Yes, the van to take me around Australia has been found. Due to good fortune, the help of my friend Eck, the vehicle has been found in Brisbane. Last Wednesday, Eck and I flew to Brisbane, rented a car for the day and drove to Slacks Creek, a suburb south of Brisbane CBD where we checked out a number of campers at "Motorhome Conversions Company". This outfit imports used vehicles directly from Japan and converts them to Campers. Their preferred brands are Toyota Hiace Vans and also some large Hino buses which they re-build into large Motorhomes, definitely way too big for my purposes and requirements.
I decided on a Toyota Hiace 1996 Model with 3L Turbo-Diesel and constant 4-wheel drive. The fitout had not yet been completed and needed still the installation of a fridge, a sink and 50L watertank. The layout I decided on has two beds that also convert to a double-bed if needed and all converts into 2 large benches for seating during the day with a removable table between them.
The cooking facility is a two-burner stove that runs on Metho instead of propane, the whole cooking setup rotates in the doorway so cooking can be done outside under the roll-up awning without having to stink-up the whole vehicle. Naturally it is equipped with a pop-top so it is easy to get around inside.
The car had done 105,000 km which is next to nothing on a Diesel Engine. Toyota was at the top of my list of preferences as they are well known for their reliability. This particular Hiace configuration has never been sold by Toyota in Australia and so, not very many of this version are in this country at this stage. The engine had a look of having been well looked after. Unfortunately I was not able to drive this particular Vehicle as it was parked right at the back of the Hangar and it was too difficult to move while we were there. Instead I drove another van from the yard that had the same engine - I was very impressed with the power and the handling, the 4-wheel-dive system obviously played a part in this. There were 5 Hiace 4-wheel-drive Hiaces on display, all at various stages of re-build and one ready-to-go that was rear-wheel-drive.
In about 10 days the vehicle should be ready for pickup when I will fly to Brisbane once more and drive back from there to Sydney.
3 comments:
hey daddy,
das find ich ja suuuuper!! dann siehst du endlich auchmal was von deinem heimatland!! :o)
guten start erstmal ins neue jahr und viel spass bei den vorbereitungen für deine grosse reise!
pilli
Hallo Peter,
Frank und ich sind wieder gut in Deutschland angekommen und kämpfen noch ganz ordentlich mit dem Jetlag.
Die Camperbeschreibung klingt ja richtig gut. Der Wagen scheint deutlich besser ausgestattet und geräumiger zu sein als unser Britz Camper (der uns aber gut über die Runden gebracht hat).
Viele Grüße nach Sydney (auch an Serene)
Bogard
Danke Bogard,
yo, 3 Liter Turbo Diesel, das ist jede Menge power. Ich glaube, ich hab gut ausgesucht. So ganz eingewoehnt habt ihr euch wohl noch nicht - ist aber auch nicht erstaunlich. Eben doch ne ganz andere Welt down-under, oder.
Gruss an Frank-the-man.
Peter
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