Cruza Drivers OUTBACK EXPANDA 16.49-3 Trips and Mods

[mfexpanda]

Hey Cruza
Just had a thought how did the big mess of 12V wires go , all the outside connections under the floor in a big ball , during the river crossings and dirt roads ?
We had a '05 expanda which I cleaned up that area and was wondering if I should do the same or just leave it .

 

[cruza driver]

Surprisingly no worries there was a few small rocks sitting on the cover but no damage or broken wiring.

I will be fixing it up though as a bit of preventative matainence before our next big trip though. One thing I did do though after braking a couple of plastic elbows (water) was cable tie some shade cloth under the van like a barrier to prevent any further damage. We were lucky we did'nt lose any water.

 

[cruza driver]

Hey Cruza Driver,

Maybe that would have raised the van enough for you not to need to lower your hitch. Might have ended up around the same height as your Hawk was. As we are trading up from an Eagle I'm hoping the expanda will ride level without changing my hitch height if we get the underslung option.

PMK

Hey mate the Cruiser has a 2 1/2'' lift so the rear hitch is quite high (std)and I didn't want to play with the ride height of the Expanda as it tows well. What I will do is as others have done and lift the height of the coupling on the drawbar keeping the Expanda riding at its designed height.
In saying that I have been on a lot of undulating tracks and have never hit the towbar hitch on the ground yet.

 

[PMK]

Hey mate the Cruiser has a 2 1/2'' lift so the rear hitch is quite high (std)and I didn't want to play with the ride height of the Expanda as it tows well. What I will do is as others have done and lift the height of the coupling on the drawbar keeping the Expanda riding at its designed height.
In saying that I have been on a lot of undulating tracks and have never hit the towbar hitch on the ground yet.

yep, thats my concern as we also have a 2" lift. as it is now with my Eagle Outback the van sits very slightly higher at the front & I have the underslung axle on it. I'm just hoping that the expanda sits around the same height as the Eagle otherwise I might have to alter the hitch height on my car as you have. I don't want the rear of the van scraping on the dips because the front is too high. I spoke to Jayco today & they advised the expanda OB we are looking at comes with a standard underslung axle. I spose we'll finally know when we pick up the van in November. I'll make the necessary changes then if I need to. Thanks for the info.
By the way...... Some great pics of your trip, have been out there with the Eagle before, now I cant wait till we can do it again in the Expanda.......
Paul

 

[achjimmy]

Hey cruza great pics again. Its also good to hear the tyres hanging in there. The only thing I regret letting go with the old van was the near new Goodyear Wrangler MTR's, the spare had not even done a turn.

I notice on your expanda the outside 12v and 240v points are near the Pinic table. Was that your choosing? Our original had the 12v over the wheel arch

 

[cruza driver]

I saw an Expanda at Marla with MTR's on it on our trip it look like it meant business, I know what you mean about leaving tyres on something you sell I've done that on a couple of cars :wink:

The sockets were located in that postion from factory but I think you can choose where you want them on the final confirmation list.

 

[cruza driver]

Enjoying the ride, Cruza. Keep up the good work.

Thought you might like this link to help plan the next trip.

http://www.caravanworld.com.au/latest-reviews/article/articleid/74944.aspx

Shows a lot of desert tracks that can be done with a well prepared caravan. :wave:

Thanks mate I just saw your post I'll check it out

 

[cruza driver]

After arriving in Alice Springs we spent the next 3 days by filling up the cupboards with food and also catching up on some washing. We stayed for a total of 7 nights with a day trip out to Palm Valley, Chambers Pillar and a day at the Alice Springs Show. It was also Territory Day there so we went up Anzac Hill to watch the fire works fill the skies over Alice. We also did a quick run out to Simpsons Gap.

We wanted to do things which we didn't do on our last visit to Alice and surrounds.
Our 1st stop at Alice was to the car wash to clean off some of the dust before heading to the BIG 4 for 7 nights


All clean and set up after a week of dust and dirt. We had a great site at the end of a lane facing the McDonnel Ranges

Simpsons Gap

 

[cruza driver]

We travelled the 150km oneway south from Alice to Chambers Pillar. The road followed closely along the edge of the course of the Finke Desert race track. The track veers left toward Finke and we turned right at Titjikala locking in the centre diff and heading the last 45 odd k's to the Pillar. This section of the drive was along soft sandy sections and plenty of dust. After about 30 k's there was an awesome view of the Pillar in the distance. After cresting the last few handy hills you arrive at the campground/carpark and walk to the imposing Pillar.

Big Sky Country

My BFG's have covered over 70,000 ks and still going

 

[cruza driver]

When we left Alice the sky was blue without a cloud the further south we went the more overcast it got. But where else would you rather be :grouphug:

 

[drewy]

Great thread, keep it comin! BFG's are worth every cent!

 

[cruza driver]

After topping up the fuel yet once again after the trip down to Chambers Pillar the day before it was time to head to Palm Valley. We headed towards Hemasburg in the West Macs and had a quick look around, before airing down and driving down the Finke River. This trip is rated for high clearance 4WDs only. There was numerous river crossings of the Finke River which is very spectactular, and you could see how high the river has been flowing by the debris wrapped around the trees along the rivers banks.

There was a lot a lot of deep sandy sections so momentum was the key so as to not halt foward progress. After a quick read of the info signs and some pics we had luch amonst the Cycad Pines with an average age between 200-300 years old. The last 1.5 km led us into Palm Valley which is where the high clearance is requiered to negociate the river floor of this ancient area. At the end there is 2 different walks that can be taken of the splendor that is Palm Valley!

It was Territory Day so after taking everything in at Palm Valley it was time to head back to Alice for the fireworks...





A bit of work has been done on the walkways into Palm Valley

 

[cruza driver]

Palm Valley is a must do imo



cleaning the windows :tongue:

 

[Bushman]

Great stuff CD but I wouldn't accept anything less from you

 

[Moto Moto]

Great stuff CD but I wouldn't accept anything less from you

Agreed!

I've been flat out at work lately and its great to log back on to the forum and straight into your trip log. Beautiful photos as always mate

 

[mfexpanda]

. Beautiful photos as always mate

I agree and the colours are fantasic .

 

[cruza driver]

Once again thanks for you comments as it keeps me motivated to finish off the report, hopefully this weekend :typing: :ranger:

 

[chartrock]

You are going to be a hard act to follow, Cruza.

On day 2 of our trip.

 

[cruza driver]

HAHA thanks

I wish my trip was as long as yours is going to be though :yield: keep as posted with how your travelling so you can make us all jealous too!

 

[cruza driver]

Alice Springs was as far north we were to head on this trip so when it was time to leave Alice it was time to head south and onto Kings Creek Station which is about 35km from Kings Canyon. You can get fuel go on a camel ride,helicopter flights, quad bike rides and there was plenty of room to spread out when we were there also. There is also provisions for a campfire but you need to bring your own wood from off site. We made use of the clean camp kitchen also.



Once again another awesome sunset