We are from Melbourne and are about to realise a long held dream of hitting the road and joining the Grey Nomad tribe. Yesterday we put a deposit on a beautiful new Adria Adora caravan - one which we have been going back to have a look at over about 18 months! We don't move that quickly!! We intend taking off in about 9-10 months once our youngest has finished uni and flown the coop. For starters we have a few questions for the more experienced vanners.
Any feedback from other Adria owners or others that have come across this make. The few references I have seen have been positive.
As the van is very light - 1280 kg - we were thinking of buying a Ford or Pajero as our present Toyota Aurion does not seem suitable. Any thoughts on this? Given that we do not intend off-roading, I am not so sure that we do need a 4X4.
Should we have the vehicle changed to LPG and what is the availability in outback Aus for LPG. I feel that a duel fuel system as backup would be better.
Does anyone think that diesel is the best option? Given the price of fuel these days, this is a real concern.
Your replies are much appreciated and I am sure you will be seeing many more questions from us in the future.
Thanks, Minnette
speedy sue said
10:35 PM Apr 27, 2008
Hi Minnette, It's great that you are planning to hit the road soon - I'm sure you'll love it. Although we don't have an Adria Adora caravan, it does sound pretty light. I'm sure you'll save a lot on fuel just taking the weight into account. On your question about LPG in the Outback, I guess it depends on how remote you are planning to go. We have a diesel 4WD and found that diesel is always available in the bush (and from petrol stations on 4WD tracks) but I'm not sure that LPG is. My husband always says that diesel engines last longer and are generally more fuel efficient than petrol engines - but I guess everyone has a different point of view about that.
-- Edited by speedy sue at 23:36, 2008-04-27
MikeMin said
10:57 PM Apr 27, 2008
Thanks Sue,
I think that the cost of fuel is a real issue. We will be looking at diesel options too. We have at least 9 months before our youngest graduates to make a decision, but I am the sort of person who likes to have all the information I can get well beforehand!
Peter_n_Margaret said
08:00 AM Apr 28, 2008
MikeMin, you are after an engine for hard, continuous work over many ks, like a semi.
How many semis run on petrol or gas?
Answer, NONE, they are all diesel.
There must be a pretty good reason for that.............
Cheers,
Peter.
Gary and Kerry said
06:17 PM May 13, 2008
Hi, we have a Adria 642Up and love it,towed with a Hyundai Terracan 2.9L diesel.
we are about 4 months (depending how quickly the house sells) from setting out on the big one,can't wait.
Gary & Kerry
Heidi said
04:55 PM Jun 14, 2008
Hi, We have an Adria 642UP and Hyundai Terracan diesel 2.9l also. We have had a few short trips and found vehicle tows very well, we love our caravan. We average just under 14l/100km.
The van control is superb, including an emergency situation where we had to avoid a kangaroo by sudden braking and swerving.
The caravan tends to bounce a little up and down on undulating roads occasionally, and we have recently fitted air bags to the rear and upgraded the shocks to combat this, even though we've had the Trek n Tow fitted to the vehicle. It may just be the vehicle. We have yet to try out the bags. The chassis rails can be a little bit low in some situations, but overall it is a very comfortable, roomy, easy tow van.
Gary and Kerry said
05:31 PM Jun 16, 2008
Hi Heidi,
We have found that the "terry" pulls the van easily and the bounce on undulating roads. we also have the tow & trek fitted,can you let me know how the bags work.
Happy travelling
G
Heidi said
06:29 PM Jun 17, 2008
Hi, Unfortunately, We can't get away again until September so will let you know how it goes.. We heard of a Pajero, different van, having the same problem and air bags fixed the 'sea sickness'.
Gary and Kerry said
03:54 PM Jun 18, 2008
No problems, we aren't heading off unti Jan15
Heidi said
04:48 PM Dec 11, 2008
The Airbags and the tougher shocks reduce the undulating bounce considerably. The original trek and tow were nearly due for a replacement anyway even though Hyundai said they were fine. We are happy with the results and have pumped the bags a little more than halfway. We have solved the occasional low chassis scrape by purchasing an extended tow tongue (from opposite lock), placing it reverse and using it when needed over the obstacles, then replacing it back with the normal tongue afterwards - a bit fiddly but it is only a 5 minute job and a lot easier. Good luck on your trip, we are very envious.
Basil Faulty said
05:37 PM Dec 11, 2008
In another thread there is considerable discussion re the Diesel V Petrol debate. Once again the facts... it's the engine torque that pulls your van and the Kilowatts that get you away first at the lights therefore the diesel option is preferable. Forget gas for towing, yes you can tow with it but due to the poor energy density of gas you will use much more than you would like thus negating any cost saving....
- Any feedback from other Adria owners or others that have come across this make. The few references I have seen have been positive.
- As the van is very light - 1280 kg - we were thinking of buying a Ford or Pajero as our present Toyota Aurion does not seem suitable. Any thoughts on this? Given that we do not intend off-roading, I am not so sure that we do need a 4X4.
- Should we have the vehicle changed to LPG and what is the availability in outback Aus for LPG. I feel that a duel fuel system as backup would be better.
- Does anyone think that diesel is the best option? Given the price of fuel these days, this is a real concern.
Your replies are much appreciated and I am sure you will be seeing many more questions from us in the future.Thanks,
Minnette
It's great that you are planning to hit the road soon - I'm sure you'll love it. Although we don't have an Adria Adora caravan, it does sound pretty light. I'm sure you'll save a lot on fuel just taking the weight into account.
On your question about LPG in the Outback, I guess it depends on how remote you are planning to go. We have a diesel 4WD and found that diesel is always available in the bush (and from petrol stations on 4WD tracks) but I'm not sure that LPG is. My husband always says that diesel engines last longer and are generally more fuel efficient than petrol engines - but I guess everyone has a different point of view about that.
-- Edited by speedy sue at 23:36, 2008-04-27
we have a Adria 642Up and love it,towed with a Hyundai Terracan 2.9L diesel.
we are about 4 months (depending how quickly the house sells) from setting out on the big one,can't wait.
Gary & Kerry
The van control is superb, including an emergency situation where we had to avoid a kangaroo by sudden braking and swerving.
The caravan tends to bounce a little up and down on undulating roads occasionally, and we have recently fitted air bags to the rear and upgraded the shocks to combat this, even though we've had the Trek n Tow fitted to the vehicle. It may just be the vehicle. We have yet to try out the bags. The chassis rails can be a little bit low in some situations, but overall it is a very comfortable, roomy, easy tow van.
We have found that the "terry" pulls the van easily and the bounce on undulating roads. we also have the tow & trek fitted,can you let me know how the bags work.
Happy travelling
G