Spotted a new one on display in Lavington Square,Lavington NSW yesterday $149,500.00 drive away. White, 4 door hard tub lid. Wifes old Avon customer said " thats twice the price of my house cost". Looks smart, but bloody big
Australian Caravan Industry spokesman just before Xmas said. The demand for Caravans is growing fast and there is now a need to increase our product to 4500 Kgs.
Dodge RAM etc would be needed to pull something that big. Imagine someone trying to back a Caravan that big with a tow vehicle that big into our sites in a lot of Van parks.
Strange part I find is the longer vans are easier to reverse . But anyway ! Some just buy these things and drive ! A little practice before goes a long way . Two way between yourself and Mrs makes things SO easy !!
Some of us actually have licences to drive combinations a little larger than a car and a caravan. I watch many try to reverse a caravan with an Aussie ute and I have come to the conclusion that in a lot of cases when failure occurs it is not the vehicle or the vans fault. Rams etc are large vehicles and there will be parks and areas where they may have problems. Personally it would not worry me, I would just go find somewhere where I would fit. If only I was allowed to have one.....
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"Seek the truth or bury you head in the sand, both require some digging"
probably, $25-30k for conversion, $3k to get it here, $15k at least stamp duty,luxury tax, so a handy profit at the end, but it was still there yesterday. 9 year old boy hanging all over it as well. cheers Craig
I'd like one too (a 2500 would suffice) but parking & reversing out of some of Townsville's shopping centres would be mayhem!
My brother-in-law went to the States three years ago, bought a RAM 2500 dual cab for $40,000 (new). Cost another $40,000 to bring it out here & convert to RHD, etc. He said it's still cheaper than getting one here.
He uses the 6.5T towing capabilities for his headers, etc.
Economy wise, it's almost as good as my Patrol, better in other cases.
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Warren
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If you don't get it done today, there's always tomorrow!
If you ever consider US vehicles ? Donāt be afraid of spares etc . I have had a set of shocks sent over for GM bassed motorhome to Victor Harbour in 5 days . Trust me it lakes that long or longer for parts interstate here !! Oh btw the shocks half the price and CORRECT type !!
I had a Japanese built 2005 Ford Escape (Mazda Tribute) Needed the passengers side Fog/Spotlight for a roadworthy. Nothing at the various wreckers and the Hervey Bay Ford agents couldn't source one. The Mazda dealers were the same. Mob in Melbourne wanted $360 with $25 postage fee. Tried EBay and Found lots from the USA. $35 US including delivery. Got here to Qld in ten days. By the way it was Ford Original equipment with all the Ford marks.
As I said above I am not allowed to have one but I have done a bit of research just in case circumstances change
and I have found that apart from the purchase price, if compared to say a Toyota 200 series the biggest cost is the insurance if comparing the two vehicles.
Vehicle components from the US. are easy to get in Aus and as others have said, their volume in turnover over there creates a great advantage over goods that are held in stock here and marked up to cover costs.
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"Seek the truth or bury you head in the sand, both require some digging"
Seeing that we have gone onto other brands in this topic, I recently read that the Ford F-150 is to be released later this year with a Diesel engine.
Its all alloy body makes it quite favourable, weight wise, for all things towing.
I cant put the link up as it came to me on Facebook.
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"Seek the truth or bury you head in the sand, both require some digging"
We have a 2014 Dodge Ram 2500 Laramie. It was sourced in America by SCD in Brisbane. At the time, the Au dollar was parity with the US dollar. The vehicle was $65000 USD. With the importing costs and conversion the total in the end was $108000. We tow a 21ft Bushtracker and find the Ram does it easily. Too easy sometimes because we have to keep checking to make sure the caravan is still attached. The running costs, including fuel, are comparable with the Cruiser 200. We make sure we have the Ram serviced every 10000 ks. Fuel and oil filters are readily available here and an integral part of ensuring the Cummins 6.7 is always in tip top condition. For those here who would be interested, second hand Rams are around, as people who love them, upgrade regularly.
Theres probably 108,000 reasons why most people would not buy one no doubt there top dog ,but unaffordable for most people .and why would you bother theres cheaper vehicles around that do the job extremely well..unless what your towing is absolutely massive then your options are limited I suppose...
-- Edited by Ron-D on Sunday 29th of April 2018 09:03:01 AM
Yes Ron-D, horses for courses. Remember, a LC200 cost a lot more, without the grunt and most people do a Lovells upgrade. The American trucks are comparable with the Japanese trucks with regard to fuel and running costs. They also have anti pollution measures, exhaust braking and tow haul mode built in. Space, comfort and visibility ensure these vehicles contribute to a great adventure around this great land.
