Holden Captiva (modified) Tackling Big Red Birdsville Australia

Took the Holden Craptiva on a 7000 + klm long ride around the outback of Australia. Crossed seven boarders over 3 weeks. I actually made it to the top of Big Red on the first attempt but only remembered to film it on the second go. Tyre pressures here were set at around 16 psi but generally 24-28 psi is fine for soft sand. Holden Craptivas also suffer inherent wheel alignment issues and front tyres have scrubbed out in only 15,000 klms on the black top. Rotating them to make them go further actually destroys all four as the rear tyres once on the front scrub out inside edge very quickly. At nearly $400 a tyre its costing $3,200 a year for tyres as we average about 40,000 klm's a year.
The Craptiva is capable 4x4 in the right conditions. Shame about the build quality. Huge gaps in the rear body work where it is spot welded let huge amounts of dust enter the cabin. Parts are expensive brought from a Stealership with a fan belt (drive belt for alt, air con etc) costing $130 and an oil filter around $50 even tho they are made in China.

Pros: Horn works

Cons: On second set of tyres in under 40,000 klm's
*Rear parking censors failed and dealer charged $650 to replace the two outside censors (that the dealer said stopped working because they had a bit of paint missing off them which they say, "from their experience" is enough to render them inoperable) Problem was actually in the trailer plug and both censors that were replaced are in perfect working order. Holden Dealer refuses to refund money.
*Left hand rear door lock and side mirror electrical faults.
*Rocks caught between factory belly plate and fuel tank rubbed a hole in fuel tank causing fuel to leak onto exhaust.
*Transmission overheats when driving in sand or towing up hills.
*Dash and door trims warping leaving up to 5mm gaps.
*Headlights fill with water when driving in heavy rain.
*Sat Nav dose not work properly and most country gazetted roads are not loaded into it.
*The vehicle uses 15 litres per 100 klms and for a 2 litre this is very poor economy. Most other brands who fit 3 litre diesels use less than this. Vehicle battles to do 110 klms an hour on highways with a slight headwind. Dealer says this is normal?
*Vehicle requires special engine oil due to a Particulate Filter in exhaust. This is expensive at around $20 a litre.

Towed a compact camper trailer over the 6 or so dunes to get out to Big Red outside of Birdsville Queensland. The main track to the dunes was underwater due to the huge amount of precipitation the Australian Outback in particular Queensland has had over the last year.
I carried a total of 80 litres of Diesel in the camper trailer. Carried 90 litres of water and enough food for 2 weeks at a time (taking into account the weird weather Aus is having at the mo, the chances of being stranded are there). Run two Waeco 31 and 40 litre fridges with two Aux batteries isolated by electronically controlled units. The 31 litre Waeco was used as freezer. I took my little mate "Chief" the Red Heeler who is dieing of complications with his heart. He made it home which I was thankful for.
Chief the dishlicker died on Saturday 23rd of July 2011 after complications. He was a great companion. Rip old mate

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Holden
• Captiva
• Outback
• Australia
• 4x4
• Allwheeldrive
• Bigred
• Sanddunes
• Dune
• Queensland
• Qld
• Pirelli
• Scorpion
• 18inch
• Chev
• Littlered
• Fourby
• Birdsville
• Birdsvilletrack
• Plenty
• Donohue
• Alicesprings
• Finke
• 4x4action
• Chief

[browndogrider1962]

My only dislike is that the section the Captiva is trying to climb (driving east, and taking the right hand side track, is in fact the easy side.

If your serious, you could attempt the left side, which is the side your driving down!

[gdbrts]

@browndogrider1962 Yes indeed the right track is the chicken track, the easy one but the left one was near vertical at the top as no one had used it for some time.Nothing would have made it up the left side that day. After some regular use of several vehicles coming down the left side this would knock the top off making it easier. Captivas are by no means built for this stuff but with mods it can be done. I once took a FLHS Harley around Fraser Island back in 1996. I'm mad I know but it helps :)

[nfj611]

Thanks for that feedback.

The Captiva wasn't my first choice, I liked the new Territory but couldn't squeeze it into the budget. Luckily it's not my money paying for it as it will be a company leased car.

So I'm getting a new LX Captiva next week with those 19 inch rims. My current plan is to by a 2nd hand set of either 17 or 18 inch rims and fit some proper tyres. We're planning on doing the Gibb River road towing an offroad camper trailer next year. Do you think the Captiva would be up to it?

[gdbrts]

@nfj611 If you balance the weight between the Holden and Camper trailer the Captiva should have no problems. I have done the Gibb 6 times 4 times in a FJ45 Landcruiser,once in a Daihatsu Terios and once rode the track on a BMW GS Adventure 1200 the last time 3 years ago. Derby end is well formed but the Kununurra end is a bit rougher and rocky. I fabricated new mounts for our Captiva to run Air shocks running 140 psi which made a world of difference and gave 2 inches of ground clearance.Awesome

[nfj611]

Great video promoting the Captiva - one of the reasons I decided to get one.

Holden are insisting on selling me one with their standard wheels. I told them that I want to take it off road and want wheels/tyres to suit, but they tell me I'll have to get my own set. What wheel size and tyre type/size do you have on your car and did you get them with the car or separately?

[gdbrts]

@nfj611 The rims on this LX are 18 inch std and the new LX have 19 inch rims. There are few off road tyres to suit a 19 inch rim. The Pirelli Scorpions I fitted on the Captiva are $340 each. If you buy a Captiva be aware that they have inherent front wheel alignment issues regarding camber. Tyres wear out within 15,000 klms even after rotating every 5000 klms. Its poor design and between that and the poor dust sealing in the Captiva I would not go near another Holden. After sales support is poor

[gdbrts]

@sprebb Its an Auto. The springs sagged a bit after the pounding they got. A few decent stone chips and small dents after rocks bounced off the camper trailer. Went through two sets of stone guards as they just wore out.

This is not our first 4x4 and the FJ45 Landcruiser we have has worn out. I've done heaps of outback touring and knew what the terrain would be like so the little Holden was fine. Next year we'll do the Simpson along the French Line etc which will probably done in a Kia Sorento.

[sprebb]

went better than i would have thought. Any damage from all the rough roads? Any reason why you chose a captiva? Manual or Auto?