My wife and I have a 10 month old 22ft Roma which we had custom built. The problem we had was height in the rear due to the elevation of our driveway. This meant we needed the door in the front section. Extra clearance height was provided via the chassis. We had the van built to be capable of going off the tar. Not like the Gibb River Road but we have taken the Savannah Way between Borraloola to Karumba at the end of the season, when it was at it's worst, in our previous van. We wanted to build this one stronger. the problem with that is the increased weight which you don't notice until you look at the price at the bowser. We were determined to have what we wanted, club lounge at the front, then kitchen with full oven, fridge etc., single beds and a toilet and shower section across the rear being the furthest from the kitchen.
The storage is fantastic. Room under the club lounge for our fishing and golf gear, space on the A frame for 2 gas bottles, generator and my boat trailer. We have 2 x 100AH back up batteries for a bit of camping away from the parks.
To tow all this, we have a Nissan Pathfinder petrol model and auto. With 198KW under the bonnet, it has no trouble with the weight (2.6 tonne).
The only problem as I mentioned before is the fuel consumption. We would love to join a caravan club of some sort but there does not appear to be anything in the Illawarra where we live.We are looking forward to taking off for the North next month and hope to be away for about 2 months.
See you on the road.

Welcome to the forum Robert.

Hi Robert,

Welcome to the forum.

You said - "To tow all this, we have a Nissan Pathfinder petrol model and auto. With 198KW under the bonnet, it has no trouble with the weight (2.6 tonne)."

But then you complain about the fuel consumption. Unfortunately when it comes to towing ability we can't have it both ways. Power comes at a cost and the harder the engine works, the more fuel it uses.

I believe that fuel consumption is a good indication how hard an engine works. And constant hard work to cope with a heavy load also can affect reliability. Often larger capacity engines achieve better fuel consumption as they are not working as hard.

The 4 litre petrol engine is quite economical when solo but not when towing. That is why most opt for a diesel. The petrol engine produces its maximum torque at 4000rpm. This means that at lower revs the engine does not operate at its maximum efficiency, works harder than is desirable and uses more fuel. This is not to suggest that you run the engine at 4000rpm.

The diesel on the other hand produces its maximum torque of 403Nm at 2000rpm. This is much better for towing as you are more likely to see 2000rpm on the tacho than 4000.

Owners of other vehicles with larg capacity petrol engines, e.g. Prado and Pajero, often complain about the consumption when towing. If your vehicle has a trip computer that shows instant fuel economy you can vary the speed and the gear that is used to see what affect this may have on the consumption. Sometimes dropping down a gear or towing 5km/h slower can make a big difference.

Enjoy your caravanning.

Tom

Hi Robert,

welcome from me, too

Regarding clubs in the Illawarra, there are a couple that aren't too far away that you could try contacting to see if they are suitable:

[>] South Coast Campervan Club - St Georges Basin (near Jervis Bay). Contact M. Nicholson, Secretary, 102 Loralyn Avenue, St Georges Basin, NSW 2540.

[>] Shoalhaven Caravan Club - Contact Beryl Miller, 4448 5505

[>] South Coast Caravan Club of NSW - Nowra. Contact Graham Riding, 4262 0223

[>] Eurobodalla Coast Caravan Club - Bateman's Bay. Contact Ron Henry, 0428 100 467

Otherwise, the following links will take you to a list of Caravan Clubs all over Australia. Some of the contact details are a little dated, but you can usually get in touch with someone who can help.

http://www.australianexplorer.com/camping/caravan_clubs.htm
http://www.caravanning-oz.com/Caravan_Clubs.html

Cheers,
Sean
C&M; Forum Admin