Is it really necessary or just for show?

Hi Bonnidowns,

Obviously the answer to this one depends a lot on what sort of country you will be touring - on one dry creek crossing, whilst I didn't catch the duck tail, I did just slightly catch the step so I reckon that had the duck tail been any less angled I may have caught that too. I don't reckon the creek was especially severe compared to any others you might come across.

Now, admittedly, it was the first crossing I had made with the BT, and not knowing how much pulling power the Landcruiser had, I went through faster than was really necessary so there was a bit of bounce.

Phil

We
have not been many places yet, but the only small creek we took I got it wrong
a bit and dropped down in 50mm step. We slightly bent the steps by taking this
wrong line. Re back, Jenny tells me ‘we needed it’ to be safe.

I intend to go many worse than this one.



----------------------

Gary Harding

TriSys Engineering/III



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From: Bushtracker Owners Group
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Sent: Sunday, 22 August 2004 5:32
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Subject: Is it really necessary or
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From: bonnidowns












The cut off angle on a Bushtracker seems extremely large
compared to a Kedron, they go the same places as Bushtracker. We were thinking
of halving the cut off to better use the extra flat space.


Have people found they needed the extra clearance to
justify loosing the flat space which equates to about 300ml/12in this is a
lot in a van.


We feel that the area between the tow ball and the front
of the van would foul before the back came into play.


We were thinking of a 20/21ft Bushtracker towed by a
Landcruiser.





Bonnidowns.











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If you start to get serious off-road the cutaway will make the going easier over and into things like contour banks for water runoff or the down side as you enter a creek bed or cross it etc etc. This would probably be only about 5 % of BTs if that though, so it is mainly show as well as some go !! The chassis will still hit the ground but it will hit sooner without the cutaway. I like the cutaway because it made it very easy to mount the pole tube and it (pole tube) looks better aesthetically tucked under. It also makes a difference swinging round in tight caravan parks because the rear bumper is way above waist height. Also the rear of any van is the last place to store anything of any weight ... it affects handling markedly by potentially increasing the polar movement of inertia (see Collyns's article) and can potentially decrease the ballweight percentage. The extra frame, chassis, floor and skin to square it off might add rear weight in itself ? If I was squaring off the rear for extra space I'd only be storing items of bulk not weight in that area. A BT without it ...is ...well ....like milk without cream .... toast without jam .... a lady without a purse .... a teenager without a mobile phone ...[smile] Check with BTi on this one ...... Regards Anthony Explore this Great Land ...Do it Easy ...Tow a Bushtracker

Backing up to a steep rise or embankment is where you really need the cutaway
We would have been stuck in a dead end track if we hadn't been able to back up an embankment to get out.
Would not have made it without the cutaway.
Turist

You'll probably find the 'rear cutoff' is part of BTI's design and they wouldn't be prepared to compromise same. I agree and Anthony's puts it nicely:-'milk with cream' etc. David.

The point of our statement with the cut off end of
the Bushtracker, was to find out how often you find yourself in the situation
that you can only get out with the Bushtracker design, we did not
want know the one time you got stuck because you will get stuck in any thing (
from a tank to a push bike ) it's inevitable!.
With the reference to the Kedron they seem to go
the same destinations a Bushtracker .With the design we have in mind the large
cut off is a hassle, we are not after storage were after floor
space.

Bonnidowns

Bonnidowns, I initially thought the cut-off was excessive- a bit "Mucho", but having had some experiences in the bush, such as three or four point turns where there is an embankment, fallen tree or rocky outcrop I can see why BTI has designed it that way. My purpose-built BT Garage is 8.4 x 4.2m and there is just enough room for walking around. The cut-off allows for additional floor storage space for a wheelbarrow, saw horses, golf buggy, and a couple of drums, without inhibiting the walk-around space. When camping in the wet, the area underneath provides additional "undercover" storage ....eg. Dry wood for fire. We find that the van has more than enough storage space without altering cut-off design. Cheers....................Rob

We were at Bushtracker having a few things done to our van November last year and while we were there we saw a BT almost ready for pick up that had no cut away at all and no waterproof door. So BT will probably build one as you have described. Regards Jodie

Ours has the bed over the cut-off, so there is no loss of floor space. Bed goes almost the width of the van, with small storage at "bed head" - needed extra length bed for my king sized husband. It still has a huge storage area under the bed, which comes up with gas-lifters, as well as a hatch from the outside - great for storing wet or muddy items when packing up from a camp.