Appalling Victorian roads!

[Greg4427]

I drove my 2015 Fuji White and black top Defender 110 from Ballarat to Canberra the weekend before last and got some nice waves along the way. I’ve decided to wave at Discovery’s and most other Land Rovers to see if I can get a response, but I was appalled by the state of the roads in Victoria! Do they just asphalt over imperfections? I was bouncing all over the place!, I run 265/75/16 Bridgestone Duellers at 32 front and 36 rear with ARB bull bar, driving lights and other than drifta drawers not much else in the rear. Once I got over the border into NSW and ACT the roads seem in such better condition, engineered to a better standard and the feeling of being on the Spirit of Tasmania subsided! Do others find the same?

[Chops]

The roads are crap, yes. Always have been, although I suspect NSW roads to be on a par with them, especially the country roads.
As an aside, 32/36 seems somewhat low to me considering you’ve got a bullbar on (??).

[Blknight.aus]

roads?

with what we drive, we dont need roads.

[AK83]

I drove my 2015 Fuji White and black top Defender 110 from Ballarat to Canberra .....

LOL! .. and you're complaining! .. that's one of the better roads too.
The more appalling road wasn't far behind you .. back between Ballarat and Horsham(and -> west).

A few months ago I was given a job to deliver to Bombala. Truck was an Iveco, and as some know euro trucks ride quite nicely.
Road out to about Morwell/Traralgon was mainly OK, but any two lane section was beyond appalling.
Then it got worse. North up the Monaro from Cann River probably the most dangerous road I've driven on in terms of blind bends and surface condition of the road.
On the Vic side. Then you hit the border and it's like hitting a 'make road nice switch' and the road is super smooth and wide enough to fit a truck across it now.
Not only that, but they removed all dodgy tight bends so that a heavy vehicle can maintain some semblance of momentum.

Not that the Princess hwy was any better between Orbost and Cann River either. Highway 1 in Vic is pretty much a disgrace for the most part.

[djam1]

roads?

with what we drive, we dont need roads.

True but we are not except from the taxes they charge us to maintain them.
In South Australia they seem to just reduce the speed limits instead of fixing the roads if you are North of Gepps Cross
If you drive between George Town and Adelaide at the speed limit in a Defender there are a couple of occasions that the wheels leave the ground

[Homestar]

Yeah, there’s some crap ones out there, but riddle me this - would you pay double or triple your current rego to pay to fix them? 😉. VicRoads aren’t sitting on a surplus, they spend every cent that comes in each year. Most of the roads we are discussing here are all VicRoads maintained, some local Council roads are as bad or worse, but again, how much of an increase in your rates would you accept to fix these?

We have some of the cheapest rego not only in Australia, but around the world. Try Ireland for rego - starts at £1,300 I think and goes up from there... Don’t give them an excuse to Jack it up - smile and be happy. 😇

It’s a balancing act. If you don’t like the bumpy ride, drive a different vehicle. If I want comfort I take the Jag (or Camry😉)

[AK83]

....

It’s a balancing act. If you don’t like the bumpy ride, drive a different vehicle. If I want comfort I take the Jag (or Camry😉)

Oooh! that sounds nice, a Jag prime mover .. hopefully with the silky V12.

D1 is fine over most roads. Bit harsh due to the previous owners shock choice, but that'll be sorted one day in the new year.

back in Jun-Jul I was doing some temp work for SES, and they had Rangers and Hiluxes to deliver their stuff(and an old banger Hino).
LOL! the Hino!! .. brother used to have one, so I knew how bad it was going to be.
Ranger wasn't as bad as the Hilux on the road to Horsham, but still far too hard for a modern vehicle. D1 with stiff shocks nicer on that road at least.

Air sprung trucks much nicer than the dual cabs .. no coffee spills by way of comparison.
Man prime movers probably better than the D1 in fact.

The other aspect of Victorian roads(eg. from a truck drivers perspective) .. the new freeway, dual carriage way to Colac! .. why!?
The world doesn't need another freeway heading into a small town that doesn't have the capacity for throughput out of it.
I thought we learned those lessons a generation ago.
Ballarat used to be a nightmare.
Bbuild a single lane(each way) bypass around it .. problem solvered! [thumbsupbig]
Years later when funds allow, turn the above single lane into a dual lane .. problem solved to it's full extent.

But, these latest gen prize winning geniuses design a freeway that funnels traffic into the hearts of Smallsville [bighmmm]

I still refuse to use it(Prinny hwy out west) and prefer the longer/faster Hamilton hwy.

[Greg4427]

The roads are crap, yes. Always have been, although I suspect NSW roads to be on a par with them, especially the country roads.
As an aside, 32/36 seems somewhat low to me considering you’ve got a bullbar on (??).
Well it’s a “new” Defender for me, although it’s my fourth it’s my first that comes with a bull bar! That’s why I put my tyre pressures in as I’m trying to sort out the most comfortable. The tyre originally had 40psi all round, but that had me bouncing around more, so I started to experiment. What would you suggest?

[DiscoMick]

Look at the tyre placard on the door and note the big difference recommended between front and rear.
I run 34 on the front and 48 in the back with the airbags on 20.

Asphalt - you have asphalt? Luxury.
When I were a kid we thought we were lucky to have rocks in the mud. We dreamed of asphalt.
[emoji1]

[AK83]

My D1 started life in the mod 30's(36 I think) on (then) 6 ply Yokohamas.
I left them thinking they're fine.
Then went down to 30 as a test .. much better ride.

So now with 10 plys(Chinese brand) I hold them at mainly 30(I think 31 actually) .. feels relatively comfy like that.

Generally lightly loaded tho.
With camping stuff onboard, I think I upped rears to 36 again(maybe 38) can't recall exactly, just upped them for the freeway run up to the high country.

My D1 weighs in a 2200kg with me and my everyday stuff in it. got up to 2500 kg on the camp trip(just me, no kids).

[Greg4427]

Look at the tyre placard on the door and note the big difference recommended between front and rear.
I run 34 on the front and 48 in the back with the airbags on 20.

Asphalt - you have asphalt? Luxury.
When I were a kid we thought we were lucky to have rocks in the mud. We dreamed of asphalt.
[emoji1]
Ha! I’ve looked at the placard before........your 48 in the rear with airbags on 20 would be fully laden?? I too have rear airbags courtesy of a previous owner, however I have them on 5 just to prevent pinching as I’ve no weight there atm.

Mud!!! I thought we were lucky having dirty water over a semi hidden path. We dreamed of mud, but what the devil are “rocks”?

[DiscoMick]

No the 36, 48 and 20 are all the time, except when I drop the tyres on gravel. Defenders are much heavier in the back than the front.
I found 40 in the front made it much too harsh. 32-34 in the front works well. 48 in the back is good too.
The 20 in the airbags cushions the rear and keeps it level when towing.
On serious gravel I usually drop to about 28 in the front and 34-36 in the back, but leave the airbags on 20. This worked well across the Savannah Way and up The Cape recently.
This is on Hankook All Terrains in 235/85/16.

[Plutei]

No the 36, 48 and 20 are all the time, except when I drop the tyres on gravel. Defenders are much heavier in the back than the front.


An empty defender with a full tank, 2 passengers, and a bullbar surely can't be much heavier in the back than the front, if at all?

[JDNSW]

Admittedly mine is not a Defender, but a 110. However, its tyre placard specifies pressures that are the same front and back, but fully loaded is 50% higher at the back. And tyre pressure also vary with sustained speed.

[Bigbjorn]

Victorians and South Australians have a cheek complaining about bad roads. These states have the best roads in the country. Come live in rural Queensland for a while then you will appreciate the good roads in your home state. The golden triangle gets more than its fair share of funding.

[Homestar]

Well don’t moan about it to us, go see your local representative and whinge to them, or even easier, move down here. [emoji16][emoji6]

[Bigbjorn]

Well don’t moan about it to us, go see your local representative and whinge to them, or even easier, move down here. [emoji16][emoji6]

Why move to a place that has two seasons. Freezeyourarseoff and Bushfire. I refuse to travel South of Grafton/Coffs Harbour between April and October let alone down to the frozen state.

[Homestar]

Better run as you’re local member then if you want different roads to drive on then I guess. 👍

[AK83]

Victorians and South Australians have a cheek complaining about bad roads. These states have the best roads in the country. Come live in rural Queensland for a while then you will appreciate the good roads in your home state. The golden triangle gets more than its fair share of funding.

Not really talking about rural(back) roads.
Have to be honest and can't remember the last time I was on a major highway into QLD(very far).
Narrabri(ish) just into the QLD border(can't recall the name of the town) would have been the last trip I'd done up that way .. can't recall the major highway being so bad.
The roads I mentioned(out Horsham way and Prinny hwy) are major national interstate truck routes.

Trucks pummel them, and civil engineers just don't know how to build roads properly .. so the roads are perpetually knackered.

[1103.9TDI]

I’ve noticed a lot of car rental vehicles I see up here are registered in Victoria. It must be cheaper down there, then they drive them up to use our roads! This ‘State’ thing is bullshyte in all but name. It was fine when we were communicating on horse or camelback, but let’s save Australia and get rid of State and Territory Governments.

[DiscoMick]

Think the companies must get a bulk deal to register at their southern headquarters.

[JDNSW]

I just drove back home from Melbourne. I note that patches of the Hume freeway are pretty bad in the left lane. Part of the road from near Wangaratta to Wahgunyah was so rough I thought I had a flat tyre or something.

But then some of the NSW roads are nothing to write home about either!

[Chops]

I just drove back home from Melbourne. I note that patches of the Hume freeway are pretty bad in the left lane. Part of the road from near Wangaratta to Wahgunyah was so rough I thought I had a flat tyre or something.

But then some of the NSW roads are nothing to write home about either!

I think I may have spotted you on the “Wang Straight” yesterday I think John.

[JDNSW]

What in?

[Chops]

What in?

A S3 in Camino Gold (?) I think is the colour, LWB Station Wagon.
You more than likely wouldn’t have even noticed my blue D4 on the section of southbound road that sits well above the northbound lanes.
I did debate calling out on the UHF, but in all the times I’ve done that, I’ve only ever had two replies, so these days, unless I see the other person wave, or at least have a good look, I just leave it to listen to the trucks and their occasional warnings,, something that’s happening less and less these days too.

[JDNSW]

I was in the blue 110 in my signature - and, interestingly, I had the UHF switched on, although whether I would have heard you above the Isuzu, 110kph wind and Classic FM is another matter!