Hi All. My wife and i have recently purchased a 2010 Expanda 18.57-6 (non- outback version). We love the layout and fact that we didn't have to get a 21+ft van to have what we want! We are planning a 7 month half lap of Aus at the end of the year with our daughters, 6 and 8. We will be generally sticking to the main routes, most of which look sealed, and are not planning on crossing through any long distances (100km+) of dirt roads at a time. However we also don't want to be limited to going to caravan parks etc - we will be needing to use dirt roads and potentially sandy track to access national parks, more remote camp sites etc. So my questions are:
1. Should we sell up and get something more build for off road? I don't particularly want anything too much bigger, and to step to something more built for off road is a big leap in $$.
2. Are there some relatively simple modifications that we can make to beef up what we have a bit. I have spoken to a caravan repairer who will flip the axel for around $500, potentially add some bigger rims and deeper tread tires etc? What about suspension?
3. We don't yet have a tow vehicle - happy to spend $30k to $50k to get something reliable. I am thinking a Toyota Hilux, mainly because of reliability and access to repairers and parts in case something goes wrong on the trip. Also because we will need some extra space on the tray as the payload on the van is pretty limited. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks!
1. Should we sell up and get something more build for off road? I don't particularly want anything too much bigger, and to step to something more built for off road is a big leap in $$.
2. Are there some relatively simple modifications that we can make to beef up what we have a bit. I have spoken to a caravan repairer who will flip the axel for around $500, potentially add some bigger rims and deeper tread tires etc? What about suspension?
3. We don't yet have a tow vehicle - happy to spend $30k to $50k to get something reliable. I am thinking a Toyota Hilux, mainly because of reliability and access to repairers and parts in case something goes wrong on the trip. Also because we will need some extra space on the tray as the payload on the van is pretty limited. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks!