Post expedition report and pics (1 Viewer)

[Mickldo]

this debriefing info is great! thanks!


Was this Patrol / Mav an odd more unreliable specimen or are they all like that? I thought the Patrols were very good, equivalent to cruisers...

The Patrols are similar to Cruisers in there construction but they lack the refinement and quality of a Cruiser. IMHO Cruisers make better touring trucks and Patrols make better competition trucks.

This particular Maverick is very highly modified and has done a heap of hard miles. It competed in the 2001 OBC in the touring class when it was owned by the previous owner.

Most of the dramas they had on the trip stemmed from the fact that it was a carby petrol rather than a turbo diesel. They had big problems with the ignition system and with the carby.

They have since bought a turbo diesel Nissan motor to swap into it.

I have no problems doing another trip with them in remote areas if it has the turbo diesel in it. Until they do the swap we will stay closer to civilisation.

 

[Mickldo]

Great trip report, Mick! I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope to visit Oz again soon!

Thanks Hoser.

Make sure you visit Fraser Island again. I'll try to get some time off work to show the better spots that most of the tourists don't get to see.

 

[Mickldo]

Here are a couple of pics of the rig of one of the other spectators. He travels around by himself and has it set up to suit just him. It has a single bed inside on the right hand side and the cooking gear on the left hand side. Very

 

[Mickldo]

One more pic

 

[roscoFJ73]

Here are a couple of pics of the rig of one of the other spectators. He travels around by himself and has it set up to suit just him. It has a single bed inside on the right hand side and the cooking gear on the left hand side. Very

These things are becoming very popular for those who dont want to tow a trailer or sleep on the ground.
I been thinking about making one out of those tradesman aluminium canopies and fitting a lift up canvas roof.
I like the idea of having a bed ready with no fuss

Mick ,wouldnt your mate find it cheaper to buy a turbo diesel shorty and transfer all the goodies over?
I would have thought a LWB would be more practical for long trips.

 

[Mickldo]

These things are becoming very popular for those who dont want to tow a trailer or sleep on the ground.
I been thinking about making one out of those tradesman aluminium canopies and fitting a lift up canvas roof.
I like the idea of having a bed ready with no fuss

Mick ,wouldnt your mate find it cheaper to buy a turbo diesel shorty and transfer all the goodies over?
I would have thought a LWB would be more practical for long trips.

I like the idea of the ute with a canopy too but they only work for one or two people. I have an extra one on the way I have to accommodate.

The couple that own the Shorty are GQ nuts. Between them they own about four GQs. The petrol shorty, a TD Ute and a diesel wagon. They bought a TD shorty as a donor car and are swapping the motors over. I tried talking them into putting the lift etc into the TD but they have sentimental connections to this shorty and don't want to get rid of it. Their other GQs are all set up for hardcore use and don't have things like the dual batteries and drawer slides.

 

[fj40z]

Awesome trip+Awesome pics=AWESOME THREAD, thanks for posting this up for everyone to see.

 

[84yota4x4]

Great report, I'd love to go to the down under some day. Great pics and looks like you guys had a really good trip.

 

[Mickldo]

Awesome trip+Awesome pics=AWESOME THREAD, thanks for posting this up for everyone to see.

Great report, I'd love to go to the down under some day. Great pics and looks like you guys had a really good trip.

Thanks guys

I might post up some more pics later after I resize some more.

 

[alia176]

Need more input......!

 

[roscoFJ73]

The Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx was awesome BTW especially with the external antenna and the remote power source.

.

So you liked these? It was the one I was thinking of buying if its the one that can be removed and used as a handheld away from the vehicle.
Whats it good and not so good points?

 

[Moody]

Fantastic writeup, thanks for sharing! I have a dream of doing something along these lines one day...

 

[Mickldo]

Need more input......!

Fantastic writeup, thanks for sharing! I have a dream of doing something along these lines one day...

Thanks guys for the kind words

Resizing some pics now

 

[Mickldo]

So you liked these? It was the one I was thinking of buying if its the one that can be removed and used as a handheld away from the vehicle.
Whats it good and not so good points?

The 60CSx is a handheld and can be used away from the vehicle.

I reckon it has all of the features of the fullsize GPS models yet it is still a handheld.

The colour screen, SD card slot, USB port, external antenna, and remote power source are features that set it apart from the other handhelds. Garmins are also very user friendly. You don't need a degree to use the unit.

I quite often use it in the boat and when hiking as well as in the car.

It doesn't need the external antenna as it is far better than most GPS units but it makes satellite acquisition almost instantaneous and keeps the hold on the satellites in deep gorges, tree cover, tunnels, etc longer than without.

I use the external power source cable to save the AA batteries for use away from the vehicle. On my trip I was able to have the GPS on for all the trip whereas my mate had a Magellan handheld along for the trip without an external power source and they never had it turned on because they didn't want to waste the batteries.

By having the inbuilt maps in the unit I didn't have to have the laptop with OziExplorer running all the time. The extra detail was needed sometimes for more precise navigation and I'd fire the laptop up but for most days travelling the inbuilt maps were fine. If I had one gripe with the unit it would be that the base maps weren't detailed enough but it has the ability to accept more detailed maps via the SD card so maybe that isn't really that bad of a gripe.

 

[Mickldo]

Couple more pics from the road.....

 

[Mickldo]

Couple from the Outback Challenge.....

 

[Mickldo]

More from the OBC....

 

[Mickldo]

Some of the comp trucks...

 

[Mickldo]

More comp trucks....

 

[Mickldo]

I have heaps more pics from the comp. Let me know if you are interested in these pics or if you want more from the travelling.