Back at home

bill12 · Guru

Back at home

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Good to hear you are back safe Bill. I will make contact when I am in Townsville, Arrive 19th April and stay a while this time.

bill12 · Guru

No worries, mate . Give me a call. Bill

GaryKelly · Guru

Eden to NQ is a bit of a hike, and glad the old Courier didn't skip a beat. I'm gonna have to get used to checking overhanging branches when I hit the road... and shop awnings I guess. My Freeway is a foot taller than yours, Bill. It has a full-width storage box underneath the camper. I'm thinking about getting training wheels hehe.

bill12 · Guru

Send me a photo- I thought mine looked like a block of flats. The Courier went great, and even better when I put some diesel injector cleaner thru it.Added about 10% more power, in my estimation. Am looking at Falcon Longrech auto on gas and petrol. Much lower tray, easier to load.Bill

GaryKelly · Guru

The camper's not on the tray yet, Bill... still waiting for the local engineering place to drill a few holes. I got him to make the angle-iron brackets. As to the height of the tray, your Courier is a later model. Mine's a '94 with a lower tray about the same as a Falcon's. My last ute was a Falcon tub tray, and a great car. I thought about getting a Falcon flat tray before the Courier came along and said "buy me". As soon as the Freeway's mounted, I'll post pics.

jetj · Guru

I had an old courier ute years ago and it was a fantastic vehicle but hard on the bum.

GaryKelly · Guru

Ah... so it's not just me, Jetj. I bought a seat cushion thingy that fits under the sheepskin cover. I think what I really need is a bigger bum.

bill12 · Guru

What model falcon ute did you have? I am looking at a longreach, auto, with lpg and petrol, for about $4000. I would be interested in the hieght of the tray. Also, fuel and gas economy. Thanks, Bill

jetj · Guru

The Courier I had, if you hit a bump, your head would hit the roof, The turning circle was so large you needed a 4 lane hightway to get around in one go.

It was reliable, would pull anything (a 22ft caravan) with a 2 litre motor, fuel consumption great but took half an hour to straighten my back after a drive.

GaryKelly · Guru

I had a '93 XG, Bill. I don't think Ford utes had tray backs then. The only Ford tray backs I've seen are 2000 and up. $4000 should get something decent. I've seen early 2000s for as low as $2000. They're powered by a 4 ltr EFI engine with plenty of power, coupled to a 4 speed auto. I've also seen them carrying slide-ons.

As to the Courier, Jetj, she's a bit bouncy without a load but I'm sure once the camper (800 kgs) is on the back it'll be a different story. Mine's also fitted with Ironman LoadPlus helper springs like Bill has. Recently I did the 2 hour round trip to Port Macquarie and back to Taree and didn't notice any bum or back problems. So far, so good.

GaryKelly · Guru

Cheap because there are lots of them - dime a dozen. I bought mine for $2000, spent about $700 fixing things for rego, and sold it recently for $2500. The Courier cost $2500 so it was an even swap. My Falcon was the twin headlight model, not a bad looker. Here are some pics.

-- Edited by GaryKelly on Monday 25th of February 2013 05:42:32 PM

bill12 · Guru

Like a lot of utes, they are much better with a load on the back, and mine , a 97 diesel 4wd model, rides well and with the loadplus helper springs ,is reasonably stable . I am looking at the well back type falcon as they have a low tray and double the power of the courier.65kw against 140 kw, for the falcon.I had a courier 2.6ltr petrol model, and it was heavy on fuel and lpg, much heavier than the diesel.The present courier diesel is ultra reliable, but a bit underpowered with the 720kg camper on the back.Still , 7 or 8 klms to the ltr isn,t bad loaded. Bill

GaryKelly · Guru

That's right... I forgot yours is a tub tray camper, Bill. Mine was the same but a previous owner added two side storage boxes and another full width underneath, so I need the flat tray. I never measured the Falcon's mpg but it seemed reasonable. It was a lot more comfortable than the Courier, with air con, power everything, central locking, etc, and very nice to drive.

bill12 · Guru

I am keeping my eyes open, and after Easter, I will probably buy one. Need to accumulate some more money. Why are they so cheap, the falcons, I mean?

bill12 · Guru

Yes , that is similar to the one Iam looking at. Its a 99 longreach , lpg and petrol, tbar auto. I am still looking for some fuel figures, but I suppose they will come.Seem to be a good model Thanks, Bill

Cruising Cruze · Guru

@ Bill
Like a lot of utes, they are much better with a load on the back, and mine , a 97 diesel 4wd model, rides well and with the loadplus helper springs ,is reasonably stable . I am looking at the well back type falcon as they have a low tray and double the power of the courier.65kw against 140 kw, for the falcon.I had a courier 2.6ltr petrol model, and it was heavy on fuel and lpg, much heavier than the diesel.The present courier diesel is ultra reliable, but a bit underpowered with the 720kg camper on the back.Still , 7 or 8 klms to the ltr isn,t bad loaded. Bill

you wont get that kind of consumption with the Falcon ute what you want

regards John

bill12 · Guru

What fuel figures do you think the falcon will get with the camper on the back,?. I used to get 4 klms/p ltr on gas and 6 to 7 from the gas / petrol courier I had, loaded.Tell mre your views. Thanks , Bill