We bought an EMU XPEDITION hybrid CAMPER!
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- Опубліковано 1 сер 2024
- We bought an Emu Xpedition Hybrid Caravan/Camper Trailer and explain why we decided to buy it and a little bit about the Xpedition.
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0:00 Intro
0:50 Why did we buy a Hybrid Caravan?
1:30 The Kitchen
3:25 The bedroom and rear storage
4:57 Some of the standard inclusions on the outside
7:34 Tour inside
13:15 Toilet and shower
14:25 Conclusion
I make videos about real world problems, reviews, and my opinions on all things related to my hobbies. Four Wheel Driving, camping, modifying 4wd's and campers, HAM Radio, Technology, motorbikes and Jetskis.
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#MDC #Hybrid #Camper - Авто та транспорт
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Always appreciate a good honest review. Well done!
This is one of the better walk arounds I have seen, real people doing real camping. Excellent YouTubing mate.
Thank you!
That's perfect size for us too JJ. The external kitchen is magnificent - I have this thing about cooking where you sleep...but that's me. Plus, like you say camping is about the outdoors. Nicely done. Bonus points, the misses is happy too!
Thank you. Yeah I can just squeeze into two car bays end to end which is really handy when stopping places for supplies and tourist attractions. She’s not any wider than the cruiser either which makes it good on the trails. Lots of storage which to me is more important than indoor space. As long as there is enough space to hide away inside on the odd occasion that’s all I need.
I like the fact that you can walk around the bed as well
Awesome video. The kitchen is the highlight! Great job Jib
Thank you, yes the kitchen is friggin awesome! Love it.
You guys are awesome, and that is an absolute beast of a ... caravan .
Thank yo very much! 😃
Great job, thanks sharing!
This camper van is awesome . Thumbs up for this👍👍
Thank you. 😃
Mate, love the review and love the T-shirt!
It’s a great channel. Those guys to some awesome work both content wise and work workmanship wise.
What agreat camper, this is the best design I have seen...
Nice one Jebb… we have done the same. We paid a deposit on the StarVision PX2, it’s a bit smaller with no ensuite. Same style of kitchen and fixed bed. Our main requirement was that we wanted to store in our garage, so travel height needed to be no more than 2100mm. We are just new to caravanning, have lots to learn an experience… appreciate your videos. Thanks.
Thank you, exciting times ahead for you guys!
We are from tassie, and have the opposite thoughts, we thought camper trailers would be to hot' we camped in a tent once in Queensland and could not sleep woke up gasping for air' it was so hot, so we thought no to camper trailer and we brought a caravan.
Nice size to tow and get around some of the tighter spots when looking for that elusive perfect spot. I do like that kitchen, some of those designs encroach on interior bed space, yours gets around that nicely. We have one of similar size but full height, pop tops aren’t our thing because winter and noise ✌🏻Very nice though. 👌🏻
Thank you, The diesel heater certainly solves any cool air coming through the PVC in the pop top. Most of the time the minimum setting is too much and we have to turn it off. Yeah I didn’t want anything too long or wide. The weight is a downer but you have to compromise somewhere I guess. The kitchen is awesome, but yeah it does reduce the internal size somewhat. Again a compromise but we are happy with the end result.
I'm a bit late in the game for comments /BUT/ ....
previous video to this was a walk round of the Quantum 5. Your video is 2 years old from this date.
Now that I'm here, I can tell you that your trailer is WAY better than the new model quantum. Your kitchen, position for fridge slide, interior, awnings, 12v system, bedroom.... and an electric roof .
Incredible, I LIKE IT.
I’ve done some upgrades to the electrical system too. I believe some of the upgrades I’ve done emu/bluewater do standard now days. Still love it and reckon it’s an awesome setup.
thank you for share great video
Looks like you have done your homework Jeff
I agree with all your points
Interested to see how much dust gets in
And the payload
I’m going to do a dust video on this camper soon actually. Payload is good. I’ve weighed it several times fully loaded with jarrah in the back, full diesel heater tank and an extra 20l of water plus Webber, ozpig, and generator and never got over 2.66t with a limit of 2.7t
We got a wasp nest in our diesel heater so we put champagne corks in both the intake and exhaust especially when storing it.
Good idea. I’m wanting to locate my intake into the forward fridge compartment because it’s inside but has a filtered vent.
Nice review keep up the good work.Martin Thailand 😎
Thank you.
Not bad not bad at all nice review cheers.
Thank you! 😃
Great review, We have been looking at hybrids but they all seem to have very short draw bars this camper looks a little longer. If you get a moment could you tell me the distance from the face of the box to the centre of the tow hitch?
I drive a cab chassis Ute and the tow bar is tucked under the tray somewhat.
Cheers
Like your "van" mate. Good review. Came to you on John's recommendation. Now subscribed.
Thank you, yeah we love it. Going to do a few more vids on the mods we did to it soon.
@@JebbreysJibberish Can’t wait to see the mods. Good inspiration to see how you're doing things mate!
We have 20yo canvas camper that cost us $2700 that I’ve pimped out over the last 10years & a 31 yo HJ61 Sahara that’s far from standard & now the dedicated recreational vehicle.
The epic family and boys only trips over the the last 10 years can’t be forgotten. I can’t see how we could have done things any differently or better!! Kids are getting into early teens now and a swagging outside the trailer these days so we are just about to get a Coaster for family trips and leave the Mancruiser for the Offroad trips. Can’t wait to deck the coaster out so we can just pull up and relax instead of setting shit up constantly!
I’ll look forward to working through your back catalogue of vids and getting to “know” you!
Yeah I had a cavalier soft floor that I heavily modified back in the day, was a great camper!
What was your tow ball weight when loaded?
It depends on th canvas.. when you say many days of rain it will leak.. I been is heavy rain with my custom made camper trailer which has a custom made rooftop hard top tent.. I decided to put on the same canvas the australian defence force use which is the auscam camo.. cost allot to get made and its very heavy duty canvas made in australia.. As a example all the top australian made canvas tents and even all the rooftop tents made in australia use 10oz wax converters canvas.. now mine is rated to 16oz and is military grade seeing as its the same canvas used by the australian defence force. As I said I been in heavy rain for multiple days with zero leaks, been in -12 degree winter and no issues with condensation on the roof or walls.. The awning I got is 12oz australian made canvas and that also zero leaks on heavy rain apart from tiny pin holes from the sewing.. I'd never go to a caravan or hybrid unless something happened to my legs.. But even then the way I get into the rooftop tent is the same as the how the drifta dot 6 wuht did which is a step system from the drawbar to a toolbox and then a step and straight into the rooftop tent.. also the way we got the rooftop made it takes about 20 seconds to setup the main bit withou the side windows, with side windows a extra minutes or 2 depending how much im rushing.. Also i'mm have a freestanding side free standing awning which im custom making again using camo to go with my theme and will be a 1800x1700x2100 change room/shower/toilet room, and the 270 awning is pole atm but starting to modify it to be free-standing, and kitchen is drifta dpor kitchen with legs but me and my dad made a legless design not using tracks and is 10x stronger then tracks.. Im running 600w solar on rtt, 300w blanket solar, enerdrive dcdc40+, victron smart mttp's, atm i got a 140ah lithium, and a 330ah custom made by me lithium battery soon to make another.. running 47L evakool fridge in kitchen, and will have another fridge 95L evakool in toolbox, soon to have 170L aussie made water tanks with 12/240v tank hot water system.. No gas apart from butane bottle stoves, got a winnerwell fireplace/stove, pull apart aussie made firepit, japanese charcal bbq, heaps storage, its rated to 2T offroad springs.. and lots other things...
I’m saying that from experience in a Cavalier camper trailer with 100% Australian made canvas. 4 days of non stop wind and rain and it finally started leak. Anyone who knows the old Cavaliers knows the canvas was about as good as you can get.
Great video. Can you explain how the mattress is repositioned into the bed space after the fold out extension is set up. No videos explain or show this.
It has a split in the middle so that it can fold in half. So you pull the mattress back and simultaneously fold it over the top of itself. The bed can still remain made up. We then throw the pillows on top once folded. Mela does it herself and she’s only tiny so it’s not too bad.
I liked your video ..it was also funny
Now that you have that you will wonder how you lived without it. We tow a van as well and having a good bed and shelter is the best and so much easier. Cheers
Yeah I’m concerned that I’m going to be too soft come summer to swag it while towing the JetSki!
@@JebbreysJibberish Soft comes with age. Pretty hard to give up the comfy bed. For your wife the kitchen, toilet and shower are a game changer.
Yes the kitchen is a big hit :-)
Great review mate. Nice kitchen, but what do you do for more bench space in the kitchen area?
We have both the BBQ bench that goes on the rear of the van and a fold out table if we are staying for longer. We also have a chopping board that goes over the sink if needed. Generally it’s pretty manageable for just the two of us as is but when we are catering for a large group we use the plastic table from the back of the cruiser and sit it next to the kitchen.
Hi There thank you for the video, we have a baby Webber barbecue, did you make the that your barbecue is on? Can you show where it sits when not in use, thankyou
The Webber sits in the front cabinet on the drivers side. The stand actually came free with the Emu Xpedition.
Great video mate. We are looking at buying a van. Not sure which type yet. With yours do you have any problems with the canvas or vinyl around the roof, does it get mouldy or can it be damaged easily?
Does the shower area get damp and Mouldy?
Cheers Wayne
The PVC has had any dramas so far. I cut down a mob from coles so that it was a little shorter and we leave it in the bathroom to mob up after a a shower. We also chock the door open when not in use and in winter normally have the diesel heater running so it dries out pretty quick. But of course you still need to clean it like any other bathroom. We just got back from 7 days over 2700kms of off grid camping and it was awesome.
Wrights bridge? Nice caravan, I’m leaning towards a small lifestyle iconn for a bit less weight and still ok Offroad
Yep you guessed the location alright! 🤪
Hi
Thanks for the real review
How could we reach to those caravans prices and overseas shipping?
Good question! I don’t know how you would go about international shipping. They do bring the shells over in sea containers from China so maybe there an option to ship.
Absolutely great review mate, loved watching, just wondering how it’s holding up, any complaints?? What is the floor made from? Timber or composite material?
Yeah holding up well. I will be doing some more videos soon, had a bit going on. The floor is aluminium. So no rust or rot issues which I think is great!
Jebbreys Jibberish yeah awesome cheers for the reply I’ll be looking out for those vids 👍
awesome, love it, was it expensive
They are around $50k
J/J. Suits you two - very impressive sir ! So this 'Gramping Van' is ok for highway or off-highway travel & not off-road ? V.
Thank you, yeah it’s classified as off-road and I’m sure you could take it reasonably off-road. It’s height and weight would limit you a bit though. I don’t think I’d be dragging it down a super soft boggy beach or down tight hard core river tracks but moderate off road trails is fine. We’ve dragged it through a few already and no dramas thus far. Here in Oz we mainly have to contend with the viciously government stretches of nasty corrugated roads and I think this would be up to the task.
Good video but what happens if the electrics fails ? How do you put the roof down or up ? Can it be done manually ?
Yeah it has a manual override albeit it would be fiddly and time consuming to operate. But it is possible.
The only thing you need to be aware off is the wire size and the length of the run. I found out when I was poking around and wire size changed behind the framing, cost cutting?? Why??? Anyways nice van. 🛠👍
Yeah you can see the Chinese wiring and the stuff they was installed in Australia are totally different haha. Thankfully most of the stuff that matters is done here. Just a few lights and USB ports and stuff are Chinese. I’ve upgraded the inverter and inverter cabling with two 150amp fuses in parallel with twin 4G cable so that sorted out the thing I was most worried about.
@@JebbreysJibberish
I’ve got a snowy river 20f, I had to redo heaps, I reckon they all do it, but we can’t see it, sparkies just test current, lights on lights off. PASS.
Fully loaded @ 2.7 tons, how close are you to your vehicle’s load rating? Nice van, cheers
Right on GVM, well under GCM. Cheers.
Thanks for that. Really helped bring out the special features.
Out of interest, what are you towing with? I'm just a bit concerned about weight. We have a Challenger with the usual 2.4L turbo diesel donk. Not as much grunt as some.
I tow with a 200 series land cruiser but the 2.4l is a surprisingly capable engine. It’s more about weights than power legally speaking. Pretty sure the Mitsubishis are only 3.1t rated or there about but in reality that doesn’t make much difference as most cars can’t realistically tow 3.5t with their GVM after accessories, people and gear is included. There are a heap of really good videos online about towing weights. You should be able to tow a camper like ours with the Pajero but you will have to watch you weights carefully to stay legal. But you have to in any care anyway.
@@JebbreysJibberish Ta mate especially for the prompt response. We are currently towing a FF1 from Modcon. Great camper in the dry. Not so packing up or setting up in the wet, or quick stops. Wife just discovered tis hybrid hence got me exploring what review videos were out the.
It was great to see yours. I've now subscribed to suck as much data from you as I can handle. Love our Challenger, but not fun in traffic or stop/start loking uphill. Using a throttle controller, otherwise we could not cope in places like Toowoomba (manual trans).
I guess this would have us pulling several 100 kgs extra. Stil, lovely hybrid.
They are heavy that’s got sure but once rolling there’s but such a big deal. I have to say that having a metal roof and and indoor toilet and shower really has made life on the road so much easier.👍
We really liked the look of this model but then we saw a video from a couple in WA and their trip to the Kimberley was ruined totally by a van full of red dust. They did a follow up video of the fixes and all they did was over tighten the latches so you had to be superman to use them. Have Emu improved the seals since then that you know of?
The problem in their case ended up being issues with the under floor air conditioner seal I believe. I did a little extra dust proofing on mine, just minor stuff and it’s pretty good. Because of the stupid doors all Australian vans are required for LPG none are 100% but a positive air pressure system will stop all dust if you are doing hard core dusty stuff. In short they are a good as anything else out there. And at least you know with Emu you will get awesome back up if you need it. The support has been incredible for us.
@@JebbreysJibberish Yes I did see the reference to the under floor A/C unit however, the whole big kitchen enclosure is totally separate to the rest of the interior and it was covered in dust as well. And in the comments another owner pointed out that his front boot area also suffered the same fate as well. Again not just the A/C unit. There was a lot of sealing points overlooked in manufacture and wow that would have been a disastrous outcome for a planned holiday However, I like you idea of the roof top A/c unit but this would probably make the van too high to get under our carport. At 2.45m plus a roof top A/C unit brings it to around 2.7m high and it won't fit under. So i guess the search continues. I loved your review, very well done
@@rickvk2rr149 the kitchen is a simple fix. It has air/drain holes as required by Australian standards. I just siliconed them up. Took 2 minutes. None of my boxes leak dust.
Kumusta guys. Looks like it fits the bill for your needs. Is this Emu campervan/caravan Australian made?
Salamat, they are sold in Australia, built mainly in China but are finished off and kitted out here in Australia.
Great review, just wondering how you got the Night hawk modem to take both Telstra and Optus sims? Cheers
So you need to change the APN in the modem settings each time you switch SIMS. You will create a new one for Optus called Internet with the APN name of Internet. The Telstra one should already be in there and set to default. Once you have created the Optus one called 'Internet' you simply select that as the default and restart the modem to use Optus. Then when you put Telstra in you set the original Telstra one back to the Default and restart again. You can find the APN settings under Settings ---> Network
@@JebbreysJibberish thank! I will give this a go I have been trying for years to get this sorted. I even bought a non Telstra version when i was in Singapore. I went Optus for my mobile broadband because it it better value.
Should have no dramas with that, my partners with Optus and I’m with Telstra and by changing the APN we have no dramas.
Nicely done. What do they sell for roughly.
Around the $50k mark, but that does include a lot of stuff you’d have to pay extra for on similar makes. Just simple things like lithium batteries, front a frame tap, bbq stand, fully enclosed annexe etc.
Cool. Why the EMU over the local built Lifestyle Recon?
Price mainly, like locally built are so expensive. Even the emu was stretching our budget and it cost less than $50k at the time drive away with everything. Like EVERY thing. You’d be up for $20k plus more for an Australian one with similar specs and I don’t have $20k to throw around just so I can say it isn’t Chinese.
Any wind news come through the bed room?
Wind noise? I haven’t personally slept in the Xtraveler but our Xpedition is very quiet to sleep in.
Very similar to the Starvision CX3 Pro
I'm tall, 6.3ft is that bed long enough or is there some compromise, wish I was a bit shorter with these hybrids cheers🐻🐾👍
I’m 6’3 as well and my feet hang over the end if I stretch right out. Was the same in the travelander I had before too. It never bothered me then and doesn’t now but I think that’s because I had a diesel heater in both so your feet never get cold. I also generally sleep slightly curled up so don’t really notice it. Even my self inflating mattress in the tent would see my feet go over the edge.
In your opinion, do you think they are making these hybrid imports to heavy?
I think they are heavy. Too heavy I guess is a matter of what you are doing with it and what you’re towing it with🤣 the reality is all off road vans are heavy. Lots of locally built vans weights are dubiously calculated as well and don’t include a lot of the stuff the imports do IMHO. What would be interesting would be to see something locally built loaded up and accessorised vs something like mine on a weigh bridge. The 200 tows the Xpedition like a champ and it doesn’t feel too heavy. But if you had a lighter smaller vehicle it would be interesting to see how it felt.
@@JebbreysJibberish thanks for the reply cheers rick.
Is the emu a rip off of a blue tongue or is the blue tongue a rip off of the emu?
Well they would both be based on the same shell. In WA the same dealer sells both. Personally even thought blue tongue is cheaper I think the Emu is better value when you check the specs and inclusions. Things like lithium in the emu vs AGM in the blue tongue etc.
@@JebbreysJibberish Are they manufactured in Aus?
No. All of those style hybrids with the hard folding bedroom etc are imported shells finished off in Australia. Being built in China is not the issue it’s to what quality the build is requested to be in China that is what makes a good or bad product. Just because two Chinese made products look the same does not mean they are anything remotely similar in quality. I used to be involved in electronics importation many years ago and you get to request the different components quality level. Importers then work out what their priorities are vs there perceived market and profit margins and get them built to suit their needs. Stuff like canvas for example can be good or rubbish or anything in between depending on how much the importer is willing to pay. Welds are the same, steel grades etc etc. people who say they are all made in the same factory can sometimes have a point because sometimes they are, but they fail to realise that does not mean they are the same product. Go to the caravan and camping show and walk around at all the MDC, southern cross, Parkes and others and have a real good look. Like a proper good look. You will see there are significant differences depending on where they prioritised their spending.
The other thing is that good companies that have been doing this for a while see problems that occur under warranty and then request custom design changes to improve on the flaws. Because at the end of the day a good company wants to reduce warranty claims for the customer and their own benefit.
Thanks for the full review. You’re gf or wife is a little spunky. Lol
the 200 would shit that in towing.
A jayco copy kitchen, ???
Which Jayco has a kitchen like that? Oh you mean the crossover? These were out before them so I guess jayco copied them? 😳
@@JebbreysJibberish ok didn t know.
Yeah I really looked closely at the Jayco crossovers. There were a few things that put me off them. But it’s good to see them getting into this market too.
those shocks are cheap but not meant to have a rebound as you tried to demonstrate the lack of, we looked at these vans and thought they were ok but the pull out kitchen is much better than the pull out bed, the suspension is cheap Chinese on these and shockies upgrade won’t make the el cheapo swing arm when it comes to it, we insisted on a van with the cruisemaster XT suspension, great van we just had some prerequisites that we were not going to sway from.