Expanda Pop Top (14.44-4).
We have a 15 month old and feel that this will give us a great entry into caravans.

We currently have a Mazda CX-5 with a Tow Weight of 1800 braked. (Not sure that this will be sufficient.)
Looking at possibly upgrading to a CX-8 which will get us 2000 but both the car and carvan are future purchases

Does anybody have this Expanda model? Any advice or tips? Positive or negative remarks.

Look forward to any replies.

Thanks in Advance.

 

[chartrock]

Here is a pic of the plate from my ex 14-44-3 OB (moved up to a Journey). With a Tare of 1557 kg it does not leave much for loading especially if you have two tanks of 82L each. The on road version will be less weight but could still be close to the money for 1800 kg tow capacity. Maybe a member with an on road model can produce better figures.
By the way welcome to the forum @AussieKermit

 

[ash99]

We had a 14.44-4 Touring model
We had single water tank, rooftop air and we also had it underslung.

We towed it with a Commodore with a 2100kg tow kit.

I have also attached the compliance plate.

Whilst the commodore had no issue towing the van I had to be pretty careful with loading and it definitely felt 'heavy' on the car. We changed the car to a Grand Cherokee Diesel and the towing difference was unbelievable.

The van was great BTW. Although, happy to have gone from the expanda to a journey full size. Got sick of making the bed over and over again. Only other issue is that the awning was a little short in wet weather.

Feel free to ask any questions and I will try to help.

 

[chartrock]

Thanks for jumping in with that info @ash99, just what I hoped someone would come up with. with an ATM of 1776 kg it would be very close to the maximum of a CX-5. Food for thought @AussieKermit.

 

[Drover]

We had a 14.44.3 , a great van it was too but I think you will want at least a 2.5t tow capacity whatever tug you have. The given tow cap of your tug is for when basically empty once you throw extra gear and people in you will find the actual tow cap will drop as the combined weight rises plus you never want tobe loaded/towing at your vehicles max, its just not good all round ........... don't pay too much attention to the tare weight it is a fairy tale instead pay more attention to the ATM and GTM of the van and the tugs GCM they are the real figures which matter but for the CX-5 or 8 I would advise a lighter camper.....

My rule of thumb is the tow cap of the tug less 500kg gives a rough idea of real world tow cap for a vehicle, there are some notable exceptions but not many.


This article may help explain it better for you.. http://www.withoutahitch.com.au/caravan/ask-expert-navigate-tow-vehicle-limits/#

Comp plate from my 14.44.3 ATM: 1795 ........... GTM 1706 ....... Tare 1420........Ball Weight...89kg (lol)

PS: The only specs I could locate for both the CX 8 and 9 was 2t braked with a tow ball of 100kg, the tow cap decreases as the tug load increases so neither of those vehicles would be suitable for a 14.44 I'm afraid.

 

[ash99]

You might also want to look at maximum ball weight.

From memory the CX-5 was based on the Mazda 3 platform. I am guessing ball weight limit may be much too low.

Edit; just had a look at the Jayco website and they are quoting a tare of 1225 and ball weight of 104!

Not sure what they have taken out of the van to make it so light. Maybe no aircon. We also had hot water unit in ours. The pictures also show the smaller fridge and missing overhead cupboards.

If the advertised weights are accurate, not likely, you may be ok

 

[PhilW]

We had a 14.44/4 OB and loved it. Only moved on because our children got older.
I would thoroughly recommend that model. Light they are not. We have a Prado and in my opinion you would not want anything much smaller for towing it. As mentioned it does not take much for the weight of the van to creep up once loaded.
Good luck with your search.

 

[MDS69]

Agree with everything @PhilW has said. We love ours but think for what it is they are heavy. We too have a V6120 Prado and return around 23L/H but I like to do the speed limit.