5 Year Trip in a Grenadier Across the World towing a Patriot X3 Which We Live In.

[ColoradoMike]

This is a great shout. You can get some real bargains right now. If you use it a lot, it pays for itself over time. You can also go pretty much anywhere which was the whole reason we bought ours.

Great to know! BTW.....My wife and I love your adventures! Thanks for sharing your world with us!

 

[TheDocAUS]

What did you decide in the end?

Matt

Short list was Kimberley Caravan, Patriot ST5 and Vista RV Crossover. I choose the Vista RV Crossover XLE in the end. It gave me most of what the other two did, at a substantial cost saving - even when I got most of the options. Plus another Grenadier owner has one and gave me real life feedback.

I needed a hybrid offload van to go remote in Australia, all 3 could do the job, but the service from Vista RV was at another level and that helped also. The days of sleeping in the 4X4 are probably over after the car accident, when my last car (a Nissan Patrol) was destroyed. I want the van to go the same places I went in the Nissan Patrol.

BTW I enjoyed the latest video.

 

[Matt P]

Great to know! BTW.....My wife and I love your adventures! Thanks for sharing your world with us!

Thanks for following along Mike! We’re very much looking forward to checking Colorado out with this setup. I just finished watching this

View: https://youtu.be/AVmrbBqVoYc?si=tHd4lX_c52Q8g3C_and
it brought back some good memories! We LOVE Colorado! Leah’s actually originally from there, we very nearly moved there back in 2016. Would be great to say hello when we come through. It’s going to be a while yet but we’ll get there in the end!

 

[Matt P]

Matt

Short list was Kimberley Caravan, Patriot ST5 and Vista RV Crossover. I choose the Vista RV Crossover XLE in the end. It gave me most of what the other two did, at a substantial cost saving - even when I got most of the options. Plus another Grenadier owner has one and gave me real life feedback.

I needed a hybrid offload van to go remote in Australia, all 3 could do the job, but the service from Vista RV was at another level and that helped also. The days of sleeping in the 4X4 are probably over after the car accident, when my last car (a Nissan Patrol) was destroyed. I want the van to go the same places I went in the Nissan Patrol.

BTW I enjoyed the latest video.

Great shortlist! I’m always keeping tabs on these things and seeing how everything evolves. My son Jack loves it too and then we just build out what we’ve seen using Lego!

You can’t beat real life feedback from actual owners who use it in the way you want to. As for having a capable trailer. We’re on the same page, there’s no point having a Grenadier if the trailer and can’t come along for the ride! Whatever that ride maybe… I hope you enjoy the new Vista and I’m sorry to hear about the crash where your Patrol was destroyed…

Glad you enjoyed the latest video! We’ve got a few more on their way soon!

 

[ItalianAmerican]

God bless and protect you and your family as you go on this amazing journey! Will definitely be following.

I also don't see any typical Jerry Cans on your rig/Gren, which is giving me high anxiety, as I carry at least one on any road/camping trip just in case. And that one place you stopped at recently for gas was hilarious. Haven't seen that since I was a kid in Italy.

 

[Matt P]

God bless and protect you and your family as you go on this amazing journey! Will definitely be following.

I also don't see any typical Jerry Cans on your rig/Gren, which is giving me high anxiety, as I carry at least one on any road/camping trip just in case. And that one place you stopped at recently for gas was hilarious. Haven't seen that since I was a kid in Italy.

Thanks so much! We’ve got two 20L jerries on the top all the time. We’ve also been using up to three Giant Loop Armadillo fuel bags. (Each 20L) We never fill up to capacity so there’s space for expansion but this gives us an extra 90L. (5x18L) We strongly recommend that you don’t use these based on our experience to date.

As for filling up, that particular gas stop is quite unusual which is why we included it but these places definitely still exist in some places around the world!

 

[bigleonski]

Thanks so much! We’ve got two 20L jerries in the top all the time. We’ve also been using up to three Giant Loop Armadillo fuel bags. (Each 20L) We never fill up to capacity but this gives us an extra 90L. (5x18L) We strongly recommend that you don’t use these based on our experience to date.
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As for filling up, that particular gas stop is quite unusual which is why we included it but these places definitely still exist in some places around the world!

Loaded up and towing the van, what sort of fuel economy are you managing so far Matt? Acknowledging it will vary with the varying terrain.

Thanks for the heads up re the bladders - that option was one I had considered.

 

[Matt P]

Loaded up and towing the van, what sort of fuel economy are you managing so far Matt? Acknowledging it will vary with the varying terrain.

Thanks for the heads up re the bladders - that option was one I had considered.

Avoid those bladders at all costs. I loved them initially but after a few months, we most certainly did not, as you’ll see soon…

In terms of fuel, it varies a LOT. Max we’ve got is 430km from 90L on a highway. Lowest is around 240km from 90L but that was fully loaded, very tricky terrain and large changes in elevation. I was really surprised how bad it was though under seriously challenging conditions.

Range with the petrol is an issue and why we need to carry an extra 90L fairly often when we go remote - especially when building in contingency as we’re solo everywhere we go. We went with petrol for simplicity but it does give us this range challenge. Hopefully that’ll be solved with an extra tank underneath we’re looking into. That will mean bigger tyres and maybe a lift though as we’ve hit that rear bash plate quite a few times despite being very careful and I definitely don’t want to be hitting that!

 

[TWExplor]

It has been great seeing all the places you have explored. We are in the process of building out our Grenadier for extended travel and have considered the fuel bladders as well. It will be interesting to hear your experiences with them.

 

[Matt P]

It has been great seeing all the places you have explored. We are in the process of building out our Grenadier for extended travel and have considered the fuel bladders as well. It will be interesting to hear your experiences with them.

I look forward to seeing your build! I’m watching all the Grenadier groups and forums closely for future ideas! (When we have some form of connection that is)

As for fuel bladders. We can only comment on the ones we had. They’re easier to use than jerries, lighter, you can put them away when you’re not using them but note that they expand very easily to balloon size and fumes are always present and permeate through the bag. I understand that all containers will expand somewhat but these really do balloon. If you’re going to push things, in terms of altitude, heat and just general wear and tear, I’d strongly recommend sticking with jerries, rotopax or similar or a long range tank.

I’ll leave this here and let you make your own conclusion. It’s only one review, granted, but what we’re talking about is very flammable fuel, on a moving vehicle, with you and maybe even your family or friends inside…

 

[TWExplor]

The fumes permeating through the bag seems a bit problematic. If we did use them they would probably only be in use for a limited time and in particular situations. The fact that they can be rolled up and put away is a plus.

We hope that some extended range fuel tanks that are being developed might be a better permanent solution.

 

[ColoradoMike]

Thanks for following along Mike! We’re very much looking forward to checking Colorado out with this setup. I just finished watching this

View: https://youtu.be/AVmrbBqVoYc?si=tHd4lX_c52Q8g3C_and
it brought back some good memories! We LOVE Colorado! Leah’s actually originally from there, we very nearly moved there back in 2016. Would be great to say hello when we come through. It’s going to be a while yet but we’ll get there in the end!

Matt...definitely hit us up when you get here to Colorado! I did not know Leah is fro here! We live between Denver and Colorado Springs

 

[parb]

If you guys drop by san francisco bay area make sure to drop by. i'll host you for some home cooked food and if its the summer i'm sure the kids would enjoy frollicking in the swimming pool.