Morning brains trust,
I am hoping for advise/experiences from members who may have been in a similar situation to mine...
I have a young family, Daughter 4, Son 8...we have decided to upgrade from our Off road CT to an Expanda, with intention of heading off on a lap of sorts in the next 18 months or so..
Now we thought we had pretty well decided that a 16' expanda, OB with shower and toilet would suit us for such a trip and beyond, but after more research and reading thru numerous posts/threads on here, it now seems that a 17' expanda may suits us better.
The main reason for our rethink, mainly down to the kids, and liveability, whilst I don't think the kids would have a drama sleeping together at this stage, it wont be long before my son will be looking forward to sleeping by himself...and this is when it may be a prob for us...with the 17' we can arrange for one of them to jump on one of the bunks, and allow both of them to have there own sleeping arrangements....the other strong consideration for a 17' is the extra space and liveability it provides, its our intention to sell up and relocate as part of the trip, and see that what ever we upgrade to being our house until we stop and set up again...so the 17' ticks a few extra boxes there.
Any thoughts...??
Now just to add intrigue to the above, is the consideration of my tug....I DONT want to start a Nissan v Toyota war, my veh is a patrol, which is heavily modified including lift, lockers, performance mods etc, etc...it is what it is.....im not in the position to change it over, and wouldn't anyway as I enjoy it to much, I am more then aware of the lack of power when it comes to towing, although I don't have to many probs with this, on our last trip to Cape it towed our 1.2tn CT well and returned 18LPH for 9000ks, additionally, ive always been of the attitude that when im on holidays it not a race, take your time and enjoy it...its not perfect on the black top, but awesome in the bush, I accept it for what it is...
As a side note, I am having an ECU stage 2 remap done prior to hooking up and heading off..
My question is,
is a 17' expanda OB going to be to much, I know that under current specs it can handle it, but am I expecting to much pulling a 17' expanda..??, or should I go back to my original thinking, that a 16' will suit us fine, and be easier on the veh all round..??
The other thing in mind with towing is the suspension of the van, does anyone have any comments regarding the NEW vs OLD suspension set ups...does this make towing the van easier in terms of handling, i am aware of the new ESC and its characteristics, but is it really noticeable I guess...I ask, as this is another factor in our choice also..
Lastly, I would like to have an off road hitch fitted, im aware that this can be down, but more interested in your thoughts on this, particularly with a 17 ' expanda, I wont be doing the OTT with it, but will certainly be taking it on the dirt, nothing silly of course...thoughts...WDH is it an absolute requirement....FYI the veh has a 3" lift..
Thanks in advance for taking the time to read and reply with your comments, as you could imagine we are a little apprehensive with getting the decision right, and also out laying the $$$ for purchase...big decision for us..
Regards
Rooster...
I am hoping for advise/experiences from members who may have been in a similar situation to mine...
I have a young family, Daughter 4, Son 8...we have decided to upgrade from our Off road CT to an Expanda, with intention of heading off on a lap of sorts in the next 18 months or so..
Now we thought we had pretty well decided that a 16' expanda, OB with shower and toilet would suit us for such a trip and beyond, but after more research and reading thru numerous posts/threads on here, it now seems that a 17' expanda may suits us better.
The main reason for our rethink, mainly down to the kids, and liveability, whilst I don't think the kids would have a drama sleeping together at this stage, it wont be long before my son will be looking forward to sleeping by himself...and this is when it may be a prob for us...with the 17' we can arrange for one of them to jump on one of the bunks, and allow both of them to have there own sleeping arrangements....the other strong consideration for a 17' is the extra space and liveability it provides, its our intention to sell up and relocate as part of the trip, and see that what ever we upgrade to being our house until we stop and set up again...so the 17' ticks a few extra boxes there.
Any thoughts...??
Now just to add intrigue to the above, is the consideration of my tug....I DONT want to start a Nissan v Toyota war, my veh is a patrol, which is heavily modified including lift, lockers, performance mods etc, etc...it is what it is.....im not in the position to change it over, and wouldn't anyway as I enjoy it to much, I am more then aware of the lack of power when it comes to towing, although I don't have to many probs with this, on our last trip to Cape it towed our 1.2tn CT well and returned 18LPH for 9000ks, additionally, ive always been of the attitude that when im on holidays it not a race, take your time and enjoy it...its not perfect on the black top, but awesome in the bush, I accept it for what it is...
As a side note, I am having an ECU stage 2 remap done prior to hooking up and heading off..
My question is,
is a 17' expanda OB going to be to much, I know that under current specs it can handle it, but am I expecting to much pulling a 17' expanda..??, or should I go back to my original thinking, that a 16' will suit us fine, and be easier on the veh all round..??
The other thing in mind with towing is the suspension of the van, does anyone have any comments regarding the NEW vs OLD suspension set ups...does this make towing the van easier in terms of handling, i am aware of the new ESC and its characteristics, but is it really noticeable I guess...I ask, as this is another factor in our choice also..
Lastly, I would like to have an off road hitch fitted, im aware that this can be down, but more interested in your thoughts on this, particularly with a 17 ' expanda, I wont be doing the OTT with it, but will certainly be taking it on the dirt, nothing silly of course...thoughts...WDH is it an absolute requirement....FYI the veh has a 3" lift..
Thanks in advance for taking the time to read and reply with your comments, as you could imagine we are a little apprehensive with getting the decision right, and also out laying the $$$ for purchase...big decision for us..
Regards
Rooster...
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