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PART 9

LET’S PLAY “STUFF THE ZOOK”

We are digressing a bit, but I was told by an “expert” that I’d never get all my gear into an X-90, so I am taking time out to prove a point.

One of the criteria for selling ‘Stimpy the Monster Jimny’ and buying an X-90, was that it must be able to carry a 40L fridge. My other half stated that “a fourby without a fridge is like going touring without a spare tyre.”

I have a little Waeco Tropicool which I left permanently in the Jimny for putting my cold
shopping in, and it’s brilliant for when we go and get kebabs. Kebabs, you ask?

The best kebabs in Sydney are a good half hour drive from my place, so whoever loses the coin-toss to go and get them, grabs the ‘baby Waeco’, burls the temp up to the highest warming setting and goes to pick them up. Nice, hot kebabs even after a 30 minute trip... yum! But a bigger fridge was needed for extended trips away.

Always the optimist, I asked a fellow X-90 owner what the dimensions of their boot were and after being given the details, made a few calculations and it all looked sweet. So, I went out and bought Oscar.

When I got home with my new purchase, I grabbed the other half’s 40L fridge and lobbed it into the boot. Uh oh...
I moved it to the left. I moved it to the right. I pushed, I shoved, I cursed... and I broke two fingernails. I eventually got it in, but the boot lid wouldn’t close... bugger!
Then I remembered... the big Waeco!

The Waeco was actually a few centimetres shorter, so I high-tailed it downstairs and lobbed the 40L into the boot. Holding my breath I closed the boot lid... missed by a whisker. So the other half, who likes to prove a point, waited until I was about halfway into a full-blown hissy-fit, and calmly gave the Waeco a little push. It slid straight back under the cavity edge, he closed the lid and then wandered back in to watch his football... I hate that.

So, the fear of arriving at a campsite with warm Chardonnay and soggy tiramisu had dissipated. I plugged it into my newly fitted Piranha dual battery system, the Optima kicked it into life – we’ll get to these in more detail very soon! - and mission accomplished!

As the X-90 is indeed a sedan, one of my main concerns was how much it would actually carry considering I spend a lot of weekends going bush.
To see how much we could pack into the little bugger, I piled up what I would normally take and played every Suzuki owner’s favourite game “Stuff the Zook”:

Waeco 40L Fridge... check
All Terrain 4x4 Speedy Tent... check
2 Sleeping bags... check
2 pillows... check
Butane stove and canisters... check
First Aid kit... check
2 camp chairs... check
1 fold up table... check
Cooking/picnic gear and food bags... check
Camping light... check
1 double air mattress... check
20L water... check
Recovery bag...check
2 Personal bags... check
Various bits and pieces... check

With a bit of well planned pushing and shoving it was all in, and with a surprising amount of spare room to boot... pardon the pun.

I was standing there feeling proud of myself when the other half sauntered up again, took a quick wander around, cocked his head to one side and said, “Where does the spare tyre go?”

BUGGER!