Hi,

After much delay, we are off on our first trip tomorrow. Estury Hideaway in Mandurah is the spot. The owners are friends of the family so it should be a good visit.

Van is all packed, seems bare still which is a good thing I guess. Car is empty which is even better too!

Still have a feeling we have forgot something.

Still havent managed to get a jack so I am a little concerned about getting a flat. The axle height is 300mm, most of the bottle jacks will fit under that fine, the issue is the tallest I could find only went to 395mm and I doubt that will be enough when you consider the tire will expand out when the weight is off it and the jack could also sink into the ground a little. So we are stuck there, I think I am going to have to fork out the big bucks and get a trail-a-mate.....

Also have a little side detour planned on the way, a date with the bush and a film crew...I will keep you guessing on that one until its all ready

Wish us luck..

safe and happy travelling - have you thought of a block of wood for more height and will also prevent thejack sinking into soft earth - any chance of joining a few of us forumites at Dwellingup next weekend?

Hi mayswa,

I did think of a block of wood, but also discounted it from a safety point of view.

Looked at Dwellingup but my daughter is going into hospital next week, one of the reasons for the trip was to have a relax before, so more than likely we will miss out this time but very keen if there is another.

Cheers

Mark,

I remember my first trip, apprehension and excitement all rolled into one.

Looking back it was a real learning experience, lots of laughs though.

Still learning and laughing

Hope you have a safe and fun trip.

Regards

Mark
Take your time, talk to fellow campers, pick up tips and be safe.

Enjoy yourself.


Cheers

Have a great trip and travel safe. If this is your first time take it easy.
Sid

Back from our first trip and so loved it, ready to head off again. Kids had a great time too.

Plenty to see and do, lots of time at the beach, crabbing, fishing, talking, eating and drinking. The pool got a good work out also.

Van towed like a dream, sat on about 95km most of the way, fuel economy in the captiva was about 10.7l/100.

Thought we were in for a rough trip, before we went I was checking all the lights and the rear indicator was a no go, called past an auto electrician on the way, gee he was dodgy (never going back), couldnt find the issue so I decided to go anyways and use hand signals. Pulled in the park on the way and it started working again.

We now have a list of things we need to get, like better fold out chairs, and a few little things.

Nothing went wrong, no damage.

Glad you had a great trip..looks like a nice spot....Just had to query your fuel consumption figures,,Towing your van at 95 and achieving 10.7 litres per 100 kms. is phenomenal. Are you sure you did your calculations correctly?,,,,At that sort of rate you should get about 6 litres per 100 without the van on the back. We know some folk with a late model outfit like yours and they get about 12.5 LPH sitting on 90KPH.
One of my sons is on the market for a mid-sized 4WD so if your figures are correct I reckon he'd be very interested in buying a Captiva.
Anyone else getting these sort of figures?
Jock

Hi Jock,

The figures were from the on board computer, and so far all the other calculations it does are correct so I have no reason to doubt it. It's always accurate with Distance to Empty, Speed etc.

We will be out again in the next month so I will take my Garmin GPS and do some manual figures and see what it comes back at.

The Captiva is a Diesel which does help.

Cheers
Mark