Soon to retire

Jeliwan · Newbie

Soon to retire

Possum3 · Guru

Best value for money Explorex, Evernew, Trackmaster, Kedron - all expensive, best quality Australian made vans - There are a lot of Lemons out there so beware check out buying guides and free technical information & checklists at www.caravancouncil.com.au/

Check out other websites and facebook pages like Lemon Caravans and RV's to find out about the caravan failures and faults - A good van can cost more than a towing vehicle/tug so be careful about who you choose to deal with.

Best tugs are Patrols and Landcruisers / Iveco and Suzuki trucks.

-- Edited by Possum3 on Wednesday 7th of July 2021 09:10:10 PM

Mike Harding · Guru

I tow a Snowy River SR-19 with a Holden Trailblazer and I'm happy with them both.

Cupie · Guru

Welcome & have fun getting set up.

When I started out 20+ years ago there were only a handful of manufactures, now there are dozens and with an amazing price range. Much harder now to make a choice but lots of great options available.

Just a few opening comments ...

Not many 18ft vans have ensuites but you will find lots with small combined toilet/showers, if that's what you are after.

3500kg is pretty heavy & can only really be pulled by the real big vehicles like perhaps Patrol & Cruiser, as well as the big yank tanks.

An 18ft van, unless a true off road van, shouldn't weigh anything like 3500kg. More like 2500kg perhaps.

'Value for money'. In my opinion there is these days no such thing. Way back then, I sought to purchase one that was value for money but had good resale value. I chose a new 21'6" Jayco that had what was the then 'all the bells & whistles' (AC, full ensuite, water tanks, HWS, big fridge,Microwave,oven/grill,innerspring Queen bed, Awning & annex etc) I still have it after 20 ish years and >200,000km. It has been fantastic & has only cost me about $20,000 if I were able to sell it today. I say that's value for money. Oh yes I've lost about the same on the almost new GQ Patrol that I purchased at the same time. This van weighs circa 2.5T. Much lighter those days.

There are lots of choices out there now, a few pitfalls too. I'm sure that you will find the right one for you if you take your time.

BTW The GreyNomads Web site (as different from this forum) has a good article entitled "Your Rig". It's worth a look.

Happy travels.

Warren-Pat_01 · Guru

G'day Jeliwan,
Welcome to the forum - we trust you'll enjoy your time here, searching for advice, giving advice, meeting new friends.

Do your homework well, learn all about weights & measures that affect both your vehicle & whatever you decide to add behind, on it. I admit to being illegal with weights on my past 4wds several times - it's so easy to do especially if you follow what they say in some magazines - buy this, buy that, add this & that to make your trip "better".
It's when you add something behind you that you become aware of GVM, GCM, Ball Mass (which can affect just what you can tow - even my last Patrol, a 4.2LTD GU was affected), GTM, ATM & these all have legal issues especially if an accident occurs.

Do your Searches, including Advanced searches in the forum in both the General forum & Techies & now there is a dedicated Tab on the subject in the Techies area.
Look up the sites that Possum has suggested. From the number of complaints listed on the Facebook Lemon Caravans page, I'm surprised that anyone would even buy a new caravan these days. Most issues are with customer service, back up. Some are exceptional & Possum listed them.
Our pop-top van is almost 18' long, has a combined shower/toilet - the latter being more useful. Yes it's a Jayco & while it has limits, it meets our requirements. We bought it second hand.
Mike has told many here that he's very happy with his SR & that brand seems to be clear of most of the issues.

By all means have a good look around, ask lots of questions, walk around caravan parks & ask people there about their vans.

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Welcome to the gang Stephen, enjoy here and out in the playground.

Try not to get too confused about weights etc as it can be a hornets nest here most times it is talked about. Some bombard you with so called facts and figures. If I were you I would have a read through the 'weights and measures' section in Techies Corner. Maybe even start your own question there and mention here you have done so. That way that discussion is where it should be. Webmaster has set the forum up that way so use it. Works for everyone. It's a great forum with mostly friendly and helpful people. You will sort the others out.

I tow a 20ft 2700kg aluminium teepee with a Colorado twin cab. I wouldn't go over 3000kg though. Maybe take a peak at the Iveco Daily or similar for the weight you mentioned.

Keep Safe on the roads and out there.

gdayjr · Senior Member

I can confirm a tow vehicle choice.

I have ordered a caravan that will gross at 3500 kg.

I do not want or need a 4wd or a ute, so i have bought an Iveco Daily van to tow with.

yobarr · Guru

Jeliwan wrote:
Looking for advice on a good caravan with ensuite around 18ft and value for money and best vehicle for towing up to 3500kg

Hi Stephen,and welcome to the forum.Whilst I do not profess to know anything about 18ft caravans,I do know a bit about weights etc.For free,I will advise that,among the more popular cars,there are only two that can safely and legally tow a 3500kg caravan.Some models of Nissan Patrol can do so,and there also is one Toyota model that can do so.But be warned,it is not the ubiquitous LC200.There is much deception and confusion involved in claimed towing capacities,and this can be a minefield for "newbies",but if you seek to tow only an 18' van,it probably is of no concern to you. SOME of the popular twin-cab utes can comfortably tow around 3100kg ATM,but that's it,whilst few of the cars that have been given a 3000kg ATM towing capacity of 3000kg can safely do so.Please feel free to ask any questions that you have,about weights etc,and we will be happy to help.Good luck! Cheers

Eaglemax · Guru

Hi Jeliwan, welcome

Are you planning off road travel, semi off road or bitumen only with short sections of reasonable dirt road?
Is there a reason you mentioned 3500kg? I ask this because it doesn't compute with an 18ft caravan.

I do agree though an ensuite is never a regret. I built my latest 16ft van with full ensuite with an ATM (loaded max) weight of 1000kg so I simply don't see why you can't get the perfect van for an ATM of 2000-2500kg which will give you many choices for a tow car.
Tony

Roachie · Member

yobarr wrote:

Hi Stephen,and welcome to the forum.Whilst I do not profess to know anything about 18ft caravans,I do know a bit about weights etc.For free,I will advise that,among the more popular cars,there are only two that can safely and legally tow a 3500kg caravan.Some models of Nissan Patrol can do so,and there also is one Toyota model that can do so.But be warned,it is not the ubiquitous LC200.There is much deception and confusion involved in claimed towing capacities,and this can be a minefield for "newbies",but if you seek to tow only an 18' van,it probably is of no concern to you. SOME of the popular twin-cab utes can comfortably tow around 3100kg ATM,but that's it,whilst few of the cars that have been given a 3000kg ATM towing capacity of 3000kg can safely do so.Please feel free to ask any questions that you have,about weights etc,and we will be happy to help.Good luck! Cheers

I'm with you on this mate!

3,500kg is very heavy and I wouldn't dream of hauling my Bushtracker with anything less than my current vehicle (Chev 3500....5.17 tonne GVM...11.1 tonne GCM).

Yes, there are many vehicles that have a stated BTC (braked towing capacity) of 3,500kg. Most of them would be LIGHTER than such a trailer and I, personally, wouldn't ever want to have a "pig" trailer behind me that was more than about 75% to 80% of the GVM of the vehicle. The chances of getting into a "tail wagging the dog" situation are just too great.

As for the choice of caravan, as others have stated, it will depend on your intended style of use. You'd get an extremely comfortable ON-ROAD style 18' caravan that wouldn't weigh 3,500kg. If you do want a full OFF-ROAD van, then it largely comes down to budget.

Most people will steer you in the direction of THEIR own choice of caravan, because they (in 99% of cases) are happy with their choice and therefore think you would be happy too. The reality is that YOU need to be happy with the inclusions and set-up inside the van. Everybody's different.

I'd suggest you find something that has an ATM of no more than 80% of the BTC of the vehicle you intend to tow with and then set-out to look for a van that suits YOUR individual needs.

All the best in your search.

Roachie

-- Edited by Roachie on Tuesday 13th of July 2021 09:11:12 AM

yobarr · Guru

Roachie wrote:
yobarr wrote:

Hi Stephen,and welcome to the forum.Whilst I do not profess to know anything about 18ft caravans,I do know a bit about weights etc.For free,I will advise that,among the more popular cars,there are only two that can safely and legally tow a 3500kg caravan.Some models of Nissan Patrol can do so,and there also is one Toyota model that can do so.But be warned,it is not the ubiquitous LC200.There is much deception and confusion involved in claimed towing capacities,and this can be a minefield for "newbies",but if you seek to tow only an 18' van,it probably is of no concern to you. SOME of the popular twin-cab utes can comfortably tow around 3100kg ATM,but that's it,whilst few of the cars that have been given a 3000kg ATM towing capacity of 3000kg can safely do so.Please feel free to ask any questions that you have,about weights etc,and we will be happy to help.Good luck! Cheers
I'm with you on this mate!
3,500kg is very heavy and I wouldn't dream of hauling my Bushtracker with anything less than my current vehicle (Chev 3500....5.17 tonne GVM...11.1 tonne GCM).
Yes, there are many vehicles that have a stated BTC (braked towing capacity) of 3,500kg. Most of them would be LIGHTER than such a trailer and I, personally, wouldn't ever want to have a "pig" trailer behind me that was more than about 75% to 80% of the GVM of the vehicle. The chances of getting into a "tail wagging the dog" situation are just too great.
As for the choice of caravan, as others have stated, it will depend on your intended style of use. You'd get an extremely comfortable ON-ROAD style 18' caravan that wouldn't weigh 3,500kg. If you do want a full OFF-ROAD van, then it largely comes down to budget.
Most people will steer you in the direction of THEIR own choice of caravan, because they (in 99% of cases) are happy with their choice and therefore think you would be happy too. The reality is that YOU need to be happy with the inclusions and set-up inside the van. Everybody's different.
I'd suggest you find something that has an ATM of no more than 80% of the BTC of the vehicle you intend to tow with and then set-out to look for a van that suits YOUR individual needs.
All the best in your search.
Roachie

-- Edited by Roachie on Tuesday 13th of July 2021 09:11:12 AM

Yay! Welcome to this forum,Bill.We meet again!As always,you write a lot of sense,with many truths contained in your post above.Since I joined this forum,over 3 years ago,I have been trying,with limited success,to help people to understand that ALWAYS the weight on the wheels of the car should be at least 10% greater than the weight on the wheels of the van.As usual,we will get members waffling on about such things as "I've used my little 6000kg GCM twin-cab ute to tow my 3500kg van over a million kms,no problem at all.Just gotta drive to the conditions mate". Such an "achievement" is indisputably more a result of good luck than it is of good management.There are a couple of members here,Montie being one,who DO know about weights,and it is great to have you join us! Again,welcome,and we look forward to your valuable contribution! Cheers

gdayjr · Senior Member

Jeliwan wrote:
Looking for advice on a good caravan with ensuite around 18ft and value for money and best vehicle for towing up to 3500kg

Read the above post again.

Although the person posting mentions a caravan of 18 ft, at no time does he say he wants to tow a caravan weighing 3500 KG, only that he wants a vehicle capable of towing 3500 KG.

Maybe the original poster can clarify why he needs that towing capacity ?

yobarr · Guru

gdayjr wrote:
Jeliwan wrote:
Looking for advice on a good caravan with ensuite around 18ft and value for money and best vehicle for towing up to 3500kg

Read the above post again.
Although the person posting mentions a caravan of 18 ft, at no time does he say he wants to tow a caravan weighing 3500 KG, only that he wants a vehicle capable of towing 3500 KG.
Maybe the original poster can clarify why he needs that towing capacity ?

Logic would perhaps suggest that if a person asks for advice about a car that is the "best vehicle for towing up to 3500kg",then that person is likely to have some intention of wanting to tow "up to 3500kg".In response,I simply offered advice on the only two cars among the popular tow vehicles that can safely do that.The rest of that post was an detailed explanation of why many others among the more popular tow vehicles cannot safely tow heavy weights, despite their rated towing capacity suggesting that they can. Then I suggested that if the OP has questions about weights,then we would be happy to help. What do you find confusing about that? Seems that some people have too much spare time? Cheers.

gdayjr · Senior Member

Wow, there really are some grumpy old men on this website !

Whenarewethere · Guru

Make sure you get everything done before retiring. When you retire you won't have time to do anything.

markf · Senior Member

Whenarewethere wrote:
Make sure you get everything done before retiring. When you retire you won't have time to do anything.

And aint that the truth. Buggered if I know how I ever found time to work. biggrin

Whenarewethere · Guru

markf wrote:
Whenarewethere wrote:
Make sure you get everything done before retiring. When you retire you won't have time to do anything.
And aint that the truth. Buggered if I know how I ever found time to work.

They were the exact words I was looking for!

Warren-Pat_01 · Guru

Hi again Jeliwan,
Somehow I used to spend around 10 + hrs a day related to work & like the others here wondered how we fitted it all in but our bodies change! Unlike the brain that thinks we're still in our 20s, the other parts tell us that it's time to start slowing down & it's good too, mostly.

Ensure you have a number of interests, hobbies that you can do both at home & on the road - they help keeping you "younger". If some of them might take you off the bitumen, make allowances there both for the car, van.

Our van weighs 2000kg which is a good weight for our car. Perhaps one day it would be nice to have something better but I'd be happy not to exceed 2,500kg - that would give me a leeway of about 500kg to the GVM of the car. I don't like the idea of the tail wagging the dog.
The weight issue is the main reason why we changed from the Patrol to the D-Max.

As I said before, ask lots of people lots of questions before you splash out, buying either new or second hand.