2 year review Ute and Camper

Hello All
Over two years have passed since buying my Ute and Camper........WOW how time flies.

In September 2012 I purchased a Great Wall V200 Diesel 6 speed Manual Ute, that Ute clocked over 80,000km last week and had 47,000km on it when I left home on March 3rd 2014. A lot of these 80,000 kilometres have been with the camper on the back.
Suffice to say, it hasn't had an easy life. 

so far this trip

The Camper weighs 480kg dry, with all my stuff in it I estimate it to be somewhere around 600-650kg, but fully loaded with 140lt of fuel and 95lt of water when heading to the Cape or Savannah Way I estimate it to weigh 800-900kg. This means that when I get to my worst roads I am at my heaviest. 
The poor Ute has suffered high humidity, high temperatures, bulldust, potholes, river crossings and corrugations and really hasn't missed a beat.
I tell people the Great Wall is like wine and gets better with age and work, yes it is slow in the hills but the economy makes up for this in my mind.
It has crossed the Dividing Range multiple times in 35c plus temperatures and handles it in its stride. Twice during very hot humid weather the Airconditioning iced up, once in Darwin at 35c and 55% humidity and once in the Blue Mountains with similar weather. Turning it off for 10 minutes fixes this and gets it working again.

The only alterations have been a snorkel and upgraded tyres, otherwise it is standard.
Before I left I had BFG Rugged Terrain tyres fitted, this has proved to be an excellent choice, having now done over 33,000km on the BFG's, on some pretty average roads and tracks show minimal signs of wear. 
When the factory tyres were on the vehicle felt fairly skittish on gravel, and I always drove in 4 wheel drive on the dirt, since the BFG's were fitted it feels great and I only use 4 wheel drive as intended.

BFG Rugged Terrain

  Please note.........I have no sponsorship deals in any way (I wish I did haha) so all my opinions are mine, and are not biased in any way by loyalty towards anyone I wish was sending me money.
The Great Wall has proved itself time after time to be a comfortable, capable workhorse.
In worst conditions..............headwind and 90-110kph speeds It gives me 12-13 litres per 100k
in good conditions..............lower speeds 80-90kph and no headwind it consistently gives me 9.8-10.5 litres per 100k economy with the camper on.
Full tanks don't seem to affect the economy a great deal, so in expensive fuel areas I tend to fill both tanks and save a few dollars.

My only gripe is the Dealer Network and the Importer. The Dealer Network if a long way from good and from what I am told, are lacking support from the Importers.
The servicing prices are outrageous and are more in the Luxury Car bracket than a budget Chinese Ute............on the other hand Spare Parts prices are quite reasonable.
I have one more Warranty Service left, and once that is done my Ute WILL NOT be going back to Dealerships and this is coming from someone who worked in Dealerships for over 20 years.
A worthy product  let down by poor backup and service unfortunately.

In November 2012 I drove to Hervey Bay in Queensland to pick up my new Palomino Bronco B600 Slide on Camper from PalominoRVAustralia
After a 3 week trip back home to Victoria the camper spend the next 15 months being carted around the Victorian High Country, Broken Hill, The Flinders Ranges, The Painted Desert, The Oodnadatta Track and much much more.

picking up the camper

Since then it has travelled to Palm Valley, Rainbow Valley and Chambers Pillar followed by Kakadu, The Savannah Way to Cairns via Lorella Springs, Cape York and the Bloomfield Track from Cooktown to Cape Tribulation as well as in and out of every nook and cranny all the way down the East Coast.
As you may well gather, I have well and truly torture tested this Camper. 

Native Dog Flat behind Benambra Victoria

I have had the Camper in everything from 40c to -4c and my only real complaint is that my Fridge still thinks it is a Freezer. I have it set on minimum and anything under 14c freezes all my drinks.............my solution is to turn it off while travelling on cool days and switch to gas on cool nights. 40c days it gives me icy cold drinks.....not bad for a Dometic 3 way Fridge.

Palm Valley NT

I have had 2 failures with the Camper, after Cape York, the electric motor mounting bracket for the exhaust fan failed, but after all the rough roads and corrugations I really cant blame it.
Second failure was the Tap Mixer in the sink, the spout swivel bound up but I don't blame it either. Some of my water fill up locations have been pretty average at best for water quality.
The replacement parts were supplied promptly by Kevin, Tanya and Rob at PalominoRVAustralia  whose customer service far exceeds my expectations, Great Wall could learn a lot about Customer Service from PalominoRVAustralia.
A good value, quality robust product backed up by exceptional Customer Service.  

Savannah way turnoff to Lorella Springs

After a union of the Camper and Ute the combination has surprised me..........with the extra weight on the back the Ute is surprisingly agile off road. I have taken it across the Bloomfield Track, which is pretty steep in spots, through sandy bogs on the Savannah Way and station tracks on Lorella Springs Station. Although lacking ground clearance with a slow approach and lower tyre pressures it constantly surprises me where I can get it.

Jardine Ferry crossing Cape York

 My Achilles heel is my power supply, my 200 watt solar panels are enough to keep me going indefinately, but when I get 6 days of hot humid rainy weather in Cairns my Waeco Freezer knocks the battery around, when the solar panels aren't much good.

Sometimes at camp, I look in envy at the caravans nearby, and think WOW all that space and storage and then I think, they can't go where I can without unhitching and using a lot more fuel.............so all said I am pretty satisfied with my choices. It suits my needs, maybe not your needs, but mine and that is what is important.

Now for a whinge...........I hope some caravan park owners read this....................REMEMBER WHERE YOU ARE !!!!!!!!!
Today I was quoted $45/night single powered site at Batemans Bay!
Get over yourselves.........this is ONLY Batemans Bay! 

This is Batemans Bay NOT the Maldives..............................

Cairns $45/ night, Sydney $39/night, Townsville $35/night, Airlie Beach $39/night, Surfers Paradise $44/night, Batemans Bay $45/ night......................you work it out!
This type of Highway Robbery will stick in my mind and next time I will avoid this place.
During my travels I have visited several places which over estimate their appeal...........Bowen in North Queensland and Batemans Bay are, in my opinion ..........................

Beer Destinations that charge Champagne Prices

On departing Batemans Bay, i decided to top up with fuel..................looking at the bowsers sent me in to a spin........................Diesel at Woolworths 20c/ litre more expensive than Nowra 50k up the road. I filled up in Canberra instead for 17c/litre less than Batemans Bay. 
No that is not a typing error!

These places need to realise the public will eventually get the message and go elsewhere like me and then they will be the first to whinge about free campers.
I will make sure next time, that I am fueled up, stocked up and been to the loo and zoom through Bowen and Batemans Bay without even a second glance

I was told at a Customer Service Training exercise many years, that if a customer has a good experience he will tell 10 people.
If he has a bad experience he will tell 50 people.............well I am doing my bit right here.

This brings me to another subject.............this humble blog, which started as a online diary for friends is currently running at nearly 1100 hits per month, and this blog alone approaching 14,000 views, along with my other older blogs well over 20,000 views in total WOW.
Thank you to my loyal viewers, i appreciate the support and feel free to leave comments online. Your feedback is welcome.

I don't think my life is that interesting.................
If you see me on the road say hello.
After Christmas with Family I hope to head across to the Spectacular West for next Year's adventures
See you in the great outdoors :-)