Grahos, the Everest is essentially a Ranger with a SUV body, plus a whole lot of extra frills. We are loving it, even without having towed yet! We are hoping to have our first trip away this weekend, but the weather here in FNQ has turned a bit iffy. Not that that will dampen our enthusiasm, but I don't relish fumbling around in the pouring rain! And I'm sure there will be a lot of fumbling, lol!!!
Hi Almar we are also Cairns people and have enjoyed this forum and learnt much from it over the years. Looking for a quick trip we went up to Chillagoe for3 nights then stayed at Malanda Falls caravan park last week. Both interesting and enjoyable places. Wishing you safe and happy journeys. Cheers Chappy
Great looking outfit, at present we have a ford Territory diesel RWD and love it. Will be updating mid 2017 and was thinking of the Everest. Would appreciate updates on experience using it over the next few montgs. Cheers
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Our Rig
VAN December 2019 Goldstar 21ft
TUG 2017 Ford Ranger Wildtrak
Life Was Ment To Be Easy If You Have The Ability To Adapt
We have had the rig for several months now, and have done numerous short local trips for 2, 3, or 4 nights at a time, mostly up to the Atherton tablelands region.
Not done any free camping yet.
Firstly, the van tows like a dream! Rock-steady at up to 90/95km/hr on the highway, even without stabiliser bars. The Ford Everest Trend does have active sway control, but I don't think it has kicked in yet. I also invested in a rear view camera system. Highly recommended!
The Everest itself is a superb towing vehicle. I am averaging about 9.5L/100k unhitched, and around 13L/100k towing.
We live just south of Cairns city, and have done numerous trips to the Atherton tablelands via the Gillies range road. If anyone knows this road, it is about 25 minutes worth of hairy tight twists and turns and climbing from just above sea level to up around 900metres. The car and van perform seemingly effortlessly.
On our very first trip, I got a warning light saying the Adblue system was low. This, as it turns out, is a common fault which Ford have now addressed with a firmware update, which they applied at the 1st service.
But then, at just 7,500 kms, the warning light came on again. Ford service had advised me the Adblue tank holds 18 litres and should last 12-18,000 kms. Strange, I thought. Anyway, I bought a 10L drum from Supercheap, $34, and poured it in. Warning light did not go out. I took it in to Ford service centre who advised me to fill it to the brim. I did this at the servo as I found out they had an Adblue bowser, at just $1.07/L. Still the warning light remained on. Back to Ford and they said it must be a sticky sensor, and to book it in to be replaced. This was just before Christmas, so I decided to wait until the New Year. Several days later, the warning light went out all by itself! Hmmm, I guess the sensor will still need replacing at some point. If it has stuck once, it is liable to stick again.
Anyway, this raises the point of high Adblue consumption. Two thoughts come to mind. Either the tank was not full when I picked the car up new, or towing sucks more Adblue. A little from column A, a little from column B perhaps?
Other than that, the Everest is a beaut! Highly recommended!
The wet season seems to have started up here, so we might not get out so much for the next couple of months. Looking forward to when we do though. We might venture a bit further afield this year!
Apparently AddBlue wont keep in storage once the container is open (air contamination) I'm no expert just what I'm reading
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Should I keep some extra AdBlue in my boot?
While at first it might seem sensible to keep a few extra litres of AdBlue in the boot, this isnt something we recommend, as any spills or leaks are likely to damage your cars interior. Do also note that you cant keep a half-empty container of AdBlue in your garage if you have some left over after topping up, as airborne contaminants can affect the chemical composition of AdBlue.
-- Edited by jade46 on Friday 13th of January 2017 09:14:33 PM
