18' Series The New 18-57.5 Has Arrived

Glenn

New Member
Sep 6, 2012
103
4
0
Bittern, VIC
Hi all,

Just picked up the new Panda today and all went very well in the hand over !
The only thing that i did notice was that the bolt holding the spare wheel to the A-frame,-Draw Bar, was bent so i got them to cut it off before we left other wise i wouldn't have been able to get the spare off on the side of the road. I then took it straight to a Tyre place to get the 5 wheels balanced and one of them needed 175gm's of Lead put on it to balance it up. The tyre place suggested that i return that wheel for another because that was ridiculous to put that much weight on one wheel as they think the tyre may not be set right and didn't want to break the bead as they didn't have nitrogen to refill it with, they also suggested to run all tyres at 50 psi.

Kid's were Excited to see the new Panda in the driveway when they got home from school and was asking who's it was, looks on their Face's was Priceless !

I have taken some photo's but no real IT specialist when comes down to this, may the kids help as i have fumbled around for about an hour typing on the Desktop while reading the instructions from the Laptop.

Cheers and thanks again for all the knoledge & experience that i have picked up from other's (like the bent spare wheel bolt) and i hope now that i can pay some back with my experience's !
 

Xpandafan

Seriously Likeable!
Aug 24, 2012
1,711
648
113
77
Kealba, Victoria
Congratulations Glenn. Don't worry about the nitrogen thing, it's a caravan not a 200km/hr plus V8 Supercar - air is 80% nitrogen anyway. There's a thread on this forum on tyre pressures worth a browse. BTW I run 40 psi. Somewhere between that and 50 should be fine. Maximum pressure is 65psi for my tyres. I've moved the spare from under the draw bar as well. I'd also get that suspect tyre fit checked.
Can imagine the kids excitement...now is the time to allocate their chores.
Persevere with posting the pics we're all keen to see.
 

Glenn

New Member
Sep 6, 2012
103
4
0
Bittern, VIC
Thanks Cruza & Xpandafan, good to hear from a couple of loacl's. Maiden voyage is Melbourne Cup weekend down to the Big 4 Bellarine Holiday Park, Marcus Hill between Geelong and Queenscliff nice flat easy run about 2 - 2 1/2hrs from home just to get used of things first.
I have had Trucks in the past and always got better life out of the tyres when ran a bit higher in pressure, of course deppending on wieght's.
 

chartrock

Forum Patriarch
Staff member
Sep 26, 2010
6,139
7,408
113
Gold Coast Hinterland
Congratulations Glenn. I can imagine the kids expressions, well done keeping the secret. Enjoy your shakedown trip and keep trying to post some pics.
 

Burnsy

Well-Known Member
Mar 26, 2012
2,663
977
113
Newcastle
Hey Glenn, glad all went well, a very exciting day for you all. Look forward to your pics.

Cheers.
 

Holden_man

Well-Known Member
Aug 21, 2012
1,407
341
113
Brisbane - Carindale
Good on ya mate, congrats to you and the fam.
Must have been a bit of a buzz seeing her for the first time sitting there waiting patiently for her new family to give her a new home.
How did you find the handover process, any tips?

Jas
 

solterb

Member
Mar 10, 2012
72
27
18
Melbourne
Congrats. I am doing our maiden voyage this weekend up to echuca. Haven't had the wheels balanced but will do it when I get back. Have fun.