Cruza Drivers OUTBACK EXPANDA 16.49-3 Trips and Mods

cruza driver · Apr 20, 2011

I thought I would start a thread about our Expanda Outback

Well after a long wait we finally took delivery of our new Jayco which is a 2010 Expanda Outback in Dec'10

Hooked up on the way home and stopped for a quick pic of it on the Cruiser

cruza driver · Apr 20, 2011

Here are a few pics of the inside of the Expanda

We got just the one inner spring mattress for the front bed

Somewhere to wash the dust off

cruza driver · Apr 20, 2011

And a couple more of the outside, I'm really impressed how quick it is to actually set-up

We also got a trigg coupling again after having one on our Hawk Outback

cruza driver · Apr 20, 2011

After having a bit of a crawl under the Expanda and having a look at what needed to be done regarding making it how I want it the mods soon started.

Overall I was pretty happy with how its been built but there is always room for improvement ;D

First mod was to extend the shocker guards from stray rocks damaging them. I did this same mod on the Hawk and it seemed to work as I never experienced one damaged shock due to a rock strike. A pretty simple mod.

cruza driver · Apr 20, 2011

This was was our 2nd outing in the Expanda and we headed upto Moama on the Murray River. We headed off Friday lunchtime after giving the the Cruiser a quick service in the morning.

It also allowed us to keep an ear on the road closures going on in Victoria due to the flooding in western and central Vic. We drove through quite a few floods on our way to Moama and also saw a few roads closed too. There was nothing that couldn't be safley crossed in the direction we were going and everyone was being patient heading through them to, with generally one vehicle at a time going through if one was coming from the other direction, it was good to see. The northern end of Heathcote was the deepest with a lot of vehicles lining up to cross safley.

The Campaspe river was near flooding at Elmore also which did flood on the Sunday but Rochestor copt it the worst, with water engulfing the township. The flooding we experienced on our drive there was nothing compared to what others have experienced.

Ok here are a couple of pics from the weekend

On the bank of the Murray River

Using the fold down table that will come in very handy

cruza driver · Apr 20, 2011

We covered 500km for the weekend and a here is a few things that I noticed about the Expanda compared to the Hawk
1.The ease and speed of set-up and back up compared to the Hawk which will make our longer trips good for the quick overnighters.
2. Having A/C it worked a treat and it kept the van cool at night and during the day (if we weren't swimming ;D)
3. Pulling over for lunch and being able to get in to the van to acess food etc was great
4. Having a shower and toilet
5. It is a bit heavier and bigger to tow than the Hawk but thats a small price to pay for the extras it has over the Hawk.
6. I do miss the Hawk as it was a great camper and we took it to some beautiful parts of Oz, but it was time for a change for us.

Thats all I can think of at the moment but so far its been really good.

Our lunch stop was at the Australian Light Horse Memorial Park just on the edge of Seymour

There is a 5km walking track around the park to stretch the legs

I had to a new tow bar hitch which is 75mm below std because the Expanda is a bit lower than the Hawk as the Expanda was a bit nose high

cruza driver · Apr 20, 2011

Ok the last few pics from the weekend off the iPhone
The ''Canberra'' paddle steamer passing camp

Going through Heathcote in the next 3 pics
Once again nothing like the flodding in other parts of Australia but the house next to this flood had water lapping at it each time a vehicle went through

cruza driver · Apr 20, 2011

After getting the Expanda back from Jayco on a Thursday after its 1st service, it was time to get away for another weekend.
We left Friday morning and headed up to Mansfield where the gas tank was filled up. From here we headed to the Stringybark Creek Camp ground which is located 36km from Mansfield via Tolmie.

The campgrounds have just received a full make over with new long drop toilets along with new fire pits (12) along with new tables. The campground is located 11km down a well formed dirt road with excellent signage. Dogs are welcome as long as the are kept under control. We had the whole campground to ourselves with only 6 cars driving through to take a look.

One of the cars was a previous resident of the campground whose family use too grow Potatoes and lettuce there. They left in 1952 as it was bought out and used as part of the catchment area. It was very interesting to talk to them about the area.

Directly from the campground you can take a walk around the historical site of the Kelly tree and the site of the shooting of the Mansfield Police by the Kelly Gang in 1878. There is also evidence of the gold diggings in years gone by.

The road in

The entrance to the campground

cruza driver · Apr 20, 2011

Some more Pics of the campground
Information about the area

New Fire pits

The cleanest long drop I have seen for a while

cruza driver · Apr 20, 2011

Ok a few more pics of the Kelly tree Historical Area, sorry about the quality of the pics I think the camera is on its last legs. Not bad considering it has been dropped more times than I can count and I carry it around the bush when dirtbike riding also

Look closely in the tree Its the a replica of Neds Armour It was put there in 1987? and the tree is slowly growing over it.

cruza driver · Apr 20, 2011

A couple of the sunset on the Sat night, view from our campsite.

A fresh campfire pit waiting to be burnt in

We did a bit of exploring around the camping area and found this on the back of a great big tree

chartrock · Apr 20, 2011

Thanks for all that Cruza. You sure have given it a good initiation & what a great load of pictures. I have not been down that way for nearly 50 years so you have wet the appetite. Keep them coming.

Paul

cruza driver · Apr 20, 2011

Not sure what stone deflector I wanted on the Expanda I decided to build one that was the same as the one I built for the Hawk. There is a lot of fibreglass on the front of the Expanda that could easily get peppered with stones and rocks, and since most of our trips are dirt roads it needs a deflector on the front. Maybe I should have kept the one off the Hawk but half the fun is making one and then seeing it in action ;D
(iPhone pics)
Supervisor checking the mudflaps

Working on some angles

Cutting some angles

Setting up the mounting plates and checking clearance for the bed when it folds down.

cruza driver · Apr 20, 2011

Rust proof gloss black

The finished product I covered it with shade cloth and put some mudflaps off the front too.
All up it cost about $140 the dearest being the bolts. Its the same as the one I built for the Hawk but this one is a bit higher and the rake of it is a bit different also. (iPhone pics)

Now to test it out.

cruza driver · Apr 21, 2011

This was a trip to Rubicon in Vic, we stayed at Kendalls camp A. There were a few other camps around but we had a top spot were we could spread out and have a nice fire going on Sat night after doing a bit of exploring during the day.

It was our 1st test of the new stone deflector and it worked a treat protecting the front of the Expanda from any stray rock strikes

cruza driver · Apr 21, 2011

A few more pics around Rubicon it can get busy over long weekends but hey it gets busy everwhere LOL. We werent there on a long weekend and there were a few other campers there enjoying the good weather.

This is a pic from inside a hard to find hut in the area you have to walk in to see it

An old disused trestle bridge along the aquaduct.

cruza driver · Apr 21, 2011

Well not many pics this weekend as I didn't think about it maybe because we were having a good long weekend away catching up with the 4 other families we camped with.

We stayed only 15km further than we stayed the previous weekend away at Rubicon for a Swag meet up. This time is was at Bluegums Caravan on the Goulburn River at an unpowered grass area over looking the river. It was quite busy there being a Labour Day long weekend but it was a good oppurtunity to walk around and check out everyones set-ups.

It was like being at a caravan and camping show except for staying there. I was surprised to see how many people had TV aerials on there campers and yes that included soft and hard floor trailers too

On the Saturday night they brought a B double truck and trailer minus the 'B' trailer and set it up for a DJ who played music from around 6pm till just past 11, it got nearly all the campers there to enjoy it. There was a lot of sore heads Sunday morning strolling around the park not to sure if it was from dancing or drinking or both

Thought I better get a pic on the way out

cruza driver · Apr 21, 2011

I finally got around to flipping my tyres on the rims so the white writing is facing out to match the Cruiser.

I cant wait to get away in the Expanda again to test it out because I reckon it will tow even better now

I also got the tyres balanced at the same time, I was surprised how much they were out so I'm glad I did.
Before

After

And the final look

cruza driver · Apr 21, 2011

This past weekend was spent at Running Creek campground on the banks of the beautiful Howqua River. This spot was new to us as we had driven past it countless times on our way on trips into the hills but we had never stayed there.

There is are trees scattered throughout the campgound so a spot was chosen away from the risk of a falling limb. There are spots to choose in open areas and a few spots along the banks of the river also. It was a 7-8km drive into the camground off the main rd which is narrow in places so care needs to be taken when towing in or out of the threre with a trailer on as passing spots are limited. There is a few ruts on the rd on the way in due to recent rain.

One of the Blind corners to negotiate on the way in