17' Series touring or OB

[Bonners]

Hi
we have been out to Jayco Sydney and looked all through their vans and have decided on the 17.56.2 suits our needs with extras; battery kit, tv and antenna, gas bayonet fitting,roof a/c, privacyscreen, base station workn play. However was wondering if someone with similiar van can tell me how it goes on dirt, gravel roads or is the OB more suitable. Not expecting to do a lot of off road but dont want to be limited. The salesman suggested underslung axle for the extra height. (Will tow probably with territory diesel as budget wont stretch to jeep grand cherokee)
any thoughts on touring van on dirt roads would be appreciated.
yhanks
geoff

 

[andrea]

Geoff, we have an outback 17.56-2 expanda (I didn't know there was a 17.56-2 in the base station work and play - did you mean the 17.51?). Anyway, we hummed and haaa'd about on road v outback and are very glad we decided on the outback. There are a couple of advantages, the outback pack is very handy, alco drop jacks are great (even moreso when you remember to bring your drill along) and they are 12v prewired so all you have to do is put a battery in, I'm pretty sure our wheels are better than the touring version too.. On the second hand market they seem to sell a lot better and hold their outback margin so you will get your money back if you sell. The piece of mind having the extra clearance is great. Being a W&P model I would think you'd want to head off the beaten track a bit which would make you feel a little more comfortable.

 

[macca]

Geoff I know what you mean. I regret not getting underslung on ours. I just want to do a km or two in a national park to get to the Murray. Underslung will not get you as high as OB on some models due the chassis thickness (4" Vs 6") but still good ground clearance. I dont know much about W&P models though and Andrea has some good points with the OB.

 

[Burnsy]

Welcome Geoff, if your budget will allow then go the OB, then you will have no doubt when doing a bit of offroad. I reckon the extra $ is worth it with the extras you get and as Andrea said I don't think you will loose those extra $ with resale, plus battery pack and gas bayonet is standard. Good luck with your purchase!

 

[chartrock]

G'day Geoff and welcome aboard. Like those above, I recommend the Outback if you can get it. We took ours to some fairly rough places in WA with no problem. Good luck with your choice.

 

[Bonners]

thanks for that Andrea, yes after thinking about it and the good advice from you and yhe others will get a quote on OB taa geoff

 

[Bonners]

Thanks for the thoughts will look at OB pricing

 

[Bonners]

Thanks for that reply- its great to get advice

 

[gspy4u]

Go the outback, it's not for serious offroad but I love the extra height. No hitting the back end on driveways, can easily jump over gutters when needed and I think they just look much better as well.

 

[Robert.Smith]

Go the outback, it's not for serious offroad but I love the extra height. No hitting the back end on driveways, can easily jump over gutters when needed and I think they just look much better as well.

All of the above - I first did it with my Swan as I felt it sat better behind the Prado... We've gone OB again in our Expanda

 

[relgate]

We find that our OB is particularly useful on steep driveways in and out of all sorts of 2wd places. I'm sure you would bottom out often with the touring model. Checker plate looks cool too....