Well, we've had weeks and weeks of research working out what upgrades need to be done to the car and we've made some big decisions. On the recommendation of some members of the Toyota 4x4 Club and also SCS4x4, one of the Club's sponsors, we've booked the Prado in to "Fourby Fitouts" in Hallam to have a fridge slide and drawers fitted. Thankfully they've fitted us in to their busy schedule and will do the work in a fortnight's time and SCS4x4 will do the electrical work next week. We'll be able to head to Hatta Kulkyne NP for Easter with a working fridge-feeezer in the car - yippee!
This trip to HKNP will probably be the last trip we'll do in Ranger - our camper trailer which has been (and still is) a fabulous unit. We'll sell her when we get back from our Easter trip and hopefully off-set some of the AOR cost!
We got news yesterday that our Q4 is on the production line and our handover will be on 23rd May - 55 days to go - and who's excited?!! We'll head off north, no doubt with the car packed to the gills so that once we've picked up the camper, we'll load it and head off to camp somewhere locally near Caloundra for a few days. AOR like this approach so if there are any issues or we don't understand something we simply head back to the factory to get it sorted. We'll travel back to Melbourne down the coast road and camp along the way, working out what we need and what we need to ditch, and hopefully we'll have it all under control before we head off on The Lap just a few weeks after we get back to Melbourne. And hopefully that's not wishful thinking!
Tuesday, 28 March 2017
Planning - 1 March 2017
Well, here we are in the midst of maps: an atlas; a road atlas; HEMA maps; "Explore Australia" book; "Rooftop" maps; "Camps Australia" book; "Australian Bush Cooking"; Kimberley & Pilbara; Kings Canyon; National, Marine and Regional Parks in WA; "Golden Outback"; "WA in Bloom" - and more maps! Do we have enough maps and literature to work out where we want to go on this trip?!
We've decided to head off on John's dream, of doing "The Lap" this year but first of all there's so much to do: the first thing was to buy a car that will take us safely around Australia - a Toyota Prado was the go; buy a van (more on that later!) as our current camper trailer has been a great fit for us for many years now, but I am so over lifting the bed (even though it's on gas struts), and lifting out storage boxes and unpacking boxes within boxes within boxes, setting it all up then doing it all in reverse to pack up. And with the plan for this trip to be on the move day after day, we simply wouldn't have time to undertake this sort of set up and pack up each day.
Our research for a van began probably about three years ago if I'm to be honest with a two-day pass to the Caravan and Camping Shows at the Caulfield Racecourse and then for the past couple of years, the Caravan and Camping Shows at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds. Finally, in December 2016, we decided on a Golf/Avan Savannah 499 with a few modifications. A deposit was paid and after many, many, many visits to their Pakenham factory to check on the progress, we've finally given up any hope of them being able to build the van. A request a few weeks ago asking us to measure the Prado's tail gate to check it would go over the van's A-frame/drawbar was the last straw for John; I on the other hand had given up on them several months ago when we found that the annex walls went right up the guts of the external kitchen - so we could either use the external kitchen or the annex but not both.
With the car sorted, (we can tow up to 2.5 tons but who want to tow that much), and with the Savannah 499 off the cards our only option was to go with the Australian Off Road (AOR) unit that we had always coveted but dismissed due to the cost. However, the service from their sales team was brilliant and after our visits (over four days!) to the 2017 Caravan and Camping Show at the RMSG we were sure it was the right fit for us. So with a deposit paid and the commencement money paid, our Qantum Plus is in the throes of being built as I type this blog. We are pretty excited about it all and cannot wait till we drive north to Caloundra, Qld to pick up our new van (due for delivery between 16-22 May). Now we are in the throes of checking prices and what we need to have done to the car - lift, rear drawers and fridge slide, snorkel etc.
The trip plan to date (but still fluid!): We leave Wednesday 14 June. Our friends Cat and Keith leave Melbourne with another couple of friends on 23 June and meet up with us on Sunday 25 June to start the Oodnadatta Track.
Our friends Sandy and Jim leave Melbourne on 1 July and will meet up with us ~ Uluru.
Stay tuned for updates because that's as far as we've got.
We've decided to head off on John's dream, of doing "The Lap" this year but first of all there's so much to do: the first thing was to buy a car that will take us safely around Australia - a Toyota Prado was the go; buy a van (more on that later!) as our current camper trailer has been a great fit for us for many years now, but I am so over lifting the bed (even though it's on gas struts), and lifting out storage boxes and unpacking boxes within boxes within boxes, setting it all up then doing it all in reverse to pack up. And with the plan for this trip to be on the move day after day, we simply wouldn't have time to undertake this sort of set up and pack up each day.
Our research for a van began probably about three years ago if I'm to be honest with a two-day pass to the Caravan and Camping Shows at the Caulfield Racecourse and then for the past couple of years, the Caravan and Camping Shows at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds. Finally, in December 2016, we decided on a Golf/Avan Savannah 499 with a few modifications. A deposit was paid and after many, many, many visits to their Pakenham factory to check on the progress, we've finally given up any hope of them being able to build the van. A request a few weeks ago asking us to measure the Prado's tail gate to check it would go over the van's A-frame/drawbar was the last straw for John; I on the other hand had given up on them several months ago when we found that the annex walls went right up the guts of the external kitchen - so we could either use the external kitchen or the annex but not both.
With the car sorted, (we can tow up to 2.5 tons but who want to tow that much), and with the Savannah 499 off the cards our only option was to go with the Australian Off Road (AOR) unit that we had always coveted but dismissed due to the cost. However, the service from their sales team was brilliant and after our visits (over four days!) to the 2017 Caravan and Camping Show at the RMSG we were sure it was the right fit for us. So with a deposit paid and the commencement money paid, our Qantum Plus is in the throes of being built as I type this blog. We are pretty excited about it all and cannot wait till we drive north to Caloundra, Qld to pick up our new van (due for delivery between 16-22 May). Now we are in the throes of checking prices and what we need to have done to the car - lift, rear drawers and fridge slide, snorkel etc.
The trip plan to date (but still fluid!): We leave Wednesday 14 June. Our friends Cat and Keith leave Melbourne with another couple of friends on 23 June and meet up with us on Sunday 25 June to start the Oodnadatta Track.
Our friends Sandy and Jim leave Melbourne on 1 July and will meet up with us ~ Uluru.
Stay tuned for updates because that's as far as we've got.
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