Specifications

ENGEL
RON MOON’S
OUTBACK TRAVEL TIPS
For a day trip along the beach
close to home or for a longer
journey whether that’s a year
long extravaganza around Australia
or the world, prior preparation
and planning will always help
you overcome any difficulties and
unplanned occurrences.
Ensure your vehicle battery and
the auxillary battery are in tip
top condition when you leave
on a trip so you’ll have no problems
keeping the food cool and the beer
cold in your Engel fridge. Batteries
mounted close to an exhaust or turbo
really suffer from the heat and will
need to be replaced more often!
What’s best? A solar panel kit
or a small generator? Both have
advantages and both will help
keep your Engel Fridge running when
you are stopped for days on a magical
beach or desert waterhole. Solar
panels aren’t great when its cloudy
and need to be kept pointed at the sun
to be most efficient. Generators need
to be kept supplied with fuel and can
be a little noisy but will consistently
provide more power to the battery as
well as run power tools and a lot of
other electrical equipment apart from
the Engel fridge.
When heading bush always
carry a jerry can of water for
both you and your vehicle. It
is better to carry water in a couple
of smaller containers than in one big
one. Never leave home without it!
Never join two snatch straps by
using a D-shackle. If one strap
breaks you’ll have a deadly
missile flying through the air, which
can easily punch through a window,
sheet metal and/or kill someone.
A good remote area first aid
kit should be in every vehicle
when you head off on a trip.
There should also be someone who
knows how to use it and preferably,
someone who has done a St Johns first
aid course (see: www.stjohn.com.au).
The life that could be saved could be
yours or your loved one.
Don’t try and save money
by taking the shoddiest set of
tyres bush. It’s not only unsafe when
you are travelling at high speeds on
bitumen and dirt roads, but in four
wheel drive country you’ll have a lot
less traction and get more punctures
– remember, 90% of punctures occur
in the last 10% of a tyre’s life. And
replacing tyres in a country town is
always dearer than buying tyres in a
major city!
Always carry basic recovery
gear – a long-handled shovel,
a jack and jacking plate, an
axe, a snatch strap and a couple
of D-shackles. Ensure the D-shackles
are rated with a ‘safe working load’
(SWL) and that your snatch strap is in
good condition.
Tyre pressures (measured
when cool) are the single most
important thing to be aware of
when four wheel driving. In a normal
4WD vehicle with 15 to 17 inch
tyres loaded for a trip on the bitumen,
tyre pressures should be around
36psi (250kPa). On dirt roads lower
tyre pressures to around 30-32psi
(210kPa- 225kPa). When on a rough
4WD track for the best traction lower
tyre pressures to 24-26psi (165kPa-
180kPa). When heavily loaded for a
desert crossing similar tyre pressures
will be required. On a beach, start
of at 18-20psi (125kPa-140kPa).
You’ll be able to go lower if you get
bogged, but be very careful if you are
down to 12psi (85kPa) or so. Always
carry a tyre gauge and a good
compressor.
Lastly, a satellite phone or a
HF radio, or one of those new
fangled gadgets, a satellite
GPS Messenger called, ‘Spot’ (see:
www.findmespot.net.au), will allow
you to tell people where you are and
how you are in case of an emergency.
Somebody in your group should have
one – normal mobile phones and UHF
radios very often don’t work where
4WD adventurers go!
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