The new 'Nonny'?

Please feel free to describe your motorhome, campervan or caravan. (make, model, length etc)
Cuppa
Posts: 430
Joined: Fri May 31, 2013 3:41 pm

The new 'Nonny'?

Post by Cuppa »

Cant remember who I've told & who I haven't. The purchase has been a drawn out process due to the distances involved.
But now things are firmed up & we are almost there.

The following is a copy & paste of the 'announcement' made this morning on my Facebook page.

Excitement is building fast!
Some of you already know our news which I've tried to keep a lid on until it becomes reality, but I have to admit to not being good at keeping secrets & have 'let the cat out the bag' here & there already.
As you know we are now into our 4th year of travelling in our Nissan Patrol & Tvan , a great combination, & very capable off road.

However during that time we have often considered alternatives which would enable us to cook & eat 'indoors' in inclement weather or when the mozzies & flies become overbearing. Many possibilities have been considered but eventually discarded either on the basis of lack of mechanical simplicity (computerisation of modern vehicles in my view makes them a liability in remote areas), poor reliability (which ruled out some suitable vehicles which were becoming to 'long in the tooth & needing ongoing repairs to keep them going) , cost - there are some very nice 'expedition vehicles' around but with costs in the multi hundreds of thousands - beyond our means even if they suited our criteria, which most did not.

The most important (to us) of the criteria was that not only should the vehicle be extremely capable off road, it should also be narrow enough to fit along the commonly found tracks made or used by the common 4wd vehicle sizes like the Landcruisers & Patrols, This ruled out most off road motorhomes, as did the height of many.

We always came back to our Patrol & Tvan as the best option.

That is, until we found the vehicle which I will be collecting next Monday! It is one of those older 'long in the tooth' vehicles, except it has essentially been 're-born' having gone through a ground up rebuild using all new or fully reconditioned major components thoughout. Being an older design it will need a higher level of regular maintenance than our Patrol, but it's 're-birth' has been enough to convince us of what we hope will be it's reliability to continue to safely take us well off the beaten track.

It ticks all our boxes with one exception. Despite having a brand new, more powerful than the original, motor & a brand new gearbox as part of the overall refurbishment it was horrible to drive! The clutch was heavy, & the gearchange not only in a reverse pattern to the norm, but also very 'vague' resulting in what felt like a gearbox full of neutrals, controlling a motor with lots of 'grunt'.
Not being an out & out masochist, but recognising that this was probably the closest we had ever come to ticking all our boxes, we decided to take a punt & hope we did not end up with what potentially could become a very expensive white elephant!

This decision was made on the basis of spending more money on the vehicle post purchase. The entire driveline from gearstick back to the axles would go, to be replaced by an automatic transmission!
The best option, & one already trialled in a number of similar vehicles which have had the same motor (a Cummins 5.9 litre 6BT) is an Allison 1000 transmission - combination referred to by some as the 'holy grail' of engine & auto transmission combos! A motor with heaps of torque at very low revs combined with a transmission which provides full power 'seamless' gearchanges using an electronic push button controller. No loss of momentum on upward changes, 'instant' manual changes possible at the push of a button & no cumbersome linkages to the gearbox (the primary cause of the vagueness of the existing gearbox).

Finding someone with specific knowledge of the vehicle, the motor, the Allison auto, the electronics, the computer skills, (yes the Allison is computer controlled, but does have a good useable default 'limp mode' if something goes wrong - remains in 3rd gear) the machining skills to fit things together, & the equipment needed to manouvre heavy machinery parts around, and who has good communication skills meant looking for someone fairly unique. That combination of skillsets in one person makes for quite a rare breed.

We are in Far North Queensland. (FNQ). The vehicle is 1800kms south in Brisbane. The rare breed man, found through friends in the very active owners club of the vehicles in question is yet further south, some 2400kms from here. In the past few weeks I have been a bit of a 'jetsetter' utilising the relatively cheap flights available thanks to Covid. I have driven two vehicles each fitted with the Cummins/Allison combo & found them to be all I hoped for & more. Easy & relaxing to drive, but fun too. As I drove it really wasn't hard to imagine us swanning around this huge island in one. One belonged to a friend, the other to Rob, the rare breed man, who as well as his own has fitted out several other vehicles similarly.

So next Monday I fly to Brisbane, pay for & collect the vehicle, & then drive it south to Taree where I will leave it in Rob's hands, & return north.

And so the vehicle...... drum roll...... it is an Australian made 1995 OKA, a rare beast - only around 450 ever built, but with a legendary reputation in off road circles & an active band of loyal owners.
This one, like many began life working at a mine, & was pretty tired & in need of lots of TLC when bought by the current owner - his second OKA. As well as the total rebuild (over several years) he also built the fibreglass composite panel camper/motorhome body & fitted it out. This and most of the major components are now several years old, but with less than 60,000kms on them. The motor, imported brand new from the USA is about half that, replacing the original Perkins motor after it had been fully rebuilt. Another friend with an OKA in Adelaide now has that motor as a 'spare' for the 600,000kms one currently in his vehicle.

As you can see from the photos the camper body retains the width of the cab. Many motorhomes built onto OKAs are wider, but the size was the first thing to grab our attention. It is just 100mm wider than the canopy on our Patrol. Of course it makes things fairly 'squeezy' inside, but we take the view that most of our living with our current set up is 'outside' & we don't expect that to change much, except when required.
It's set up for remote travel with a fuel range similar to the Patrol, & water capacity similar the Patrol & Tvan. Ground clearance is better & not needing to tow means we will be more inclined to check out 'interesting looking' tracks, which we have often bypassed with the Tvan in tow for fear of finding insufficient room to turn around. The OKA at 6 metres long (Patrol & Tvan together are close to 10 metres long) will get us to the many hidden away little camp spots accessible only by single vehicles.

We will make a few alterations to the interior to suit us, the main things being converting the bedding arrangement to one which doesnt require setting up each time for use (I have a cunning plan) & increasing solar capacity & will fit an additional 'panoramic' window at the rear to allow us to sit at the table with a view of the ocean when it's blowing a gale! Inside as well as the bed is a 'dinette', a small kitchen with stovetop, oven & griller plus sink with hot & cold water. An 80 litre upright fridge & a 40 litre chest freezer, a shower cubicle, also containing a vacuum toilet. A diesel heater to keep things toasty in cold weather, & 240v air conditioning (which we may or may not retain - depending on whether we have to relocate the under chassis hot water unit to make space for a transmission cooler for the Allison) addition to the cab air con. There is a 'pass through from cab to 'house'. The pop top roof is electrically operated.

We expect the vehicle to be with Rob until the second half of 2021 - he has to fit it in with many other aspects of his life.
In the meantime we remain hopeful of getting up Cape York next year in the Patrol & Tvan as we had hoped to do this year before Covid put paid to that.

OKA's are generally referred to by their build number. As the number plate suggests ours is number 356 (of 450).

Regards to all,

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Dot
Posts: 23478
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2012 6:12 pm
Location: Strathalbyn SA

Re: The new 'Nonny'?

Post by Dot »

well done Cuppa, it certainly looks the right thing for you. Next time how about some inside pics? enjoy. :D
Queen of the Banal & OT chatter and proud of it. If it offends you then tough titty titty bang bang.
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T1 Terry
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Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2012 3:44 pm
Location: Mannum South Australia by the beautiful Murray River
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Re: The new 'Nonny'?

Post by T1 Terry »

Congratulations on the move back to a motorhome. The OKA does have a great reputation if well engineered during the rebuild and it sounds like you have found the person to do the upgrades.
Any plans to tour down this way in 2021?

T1 Terry & Margaret
A person may fail many times, they only become a failure when they blame someone else John Burrows
If we have data, let’s look at data. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine. – Jim Barksdale, former Netscape CEO
Cuppa
Posts: 430
Joined: Fri May 31, 2013 3:41 pm

Re: The new 'Nonny'?

Post by Cuppa »

Dot here are some inside pics. Windows were all closed so it looks a bit dark & the decor is a little 'old', but 'tis what it 'tis. We think that adding a rear window & a roof hatch will make quite a difference & brighten things up a bit, & sorting the bed so it can stay made up (hinged at the rear & pushed up into the poptop on gas struts when not in use). In conjunction with the rear window we plan to reduce the length of the seats a bit, add a table height shelf across the rear (with added storage under) so essentially when sitting at the table we will be sitting at a T shaped table, & thos will allow us to shorten the existing table which currently needs to be turned to get access to the seats.
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Last edited by Cuppa on Fri Dec 11, 2020 8:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Cuppa
Posts: 430
Joined: Fri May 31, 2013 3:41 pm

Re: The new 'Nonny'?

Post by Cuppa »

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Terry, there is every possibility we we will pass your way when we leave Ballarat again, but probably late '21 or early '22 I'd guess. We expect to be back at Ballarat for a while, so will be up for a visit any time you come east.
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Shirley
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Joined: Sat Dec 29, 2012 4:06 pm
Location: Lake Macquarie. NSW.

Re: The new 'Nonny'?

Post by Shirley »

Guess you're 4 yrs older & looking for more comfort, :lol: :lol: seriously the OKA looks the way2go & should suit you both, enjoy your travels in the Patrol & Tvan until the OKA is set to go, looks good.✔️
Second time I've posted I must of hit submit at the same time as you submitted the interior photos & the post went to the never never. :D
Shirley & Bruce.
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supersparky
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Joined: Mon Nov 26, 2012 7:00 pm
Location: Home on the beautiful Gold Coast for a while.

Re: The new 'Nonny'?

Post by supersparky »

Good one Cuppa. I hope that you and Julie get to spend many more years cruising around in your new toy.
Cheers
David

David and Terrie with Bandit the travelling companion
2006 Winnebago Alpine
Recently retired and loving it.
Coolabah1au
Posts: 1039
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 12:43 pm
Location: Murray river

Re: The new 'Nonny'?

Post by Coolabah1au »

Need a lithium set up now for off grid [emoji848]


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Cuppa
Posts: 430
Joined: Fri May 31, 2013 3:41 pm

Re: The new 'Nonny'?

Post by Cuppa »

Already has lithium Wayne, but only of the ‘drop in’ variety.
pet-els
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Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 10:16 pm

Re: The new 'Nonny'?

Post by pet-els »

Looks good Cuppa.

PeterH
PeterH
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