Overweight van and towing combinations

BJM

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Sep 29, 2018
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Over in NZ for three months touring in the Grand Cherokee so no new info.However will email the guy I was talking to re this .Maybe be waiting for the court case re overweight van crash ,deaths etc has this case gone to court yet.?
 

Drover

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Nov 7, 2013
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I still think its a Furphy as like the trucking industry weight ticket it only has a life of a trip and then doesn't count for anything when weighed, that would mean each time you restarted your journey after a weeks camp, new ticket needed, I don't think so.
 

mikerezny

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Sep 11, 2016
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With the auto's nowadays why drive a manual and thats from someone who never thought he would say such a thing, even auto's in trucks are bluddy good now.
Hi,
I wish all of you a Happy and Prosperous new year and very much look forward to another year of being on this forum.

I came across our copy of "Safe Outback Travel" by Jack Absalom. Written in 1976. What a great read and what a character. He died on March 22 last year at the age of 91.

He was comparing using manual or automatic transmission in the Outback.

One valid point he made was about the difficulty of starting an automatic with a flat battery.
We recently got a manual whizBang with a crook starter motor going at Beauchamp Falls by getting a handful of us to push start it. Easy Peasy.
What are people's thoughts on whether this is an important consideration or not when deciding on the type of transmission for use in the outback?

If I was venturing outback, I would probably take a jump start battery pack to get around the problems of having a faulty or flat battery. But that wouldn't help if my starter motor wouldn't function.

cheers
Mike
 

Drover

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Its a good point @mikerezny and one I thought about when I ended up going to auto's, I looked at how many times I needed to jump start when out bush and came to the same conclusion as @DRW, it happened about as often as I siezed bearings, more worried about some stupid sensor stoping the show because I may cause pollution 500 miles from anywhere but I certainly want a jump starter for when I'm out in the boat........................ My Landy and G60 had crank handles now thats fun ................
 
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Drover

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Oh and I forgot to say I have the same book, bought when it came out also have his camp oven cookbook, brilliant books.................................... and back then an auto was a rubbish slush box, horrible things though the box in the Holden Overlander wasn't too bad, fantastic to drive and work on......

1577914108628.jpeg
https://www.truckjungle.com/2012/09/08/aussie-classic-holden-overlander-4x4/
 
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mikerezny

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I bit later on I had a lot of fun and success over the soft sand on Fraser Island in the early Suzuki Sierra. Although they did jump around a lot on the sand tracks made by the wider vehicles. Went all over the island in them. Those were the days when you could hire them for almost nothing. Use them for a week or two and just drop them back.

I am sorry that the country that Jack Absolom writes about seems to be long gone. I should have got off my backside 30 years ago and went exploring.

cheers
Mike
 
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Drover

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The 2 stroke Suzuki, go anywhere and if not just carry it, roared like a zillion circadas and smoked like an old Victa toe cutter...... Absolute FUN.
 
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mikerezny

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My greatest thrill in the Suzuki was camping with my son over on Fraser Island. From memory, we decided to go up to Champagne Pools past the big sand blow around Indian Head. There was a queue of big 4WD struggling to get across. One at a time they were taking a run up, getting bogged, and coming back. Sat for a couple of minutes admiring the exercise, then pulled out, drove around the lot of them and putted up over the blow, easy peasy., and left them all behind.
I was in my late twenties at the time. Tent, foam mats, sleeping bag, Companion stove, an esky, water, and a few cans of food. It all easily fitted in the back. Yep, absolute fun. My son caught his first fish, a tint dart. But we filleted it, cooked, and ate it. What else could you do? It was the only fish we caught.

cheers
Mike
 

Crusty181

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Feb 7, 2010
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Hi,
I wish all of you a Happy and Prosperous new year and very much look forward to another year of being on this forum.

I came across our copy of "Safe Outback Travel" by Jack Absalom. Written in 1976. What a great read and what a character. He died on March 22 last year at the age of 91.

He was comparing using manual or automatic transmission in the Outback.

One valid point he made was about the difficulty of starting an automatic with a flat battery.
We recently got a manual whizBang with a crook starter motor going at Beauchamp Falls by getting a handful of us to push start it. Easy Peasy.
What are people's thoughts on whether this is an important consideration or not when deciding on the type of transmission for use in the outback?

If I was venturing outback, I would probably take a jump start battery pack to get around the problems of having a faulty or flat battery. But that wouldn't help if my starter motor wouldn't function.

cheers
Mike
I think youd need an extra few Wheat Bix if you planning to push start my V8 diesel .... id probably call road side assist
 

Drover

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I had just 2 or 3 blokes push start to my 20ton McCaffertys Coach a few times, rolled about about 10ft and fired up easy peasy, mind you if it was a Scania I would have used a lighter......... I doubt if anyone other than old people even know how to push start a vehicle.........then again if its a flat battery nowadays wouldn't matter if manual or auto, no power, no open fuel solenoid so you would be pushing all damn day for nothing...computer wouldn't work even a diesel won't fire up on its own now if they roll when in gear...old style manual cut off would.... always carry a BiC lighter in your tool box, no phone signal set a signal fire for rescue burn the troublesome thing.

Austin Champ ..................... oh my..

We are going to be in so much trouble, your off topic again @mikerezny , @Crusty181 , @DRW .................... I'm lead astray again Mr Moderator.
 
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