Gday all, we're new to Expandadownunder and have loved reading through the countless useful tips about things I've wanting to get sorted out.
We've got an 18.57-9 OB and just returned from a shake-down trip through central Australia, mostly offroad. I've got to say, the Expanda handled the dirt far better than expected. Melbourne to Esperance, then back through Gawler ranges, Dalhousie Springs, Oodnadatta track and Flinder's Rangers were all great. 31 days on the road and only 2 nights in a caravan park - the rest was mostly free camping with some National Parks as well.
One thing we noticed though was the underside of the caravan took a beating from 2000+ kms of gibber stones. The electric brake cables suffered the most with them frequently being severed, even through ribbed cable protection that I added half way through (I've now encased them in garden hose...). The steel of the Simplicity suspension was also peppered/dented badly and all protective paint blasted off the front facing surfaces and sections of the plywood flooring are peeling away from the relentless stones. It seems most of the underneath stone damage was from the caravan's wheels, so I'm thinking of ways to add additional mud flaps underneath to block these. The Deflector stone guard did an amazing job with not one stone mark to the front of the van.
A few additions I put on before leaving that made the trip that much better
- #1 was a diesel heater - worth its weight in gold.
- 220 watt solar panels meant we didn't once use electricity in 31 nights (even at caravan parks).
- rubber mat over back of car window meant no worries about stone damage on the long stony roads
- carpet over the vinyl was much warmer on those freezing desert nights.
Look forward to reading more of those great posts...
Scott.
We've got an 18.57-9 OB and just returned from a shake-down trip through central Australia, mostly offroad. I've got to say, the Expanda handled the dirt far better than expected. Melbourne to Esperance, then back through Gawler ranges, Dalhousie Springs, Oodnadatta track and Flinder's Rangers were all great. 31 days on the road and only 2 nights in a caravan park - the rest was mostly free camping with some National Parks as well.
One thing we noticed though was the underside of the caravan took a beating from 2000+ kms of gibber stones. The electric brake cables suffered the most with them frequently being severed, even through ribbed cable protection that I added half way through (I've now encased them in garden hose...). The steel of the Simplicity suspension was also peppered/dented badly and all protective paint blasted off the front facing surfaces and sections of the plywood flooring are peeling away from the relentless stones. It seems most of the underneath stone damage was from the caravan's wheels, so I'm thinking of ways to add additional mud flaps underneath to block these. The Deflector stone guard did an amazing job with not one stone mark to the front of the van.
A few additions I put on before leaving that made the trip that much better
- #1 was a diesel heater - worth its weight in gold.
- 220 watt solar panels meant we didn't once use electricity in 31 nights (even at caravan parks).
- rubber mat over back of car window meant no worries about stone damage on the long stony roads
- carpet over the vinyl was much warmer on those freezing desert nights.
Look forward to reading more of those great posts...
Scott.
