I'm selling up

[Swisslulu]

Looks good, Brad. I'm sure you will both enjoy it.

[generdawg]

Looks good, Brad. I'm sure you will both enjoy it.

Thanks Leslie, we do to, but the Coaster wasn't all that bad and more than one besides myself has put their heart and soul into making it the capable tourer it was - thanks T & D.

With a comfortable copilot lounge chair and inside shower it would have done the job, but as a SWB unit, it was impractical to limit the living space further by installing a shower. After all, the Avan is a metre longer and 310mm wider (less than 200mm short of maximum allowable), than the bus just to accommodate such features - purpose built vs modified.

dawg

[generdawg]

You won't believe just how sprightly and economical the Fiat is. ...

Steve, on our mad dash from the island to Wongola SA (Walker Flat), with the cruise control dialed in, 110km/h was a breeze. Made a big dent in the fuel especially fighting the Hay NSW winds, but soooo much easier to cruise in than the Coaster. Now I (we) can do more on the road with less effort than before.

However, now that the rush is over, I've pulled way back on the speed to 70 - 80 now. I'm sure that with the motor only turning 1500 rpm in sixth gear, there should be a significant improvement over the fifth top gear in the Coaster which was turning close to 3000 rpm to do around 80.

Still nice to know that this thing will boogie if necessary.

Another thing that I noticed is there seems to be less tendency to wonder on the road - something I attribute to four instead of six wheels! That was a selling BIG point for me despite the front wheel drive.

dawg

[SteveW]

The more you travel the better you will like it. Fuel economy improved up until we reached 20,000k or more. We find travelling at about 92kph returns about 13 l/100k in good conditions. With the toad behind it goes up by about 1 litre per 100k. 92k just feels right and we don't bother going to 100k unless we are on a busy road or in a rush. Our's ( Jayco Optimum) might be a bit heavier (5 tonne - I've weighed it loaded at 4850 kg) and might use more fuel than yours.

Be cautious on wet grass or very loose gravel on an incline. Going backwards on wet grass usually resolves the problem.