Thread: Equiping a 130 for outback trips...

Lighting

All long distance driving will find you driving at night, even if you don't intent to.

Instead of bolting more & more lights onto the car, spend the time & effort into getting optimal performance from your basic lights.

Headlights - a wiring upgrade kit.

Spot lights - make sure you get a good set, I reckon round lights reflect better than rectangular ones (but I do have rectangular as they came with the car). Consider HID inserts for the lights. This will give you better lighting and also reduce the power demand on your batteries.

Work Lights - have a good work lamp at the back. Hella make a good one with 2 x 55W globes each pointing out slightly with a really good diffuser lens. Others make copies of it too.

water plan on average 5l per person per day and then add an additional 50% on top of that.

My ballpark maths for fuel consumption is

on highway/high speed gravel

using your worst general fuel consumption for the configuration your running in plot the longest trip between fuel stops (where you can buy fuel) add a good 25-50% on top of that and gonkulate out your liters required to make that distance



if your going seriously off road and plan on lots of low range for the K's of the legs that require hard off roading or beach driving multiply your worst general L/100Km by 2 add 30-40%.


I know what my rover burns under all circumstances and generally aim to get to each place that Im going to buy fuel at with the warning light off and a full jerry in reserve. If I suspect I may not get fuel at a stop I plan on not having fuel availabe and still making the next stop with the fuel light out and the jerry full.

Food. I carry enough dried foods and canned stuff to eat comfortabley for the duration of the trip and If we stop short putting an extra 4 hours between the meals isnt too hard but for alex I carry double rations.

Tools+ spares... Um most people say I carry too many of them right up untill it all goes terribley terribley wrong, then Im everyones friend. A good composite mechanics kit of the relevent ring spanners, and socket set will keep you out of trouble and the usual suspects for spares, belts, hoses, fuel line, filters fuses, tubes, bulbs and some of the spray lubes, goops and knead it type metal filler should see you right.

Of course this all depends on how far your going, how many people are going with you and how many vehicles you have.

i brought my 110 for a simpson desert crossing, it was a shorter trip than intended but thats another story

water tank - i made a 72L jobby with pressure pump and standard garden tap, worst thing about having seperate container for everyday use is you normally have to manully handle them, as the container empties the gravity feed is slower, i carried an extra 20L jerry....never carry all your eggs in one basket. the water tank is by far the best thing that i fitted for touring

roof rack with wind deflector

awning - a free standing one would be best, mine needed poles and ropes every time, if i had the $$$ i would have a hannabal awning

spare tyres - min two and if you can afford the weight fitted to rims, tyre changing gear (this includes a practice run in the back yard before you leave, this soon opens your eyes to the effort required) tyre repair kit

driving lights - i have never fitted driving lights and doubt i ever will, i should do a headlight wiring upgrade but in saying that i do everything possible not to drive at night otherwise it cuts into drinking, eating and sleeping time

general lighting - i carry two handheld fluro's on long leads, the new led one would be even better as they use less power. i have never needed more than two and they are a lot less hassle than gas lanterns. i have 12V fitting at the rear and one on the bullbar this allows plenty of range with the lights

comms - min would be a uhf after this the list is endless, when i did the simpson a carried a sat phone. if you are not doing much remote travel you will normally come across plenty of other cars

spares - i probably carried to many but i had the space so why not, i was very happy that i was carrying a clutch master cylinder kit

fuel - long range fuel tank is handy, i also carry two addition jerries when remoting it

fridge - mine is enclosed and on a slide so that i can store things on top and on the sides and still access the fridge

dual batteries - good idea if you are running a fridge and lights

tents - cannot comment, i carried two of the tourer type (the square canvas ones with a centre pole) for ease of setup but they never came out of the rig, slept under the awning in swags

gas -- 2 x 3kg cylinders, gas goes a long way and if you carry two smaller ones you never run out as you can normally fill the empty one before the second one runs out

Ok, so if the 130 is fully serviced etc, what level of mechanical knowledge should i have for outback driving? based on dirt/tarma driving, and if i was to break down, how easy would it be to get the problem fixed ( ie if it was something samll ) not talking about a blow engine or anything.

For the last two trips into the sand this is what I added to my 130/tray back.
140 ltr long range fule tank, + 120 main tank.
80 ltrs water in 20ltr hypo drums (easy to set up as syphon/tap).
20 ltrs hand/wash water in back tube.
2 tyres on rims + 2 spare tubes+ tubeless and vulcanize patch kit.
assorted tyre irons + bead spliter head for high lift jack.
solid jacking blocks.
compleat set of second hand hoses for tdi300.
several meters of both 6 and 8 mil rubber fule hose.
various hose clamps of all sizes+ brass in line barbed fittings, elbows/tees.
water pump, altinator, belts and one set of wheel bearings back/front.
12 volt faccet fule pump, 12 volt cable and box of assorted elect fittings.
twin batt setup, 12 volt worklight hard wired (furo out of van).
engel fridge, kitchen box,food box,gas bottlewith burner and solid table.
shade cloth for floor/wind break,tarp for awning and various rope/cord.
swag, toolbox ,shovel, hand basin and chair.
Thats the bace load, then you get all the other puss you fit into a twin cab for trips along way from anyone.

On the last trip, gunbarrel/david carnegie/ann beddel round, the 130 managed 1277 kms on 120 lts of fule. There was stil fule in the tank but the coragations messed up the pick up.
Also spare oil and fule filters are a must.

Thats alot of spares... which is ok if you can carry out the repairs yourself, if you cant do you still carry the same items?

Originally Posted by juddy

Thats alot of spares... which is ok if you can carry out the repairs yourself, if you cant do you still carry the same items?

Yes, because then someone with the knowhow, but not the parts can still help you.

It's better to pay (probably in beer) a passer by to fit a water pump, than to leave the vehicle, hitch a ride several hundred kms to town and arrange a tow truck. Because that will cost more than beer.