Thread: F4x4 Bullbar Legality

Originally Posted by prelude

I am pretty sure I don't need the whole kitchen sink but with a petrol that does 20l/100 and wanting to take on something like the canning (hopefully back open by then) I need 200k's in fuel and water alone (extra) and I don't have that much weight left

I will be reading around of course yes. I did not know the 130 in .nl had 3.5 gvm? I thought it could only legally carry 1.1 tonne. In any case my P38 can only carry 800 of which a lot has already been spent on better wheels/tryres, bar/bash work, fridge, etc.

I do know about grizzly n bear of course I do not watch all their video's but I did see that one, I also saw the vid of the germans shipping to oz to drive back home on ronnies channel 3 years ago or so. They evaded the weight question and I guess I know why! I also wonder if grizzly n bear are within gvm?

Their camper would be around the 500kg mark dry weight, but it is a french vehicle so likely also with the 3.5t GVM (just checked my registration, I really do have ~1450 in (legal) payload). So they could very well be within GVM, I believe they don't carry a ton of fuel/water. They also don't do crazy tracks, so I doubt they have issues. Full airbag man suspension would help I'd think.

I'll be putting mine on the scales asap, so I can keep an eye out for the weight. I had the brilliant idea to make a custom rollcage, which adds security and will do duty as a roofrack, but I'm pretty sure that will hurt in terms of weight as well. No (affordable) off-the-shelve way to mount the rooftop tent below the roofline, so I don't really have a choice.

My plan is to hit some remote parts (like the canning) as well. Not sure how bad the fuel consumption of a loaded 130 td5 will be in the dunes, but I've calculated a liberal margin. Thing is, when doing the canning / madigan line, you will use a pretty sizable portion of water and fuel before you get into the really hard stuff. I'm fine with being near the limit (though not over) of GVM when driving towards those places, as long as I'm on a healthy weight at all other times. No good reason to be driving around with 100L of water and 200L of diesel when you can get both easily where you are traveling. I've got a 210L aux fuel tank, and 85L water tank, but I don't think I'll ever be filling them to capacity. 285L's of diesel seems like a LOT, even for the canning.

I'm also pretty certain that weight destribution matters more than gross vehicle mass. Though both should be considered.

Originally Posted by V8Ian

I was rarely weighed, but timetables and routes were often adjusted.

Jorn and Prelude, have a read through "Trip Preparation, Suggestions, Ideas & Advice ". You might be surprised at how little weight addition you don't need. The extreme conditions of this country are often exaggerated.
Check out Karstan And Maxine, a YouTube channel about a young family traveling some remote tracks and exploring iconic locations, in an old Kombie.

Thanks for the tip, will defo go through that to see what other good ideas people came up with.

Karstan and Maxine are really doing an epic trip, no doubt about that! Watching their Old Telegraph Track adventure right now. I think the 'extreme' conditions are fairly on point, you just don't need a twin locked 79 for most of it.
But I agree, the 130 I'm building is brutal overkill for Karstan and Maxine, considering what they can do in the Combi.

But to be fair, I'm a less experienced driver, have lesser bush/australia knowledge, and make worse decisions (young and stupid really). I expect that I'll get myself in a pickle at some point during the trip, mostly because I have a habit of driving into places that smarter men go around. So the goal is to have a vehicle that allows me to make a few mistakes. All within reason ofcourse, and still get out without major damage to myself or the vehicle.

Originally Posted by TonyC

Hi Jorn.
When roads are closed based in weight, due to wet weather, it will be on your GVM not the current weight of the vehicle.

All the best with your trip

Tony

Not surprising! But thanks for the tip, I understood the fines are massive, and I don't think the coppers will accept my 'dumb tourist' excuse.

Do you realise you don't need any mods to a defender to travel australia? We did the full lap when I was a kids in a VW kombi fitted with a sigma motor ... towing a 16' caravan. Travel in daylight hours, and you could get away easily with no bullbar. I certainly wouldn't change tyres from whatever is stock to the vehicle. Its desert country, and if its wet, you simply don't go there (they will actually close the roads either way).

seeya,
Shane L.

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

Do you realise you don't need any mods to a defender to travel australia? We did the full lap when I was a kids in a VW kombi fitted with a sigma motor ... towing a 16' caravan. Travel in daylight hours, and you could get away easily with no bullbar. I certainly wouldn't change tyres from whatever is stock to the vehicle. Its desert country, and if its wet, you simply don't go there (they will actually close the roads either way).

seeya,
Shane L.

Or just hire / buy a Prado when you get here, play the dumb tourist if need be, fill your clothes with red dust in your suitcases before you leave Oz and deposit in every crevice in your Defender when you get home.

There's been a 130 for sale in Perth for 23k on here recently ......... another option.

Just a thought.............

If I want to go sailing in the Whitsundays I just charter a yacht and hand it back after a week or three. Done it many times........ no grief.

If I want to ride a horse I'll just go to a riding school or go on an organised ride somewhere and hand the reins back at the end. No grief. (actually haven't done that for decades)

I respect people's dreams but have become a bit more practical over the years.

DL

I respect people's dreams but have become a bit more practical over the years.

Or maybe you have simply lost you sense of adventure

Originally Posted by trout1105

Or maybe you have simply lost you sense of adventure

IME adventures can be radically expanded if one doesn't have be overly concerned with the 'vehicle' that gets you to the general location.

How many people do you know who've been to the end of Hill inlet in the Whitsundays in a dinghy and seen what lives there?

How many people do you know who'd windsurf across the Rip in Vic on a sinker to play in the waves on the other side more than a hundred times alone?

Adventure alive and well here.

DL

I've travelled the country in a series of inappropriate vehicles, including a Hillman Minx that was only a year younger than me.

It actually had skinnier, higher profile tyres than most 4WDs so it did OK, including in the snow and the Little Desert.