The Springs 2015

[GuyG]

An excellent trip.

I think we had 11 cars in total by the end of the trip. Some arrived on Friday evening, unfortunately it started to rain at about 5pm, which meant we were setting up in the rain. Luckily Bullets had a tent house setup including tunes. Josh brought his Aldi heater. So we stayed in there for a while. No one had chainsaws to get wood, plus the rain made the idea of a fire impossible. It rained for most of the night but had cleared by morning although still overcast which meant we could get out on the tracks close to 9am as planned. Eric would have liked it earlier. A bit later would have suited me so I could finish airing down at the camp site rather than a different spots on the first few tracks.

The plan was to have 2 groups but as numbers were a bit small we started as 1 but did end up splitting up due to lack of grip with the road tyres on the RR Sport. Group 1 with The109 leading and group 2 with DJ leading. Tim did exceptionally well for driving an unlocked vehicle. Better lines and a bit more right foot is required in places. Unfortunately the Sport had a side wall puncture just near the top of Bald Knob, which was a great opportunity for Josh to check his Facebook status. We stopped for a while. We thought we could hear Grimace revving the Rangie in the back ground but didn't see him until we got back to camp.

Upon leaving the hill as one group again, I though I'd straddle one of the wash outs - the track of the disco is slightly different to the setup I've had in the rangie for the 15 years, which meant that the back wheel slipped into the washout rather than staying on the top. That was an interesting moment, not the best feeling having the rear downhill tyre slide out from under. I may have asked for "Help" on the UHF. It was nicely balanced and was able to be pulled down at the front, but I wanted photos first. Then it was again pulled down so I could reverse back and take a different line.

The last photo was leaving Love Hill heading back to the campsite for lunch. The Wattle (pretty sure that's what they were) were in full bloom and lots of Cacti made the landscape look great.

[djhampson]

Some photos but I only managed to take a few.

[GuyG]

After lunch it was just Eric, Tim and myself that went with group 2. Bullets jumped in with Eric to spot/winch. Its much better following a car with similar size tyres as both Tim and I discovered Eric will just drive over the top where we have to pick better lines or completely different tracks. My side steps really need to be removed as they hindered clearance on quite a few spots, hopefully I'll do that before the next trip. The creek runs really do provide some interesting side angles.

[GuyG]

The creek run that only Eric attempted, for good reason. He did manage to get himself wedged and had to winch out. Some panel damage was sustained. Beer O'clock Hill, TimJ went first but wasn't successful. The109 went second but equally didn't make it although he did get slightly further than Tim. The Springs owner said that when its been wet, whoever has the first run has the best chance, then after that no one will make it. Grimaces rangie was having a rest and didn't attempt it. The last pic was Sunday morning, the Hilux was a ringin and after it had made it up the slippery loose hill, Tim had to have another go as he wasn't letting a Hilux make it when he couldn't.

[GuyG]

The creek run next to Main Street with the Rock slope, I didn't make it, but Tim did. Eric parking up a tree - he claims it was on purpose. At least with the disco having those rear roof windows you can see how close your roof racks are to branches and trees. The last pic is Eric playing in the rock garden behind the house.

[GuyG]

Having packed up and signed out round midday, it was time to start heading home. I normally try and find an alternative way home if at all possible. Just before Warwick there is a sign to Queen Mary Falls (the club has a trip there later in the year), now I can't remember if I have been there before or not so I decided to go for a look. But first, as I was already in the area I did the Condamine River Road to clean some of the mud off the under side of the car from the Springs. This was a great idea until I found some other muddy roads. But it's good to see it in overcast/damp conditions. At the end I headed up the range to Corrs Lookout and onto Queen Mary Falls.

[GuyG]

Moss Gardens and White Swamp Lookout. Now there may have been a look out in the past when this sign was first installed but since then the trees have grown and everything has become further covered in Moss. White Swamp is actually a Historic Town. I went through it on the way back to Boonah, then to Brisbane via Peak Crossing. I didn't back onto the Cunningham Highway until Yamanto.

And I haven't needed to re-fuel since leaving home, something I never experienced when driving the Rangie.

[Timj]

Had another great weekend, a little bit of rain made some of the tracks more interesting :). Its always good to watch the serious cars get places and then its fun to have a go in the Series 3 with standard suspension and no lockers. There is no way that I can follow The109 everywhere but I got a lot of places with careful wheel placement and sometimes a lot of right foot.

I didn't get a lot of photos as it is difficult to drive and take photos but here are a few.

The campsite -

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/07/157.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/07/158.jpg

The fire -

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/07/159.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/07/160.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/07/161.jpg

Guy in a creek run -

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/07/162.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/07/163.jpg

Up on top of Bald Knob -

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/07/164.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/07/165.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/07/166.jpg

Another example of why I think General Grabber AT2s are not a good tyre, went through the sidewalls of more than one on my D3.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/07/167.jpg

Dave showing how easy it is to lift up a Disco -

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/07/168.jpg

The 109 makes anything look easy -

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/07/169.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/07/170.jpg

And that is pretty much all the photos I got. Forgot to take the camera out of the car most of the time when going to watch.

Cheers,

TimJ.

[GuyG]

Check for ticks - I just found one although I'm not sure if it was from The Springs or Queen Mary Falls area.

[Outlaw]

Upon leaving the hill as one group again, I though I'd straddle one of the wash outs - the track of the disco is slightly different to the setup I've had in the rangie for the 15 years, which meant that the back wheel slipped into the washout rather than staying on the top. That was an interesting moment, not the best feeling having the rear downhill tyre slide out from under. I may have asked for "Help" on the UHF. It was nicely balanced and was able to be pulled down at the front, but I wanted photos first. Then it was again pulled down so I could reverse back and take a different line.
I think it was more HELP!... SERIOUSLY SOMEONE HELP :p

[GuyG]

I think it was more HELP!... SERIOUSLY SOMEONE HELP :p

Nope -just HELP from me, someone else may have added the rest.

Although once it settled it wasn't too bad, just felt shocking during the slide down. Hence why I was happy to get photos taken before getting out.

[Outlaw]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO-MSLycx1A

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https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

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[THE 109]

What a great trip, thanks to everyone who came out.
Rain on the way out gave me a grin from ear to ear thinking of slippery tracks, lucky Bullets had his night club tent rockin when I arrived.
It kept us dry and entertained until bed time, some later than others(Guy).

We managed to cover most of the park over Saturday and Sunday morning with only minor damage given the conditions, Tim J really drove his car well as I kept looking back thinking he'll get hung up or cross axled. But no, he just found another line and kept on moving for the majority. Guy's call for help sounded like someone rolled over so we rushed back down to help only to find him with one wheel in the air, he must be getting soft or something:D

Bullets had a good time getting the shorty through the tracks, only one side slope next to a tree saw him reverse out to try a different track.
Thanks for jumping in and being my winch man after that, I needed you a couple of times there.

Funniest was stopping by some Nissans at a bog hole with the bonnet up and asking them if they had a good time, the place was a mess from their donuts and plowing through the holes. We said hello and they just stared with jaws dropped, they couldn't muster any words between them. They mustn't have seen an old land rover off road before, ha ha.

Beer o clock hill was too wet under the surface to get any grip, although Tim J had a cracking good attempt at it. I gave it two goes as fast as the old girl would go, the front end felt like it went vertical before bouncing me backwards. The owner said it needed lower tyre pressures to which I said "I'm already at 6 psi", maybe just take the valve cores out next time.

We were missing Trav around the fire so as a tribute we managed to keep it big in his absence, some sweet potatoes may have been harmed in the process:(

Land rovers do climb trees and yes, it was on purpose Guy:D

See you all on the next trip,

Eric

[GuyG]

I blame the Disco:D

[dungarover]

I see I left a legacy at GCLRO, just missing a few tinnies to make it perfect!!! Pity the small turnout, used to get 20 Rovers to a springs trip a few years back, shame.


Guy, what's with the Disco? getting soft in your old age. I bought a D2 recently couldn't warm to it so sold it last weekend.


Trav

[harry]

done that once myself years ago , help,
bloody josh came back to me and said put in reverse and back out.
it worked,
thanks josh,
but it was a difficult moment for me.
never driven a rangy guy,
but disco's are good, yes the alpine lights do give you a good look at the trees wanting to hurt you.

[GuyG]

I see I left a legacy at GCLRO, just missing a few tinnies to make it perfect!!! Pity the small turnout, used to get 20 Rovers to a springs trip a few years back, shame.


Guy, what's with the Disco? getting soft in your old age. I bought a D2 recently couldn't warm to it so sold it last weekend.


Trav

I know, a Disco, who would've thought:o. The rangie suffered from too much time on Fraser and now sits under a tree waiting for it next installment:twisted: and the disco was the right price at the time. I do miss the sound of the v8, but not the fuel consumption. The Disco uses more than the 110 but half what the rangie was using.