17' Series Pick up my new 17.56.1

[Macca666]

hi all, I am looking forward to picking up my new Expanda on Friday 30/01/15. As I was in need of a van in a hurry I was lucky to find one in Albury that has almost everything that I was wanting. The only thing that concerns me is that I have a V8 sedan and I will be on the limit of my towing capacity ( Tare - 1785kg, Gross 2180kg) I have a 2100 kg towing capacity.

Has anyone else had to do anything similar? If so how did it go?

Thanks and I'm glad I found this site as it has a lot of good tips in it.

 

[Bluey]

hi all, I am looking forward to picking up my new Expanda on Friday 30/01/15. As I was in need of a van in a hurry I was lucky to find one in Albury that has almost everything that I was wanting. The only thing that concerns me is that I have a V8 sedan and I will be on the limit of my towing capacity ( Tare - 1785kg, Gross 2180kg) I have a 2100 kg towing capacity.

Has anyone else had to do anything similar? If so how did it go?

Thanks and I'm glad I found this site as it has a lot of good tips in it.

gday macca666 my prado mite be for sale it tows like a freight train im going bt50 I think id hate to think of ur fule bill towing with a v8 ???????

 

[Macca666]

Yeah I know the litres per 100 k's is something that I won't be looking at when towing. The good thing is that the van will be on site for 6 to 8 months while I'm building (the van will be my home) so I won't be travelling around for a while. The bad thing is that I only sold my navara about 10 months ago.
The fuel bill when not towing is good for V8, 9.3 litres per 100 k (average on trips)

 

[bigcol]

if you intend on towing with your car, I would suggest Airbags in the rear as a minimum
as to the loading weight......... mmmmmmmmmmm

 

[bigcol]

BTW
good pickup,
welcome to the forum ( not many Romans here, but)
and
we like to help you spend your hard earned on Mods, dont be shy, open your wallet............

 

[Macca666]

hi @bigcol thanks for the input. I will be putting air bags on but I have had a thought that when I move into the new house I might try and trade my 17.56.1 for a 16.49.4 as I wont need the bench space then and I will be able to tow it better (still is going to hit the pocket on the fuel side) I am going to get the salesman to keep this in mind for me when I pick up the van.

 

[bigcol]

How big is your family @Macca666 ?????
Might be better off just keeping the 17' as kids only get bigger.........


Just a thought.

 

[Macca666]

our family is only small (thankfully only one) we only want the bunks for the extra seating and for when we have to take his friends and also for when the in-laws come and join us, and this happens a lot......

who knows @bigcol I might get back into a 4x4 instead. I better not let the boss know this though or she will have my backside for dinner....

 

[Macca666]

just found out that Holden don't fit airbags they have a super lift shock absorber, this will be fitted on Thursday then off to pick up van on Friday.

makes me feel a bit happier about using my car now.

 

[bigcol]

mmmmmm air shockies. mmmmmm

the amount of time i had to fix air leaks...

Or

They could be just heavy duty shocks, which would mean you would have the ar$e up in the air when NOT towing....

Food for thought

 

[Arkraider]

just found out that Holden don't fit airbags they have a super lift shock absorber, this will be fitted on Thursday then off to pick up van on Friday.

makes me feel a bit happier about using my car now.

How did you go @Macca666 with the shocker fitout.
What is the difference between the airbags and the super lift shocker, or is it just what Holden call their air bag suspension? Interested because I too have a VE Calais v8. I love it have since new..
I currently have a Swan and got 15.2 Ltrs p/100k from Melbourne to Merimbula, NSW Sth Coast. Which I thought was pretty good considering I can get that if I like the heavy feet around town with out towing.
Selling the swan currently, on eBay, as I am also looking at upgrading to the 17.56.1 a little bit later in the year..

 

[Macca666]

@Arkraider the super lift shockers are just shocks that have air go into them so they are not airbags. They are about $650 fitted, in will be getting mine fitted on Thursday. I have only gone with the lift shockers because my car is only 7 months old. When I get back after next Friday for picking up the van I will let you know if they work and what the fuel is like, I will be travelling from Albury to Echuca so it should give me a pretty good idea.

 

[Macca666]

Wow what a day, Holden didn't have my shockers ready to fit and then with all the electrics in my car they had trouble fitting the red arc and 12 pin socket. Lucky that I have decided to change the ATM on the van so I can't pick up the van for another week.
I have noticed that my seats don't operate properly now so I will have to get them to fix the seats when they fit the suspension. The only good thing is that I will still be able to view my van tomorrow when I sign for it.

 

[bigcol]

how un-usuall for Stealers to sod things up for you
lucky you have an extra week up your sleave.

how the..... are the seats affected by what they did............???????

maybe investigate a bigger Alt..... maybe it is "just" sufficient for a standard car, but now your towing a Van........???

cheers

 

[Macca666]

Ok I am now glad that Holden didn't have the shockers as I have had the van on the back of the car and it sits fine, that is a saving of $600 (already spent it on the van though LOL). The seat were fine it was just me leaving the car in drive with the handbrake on that wouldn't let them work, I'm a bit of a d$&k head. To make it worse it was the misses who worked it out. I am now looking forward to getting the plate fitted to the van and then picking it up and driving it away.

 

[peterg]

I've got a VE Calais. You can get a 2100kg tow bar without the super lift shocks. Those things are a pain in the arse. When you change tyres the bags inside them fold or sit over the edges and don't reinflate properly. My Holden dealer fitted stronger springs and shocks and provided A wdh. Works fairly well Just don't exceed 2100kg and all is good.

 

[Arkraider]

Lucky that I have decided to change the ATM on the van.

How, why and what made you change the ATM on the van?
I am very glad that you haven't needed to change the suspension, that's great... Do have some weights of the van you bought. I suppose now all that is left is some fuel consumption data...

 

[Macca666]

The weights on this van are, ball weight 130kg, axle weight 1616kg, total Tare weight 1746kg. I changed the weight on the compliance plate as the ATM was 2164kg, this ment that legally it was 64kg over my max towing weight so I decided change the ATM to 2100kg. This means that now I don't have to get it weighed every time I take it out and that my insurance will cover me if something happens.

I will add some pictures of it on the back of the car next week so you can see how it sits.

 

[Arkraider]

I changed the weight on the compliance plate as the ATM was 2164kg, this ment that legally it was 64kg over my max towing weight so I decided change the ATM to 2100kg.

I will add some pictures of it on the back of the car next week so you can see how it sits.

Hey @Macca666 i am all for wanting to change the ATM to 2100kg but other than with an engraving tool, can you please explain to me how this was achieved?
The ball weight seems to be very low compared to the brochure I was given by Jayco last week however the tare weight is pretty much spot on. Seems a little odd...

And yes would love some pics...

I just need my Swan to sell on EBay at the moment then I can go ahead and order mine too...

 

[Macca666]

Jayco can have the ATM changed for you from the factory (within reason) this will need to be completed before it is registered for the first time.

As far as the ball weight goes I can't explain it, I know in the brochure it has a ball weight of 165 but I have the weigh bridge certificate that shows me the weights. What I am guessing is that extras that were fitted were positioned in a way that put more weight to the rear and lifted some weight off of the front.

I still haven't heard if the plate has arrived to the dealer as yet so I am in limbo as to when I can pick up the van.

Just speak to the dealer when your are going to order the van and they can help you @Arkraider