Hi from Adelaide

[Aaron77]

Hi everyone,

Finally after years of talking about it we have taken the plunge and purchased our first van. We went for a 17.56-2 outack expanda. Its currently getting built and it should be ready in early April. To say we are a bit excited is an understatement!

A bit about us. We are a family with two kids. The youngest is 10 and the eldest is 19. We love travelling Australia and have made a few big trips over the past 5 years in our camper trailer. We tend to try and get to the hardest to get to places and always take the back roads. Its all part of the adventure. Favourite places would have to be The Kimberley and The Flinders Ranges.

Looking forward to reading more of the great info on this site.

Cheers

 

[NoWorries]

Welcome to the nut house

 

[chartrock]

Welcome to the forum @Aaron77, it sounds like you have done a lot of traveling already so we look forward to some stories and pics (our slogan is "without pictures it never happened").

I love the Kimberley as well and am looking forward to our meet in the Flinders in September. That would be a great shakedown for your van.

 

[Dobbie]

Sounds good....you'll enjoy the upgrade.

We've just watched a family pack up their camper trailer after a week's relaxing and they were quite efficient....it only took 4 hours.

You'll notice the difference and lots of things can be streamlined.

We've just decided to ditch some of our much travelled gear which we take because we've always used them but no longer really need. I think it was a case of "have it, might use it so take in case" so the old much loved camp kitchen, the extra solar panel, the extra chairs and the extra table are going to be consigned to the shed.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

We've just watched a family pack up their camper trailer after a week's relaxing and they were quite efficient....it only took 4 hours.

LOL

 

[mfexpanda]

Welcome @Aaron77 .

 

[dagree]

Welcome aboard @Aaron77 Plenty of reading on here to keep you busy (and give you ideas!!!)

 

[FiveInAVan]

Welcome! There are quite a few of us joining you in the wait for our new vans. Sounds like you guys will be a pro with the new van, unlike me who is a total camping newbie! Look forward to seeing pics. We tossed up between the 17.56.2 and the Starcraft we finally ordered. Is a great family van.

 

[Wanda]

:welcome:

 

[bigcol]

welcome to the forum @Aaron77
lots of great people on here with a heap of knowledge and a real passion for their Vans

as @chartrock said, we LOVE piccies, and also all of your camping stories

ask any questions, and to the best of the combined knowledge of everyone here, we can and even sometimes do help

cheers

 

[FiveInAVan]

@decksloth shop around. I did this via email and there was $1000 diff in quoted price (including our extras) just by doing this. I didn't speak to anyone in person until I went in to sign the paperwork so there was no BS sales techniques being thrown around. Some gave me rrp for a quote and they were quickly ruled out. I never directly asked for a better price (although I hinted at it heavily in my emails) until I got my preferred dealer to better our lowest price we got quoted. Goodluck. It doesn't matter what other people pay as long as you are happy with your final price. The salesman will ultimately win that battle ;-)

 

[crackacoldie]

Welcome to another Radelaidian. If we keep getting this many new SA members we might finally outnumber them Mexicans

 

[bigcol]

Welcome to another Radelaidian. If we keep getting this many new SA members we might finally outnumber them Mexicans

it would be good, but I dont think it will ever happen @crackacoldie - they are everywhere................

 

[chartrock]

@Aaron77, it has passed early April, has the new van arrived? We love hearing about new vans and setups so post some pictures and let us know what your first impressions are.

 

[Aaron77]

@Aaron77, it has passed early April, has the new van arrived? We love hearing about new vans and setups so post some pictures and let us know what your first impressions are.

Hey guys,
I pick up the new van today. Finally!! We have already planned to go away this weekend for a short shakedown trip. I'll post some pics of the van in the next few days.

Just a tad excited!!

 

[Aaron77]

@Aaron77 We are just to embark on the same journey. From Adelaide and looking at purchasing an expanda outback 17.56-2 OB. Have you got any tips on the purchasing aspect such as what price we can expect to pay. Really interested to know how far you can go in getting the price down and I'm finding the salespeople already have the same spiel going.... "Not much room to move" But reading through this forum I've seen people in eastern states paying $5-$6k under the retail price with 5 or so extras thrown in. The extras I was thinking about getting included are tv aerial, extra battery, extra solar panel and stereo with the outdoor speakers and possibly a drifter control panel.

Any previous experiences from any seasoned purchasers out there is most welcome.

@decksloth We bought ours at the Caravan camping show. We got a pretty good deal and managed to get some additions added in at no cost. As we bought at the show we also got the show pack (tv, stereo) with it.

 

[Crusty181]

Welcome to another Radelaidian. If we keep getting this many new SA members we might finally outnumber them Mexicans

Bite ya tongue

 

[Aaron77]

We are so happy with the van. The hand over with the agent took about 2 hours and went through everything. There seems to be a lot of little changes to the 2016 model. Spare tire still mounted at the front but it's not under the drawbar. It's also dropped down by a little hand winch. Gas bottles have a cover and are fitted with gas safety gauges. Battery voltage display fitted.So looking forward to the first trip in it this weekend.

 

[The Goodwins]

Awesome mothership...welcome!