The Trip

[mowog]

Day 1

Sunshine Coast to Miles.

Average fuel consumption 16.5l/100

The van towed well. Some of the roads are pretty average.

[Disco4SE]

Hi Mowog, do you have the 2.7 or 3.0Lt & how heavy is your van

[mowog]

I fell of the end of the (electronic) world.

Canarvan Gorge is an awesome place. I will have some photos up soon.

I have 3.0L D4 the van is around 2300kg

The current fuel average is 15.9.

Towing with the D4 is just a dream on some roads you for get the van is even attached. The whole rig seems to have a natural happy speed of around a 100k today I have been doing around 90k on the Canarvan to Emerald leg.

Tomorrow we are off to Longreach.

[Disco4SE]

Hi mowog, good to hear that the Disco is going well for you.
The economy is fairly good as well.
Looking forward to the pics
Cheers, Craig

[mowog]

The first online image from the trip.

The Moss Garden Falls.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/06/1003.jpg

[oldsalt]

Veeery nice pic.....keep 'em coming.:)

[GeorgeK]

Hi Mowog,

I'd be interested in knowing your fuel economy if you dropped your speed to between 85-90kph. Over the years I experimented with my Pajero/Coromal combo and learned that the fuel economy improved exponentially the more it was reduced. The most economical for me was around 85kph.

Before people hook in to me yes I know it can be annoying for some drivers behind me but I was very careful to pull over and allow cars to overtake whenever there was a queue of 3 or more behind me.

By my calculations I would have anticipated a return of about 13-14lit/100km. Clearly if there are other factors e.g. headwind this figure would increase.

Cheers

George

[mowog]

We have just completed just over 4000klm of road trip with the caravan attached.

Let’s start with the performance of the tow vehicle. I have read the reviews about how good the Discovery 4 is as a car and tow vehicle. Nothing in any review can actually match the reality of how bloody good it is. The power available for towing is more than enough. A fine example of how good it was is the climb into the range north of Monto. I had some cars behind me before the climb, I saw them in the mirror desperately trying to catch me before the range. When the climb into the range actually started they couldn’t keep up the D4 and the van pulled away from the cars with no effort at all. It wasn’t until the downhill run that the cars caught up.

The roads…

What an amazing variation in road conditions we covered. Great wide and smooth highways to narrow dirt tracks. Some of the dirt tracks were actually better to drive on than the sealed roads. Here is another surprise I would much prefer to be on those narrow dirt roads with Road Trains than on good sealed highways with fools in cars. The Road Train drivers are professional and talented drivers. When I got back onto the East coast roads all the bad drivers came out to play. On the dual highway into the Sunshine coast I came across the be in front of the caravan at any cost drivers. These fools would pass me and slow down in front me. I had one numbnut in Toyota Camry do this to me 5 times. I had my cruise control set at 110 so my speed was constant. His 4 cylinder Camry couldn’t hold speed on the uphill sections of this road.

The most trouble…

Other Caravans!!! Seriously people some of you caravan’ers need to be shot. The number of single axle vans being towed by capable cars at 70-80k’s was amazing. Also the number of people towing vans with no UHF CB. The stupid prize goes to the fool towing a single axle pop-top with a late model Commodore at 60-70k on a with straight good quality 110k road. Here is a hint in Road Train areas if you travel at around 90-95k you will not have them sitting on your butt or overtaking you.

The actual trip…

Canarvon Gorge
What an awesome spot. Fantastic bush walks (exhausting) a place worth visiting again.

Longreach/Winton
The Stockman’s hall of fame how very dull and over rated that place is. The same can be said for the Waltzing Matilda Centre. I enjoyed the Qantas Centre at Longreach.

Roads of note…

Miles to Canarvon Gorge. Mostly a good road with some narrow sections undergoing road works.

Kennedy Development road Winton to Hughenden.
Sealed all the way but narrow and bumpy.

Gregory Developmental Road

What gem this road is. Sealed and unsealed wide and narrow a real adventure. A UHF CB is a must have for this road. There are regular call points along the road so that you get warning of Road Trains.

Undara Lava Tubes…

You must put this one on a must do list. The Lava Tube Tours are cheaper from the Bedrock Caravan park in Mount Surprise. Diesel was $1.67 at Undara and $1.37 at Mount Surprise.

[mowog]

Hi Mowog,

By my calculations I would have anticipated a return of about 13-14lit/100km. Clearly if there are other factors e.g. headwind this figure would increase.

George

I ended with an average of 16.5L/100

With the speed around 90-95k I was getting 15.5L/100.

On the run home I was running at 100-110k which was no effort for the D4. On some roads I had to back off because of the road surface.

[Watpub]

Thanks for the trip report Mowog - it sounds fantastic.

But 110k hauling a twin-axle?? You're the man!

Did you happen to stop at the Blue Heeler caravan park/pub (on the Matilda Highway at Kynuna)? We stopped there and when I enquired about the cost of a site they said $20 per night, but if I had a meal at the pub it was free. I asked how much the meals were and they said $16 (go figure!). We both had a meal (paying $16 each for the best Stroganoff I've had for years). I then thought I heard juke box music coming from the other room - when I went in there was a live country band! We stayed there till stumps - it was the cheapest accommodation/feed/entertainment I've ever had!

Boy, after reading your report I'm itching to starting hitching (the van, that is)...

Regards, Ron

[GeorgeK]

Wow Mowog,

That is an awesome pic. Well done. I'd like to know what camera kit, exposure and speed you used. I'd be really upset if you said you used a 'point and shoot'!

Since my previous post I read somewhere that the fuel economy of the D4 actually improves with time and distance on the vehicle. I'm not sure why but the more the vehicle is driven the better the fuel economy! I'd like to know what the optimum distance is?

Your fuel figures sound good to me. Yep 15.5lt for the D4 would be heaps better than an LC. I'd epect the LC to be somewhere in the 19 - 21lt/100kms or even more.

I agree with Ron. Kynuna is a blast when we stayed there. Did you visit Magoffin's Display and show? It is/was across the road from the pub. He had the 'real' manuscript of 'Waltzing Matilda' on display. He was quite a showman but that was a few years ago and I wonder if he is still alive. He was getting on in years and his health was failing. We stayed at the small caravan park off to the side of the pub not realising it was a truck stop at night. Those semi trailer air brakes sure rattled the van during the night. Luckily we had a sense of humour;)

I agree with your comments about The Stockmans Hall of fame and the Waltzing Matilda Centre (WMC). The WMC was especially a let down after Magoffins exhibition and show.

Mowog show me some more pics or at least show a link to a site where the pics are. The pic looked great. Slow shutter speeds and waterfalls are an ideal combo.

Cheers

George

[mowog]

Thanks for the trip report Mowog - it sounds fantastic.

But 110k hauling a twin-axle?? You're the man!

Regards, Ron

It will do better than 110k with ease. I had a need to overtake a Road Train and other "SLOW" BL#@DY caravans.

The last time the van went on a big trip was with my Territory and I thought it did ok but that was only because I didn't know any better.

[mowog]

GeorgeK

Below is the Exif Data for the shot. Yes I have a little point and shot camera called a Canon EOS 50D ;)

This link is one of the better ones to view some of my other shots. Fluidr / mowog's photos and videos (http://www.fluidr.com/photos/mowog)


Exif data

Camera Canon EOS 50D
Exposure 1
Aperture f/11.0
Focal Length 10 mm
ISO Speed 100

[Watpub]

Wow Mowog,

Your fuel figures sound good to me. Yep 15.5lt for the D4 would be heaps better than an LC. I'd epect the LC to be somewhere in the 19 - 21lt/100kms or even more.

George

George,

I record my fuel figures with religious zeal (my son calls it something akin to the rear end of my anatomy) and categorise my usage into City, Country and Caravan (the 3 C's). "Caravan" is actually a bit of a misnomer because I lump all of my towing under this category.

I've just gone back and checked my old Cruiser spreadsheet and it shows an average of 16.88l/100k over the five year period I owned her. The highest I recorded was 20.8 at Dubbo in July 2006 - must have been a head wind! She was a 100 Series 4.2TD and kitted out with some pretty heavy gear fore and aft. I expect the LC to be a bit heavier on the juice.

Crikeys, the scarry bit is going back 5 years and seeing how much Diesel cost in them there olden days - $1.039 (city price) a litre on 30/4/2004! :eek:

I'm actually towing a trailer laden with some pretty heavy stuff up the bush on the weekend and I'm keen to see what kind of consumption I get from the D4.

Regards, Ron