New toy

silver

silver

Forum Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2008
Messages
1,018
Location
Tathra, Far South Coast, NSW
Car Year
2005
Car Model
Forester
Transmission
Manual
I went this way after my last trip. Time to accept that i like a few mod cons and although i don't mind roughing it a bit there are better ways to do it and age is against me when it comes to aches and pains so i got one of these..........
https://www.wangcaravans.com.au/main/page_campers_jayco_flite.html
This is the same model as mine except i got a 2011 model that has been used only 2 times. It still has 3 months of warranty left and has all the awings plus it has custom made zipp up sides to the awning and a draft protector for the side.
I will post pictures when i get them and will pick the van up in about 2 weeks once everything is settled.
The car tows it OK....it's nothing but rubbish that they can tow 1500kg.
This is the previous model of the van and the updated one is called a Swift. Mine is lighter than the new model by about 50/60 kgs by memory and has a towball weight of 60kgs against 78 for the new model.
Not a mark on this van but probably piad a bit too much....$16,500 but i could not be bothered spending months looking all over the place so i got it.
I will keep my tinny and get a stand up tent like an OzTrail RV1 or 2 or 3 and i can the go fishing for a week with the tinny or longer trips in the van.
I will look into a car topper tinny and will wire the van up with 2 batteries and get a 12v TV and have a bit of luxury on some of my trips.:)
 
Congrats on your new toy silver :bananatoast:

Look forward to seeing the pics once it arrives :raz:

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
Congrats Silver, that's a good lookin pop-up ya got there. ;)
Come on thisaway & you could've picked up a full blown 5th wheel at that price. Still amazes me how you guys get hammered on prices down there.
I'm sure you will def enjoy the the bed & a/c when out!
 
Looks great silver!!! Yeah, I'm getting to that point where sleeping in a tent is just not that appealing anymore.:sad: The wife saw one of our friends pop-ups a few months ago and thought it was the coolest thing, so maybe soon...:iconwink:
 
That vans probably good value for a bit of mucking around. A bit of work on it and it would scrub up pretty good. The bed flys on mine look like a good idea to me and the awning set up is something i want. I reckon if i can look after it fairly well i won't lose too much over the next 2 or 3 years.
DirtyRU..you are right. We get done like a dinner on stuff down here. Gerry Harvey (Harvey Norman) can whinge all he wants about people buying stuff online and not out of stores but he is one of the buggers that has been ripping us off for years.
It's what i was saying about commercial vans and Hiluxes and stuff.
Base...i mean BASE model Hiace van (that i was thinking of converting into a campervan) 2.7ltr petrol,manual,...can't go any lower model start at around $38,000 if you don't haggle!!!! A base 2.5 diesel 4Motion VW Transporter is $47,000. Want seats that adjust...no worries...$690...a diff lock...$1,200....a tow bar please...$1,200. $1,200 for a tow bar????:surprised::yell:
Thats why i got what i got. Overpriced? sure...but this is how it is and as i said i just could not be bothered looking around for months.
 
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I hear you silver, especially about buying stuff online.
That "said person" can whinge all he wants :yell:
Perhaps if his store (together with the rest of them) gave you a little service (when your in their stores) things would be a little different :eviltoyou:
End of rant.


Yes I know what you mean dirtyRU, silver, we really do seem to get slammed with prices here.
Personally, I can never see me in one, but then again, you never know :shrug:
I'm sure though, if you look after it silver, it will hold it value ;) :cool:

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
Yeah...well...not much you can say i guess. To be fair a large part of the difference would be that our labour force would be much more expensive than the US labour force. We don't have a history of using cheap Mexican labour and Australian full time workers get 4 weeks paid annual leave and around 10 days of paid public holidays, 3 months paid long service leave after 10 or 15 years in the same job,they are all covered by workers compensation insurance and also a compulsory 9% levy on the employer that is paid into a superannuation fund for them. There are also stupid taxes on the employers like payroll tax which is a State Government tax on payrolls over a certain amount.
Also we have only about 23 million people in an area not that much smaller than the US so freight costs are relatively high in a fairly small market.
I'm only guessing but i reckon that big Jayco van would be around $40/45,000 out here.
Anyway, it doesn't matter.....probably only a matter of time before they close the factory down and make them in China and still charge us the same price:ebiggrin:
 
Yep, to have such luxuries does hit the pocketbook pretty good. However, quality of life (to me) is much more important. Since i work in a small family business, i can take all the time i want. Other people are not so lucky though. Most people are lucky to get 2 weeks paid off a year, however my last company, once you have been with them for 10yrs, gives you 4 weeks a year. You were likely to quit or die of a stroke before they allowed you that 10yrs though! We have payroll tax & many many others here too, that is a real booger on small businesses with only a few employees. Can't argue with you on the illegal immigrants though being used for labor! Most of that is limited to the housing manufacturing industry, but still out there. With new regulation, it's getting better though.
One thing i like and have been well aware of is that 9% levy for employee retirements. Most people aren't smart enough to save for themselves or contribute to their 401k's, so it's nice to have that set aside for them. You would think all that taxation & regulation would really hinder the growth of small business & entrepreneurship. Is there such thing as a private sector down there?
 
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We have a few other good things also which are taxpayer funded. Middle class welfare is quite extensive (but not talked about as welfare).
You get $6,000 when you have a baby,there is the 'dole', a means tested pension for life once over 65 (rising to 67 over the next few years), we also have Medicare which is funded by a 1.25% levey on taxable income and through this you get unlimited (free) medical treatment in public hospitals and visits to a doctor(some of whom bulk bill so it costs nothing) for life. There is Family Tax Benifit A and B, education tax concessions,pensioners and people on government payments get cheap medicines and the list goes on.
Probably the reason Australia was voted the country with the best all round living standards in the world not so long ago.
It's a great place to live and i reckon we are a bit spoiled really.:)
 
Can't argue that with ya. 23 million is def a lot easier to manage than 300mill +. There's also the huge problem of illegal immigration here that allows those people to rob our generous system which in turn, is ruining us. Being a big island def keeps that at bay. If i could stand coastal weather, i would probably love Australia. Don't think i could live anywhere but our beautiful country though. Pretty much every type of climate/ terrain on this earth can be found right here. :)
 
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