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Thanks mate, we loved it on the hybrid.

Correct on both counts - you do end up paying >20% more for fuel though, and whatever water you can get tends to be quite hard (causes scaling) so we opted to stock up before we hit the crossing.

Absolutely and everyone loving it makes it that much better. I’ve since replaced the plakkies so much more sure-footed 😂

Thanks for watching 👍🏻 yes it’s Dusty Bronze (very dusty at the moment).

Thanks for watching, we love having the pups along for the ride!

I just recently had my cruiser serviced in Adelaide and had a good discussion with the service team on this point. At the moment I'm just dropping in the 0W-20 oil per the dealer advice. My personal view (unsupported by statistics), is the gearbox oil is of greater concern than the engine oil and will likely go the route of a gearbox oil cooler once it's out of warranty.

Yeah that was me 😂 had a good bit of practice with the van on sand now, but could always happen again. All part of the fun 👍🏻

Thanks mate, we thought so too. Next one is in the works 👍🏻

Thanks for watching! I am indeed South African, been in Australia for 9 years now and have probably picked up some little accent changes during that time 😁

yeah a long term review would be nice, any issues ect

We’ve since moved onto a full sized Jayco, but did have the Austrack for nearly 18 months and can report we were very happy with it outside of a few initial teething issues. Will do a rundown and share to the channel in the near future.

The Austrack was fantastic, but with our second little one on the way and some bigger, longer trips on the horizon, we decided to upgrade to the bigger van. Being able to live comfortably regardless of weather and all but zero setup time was a big draw card.

Thanks! The funny part is I don’t actually mind getting bogged, it’s all part of getting to know the rig and getting to know its unique points. I did try the TC at the Dilli Village entry but I can’t say it made a noticeable difference. The cruiser GVM is the Old Man Emu 3.9t upgrade. I’m super happy with it so far.

Drivers side rear wheel was in a hole and spinning

@@snakeo99 there's an argument for leaving traction control on then.

Correct the surround is removable and will hold anything you’re likely to get up there, certainly chairs. Drifta also makes a removable insert if you need a flat deck once the fridge is out.

We’ve upped the kit to 8 tracks since this trip and use the tethers every time without exception 👍🏻

Momentum!! 🎉

Yeah, that was my expensive lesson for this trip. We don’t use the maxtrax without them anymore. You should see them attached to the tracks when we attempt the Dilli Village entry.

That makes total sense. I’m ashamed to admit the manual is probably my last reference point for these things 😂

We stayed at: Eli Fenced Camping Area (Zone 4) although there are some great spots in the unfenced area that would suit a van. Cathedrals On Fraser - great spot with a pretty easy entry. The tracks inside the grounds are quite tight but doable with the big van. All the amenities of a caravan park and has fire pits. Dilli Village - really great little grassed campsite. Doesn’t have ocean views but a great spot if your timing is tight onto or off the ferry. I’d ring ahead if you’re taking a van and the caretakers will happily help out with the entry track. Also has a few communal fire pits.

Thanks mate, appreciate the kind words. We do try to share the real experience.

Hey Mike! Thanks for the helping hand and great to meet you too! Think I’ll need to start packing a Prado as part of my recovery gear 😂

Can you share details of that tyre deflator tool you used?

Enjoyable video and thanks for sharing the good and not so good parts of your trip. As one who has never driven on sand, what do you think you could’ve done differently to prevent bogging? Lower pressures?

@@donr62 Since we've got 8 wheels to deflate I actually use two types; a Carbon Offload Digital Speedy Tyre Deflator (shown in the video) and a set of Tuff Terrain Quick Connect Deflators. I hook up the quick connects to the caravan (15psi for this trip) and deflate the car manually (8psi - 15psi for this trip).

@@donr62 in some of the areas like the entry to Dilli Village, trying to get 6+ tons through that entry without getting stuck is almost inevitable (the caretakers actually recommend calling ahead if you're towing so they can recover you). Our tyre pressures were 8psi - 15psi for the full trip so wouldn't say we could go much lower. Inskip and the barge exit would be our fault. We got caught up on the mainland with the kids and decided to risk the crossing just before high tide (which I do not recommend). Inskip I tried to veer off the well trodden track and got bogged immediately and the barge exit dropped us onto the soft sand rather than the compacted area below the tide line. The campsite was unfortunately a combination of the turning circle and weight of the caravan. With the combined towing weight the only solution for us was correct momentum and tyre pressures, and see how far you get and recover from there. Extra Maxtrax also help (just don't lose them).

Thanks man! Guess I’ll need to do some Toyota merch shopping 😃

I know some owners have had an issue with the air filter getting wet in heavy rain. Hasn't been an issue for us so far, and will be swapping it out for the Safari Armax shortly.

Bought it off a guy that sells them on the Austrack Owners Facebook group. If you do a search for the word 'camlock' on the group you should find him.

@@ImpalaOverland Thankyou

They’re 18 inch King Wheel Daytona Euro rims.

Hey mate, had to take a little unplanned hiatus but more content coming soon.

That would be the rooftop tent ladder, I keep it in the back of the car in the gap next to the fridge. It's surprisingly handy to have it when setting up the camper.

It's Dusty Bronze, best colour for the 300 in my opinion. I may be biased though 😁

@@ImpalaOverland it looks good with the black wheels

We went with a standard eBay purchase for ours and there's ample info online about how they work and troubleshooting any little issues you might encounter. If you are worried though, and happy to pay the premium, go for the Eberspacher unit that the chinese models all copy. I'd also recommend going smaller than you think - recently installed a 2kW unit in our new 22ft caravan and it's more than ample. Good luck in your search 👍

Good question - yes I dropped tyres on car and van but it didn't make a marked difference. I didn't record it sadly, but we even tried snatching from the road with a Prado but the rig wouldn't budge. I was genuinely shocked at how instantly the whole lot just sunk in and stayed there.

They're Gotya Covered seat covers made in WA. Theyve done about 20,000km so far and still look like new.

This is a GX (base model) - we chose this one as it has the highest payload, no carpets (vinyl floor) and no third row seats. Cost was also a driver since we can pour more funds into modifications.

In my opinion, it's a great van if you accept it for what it is. They're actually pretty hardy, but you pay the weight penalty (this 15ft hybrid weighs almost the same as a full size 19ft caravan). The reality of this price point is you'll probably get a good van, but it will be 95% acceptable and the last 5% will be sorted through warranty or DIY fixes. On my van in particular (not saying this is the case for all hybrids) it needed a basic service on day 1, various minor electric tidy ups and the wheel alignment was laughable. So, if you're happy with some minor tidying up you'll likely be very happy with one, alternatively you may actually be better off buying a used van where these minor fixes have already been done.

At first use we were getting some water seeping through, but after applying a light bead of body sealer along the join between the awning cover and the aluminium backing we managed to eliminate that. We found the trick now is to fully open the cover and flip it back toward the van too so it acts like a cover for that gap.