MDC Forbes 13+ Review | 12mnths/25,000kms | SHOULD YOU BUY A CHINESE HYBRID CARAVAN
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- čas přidán 11. 07. 2024
- G'day guys,
After nearly 12mnths over ownership and over 25,000kms of travel (including living out of it for 5mnths) we thought nows a great time to do a final review on our MDC Forbes 13+.
Overall we reckon its great value and we we're really happy with how it stood up to some really tough conditions. MDC themselves were good to deal with, and we would buy another MDC van again (if they did a layout that suited us).
Heres some other videos on the van;
Picking up the new van and fitting some mods before the trip;
• Our New Caravan - MDC ...
4mnths in Review ;
• Car and Van update (wh...
Cheers!
Cam, Tiff and Chloe,
wildtouring1@gmail.com
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What I totally love about your channel is that you DON’T have a 200 series, chopped, extended, 35s etc, & a 24 foot caravan with a 800amp/hr lithium set up.
I live in Cairns, & used to do it in an old Hiace.
Your both a normal couple doing it on a budget, & enjoying it.
That’s why I love following you guys ❤️👍
I have a $10,000 Lexus lx470 and a rusty $600 trailer. Stand by 😂
Agree
Looks like the van held up really well. Gotta tell ya. I miss waking up to your vids on Saturday haha.
Aaah so good to see you both! Really look forward to your travels again. Hope you had a great Easter with the fam. X
good video and an honest account of your experiences with the van, fantastic set of clips from your travels to end the video - excellent memories
Love your honesty. All in all though the van has handled everything you pretty much through at it. Good luck with the search for a new van team!
Really good video, love your honesty and unbiased review. I have been following your travels, heading WA way early May and hope to spend a couple of months touring around the state, although not a lot of off road. Looking forward to more videos of your travels.
Another great vid, thanks guys. Your honesty in your reviews is appreciated. Keep it up 👍👍
Great unbiased, transparent, real world, no BS review. Thanks!
Great video Guy's. Loved the whole series. Looking forward to the D - max canopy build.
Thanks mate, super helpful vid. Great van, great family, great times. Happy travels.😎😁
thanks Cam & Tiff great honest rundown on the Van . Hope you had a great Easter as well
A very informative video. We thoroughly enjoyed sharing your trip and interaction with the boss err daughter. Best wishes for the future.
Just got back fm mad dash across to your world fm NSW, was going north but that little wind came up so used your southern adventures as guide, very helpful. great vid on the MDC
Gr8 presentation guys. I live in NZ and coming over in 6 months to do the Lap. Tossing up between 3 vans. Your video sold me. Thanks Rob
great review, thank you for making it! I remember when you first set off on your big trip, we wondered how that van would go - very impressed at the quality!
Look forward to what van you choose next! ✌
Another great video guys, I love your honesty and how you don’t slag off any other companies. Just saying it how it is . Keeps me watching . 👍
Another great vid guys, +1 for MDC we have had a Jackson Forward Fold for 3 years now we bought new and have not had a single issue with it would highly recommend the company.
Thx mate getting my 4x4 next year , been looking at these vans, best to hear from someone who has got one hopefully I get time off to use them😊
Great video. MDC Would be crazy not to throw you an XT17 for your big lap...
Yeah still not big enough if you have a large dog we own one and there’s only enough room for 2 people they are compacted inside. Which is fine as your only inside to sleep and if its bad weather because with the outside kitchen and fridge side your outside most of the time anyway… we have a huge long haired German shepherd no room for him in van except laying in front of the door and the en-suite 😊
Hi. Loved your series and have just visited the MDC showroom in Welshpool. We are looking at the AUSRV XL13 as opposed to your Forbes 13. Mainly due to the fact that it comes standard with the 200AH Lithium batteries, and what my wife says, has a little more cupboard space. I spoke to Luke and mentioned your Vlog which they are well aware of and most impressed with. They did say that you have resisted any inducements from them and continue to provide honest opinion of their products. This is why I find your post most satisfying and will probably purchase the XL13. Keep up the great work and stay safe.
Great wrap up on the van, all the research was worth it
Looks like a well rehearsed setup with a time of 3 mins
You certainly gave it a work out
Great review looking forward to the canopy build
Informative videos mate love the honest reviews
As a fellow Forbes 13+ owner it’s great to have watched yours in action. Inspired to head over to the west and explore. We too have been so impressed by MDC and get a little defensive when people (often non owners) are critical. Hope they hook you up with a good price on a bigger one now 😉
Great honest video guys. We dealt with MDC a few years ago when we bought a rear fold camper. The warrenty they gave us was sending a guy to a campsite in Darwin to weld the stainless water tank, we live in Perth, now thats service.
Even to this day I would recommend MDC, even though we own a Bushtracker, some thing you should consider if wanting long term.
Keep the great videos coming, see you up the road some day!!
Great review guys. Plenty of info without being boring or being overloaded with too much info. Typically down to earth that I love about your channel. Keep up the good work. Can’t wait for the next series of vids. Hope MDC look after you after this review. They obviously watch as they have up’ed the price.
When you go to sell it let me know. It looks pretty close to perfect for what we are looking for. I don’t know how to send a private message to give you my details.
awesome thanks for your help , a fly screen clip, i would never had thought
Hey guys I have just found your page, we have started looking for a Hybrid so this is great.
Excellent run down of how the van went 12 months on. Good to see the warranty work was simple as I know some Australian built ones make it a bit harder than it should be. 😜
Bloody done well considering what you have done with it guys.
Good overview. Can’t wait for the Big lap!!! Hopefully 2025 I’ll see ya out there 👏👏
Luv the vids...we live in Mundaring and have a Forbes 13 and watching your vids with tips helped us in what we need and don't need. We used vinyl for under mattress thx to your tip....I also added a 240v plug on outside of van and a 3000watt inverter to try out, but may have to go lithium in future...anyway safe travels and we may run into you guys some day on the road....Cheers !
Cheers Jack!
The standard batteries won’t be loving that load on them. But it’s a good opportunity to upgrade to lithium and you could even run your AC off it then😉
That’s what I’ll be doing on the next one!
Grea vid. once again folks, thanks for all that info. I'd be inclined to get one even more now, if I wasn't renovating the old Viscount, I reckon I'd sign on the dotted line - Peter V.
Just realised I don’t comment much on this channel, so I will now, I absolutely love all your vids, don’t think Ive missed one since finding the channel which would have to be about 2 years, cant say the same for I would have to say 99% of the other channels, even the big you tubers.
Cant wait to see the van you decide on and the car build. We ended up buying a Chinese brand van, pick it up in July, only 2 of us our kids are grown up.
Love your channel because its fairdinkum thankyou.
Thanks mate! 👍 enjoy your new van!
Great review. I think you covered all questions about the van. If I was in the market for a van, I would have steered well clear of MDC but you have proved that they are as decent as any other vans. The payload is where many fail, MDC have covered that problem.
You two Sorry Three, made great video's on your trip looking forward to when you do your full lap.
We were nervous too but the feedback on the owners group is overwhelmingly positive! We have a lot of faith in the brand now! Been doing research on new van options and the payload on so many is bloody pathetic!
Nice review guys MDC. Come on Elross sponcer them for some great publicity, they have just finished a double bunk van too lol. Really miss what shenanigans you are getting up to, one powerball hey
Great vid guys
Awesome video guys 🤠👍
A great set of videos.
another great vid cobber
Great review !
Top stuff. Cheers guys. A tip given to us was to put a sock over the shower rose to stop direct contact and scratching etc. Heavy sock is better.
Cheers Don, good idea mate!
Great review
Hope you do a series on your search for a new caravan.
Lol! Tiff doing most of the heavier set up work?! Slacker! Looking forward to you guys travelling again! Cheers
😂
Great video guys for what it's worth we run a 15+ and have a 3 and a 5 year old as well as a kelpie and a blue healer who sleep in the van and no problems....yet
This is exactly what I wanted to hear.
We have a 3 and 5yr old and we are looking at a 15+
Aaaah some good adventures 👍🏼
I think it is time for all van makers to use bigger parallel bearings, it seems such a better and stronger way. Thanks enjoyed the video.
I found this very informative. Trying to decipher between all the chinese imported shells is making me go cross-eyed. Thanks for sharing, enjoy your travels guys.
Yeah there’s quite a few out there now! I may be wrong but I think MDC were one of the first to bring out this design, and back when we bought it there weren’t many others to chose from.
Plenty out of the same factory
Have a look at the modcon vans, they tick a lot of boxes. We have ordered a c3 and have 2 kids, probably a bit small for what you want but they do offer a bigger model.
Cam and Tiff
Thanks for sharing your trip. My wife and I expect our Forbes13 to arrive in a couple of days. Just a question about the tyres on the van. Except for the tyre you hav mentioned, how did the tyres on the van fare on the trip?
I am assuming your van was/is fitted with Goodride.
just a another thing we use at home when power goes out,,,we rely on pump for water /tanks ,,, and also when camping is a 5 ltr garden sprayer ...cut the lance down to hand held size ,,,just add a pot of hot water rest cold from gas burner...works a treat...gets roughly 2 good showers... just a few pumps...ready hot and strong..lol
Just picked up an XT12 HR, haven't taken it any where yet. However on first inspection everything seems very well made and put together. Little things like all internal trims line up and are straight and true in the corners etc. What really impresses me and I think this is a sign of good workmanship is the way the sealer is applied. Everything is sealed. The sealant, not only in places that can be seen but in out of the way places the sealant has been applied very neatly and carefully. Very impressed so far.
Totally agree. That was so clear to us when we visited a few showrooms to look at competing brands.
@@WildTouring there is a review just recently from a young couple from WA of a competing brand, the workmanship is totally disgusting appalling in some areas
Great review. It's possible that your warranty experience was biased. Overall though you had minimal issues compared to what some people have with actual full sized vans that have huge reputations. Across our group of friends we have many different brands of vans, hybrids and campers, and I don't think anyone hasn't had some sort of issue. How boring it would be to live in a perfect world!!! See you next episode. Cheers.👍👍
Possibly but we’ll never know. Yes, seems like every brand has issues. I must say we were really pleasantly surprised at how minor our issues were.
Just took our Forbes 12+ in for its first service in Adelaide. A few minor leaks in the same spot you mentioned Cam plus a few other things. Fixed them up, no problems I feel very comfortable with my purchase. Australian manufacturers wake up to yourself, gone are the days of relying on the Aussie brand, get onto the quality brand or go the way of the dodo.
I agree, politics aside being Australian built does not carry the same weight it use to. There are plenty of imports that are every bit as good if not better!
Im just encountering this as MDC is a recent arrival here in the states. I also recently learned that the reason so many look alike is because so many come from the same factory in china. Even so these things seem lightyears ahead of the rigs coming from our own manufacturers in Indiana. What sets this apart is your detail in 1) what issues you had. none of them are serious. 2) MDCs response and handling of warranty claims. if MDC and its dealers in the US act in the same way and pay the same attention to detail, thats whats going to set the brand apart, making it better able to justify the cost.
Buggered if I know why that door that was busted off, isn't hinged from the front..
Good that they came to the party and fixed it though.
Another great vid..
Yeah I agree mate! Considered moving latches and hinges myself but didn’t get around it it before we left.
Nice video as always. Not sure about mdc necessarily having superior suspension though. I know that Fantasy f3sd has the large parallel bearings and big stub axle as well. Cheers
Cheers Dean!
Don’t think we found specifics on stub axle/bearing/wheel stud sizes for the fantasy hybrids during our research.
But payload is often a good indication as it’s limited by the load limit rating on wheel bearings, stub axles, wheel studs, springs, rims, swing arms, chassis, flooring etc.
Great review cam just wondering if you use hema maps or anything like that trying to work out what we’ll need on our travels hope the canopy build is on track 👍
I’ve had the Hema apps for a long time, but I honestly don’t find them very useful. I’ll normally just use google street/satellite maps and WikiCamps !
great review,,,looking at buying a hybrid soon...didn't know that it was chinese...looking at a jayco crosstrak roughly same price...aussie made with dealerships everywhere...with trusted parts pedders,fiama, projecta/redarc,alloy composite build/flooring,ceramic coating on body ,no slide out kitchen ,built into side wall,,,,outside shower which we prefer reasoning less weight,no gap filler, less to go wrong,maint wise,,,no mildew from being indoors and frees up space inside,,we use a thunder bucket at the moment when camping/just bag it and dispose at bin at next garbo/we carry in a spare wheel bag on back of trailer ...negatives have to go outdoors in all weather ....
will definately be looking at one at newcastle nsw show coming up...any feedback or advice would be much appricated...ps love you keg set up...happy travel guys,might see ya's doing the next lap....take care.................
You think Jayco is Aussie made! Kidding right.
Talking about price, i think my wife and I snagged a bargain. we purchased right at the start of covid when everyone was holding onto their money. Supreme/Leader caravans were running a 10grand off promotion, I haggled them down further and we got $7k worth of extras thrown in for free. so we got a 21'6" triple bunk, offroad, independent dual axle suspension, solar, twin batteries with all the bells and whistles caravan worth $81k from an Australian made and owned company for $62k.
Within 2 weeks of the promotion starting the caravan industry started to boom and they immediately cancelled the promotion.
Timing is everything.
Wow you certainly snagged a bargain!!
Timber walled van still
@@brianostwald802 not sure exactly what you are trying to say in your comment sorry. I think you are saying that supreme/leader use timber walls?
Our van is a leader which apparently is the "more premium" side of the Supreme brand as a whole. so i can only speak for the Leader side of it, but you can opt in composite walls instead of your traditional install at no extra cost. depending on the look it may add or reduce the weight of your van. we opted for composite front and back with standard walls.
Yeah you’re back about time 💪🏼👍🏽🇦🇺👌🏼what’s going on with the D-Max rear canopy
In the build process now, if you follow up on Instagram I’ve been doing some stories of the build process. The CZcams series should be starting in the next month ☺️
Ok cam no problem I haven’t got instagram I’ll just wait until you finish it good on you buddy 💪🏼👍🏽🇦🇺👌🏼🍻
Awesome and honestly review. Did you have any dramas with the Ute? and are you going to up grade it? Cheers
Cheers mate! Nah nothing major with the Ute- just servicing, new belts and brakes adjusted.
It’s only got 80k on it, so I won’t be retiring it.
But it certainly needs a bit of love so I’ve got HEAPS planned to freshen it up and improve on it.
I’m working on filming a build series to cover all the new additions/modifications and explain why I’ve done them.
Keep a look out for ‘The Dmax (re)Build Series’.
Tiff is a legend
She sure is!!
Cam can I ask would this MDC be ok with the sand dunes stuff u did down in Albany with the 'bucket list' episodes as an example? The 4 of y
Maybe you got lucky as you have so many people that watch your channel Love to hear from other people what have not a CZcams channel how they did go with warranty problems. Loved all your clips you both made guys
Jack we have purchased one, pick it up in a couple of weeks. Then it’s as long as it takes trip to WA. Our only time constraints is the Kids and grandkids say we must be home for Christmas. Will also do a report on the van once we are home.
I'm with you on that Jack! I typed in MDC Rocklea QLD... The reviews speak for themselves sheesh.
We noticed one of the globes in the front LED lights was not working. We contacted MDC and the process was fast, efficient and friendly. Frequent updates on shipping status of the new light. It was sent directly to us and we were instructed to contact MDC locally when received and organise a date for replacement. I was super impressed with the way is was all managed. Have full confidence in their after sales service and support.
G'day cam long time watcher first time poster. Am looking at going down the caravan route for the first time. Just got back from MDC welshpool and looked at the AUSRV XL 13E MKII. Two things concerning me, one quality and and the other is resale value. What's your thoughts. Did you have trouble selling yours and did you get a reasonable price. Keep up the vids coming.
Cheers Rick.
G'day Rick.
Can only speak from my experience. Our MDC Forbes was brilliant, had very few warranty issues after lots of hard kms on and offroad. MDC were good to deal with and I'd buy another one in a heartbeat. Sold it for pretty much what we paid for it - but the market was good at the time.
Hi Cam, just wondering what you did with your grey water particularly when in national parks. Cheers.
Ps love your vids 👍
Most national parks in WA allow you to drop your grey water on the ground. In our travels we only came across 2 places (neither of which were a national park) that required us to collect grey water and they were happy for us to just stuck a jerry can underneath.
Hi Cam, i enjoy watching your videos. I'm interested to know how the Falken Wildpeak tyres are performing so far? My apologies, i know the question is not really related to this video.
John they’ve been a brilliant tyre and I’ll be getting another set when these wear down.
Not one flat, puncture, leak or bead issue.
Good video, thanks for the review - how was the dust sealing?
Forgot to mention that in this one! Covered it in the last one though. No dust or water ingress issues in the living/bed area. We did get some dust through the vents in the fridge compartment - so we blocked them off (as we didn’t have a fridge in there anyway!)
The Vision HD caravans look pretty decent as well, the 16ft bunk model might be something to look at?
Yeah do look great!
How many vans have you owned, from new, are you comparing this review on?
Maybe do a show on your comparisons!
Great footage too. ✔✔✔
Cheers mate, pick up our third caravan in a few months 👍🏼
You have done very well :) How did you find not having they grey water? Is it much better having all the fresh water?
Never worried us, and we never needed it. Much better to have the fresh water so you can stay off grid for longer 😊
What full vans are you considering?
You guys are so wholesome. Keep it up. Way too many instagram pretenders out there with daddys inheritence or massive loans.
Cheers mate, appreciate the comment and the support 👍👍
Handle issue is due to the outer side cooling quicker than the inside causing the plastic to fracture, common issue.
Did you consider a Jayco off road camper?
We are thinking the swift outback..
Great channel :)
Cheers! Nah not really- didn’t find a layout that suited what we wanted.
@@WildTouring Thanks mate, be great to see a short video of your thoughts if an off-road camper trailer/camper/caravan is needed for WA given locations to pitch..
How many years is the Warranty?
Were getting an expanda outback lol 4 kids
How have you found that 4 burner cooktop? MDC are saying they caused issues so now changed to a dinky 3 burner. Thanks Max
It worked well when there was no wind, in the wind it was pretty useless.
good review. but I dont think you will get an aircon to run on batteries for very long unless you have another trailer for those batteries.
Few hours in the afternoon is all I need, then fans through the night.
Do you think mdc and their warranty repairs and ease, was some what due to having a youtube channel with 30k subs. Not that they sponsor you, but its in their best interest to keep the free advertising happy. Not sure if joe blow would be as well looked after?
Yeah definitely, and I think I mentioned that in this vid at some point. So you’ve got to take that into account I guess! But regardless- we had very few issues with the van considering where we took it.
And from what I read on the owners forums, the majority find after sales support to be pretty good.
How did you find the weather proofing (dust, wind, water ingress, etc.) of the fold up/out bed area? About the only real concern I have about getting a caravan
Have liked all your review videos, you do quality reviews and say it as it is not what a company wants you to say.
Jeffrey that was one of our concerns too, but didn’t get any wind/water/dust through, very little condensation too. It’s well designed - there’s no joins where water will pool.
It never bothered us, but it’s worth noting that the fold out extension section is not insulated, so on a hot morning you do notice the bed area gets warm pretty quickly. But it is carpeted so we didn’t get any condensation.
where did you get the clip for the kitchen draw, ive had the same issue
Ours came with them. But you’ll probably find them at a hardware store - they’re a swivel clip or a fly screen clip.
Tell me those other brands weren't Altitude haha just bought one.
XT17 Cam ??
MDC aren’t as bad as the keyboard warriors say. They have been around for awhile now and are continually improving their products. They are a genuine quality budget option
Totally agree!
Did you have any dust ingress on outback roads e.g gibb river
Nah no dust or water ingress into the living area/bed the whole trip. We did get some through the vents of the external fridge hatch though - so we blocked the vents (we didn’t have a fridge there anyway).
It would be better to have those boot doors hinged on the side facing the hitch. Then, if it comes open it will just be pushed shut by any obstacles instead of being broken off.
100% agree!
Cam, Who is the company in WA that made your wheel rubbish bag. Regards Ross
Nathan Beardman from PM Canvas Products. You can contact him through Instagram or 0407 082 612
Did you screw your fans onto the wall or did you use some other method
Self tappers and silicon.
60k brand new now,, wonder what upgrades they've included for the 12k extra.
They’re not alone unfortunately, we’re in the market for another new van at the moment and they’ve all gone up heaps! One manufacturer We sat down with was doing a quote for us and it came out at 130k, he said if we’d ordered the same van 12mnth earlier it would have been 105k….
Any dust problems when offroad
No dust ingress at all
GDay Cam , Really enjoyed watching all your vids, they are great. I get what your saying about not being able to buy the equivalent Aussie made unit, and that’s a real shame that’s the case.
Personally I won’t buy Chinese for all the obvious reasons, they are attacking Australia , Australian businesses and indirectly all Australians with their crazy economic tariffs designed to really hurt Australia and Australians
When you buy your next van PLEASE try
to buy an Aussie made unit. Safe
Travels🇦🇺
Cheers Tim!
That’s fair enough mate. I totally understand and respect that. We’re also trying to make an effort to avoid import goods where we can afford to buy Aussie made.
But for us personally we simply couldn’t afford an Aussie Hybrid at this stage of our lives. And we decided we would rather make memories in an import, over borrowing money we don’t have or putting it off for a later date.
Same deal with the next one, we’ll certainly try stretch for Aussie made. But we’ve got to live within our means and our priority is quality time together - so we do have to make sacrifices to live this lifestyle!
So was it this weekend you guys were planning to head to Warroora? I hope you changed your plans!
It was unfortunately! 😭 DPAW have closed all the campsites up there so at least out decision was made for us! Very bummed out though.
Have you since sold it
Yes we sold it for a full size van, still miss the MDC though!
At 48 you could have a Aussie made Jayco
Definitely could have. And I really like the layout of their bigger family vans. But this layout was perfect for the three of us at the time- and we were confident it would take us anywhere (which it did).
Jayco is not Aussie made at all. It’s a flat pack from china
one of the wheels is bold . ( is that like bald ? ) he he he
😂
I'm looking at family vans and did look at Chinese made vans, but when I had a walk through I could see how poorly they were made and by the time you add a few things that Aussie vans come with the price point isn't actually that good in my opinion
Yeah the Chinese vans have gone up a lot in price now! When we bought this van is was well under half the price of an Aussie built equivalent and came with heaps of extras. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. Must say though, this van was very well built but many other Chinese vans are not so it’s definitely worth shopping around!
My adoption papers await 💁♂️
😂