Waya Island Resort in Fiji, enjoying the warm. Loving it.

I like listening to this mob 

Quote from: BrisVegasGolfer on July 24, 2026, 01:11:00 PMWe decided to stick with 2 vehicles for now...  A cheaper, smaller EV for the day to day and a diesel 4x4 for longer trips and towing.

Have wondered about doing exactly that, but Leafz isn't interested & also doesn't want anything Chinese, so that limits the options quite a bit!

Quote from: lloydus67 on July 20, 2026, 07:46:22 PMI really wanted something that would still be able to take the camper or caravan if we really needed to and also have some off road capability.
I looked at the BYD offerings, but found that they lacked actual off-road ability or heavier towing capabilities.
Then I found a Tank300

And here it is, 2wd as standard drive, 4wd high and low range, lockers front, rear and transfer. It's got about 120klm battery range and with the first tank of fuel managed 850klm out of a 70L tank and 1 battery charge.
Currently I'm pretty happy, but have yet to test the towing or off-road capability.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

nice one mate.  The Tank is a pretty impressive thing.  I like that it has a proper mechanical 4wd system, unlike the setup in the BYD Shark. 

We were also looking for one car that would do everything for us, ie. commuting around Brisbane, longer trips to family in Hervey Bay and also tow our camper.  The Tank would do all that.

We decided to stick with 2 vehicles for now...  A cheaper, smaller EV for the day to day and a diesel 4x4 for longer trips and towing.  Will reassess in 4 years when the EV comes off lease to see what's available then. 

Jaecoo J5 EV
Isuzu MU-X 3.0 diesel

Quote from: Hairs on July 23, 2026, 10:42:58 AMrequire it to be 300mm above ground

But isn't the pit by itself good enough for the 300mm

We've never had a Park complain when we've used them just by itself!

Perth

Tenterfield NSW - bit colder than Townsville.... Lucky I have fuzzy pants.
We are liking the diesel heater in the 'new' van

Didn't take a photo here yet.

Picture from Chinchilla Weir a few days ago - Nice spot

Most caravan parks, that do allow a fire, require it to be 300mm above ground.
So I made a 600x600 tray for the pit to sit on.
Our son is always having a crack at me,  regarding the old steel and bits & pieces I have laying around in the shed or under the house.
An hours work, done.
It's an old Guinea pigs tray from the cage, 4 lenghts(320mm) of 12 threaded rod, some flat washers and 8x shocky washers,  it can be dissembled and packed flat.
Happy Wife.


You don't use magic to disappear, ya use a 4x4 & Swag.

I've used Budgetdirect over the years as has my son and found them no problem with take it to any repairer although to be fair they have involved claims where the other party was at fault. They do offer mature drivers a good deal on premiums for specific PDS terms. eg I can specify nobody under 40 or anyone living with my wife and I are covered and enjoy the premium accordingly. So now you can see why our EV friend might have aroused their suspicions particularly if he didn't report the accident damage ASAP as per his agreed PDS terms and without identifying an at fault driver he's up for the excess.

What was the delay in reporting the collision damage until after they'd notified him they would no longer be renewing his insurance policy at the 12 month expiry presumably? In that respect pioneers of Chinese EVs and cars in general are facing some ugly realities from car insurers and a general lack of automotive technicians to boot-
https://www.msn.com/en-au/motoring/news/brutal-chinese-car-market-reality-revealed/ar-AA289nl0
https://www.msn.com/en-au/motoring/news/ev-repair-time-reality-exposed/ar-AA28kOuF
You got a lot of car cheap there boyoh but it comes with a sting in the tail and no doubt why when those diesel prices caused a flurry of EV buyers a lot of them bought Tesla ModelYs in record numbers in June 

 

For any of you Rush fans out there...
I was just introduced to Alex Lifeson's solo project 'Victor' recently
It is definitely worth a listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jS2XSxEamw&list=OLAK5uy_kvDrtxjX6LYtjnY_Wjfzu9zuxb-p19wSA