Penguin Our Jayco Penguin: Tug and Van weights

[mikerezny]

Hi,
winter is almost over, and I am now thinking about making the Penguin more comfortable in Summer.

Since there are no bed ends, more heat from outside can get inside since there are plastic tinted windows all the way around.
The shade cloth on the off-side and the awning (when there is little wind) give some shade along the sides.

The way we got through last summer was to pull the windows up where the sun was hitting and then pulling the curtains across. This worked better than nothing. But the heat that got through the windows still heated up the internal air. You could feel it on the curtains. Thought about shade cloth for the sides but I wanted a much simpler solution.

And now we have it! We will buy 3-4 car windscreen shades and slide them down in between the flyscreen and the plastic tinted windows.
Tried one over the weekend and we are sure it will be very effective, easy to put in and take out, cheap, and very light.

The effectiveness is that the heat and sun are reflected and insulated before it gets to the tinted windows and then the curtains.

And yes, we could also get an air conditioner and a generator. It just ain't gonna happen.

The same concept might also keep the Penguin warmer in winter.

cheers
Mike

 

[Dobbie]

It's the simple solutions that work.

Well done......just keep the chippie.

 

[mikerezny]

Hi,
our Penguin had its first birthday on 18th November 2017. Unfortunately it had to celebrate alone since it was parked at Bayswater Jayco having its one-year service. But next weekend we are taking it back to Seninis for 4 nights. Yeeaaahhhh!!!

Here are some statistics on the Penguin covering its first year of use:

Original purchase price: $22,350.00
distance travelled: 12,857.9km: Victoria, NSW, Qld
Nights used: 104
Petrol Consumption: 10.5 l / 100km
9k Gas bottles used: 4 plus 10 nights used out of the current bottle (about 40%)
Gas bottles last from 20 to 28 nights: Mostly fridge with some cooking.
Brake linings have worn only 5%.

Total extra expenses: $2,259.59
major items, over $50.00:
3-month service: $270.00
insurance: $265.22
prodgidy brake controller: $177.00
towbar: $300.00
car wiring harness: $104.00
off-side privacy screen: $52.00
towing mirrors: $51.20
security chains and padlocks: $83.72
porta-potti qube: $119.95
replacement tyre: $99.00
mud flaps for Falcon: $90.00

Most of these expenses are first time one-offs. Ongoing, I expect yearly costs will be around $1,000, low because registration in Victoria is only $58.10 per year.

Major issues fixed under warranty:
New axle assembly due to AlKo recall
gas regulator
curtain
bottom door and frame

We absolutely love our Penguin and are really looking forward to returning to most of the places we found in Victoria during our first year plus a few more we know about but haven't got to visit. Planning to also go on our winter trip up to Beerwah, Qld again.

Found Maps.me to be a really great map application for our iPad. Download maps and then you don't need WiFi.
Also found WikiCamps to be indispensable. Great thing is that find a spot on WikiCamps, and you can then get directions to or from it on Maps.Me.

cheers
Mike

 

[bigcol]

I'm not going to add up my costs

suffice to say - 4 years old
only went to Jayco service once (ali checker plate on side wasnt glued properly)
spent a small fortune on mods

L O V E it

do it again in a heartbeat as well

 

[Drover]

Wow !!!!!!! ............I wonder what I've spent on Big Mal ????? ...................never taken to a service so there's a saving.........

I wouldn't mind having a Penguin for those little weekend sort of camps or runs along the beach, be just the shot for a few days on Teewah Beach, sleep away from the bities and all the comforts......................

 

[mikerezny]

Hi,
here are all the weight details after putting our Falcon sedan and Penguin over the scales at Yarragon on the weekend.

Penguin Specifications from compliance plate:
Tare: 964 kg
ATM: 1,264 kg
GTM: 1,156 kg
Towball loading: 108 kg

Ford Falcon 2014 FG XT MKII 4.0l ,6 speed auto
Unladen mass: ~1,704 kg
GVM Max: 2,210 kg
Gross Axle Load Rear Max: 1,330 kg
Gross Axle Load Front Max: 1,165 kg
Towbar Max Towing mass: 1,600 kg
Towbar max Towball Download: 160kg
There seems to be no published data for Gross Combination Mass for this vehicle, except for Falcon Utes)

Weight readings at Yarragon on 4/2/2018:

Falcon: two passengers in the front seat, 50% fuel (68 l max), no water in the spare 10 l container
Penguin: 50% water (45/85 l), 50% gas (5/9.5 kg)

Falcon:
Front Axle: 960kg (Max loading is 1,165 kg)
Rear Axle: 1,180 kg (Max loading is 1,330 kg)
GVM: 2,140 kg (Max loading is 2,210 kg) **** only 70kg available (about 30 kg of which would be used for a full tank of petrol and a further 10 kg for a full 10 l water container)

Penguin:
Axle load: 1,020 kg
Towball download from a previous measurement: 127 kg
Actual ATM 1,147 kg (Max ATM 1,264 kg) 117 kg available, but full tank of water (-40 kg) and full tank of gas (-5 kg), reduces this to having only 72 kg available.

Towbar:
Towing Mass: 1,147 kg (Max loading is 1,600 kg)
Towball Download: 127 kg (Max loading is 160 kg)

So, unless I am mistaken, my combination is within the legal requirements.
With a full tank of petrol, 10 l spare water, a full water tank, and a full gas bottle, I have 30 kg available in the Falcon and 72 kg available in the Penguin.

This surprised me, since that is not a lot of overhead available. For instance, from these figures, we cannot take an extra adult passenger.

All of which reinforces the need for me to go over these calculations VERY carefully if we ever consider upgrading or changing the vehicle or van.

cheers
Mike

 

[Drover]

That surprises me, I thought you would have more lee way but that doesn't leave you any at all. How do these folks go that I see dragging a full size 15 ft van around, albeit it's not often nowadays but they must be over the mark as the Penguin is pushing your limits and they are not heavy at all.........

Couldn't find anything on a GCM for Ford, fascinating isn't it ???? ................but it doesn't matter as other restrictions keep things in the limit namely the tow bar dictating what can be dragged behind no matter what the GCM might be.


Next wheels will have to be a Ute or a Yuppie version of one as they don't make big cars nowadays do they........I'm not much of a car bloke.

 

[mikerezny]

Hi @Drover,
I just did some rough calculations on the car weights.
GVM: 2,210 kg
Unladen mass: 1,704 kg
Maximum load is then 506 kg

Full sized alloy spare tyre: 20 kg
Full tank fuel: 65 kg
two passengers: 160 kg
filled spare gas bottle: 20 kg
spare water: 10 kg
towbar fitted: 20 kg
towball loading 130 kg
luggage: 50 kg

Total : 475 kg

Based on these calculations, total weight on front and rear axles would be 1,704 kg + 475 kg = 2,179 kg
Weighbridge measurements were 960 + 1,180 = 2,140 kg + extra fuel 30 kg + water 10 kg = 2,180 kg

So, as you said, a tiny touring Penguin (127 kg towball download weight) and two passengers is about the limit for this Ford Falcon sedan.

Very very surprising, considering what one sees being towed by smaller vehicles.

cheers
Mike

 

[Drover]

What about the Ford's and Holdens towing car trailers loaded up with another car, knowing the weight of those things, wow.....I did a roughy calc and I reckon a GCM for it would be roughly 4.2 t , but it would be hard to do it really and you could only travel at 80kph by yourself.

 

[mikerezny]

What about the Ford's and Holdens towing car trailers loaded up with another car, knowing the weight of those things, wow.....I did a roughy calc and I reckon a GCM for it would be roughly 4.2 t , but it would be hard to do it really and you could only travel at 80kph by yourself.

Hi @Drover,
the GCM for the UTE version is specified. From memory it is somewhere around 4.5 t.

Since the GCM is not specified, the first hurdle will be the towbar. The standard towbar is rated at 1600 kg for an auto, but only 1200 kg for a manual.
The towball download limit is 160 kg for the auto. The towbar is NOT rated for a WDH.

The heavy duty towbar is rated at 2,300 kg and supports a WDH. However, for a manual, the maximum towing weight is still 1,200 kg.

With only a 506 kg load allowance, take off 65 kg for a full fuel tank, 160 kg for two passengers, 20 kg for the towbar as a minimum, you would still have 261 kg left , so the towbar download limit would be the limiting factor, either 160 kg or 230 kg.

There is a graph in the user manual showing maximum speed ratings for various towing weights. It kicks in from 1,200 kg and over.
Maximum is 100 km/h up to 1,200 kg, 90 km/h for 1,600 kg, and 80 km/h at 2,300 kg.

cheers
Mike