Dual Cab Chassis, Broken...Baw Haw..Sob..

[bigcol]

well said @Dean Anderson

you dont realise just how bad some forums are, until you see the really really bad side.............



again, thank you @expanda and the Mods for this forum for how its run
and
all the members, for their quick wit and substantial knowledge base

 

[dagree]

*Try posting a bit more so your post isn't boring*

 

[Meanderthals]

well said @Dean Anderson

you dont realise just how bad some forums are, until you see the really really bad side.............



again, thank you @expanda and the Mods for this forum for how its run
and
all the members, for their quick wit and substantial knowledge base

I was going to say something about something worse but social media could come back to bite me. I'll leave it at "May you and your loved ones all live eternally and never have to be involved in deceased estates".
DON'T ASK.

 

[Rockape]

Lattest update.

Insurance is checking that a new chassis is available in Melbourne and if so that is being freighted to Toowoomba and the chassis is then being replaced, which should take between two to three weeks at worst (hopefully) after delivery of chassis ( hopefully they don't have to get one from Thailand). Bit of rigmarole to change VIN but generally an easy process.

I think the Ford Ranger forum didn't like my opinion about warranty and advertising. Tried to search within the forum but I think they have pulled the entire discussion due to heated points of view.....And probably because of the truth.... Sort of like car rascism in my opinion.

In comparison...I'd like to say something that I hope does not offend any expanda owners but is what I believe lots of us think...

Jayco Expandas generally have a few warranty issues when they get delivered....Expandas generally have a few problems that annoy the hell out of owners......Expanda owners know that they have not bought the theoretically best or most expensive caravan on the market................Expanda owners know that at times the product is dissapointing or appears poorly designed....

But you know what...........Expanda owners are big enough people to know that:
A) They have bought the best product for the price.
B) The little problems are easily fixed with a bit of consultation with either Jayco or forum members.
C) Owning the vehicle is about living the vehicle.
D) I love my Expanda,and nothing else compares.
E) **** happens, lets discuss it and get over it (hiding it and pretending isn't good).

I dunno..........

There is something about the highs and lows in the Expandas Downunder forum........how they are discussed without judgement....... and how we all love discussing both high and low.....and how we all climb out the other side of the pond and say....hell yeah lets go camping...who cares.

Gotta love my Expanda,..... but never as much as my kids do, and they are the world.

Well said mate!
I agree , this forum is excellent. I had many issues with my Jayco Journey, and documented them on this forum. The support and responses I received were both positive and supportive and made me feel much better. I understand Jayco quality is poor at times, but they do honor their warranty and I have found my dealer so far to be very receptive at dealing with issues and resolving them.
Raising issues people have with their vehicles and caravans raised awareness and educates people, which is a good thing. I have a Ranger like you and will take extra care when pulling off the he side of the road. I truly hope all goes well and the vehicle is repaired as good as new.
Cheers
Nick

 

[stuartcarr2002]

If you had put it all on the caravaners forum, you wouldn't have had to go through insurance and engineers to sort out the buggered chassis for you. The caravaners forum would have given the exact reason for why it broke in the first place and how Ford would have fixed it for you. They have many "experts" on there and each opinion is more correct than the one before it. Think of all the time the insurance company would have saved if they had gone there

 

[Dean81]

well said @Dean Anderson

like they say happy wife, happy life - kids are happy wife is happy, its a win win..

we will catch up one of these days and have a few cans of discussion.. lol

 

[Dean Anderson]

Gotta Love this...........

Insurance decided today that they are not going to replace the chassis. Evidently you can not get a full chassis for the Ranger. They sell it in parts... I dunno....It's just what I'm being told by the assessor &/or authorised repairer, (Note: it's actually what JoM is being told because she is a bit more politically correct on the phone than me, as I can sometimes be more truthful with respect to what I'm feeling than what other people want to here). Nothing in Australia, could take 4 months to get the bits here from Thailand. Evidently Ford said the wrong thing to some cogs in the wheel and blah blah blah....

The car has now been written off...

I'm taking the payout and getting deeper in debt with a Landcruizer 200 series GXL and paying for a 500kg GVM upgrade before rego.

Haven't received the paperwork yet so things may change............Nothing like professionalism and keeping the client in the dark, and light, and dark, and light, and then lets make it blurry, and then turn the lights on full bore and blind them, then turn them off and make it pitch black, then.........laugh hahahahahahahahaha

Have to love insurance companies.

 

[Dean81]

Gotta Love this...........

Insurance decided today that they are not going to replace the chassis. Evidently you can not get a full chassis for the Ranger. They sell it in parts... I dunno....It's just what I'm being told by the assessor &/or authorised repairer, (Note: it's actually what JoM is being told because she is a bit more politically correct on the phone than me, as I can sometimes be more truthful with respect to what I'm feeling than what other people want to here). Nothing in Australia, could take 4 months to get the bits here from Thailand. Evidently Ford said the wrong thing to some cogs in the wheel and blah blah blah....

The car has now been written off...

I'm taking the payout and getting deeper in debt with a Landcruizer 200 series GXL and paying for a 500kg GVM upgrade before rego.

Haven't received the paperwork yet so things may change............Nothing like professionalism and keeping the client in the dark, and light, and dark, and light, and then lets make it blurry, and then turn the lights on full bore and blind them, then turn them off and make it pitch black, then.........laugh hahahahahahahahaha

Have to love insurance companies.

Probably the best outcome in the end mate. How long do you have to wait for 200?
Will you get the new, new one?

 

[Drover]

It's probably the better option to go as you never really trust the vehicle again so even a Toyota would be better...........hope it all goes smoothly from here on.

 

[Dean Anderson]

New model cruiser.... problem is colour...I want white and that's probably not available till next year. May have to go silver due to moving house deadlines. If so could probably have it in a couple weeks if all goes well.

Toyota is trying to find out what's available and where... Silver paint is an extra $400 ,while shipping a white one from further away will cost us another $500 or so in delivery..... Toss up,colour I want for an extra $100???

I'm not for the show'n'shine too much unless its functional............And I reckon in Queensland white is the most functional.........

 

[Meanderthals]

New model cruiser.... problem is colour...I want white and that's probably not available till next year. May have to go silver due to moving house deadlines. If so could probably have it in a couple weeks if all goes well.

Toyota is trying to find out what's available and where... Silver paint is an extra $400 ,while shipping a white one from further away will cost us another $500 or so in delivery..... Toss up,colour I want for an extra $100???

I'm not for the show'n'shine too much unless its functional............And I reckon in Queensland white is the most functional.........

While not totally happy about the silver Ranger it did have its advantages. I wanted white, wife and son said no, she said if I take silver I can have all accessories I wanted. It did ease the pain.

 

[Dean Anderson]

Must have been a temporary ban for me on the other site......I can see stuff again....Can't remember what I wrote........If I wrote anything against Ford......Nevermind....... Hugs and Kisses to all from a a big ugly guy................OXOXOX

If I had all the accessories I wanted on the Toyota it'd be a Sahara ($125,000)......The other half would be looking for a Datsun 180 and a $200 tent.

 

[bigcol]

mate, as long as they sort it out soon-ish for you, you should throw in the "hire car costs" to their equation

white is good, its timeless, and dont seem to "age" as baddly as some colours

 

[Drover]

So @Dean Anderson are you moving closer to civilization or further out into the boonies ?????

 

[Crusty181]

@Dean Anderson Ive been following this horrific thread ... which just took a turn south when I just read you were doing 15kph ????? Is that a typo

 

[Meanderthals]

It's a bit of a worry when I think of the number of whoop-de-doo's we've come across in travels at highway cruising speeds. Having had a station wagon 4x4 for over 30 years we though that a dual cab was the best combination for our needs now.

 

[Drover]

Had a lookie at a single cab and I suppose what saves them bending is the tray mounting, the legs/braces are in front of the rear springs. So if you remove the tray it could go Banana's too..........................will have a close inspection of my Colorado when I get home and maybe see if I can fit a tell tale.

 

[Dean Anderson]

I wasn't looking at the speedo but I was going real slow to park next to a picnic table (max 20km/h). Considering what we had loaded in the weeks prior, the damage shocked the hell out of me. We were never over, but probably close to the GVM In the week prior to the incident considering 120 litres of water and the firewood I count as an essential when camping.

We were on the way home so the car was way below GVM , one of the gas bottle was empty and other almost empty on the van too.

The cheap Ally tray that Ford had put on the car may have added to the problem? It was only mounted front and back, middle mount was unused. I dunno how steel trays are mounted, personally I'd make a steel mount to secure the tray in all 6 positions to the chassis if I had another trayback. Maybe the tub helps with the structural integrity of the chassis after impact? I think there was a bit of twist in the middle of the chasis that may have been prevented with additional central mounting and a low cross member. Dunno, it's always going to keep me guessing. This was an unusual type of impact. It didn't seem too bad cause of the slow speed but it was pretty abrupt cause of the angle on the van and car ( I can't remember if I braked at the wrong time as well?). I'm confused.

The ally tray steel bearers between chassis mounts seemed slightly bowed, the Ally joists didn't seem to be bent at all after the incident. Strange, maybe they just stretched instead. All is circumspect and my opinion is probably unreliable considering. Never mind.

On the positive side, the not knowing has made me a more careful driver.
On the negative side, I probably worry too much about terrain and the capability of vehicles that should be able to handle some rough.

Off to Moranbah (200km inland from Mackay) early next year after the holidays, another part of the country to explore on weekends for a few years. If anyone knows of some great places around there to visit let us know.

Silly question here.............how the hell do I do the @JohnDoe thingy? Some of my posts must seem totally disjointed cause I'm answering multiple conversations and I'd like to be polite and let people know I'm talking to them.

 

[dagree]

@Dean Anderson
Type the symbol @ prior to typing the persons name. A list of names drops down..... Click on the name you want and it links to them when you post your reply.

 

[Drover]

I'm following your posts okay Dean, might see if I can find a weigh bridge to just see how the ute moves the needle on the scale, steel tray on the Holden has 8 mounting points by the way, steel tray from a mob in Toowoomba.

There's a nest of ExpandasDU members out that way to lead you astray for sure.