We are selling our motorhome after having travelled 20,000 k's around Australia. Details are:1988 Mitsubishi Canter Regn 158KBP (Queensland)
Car license to drive it.
3.3 litre diesel 4 cylinder engine
5-speed manual gearbox
Light truck tyres with dual wheels at back, all in good condition.
High clearance from ground.
24 volt electrical system for vehicle, 12 volt and 240 volt electrics for the motorho
me part. Separate batteries for each viz. 2 in series and 2 in parallel.Solar panel on the roof to recharge the house batteries
90 litre fuel tank, 90 litre fresh water tank, 90 litre grey water tank plus black water tank.
12 volt water pump, gas hot water, shower and full flush toilet and vanity sink.
Kitchen has stainless steel sink, gas oven with 4 burner hob, rangehood extractor fan, 240v microwave, 3-way fridge freezer (gas, 12v and 240v)
Interior and exterior 12v and 240v lighting.
Heaps of storage space.
Roll out awning plus full annex.
Security fly screens on all windows and 4-seasons air vent in roof.
Air-con in cab only but 12v fans in house.
Sony CD MP3 sound system throughout.
TV with DVD player in back and outside antenna.
What are the advantages of a 'cabover' to a converted bus? We have had both and prefer to have our double bed out of the way and made up so you don't have to be taking down a table and seats every night. In our bus, our bed was right at the back but that took up good space inside and added another metre and a half to the length. In our camper the bed is above the cab and so is out of the way. There is a surprising amount of space up there and it's cosy and not at all claustrobic. There is good headroom and it's easy to climb up and down although as we get older (beyond our sixties) we may have to relook at that. So you have a lot of clear space in the motorhome itself and you always have your table accessable. In fact, we each have our own space which is a good thing. My wife likes to read in bed and louge around in the morning while I like to sit at the table. We can both see the tele from those positions as it swings around. Great!
Hows the engine? Previous owners, family with two boys, drove round the eastern side of Australia in 2007 clocking up 17,000 km's without any problems. we did likewise in 2008 doing 20,000 km's. Both trips took the vehicle down to Tasmania and up through Northern Territory. Mitsi has been well serviced. Fuel consumption is about 500km's to a 90 litre tankfull of diesel.
Cooling system? previous owners had a new radiator fitted. We had a minor problem with water heater hoses and had them replaced at Alice Springs. It has a thermal sensor in case the motor gets hot but it never went off during our travels, even on very hot days.
Care and maintenance?
We have looked after our home and so did the previous owners. It has been regularly serviced. We travelled at 80 to 90 kph and never took the motor above 2500 rpm. On big hills - we went up and down the main divide a number of times and thats 1400 meters high, and just took it steady. Mitsi is able to get up and over almost any gradient.Whats the drive like? With 3 seats in front, the high ride and good sized windscreen, the view is great. There are an additional 3 seats in the back with safety belts. It has good access through from front to back. You can park in supermarket carparks no problem. In cities and towns you can park in standard carparks but just watch the roof above the cab for clearance. On the road its drive, stop for a morning cuppa, back on the road again, stop for lunch and at the end of he day just drive into the camping area and park and thats it.
What about the beds? Our
bed was above the cab and it was easy to access. It's a good size double about queen size but longer. There is a single bed on the right hand side towards the back which is also a good seat for day use. The table folds down to become another bed but it is a bit short for an adult but OK for kids. We had our two grandkids travelling with us for a week and it worked OK.The annex is stored under the bed on the rhs. It doesn't take long top put up but because we were doing a lot of travelling, we didn't use it. Be great if you were wanting to settle at one place for a week. We used the roll down awning a lot.
Toilet and shower are located on the rhs behind the driver. A flushing toilet is good and the tank gives you more days than a cassette toilet. There are plenty of dump points about and it's not difficult to set up the hose to empty the black water tank.
Freedom camping is the way to get about. We have a Australia Camps 4 book which gave us the locations of all freedom camp sites such as, roadside rest areas (most have toilets which are well serviced), show grounds, etc. Camps 5 is now available. There are over 800 listings in NSW alone. We didn't feel threatened
but stayed in Caravan Parks on Fri/Sat when hoons may be about the towns. We met a lot of great people on the road and they often told us of good places to see and stay. We never booked ahead, just went where we felt like going.What else comes with it? The pillows and bedding, crockery and cutlery, kitchenware, couple of gas bottles (9kg and 4kg). There is a couple of outside chairs and a good table, an outdoor gas cooktop for your BBQ's, fishing line and yabbi net, extra containers for diesel and water if you go outback.
Why are we selling? We have had a great trip aroud Australia. Didn't get to WA because Australia is such a big country when you are travelling around and there is so much to see. We want to sell in Australia and buy a motor home in New Zealand to do some more travelling about.
So if you are wanting to travel around Australia as we did, it's all set up for you. Just call at the supermarket to stock up, fuel up and away you go. Now is the best time, before the heat and the flies. You'll never regret it.
