In an earlier post we mentioned cancellation of our Madigan Line crossing, now to be a Simpson Desert crossing using a different route. Well, the countdown is nearly over, next week we leave for Mount Dare, then a trip back across the Simpson Desert, getting pretty bloody excited!!
We’re a bit nervous with the rain that’s hanging around, many of the South Australian outback roads are still closed or open for non-towing vehicles <3.0t GVM and won’t reopen if the rain continues. Our plan is to head out on the Adventure Way from Cunnamulla to Innamicka, down the Strzelecki Track and up the Oodnadatta Track, but these aren’t yet open and the option is a long tour via Broken Hill (if COVID allows) or across the Plenty Highway. So fingers crossed that the sun shines and the roads dry out.
This week we are busily preparing for the trip, here’s a run down of what we’re up to.
On the home front, there’s not much to do because my son and his wife are house sitting, well actually its pet sitting with the house thrown in.
The Landcruiser was pretty well sorted before our Fraser Island trip, this week the main job is installation of a Flexishield PPF wrap by Slickazz. I wanted this fitted a while ago but they were booked solid for a couple of months, so I’m glad its getting done before we start pushing through spinifex bushes, and hoping it will protect against stone chips too. The punch list for the Cruiser is down to:
– Fit the X3 full size spare to the roof rack
– Fit the jerry can holder and 4x 15l jerries
– Flush and fill the 55l onboard water tank (part of the Longranger tank)
– Grease the uni joints, tailshaft and front suspension
– Set the cold tyre pressures to suit towing at maximum GVM, 40psi front and 45psi rear
– Double check all fluids
– Fuel up and load up
The X3 has however proven to be a bit more of a problem, with a few repairs found after getting back from Fraser on the weekend.
First of these is the stabiliser leg, used when the camper is set up. I noticed it wobbling around and found that the rivet (yes only one) holding it underneath had sheared off, and there was a witness mark where it must have dropped down onto something on a track (I think a tree root crossing from Coongul Creek). This was soon fixed with three M6 capscrews to replace the single rivet used by Patriot. (see the X3 blog for more details of this repair)
On the last day of the Fraser Island trip I also noticed the Redarc Tow Pro flashing with a short circuit error code. After checking things over I found that the right hand brake magnet was short circuited. Cruisemaster’s headquarters is not far from the hospital where I have chemo, so I swung past there on Monday on my way to get the magic juice. Now I had to fit it, well actually I had to fit two because its best to replace them in pairs to get even brake application on both wheels.
The frustrating part of this is that I had just repacked and adjusted wheel bearings before heading to Fraser, so that job was back on the list while the drums were removed.
That’s the unplanned jobs, the punch list tasks included:
– Flush and fill the water tanks and get a new inline water filter to take away with us.
– Rotate the tyres, the full sized spare had never been used and I wanted to start balancing the wear across all three.
– Fit the flexible solar panel onto the Exorack, to supplement the vehicle charging, so it gets a solar feed when the trailer is parked up and closed, such as when stopped during the day.
– Restock all the staple pantry items and kitchen consumables
That has the machinery covered but there’s more to do to keep the human machines running. Most of that involves food, including cooking and freezing meals (to be finish cooked in the 12V oven) and vacuum packing and freezing meat. There is also the fresh food to be bought and packed day before departure, noting that we can’t carry some fresh items across the SA border on day 2 of the trip.
We’re buzzing to go and my mind is running through contingency plans for the back up plans in case the main plans fall over – phew. Main concern is those outback road conditions, so we’re praying for sunny days.
Next blog should be from far end of the Strzelecki Track – wish us luck 🙂
Shane, loving the content. Did you look at Bushwrapz before deciding on Flexishield? Would you recommend PPF for the Anne Beadell Highway? Much scratching on the roof?
Cheers
Mike
Hi Mike, yes I looked at Bushwrapz first to save a few bob but went with the dearer product to get better panel coverage and because they said it holds up better. Slickazz don’t do Flexishield anymore but have another equivalent long life product. I didn’t do the roof or bonnet to save money but I did do the side of the roof on outside of the roof rack (above the doors) where taller shrubs can get caught and rub along. No regrets about skipping the roof or bonnet, but if I started again I’d get them to do some of the bullbar areas that copped a real flogging. I’d put PPF on any tourer from now on, it helped a bit on the ABH but was a deal breaker on the more overgrown tracks like Gary Hwy and Talawana Track. Its especially good when towing because you would know already that the tow vehicle sometimes has to take a wider line and push into the scrub to get the trailer around an obstacle.