$30K, 6 months Brisbane to Perth

[inside]

Hi All.

I'm new to this site (you seem like a friendly bunch) and new to 4wds generally. The plan is for my wife and I with a budget of $30K to drive to Perth from Brisbane in an anti clockwise direction with a $30K budget.

Easy you may think but we have no 4wd, no 4wd experience and no camping gear but are prepared to get whatever work we can along the way to help with finances. We are not interested in direct routes and want to see as much as we possibly can.

I have a rough financial plan as below:[list]
Buy used mid 90's Tdi Defender for ~ $15K
Buy used 4wd camper trailer for ~ $6K
Spend $4K on preparation (fridge, radio, spares, getting Defender ready etc)
[list]
The above will leave a little left over to get us on our way. The plan is to leave in April 2006 work for about 2 months on our way up the QLD coast then spend a lazy 4 months over winter heading west to Perth through the Pilbura and Kimberly.
The questions I have is do you think the above is realistic or is there some major expense I am forgetting? The gut feeling is I'm cutting it tight. Is a $15K Defender going to be up to the task of a trip like that or will it require significant investment to be reliable? I don't plan on pushing the car to its 4wd limits but is the Defender the right choice for a tight budget?

I took a 1995 Tdi 130 twin cab Defender for a drive the other day and it was loud, slow and a bit cluncky. I am a car enthusiast though and love European cars with a general dislike for Japanese cars. There is something about the Defender that attracts me but I'm not sure what. Having owned many a Alfa Romeo I can relate to the enjoyment a car with character can bring. Unfortunately I can also relate the pain that can be associated with it.

[LandyAndy]

Hi Inside
WELOME 8) 8) 8) ,yes we are a friendly bunch.
Have a look at a diesel Disco of the same vintage,MUCH more car like,almost as good offroad,not as big but you will have storage in your camper trailer.
I have recently upgraded from being a Series Landy driver to a TD5 Ser2 Disco,they are a very comfortable economical vehicle,and go quite well offroad.
Im sure you will get plenty of good help here.
Andrew

[DEFENDERZOOK]

<span style="color:blue">one of your biggest expenses will be fuel.....

do your maths at 10-12 litres per hundred kilometers....
and dont use city fuel prices....im not sure what its up to at the moment...
but its always higher than city prices....


and welcome to the aulro site.....</span>

[Reads90]

Hi welcome to the group
I am the freindly pom on the site style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif
and at the moment in the uk. But my truck is on it way to aus.
I have looked into this and we have the truck, and bits and are going to drive around aus for the next six months , and wondered ourselves if $30,000 was enough for that. I would say you are going to do it very tight though , and pick the truck carefully. But would go for the disco option. Also to save you money have you though of a roof tent and not a trailer.
If there is just two of you . There is plenty of room in the disco for all your crap.
But also with a trailer you have another set of tyres, bearings and other stuff to worry about.

just a few things for you to think about

[p38arover]

It took me 4 days from Carnarvon to Sydney in my Hillman. And it didn't cost $30K. The car cost $2700.

Ron

[JamesH]

My first reaction is that the trailer is not necessary. If it is just the two of you. You will need that money in a fund for unforeseen maintenance issues (the kind you get whatever marque you choose)

There is plenty of room in a Defender or a Disco for two people. I trravelled with two in my Deffy and did not need a roof rack. Did not even bother to pull the back seats out.

This year I drove from Perth to Broome and back via the Pilbara and Cape Leveque. Did aprox 7500km, fuel costs were $1044. Record price was $1.59 a litre. At that stage fuel in Perth was $1.25. Looks like my fuel costs for a Tdi Defender were $1.25 per km. I will check my records at home to count up the actual Kms I actually did but the amount spent on fuel is exact.

Advice given here about using a Disco is worth taking seriously when they talk about better value for a Disco than a Defender (I agree btw). The Disco will do everything you want in more comfort without a doubt. Without contradicting them and myself, if you have your heart set on a Defender then don't oblige yourself to be totally rational. If I was rational I'd have a Disco too but I'm not, I just love Defenders. If you want a sexy looking dusty Defender rather than a Disco in your photographs when you look back then that is just as important. This is a trip of a lifetime.

[Ace]

I agree with James, save the money, dont buy a camper you dont need one. If you want some level of sleeping comfort a roof top tent is the way to go, they are cheaper, take up no room at all in the car, and are very easy to set up. You wont need extra room as everyone has said, a defender has stacks off room. Buy a wagon and pull the back seats out of it, you will have all the room in the world for 2 people and you will save on your fuel bills by not towing a trailer. Matt

[JamesH]

Ace how about roof tents and fuel economy?

I am a great believer in a modern swag (with mesh to look out and breathe yet zippable to keep out dingos, death adders and scorpions). Swags are way more comfortable than people who have never used one think.

Or indeed a little tent takes up no room in the cabin and not long to set up.

These things can go in the cabin.

[cols110]

Got a roof tent and a swag, swags have their place, but when you want a bit of privacy when in a caravan park etc or its ****ing down rain, there really is nothing like a roof tent.

As for economy, it has to be worse, but still a hell of a lot better than it would have been if you were towing a trailer.

For what its worth, our set up is a 110 with a roof tent, for 2 people travelling, you can&#96;t go wrong, they are big enough so as you don&#96;t have to be overly concerned about what you take with you, they just soak it up, when we did our last trip into Europe in ours, Uk to Poland, we ended up with an wood outdoor table and chair setting on the roof rack, god know have many case&#96;s of beer(the prices we&#96;re just to good to resist) + all our gear for a month away, it handled it with ease, the brakes might&#96;nt have agreed though coming down the mountains in Austria. With the shape of the bonnet and front wings, they work as a perfect table when you pull over for lunch when on the move. I am biased, but for long term travelling, you just can&#96;t beat a 110.

[Ace]

Originally posted by JamesH
Ace how about roof tents and fuel economy?

I am a great believer in a modern swag (with mesh to look out and breathe yet zippable to keep out dingos, death adders and scorpions). Swags are way more comfortable than people who have never used one think.

Or indeed a little tent takes up no room in the cabin and not long to set up.

These things can go in the cabin.

A roof top tent will be better for your economy than a ton plus of camper trailer, you can add a hand made wind deflector to the front to make more of a slope than a flat front, it does help, one of Henry's friends has been playing around with on on his disco. I agree swags are simple but if it is ****ing down rain and you need some where to sit you cant beat a tent if there isnt any other shelter around. For a longer trip, i reckon a roof top tent, with Marcos they a RTT would be no good to us, but for 2 adults touring the country i reckon i would go for one. Matt

[harryw]

Hi

I worked up North for a couple of years and work is never a problem in the Kimberley or Pilbara.

We moved up to a 02 disco TDI and averaged 11-12 litres per kilometre across long and short runs, with a/c and cruise control in use.

Modified suspension ,Pedders ,and fitted dual battery to make use of my solar panel to drive the engel. The disco has enough room to store all your stuff.

Had a caravan but found a small dome tent with swag more than adequate, in really remote places work often comes&#96; with an accomodation option so you don't need a really substantial home to drag around you.

If you spend the summer months up north it is a bit hard without a/c so if you intend to be self sufficient then you should consider a/c as trying to sleep at 24degrees C ain't easy.

We have just sold our house and we have 5 weeks &#96;between moving out and moving in so we are travelling from Perth to Broome and then to Kununurra and back via Cape leveque, the only risky bit will be the Cape at this time of the year.

You will have a fantastic time and WA gets better the further North you go.

harry ward

[tdi130dualcab]

Hi,

Depemding on how long you intend staying in places working ets along the way, the camper trailer is handy as you have a "home base" set up while you can still use your vehicle to get you around for working, siteseeing fishing etc.

We have a defender and a disco, personally I love the defender for travelling, but that is a personal thing (also it fits my tribe and all its gear better), but as the other coments say, the disco has a few more creature cumforts. (P.S. a loaded defender rides very well, although there is not much you can do about the noise)

Happy shopping around, I'm jelous!!

Cheers

Andew

[DiscoTDI]

I agree with tdi130, the trailers is a much more convenient setup when you are staying in places for a period of time, especially if you are going to have a working holiday and setting up base in places. If there are only 2 of you it will be a good home while you are away.

cheers

[inside]

Thanks all for the responses. I do like the trailer idea if the vehicle needs major repairs we can at least set the trailer up in a caravan park while work is being completed. Will also look into taking a Disco for a drive. We've obviously got a few decisions to make although one thing we have is time and if the trip stretches out then so be it.

On another note I wonder if I could secure some small sponsorship for the trip? I could provide a website that would allow people to follow our journey, ask questions, and give advice. In return sponsors get to see their gear used in the bush. Hmmm, I giving Land Rover a call now and asking for a new Defender :wink:

[Reads90]

Originally posted by inside


On another note I wonder if I could secure some small sponsorship for the trip? I could provide a website that would allow people to follow our journey, ask questions, and give advice. In return sponsors get to see their gear used in the bush. Hmmm, I giving Land Rover a call now and asking for a new Defender :wink:

Sponsorship from Land Rover LOL style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif
You will be luckly
My brother has been racing freelanders for 3 years and winning stuff loads of stuff
But land rover don't want to know and won't give him s**t style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[CraigE]

If you go the Defender route the first job I would do especially in the tdi is add a load of sound deadening. Under bonnet sheet app $45, waterproof deadening for floor areas and inside of fire wall about $45 per section (2 req) and even maybe engine firewall deadening (cant remember price) but all available fron tru fit carpets. Next a 4 litre can of sound deadening compound, about $30 form supercheap and paint under all guards and flooring underneath (outside of the vehicle) you can get to, twice, nice thick coating. If time I would also rmove all door liners and do the inside of the doors. Will make it a lot quieter to drive. The TD5 is significantly quieter but a lot more expensive. Look at all the window seals and door seals as this is a major source of wind noise. You should be able to pick up a tdi 110 for your price. The other option as mentioned is to go the Disco route, you can pick up a good tdi early madel for $6-10K and a late 90s tdi for around $15 or even a TD5 for $20. There are also plenty of V8s around for $4-10k mark, if you can get one on lpg this may be an option. The only downside is lpg is not available in some remote locations. Most of WA has it right up the coast. You can do a lpg search on the web for stations. I would advise a camper trailer if you can afford one as you can leave it set up and still have your vehicle to drive around without packing up camp all the time as with a roof top. Talk to your local LR dealer sometimes depending on the dealer at the low end of the market they may be able to help you get a cheap one wholesale.

[Ace]

Originally posted by inside
Thanks all for the responses. I do like the trailer idea if the vehicle needs major repairs we can at least set the trailer up in a caravan park while work is being completed. Will also look into taking a Disco for a drive. We've obviously got a few decisions to make although one thing we have is time and if the trip stretches out then so be it.

If you get a Disco, make sure you have the Centre Difflock put back in, its a worth while investment, and make sure if you go for a TD5 vehicle, Defender or Disco, that you get it chipped. If you plan on taking a trailer having the performance chip will make a huge difference, and fuel economy shouldnt be effected that much. Matt

[Disco300Tdi]

Try this site for fuel prices around Aussie

http://www.exploroz.com/OntheRoad/FuelPric...ces/Default.asp (http://www.exploroz.com/OntheRoad/FuelPrices/Default.asp)