Will It all Fit?

[VKPrado Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close VKPrado]

Well the time has come when the whole family (wife and 2 boys) are going to do some touring on the mainland. Places most likely to visit will be Googs Track, Flinders Ranges, Strezleki Track etc.

I suppose my question is, are we going to be able to fit everything we need for the four of us into just the Prado, no trailer? We also don't have much at all yet so will be looking to see what others have.

We are looking at getting an Oztent RV5 so will have to have a roof rack and that is about as far as we have gotten with deciding what we need.

If there are any others out there that have toured with four in the vehicle and no trailer I would be very interested in hearing about your setup.

All help appreciated as it has taken a long time to get the wife to agree on a trip like this. 8)

[chester Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close chester]

Re: Will It all Fit?

It depends on hopw remote you are going used to do it years ago in the 4 Runner on surfung tours with the boys

Boards on roof racks
2 x 2 man tents
1 sleeping bag each
Baggage limited to one back pack each
1x esky for beer
We used to eat mainly at the bowling clubs so just used to take some snaks etc in one of those plastic tubs
1x butane cooker
some bacon and eggs
paper plates and plastic cultery

Like i said i found you save the most room if you do not have to worry about food

[VKPrado Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close VKPrado]

Re: Will It all Fit?

Thanks for that Chester. It is a good starting point. We are looking at places like Googs track, Flinders Ranges, Strezleki Track etc. Want to stay on the dirt as much as possible.

[ozwapet2 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close ozwapet2]

Re: Will It all Fit?

Haven't toured with four and a tent but have done with two up for 12 weeks - was a breeze with the back seat out and a small roofrack.
But you should be OK as long as you get a decent strong full length roofrack and one of those canvas roof bags - then you can stick light but bulky stuff like clothes and sleeping gear on top. I know people who did months away in a GQ patrol with two kids like this.
Do a couple of trial packs and you'll soon see what you need to leave behind or condense down - you can get a lot of really compact collapsible stuff these days ( buckets, washbasins tables, chairs etc.).
Thanks to the 180 litre fuel tank you shouldn't need to carry fuel in jerry cans.
An extra spare rim and tyre takes a lot of room and is heavy - maybe consider if you need one. I only carry an ARB Safety Seal plug kit and compressor, which is compact and has gotten me out of most situations. Take an EPIRB or sat phone.
You'll still need to pack very judiciously though. Where possible we use the edict "everything we take must have more than one use".
Buedget and be prepared to pay for a cabin or motel every 4th-5th night or so, or when weather tuns bad - helps keep the sanity.

[Hutch Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hutch]

Re: Will It all Fit?

We carry two adults to kids, here is our list from last trip.

pram,
portacot,
toolbox,
recovery bag,
air compressor,
matrax x2,
4 x large bags,
3mx3m shade tent.
computer bag,
two camera bags,
3 pillows,
and few other bits and pieces and i could still see easily out of the back window.

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: Will It all Fit?

Did a remote trip across the Simpson during August. Couldn't fit another thing in or ontop of the car so the youngest one stayed with the mother in law. Actually we probably could have got her in. We had a drawer system with 40l fridge, about 100ls of water in numerous containers, small packing 6man tent, boxes of food, tools, spares, extra tyre, bags of cloths, mats, sleeping bags, too much crap and one carton of beer for two weeks :?

There is no real answer. Just depends on where you go and who you go with. You can put a lot in but are you sure you are going to use/need it, or are you packing it because you think you should? I still need to work that one out with a few things but I'm getting closer. You will be surpise at the places you find you can fit stuff. Also remember when packing the rear to try it a few ways because sometimes you find an absolute gem in the jigsaw puzzle that fits beautfully and locks it all in perfect place!

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Re: Will It all Fit?

We are looking at getting an Oztent RV5 so will have to have a roof rack and that is about as far as we have gotten with deciding what we need.

How old are the boys?
Have you looked at two, smaller Oztents? We were planning two RV4's or 3's joined by Oztents annex attachment which creates two small rooms.

[VKPrado Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close VKPrado]

Re: Will It all Fit?

When we go the boys will be 4 and 6.

Thankyou for all the information it has all been helpful.

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Re: Will It all Fit?

This was us at the start of the year... a week on Straddie but staying at a holiday house, although we did have to take our own linen, towels, cooking stuff etc...


Only pillows, and my camera bag were in the foot wells of the 2nd row seat.
Lorelai was only 5 weeks old so we had a port-a-cot, pram, bottle steriliser and a few other largish things you wouldn't need for the boys. The port-a-cot would be the size of a tent (but your putting that on the roof) and not having the pram would free up a lot of space on the roof racks.
There is also a rather large (but sparsely stocked) tackle box in there...

... so, I reckon with some creative packing you would get all you need in there.

And yes, there is a cargo barrier.... please make sure you've got one b4 loading up this high.

[VKPrado Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close VKPrado]

Re: Will It all Fit?

Thanks for that Snaga. The picture is worth a thousand words so will print it off and use it as a guide