Specifications

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!
Ron Moon
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POWERFILM
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SPECIFICATIONS
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