Thursday 4 June 2015

New Camping Gear - Not what I was expecting.


Our mates at Powerful 4x4, with their Kalahari Branded camping gear, told me that we were getting their top of the range 'Black Edition' awning for our Mazda BT50. I wasn't really sure what the deal with the Black Edition was all about, other than the colour.

When they also suggested that the awning tent was worth a look, and their new model double swag, (I've been having swag problems...) we were very pleased to see three big boxes land on our doorstep THE NEXT DAY!
It took us a few weeks to get around to unpacking but here's what we found.




The awning, the fabric seems heavier than some of the others on the market but the stand out difference is the twin channels for the poles on both the mounting board and the drop down leg section.. That's actually pretty useful, especially if packing up on your own, you will be able to just retract the legs so that they come down to the less than 2m awning width, rather than having to retract all the way. In the wind, on your own - that could be significant. The double channel also makes for a stiffer end board.

Need a bigger yard.

Velcro anti-flap flaps are spaced along each side. I'll be adding an LED strip into each headboard I think. We had it fitted to our Rhino Roof Racks in no time, thankfully we had a stash of uni-strut nuts and bolts in the toolkit. We need to acknowledge that the brackets could be better - at least for the service that the awning will see in our line of work. The brackets are probably fine for many users and I guess that it would be impossible to supply brackets for every possible mounting option..


Acces to the car is available from inside.
Next we turned our attention to the big box labeled as the awning tent - I was a bit concerned about the practicality of the tent judging by the size of the box... thankfully the box was quite generous and even included the surprise gift that we had been told to look out for.

Chris just came around to borrow the Side by Side to go shooting.




We unrolled the tent, took a moment to orient ourselves with the doors and sailtracks, and set to fitting it. We were immediately impressed with the quality of the fabric. Of late, ripstop has been associated with really light weight materials - there's not necessarily anything wrong with lightweight ripstop, but it is nice to see a heavier material. The floor is a heavy duty, zipped in PVC with a couple of tie down options in each corner. There are big doors on two sides (making access to the car possible) and big windows on the other two.
What a great idea.
"I think we've been very helpful."

Packing away took just a couple of minutes, there is a bit of a trick to arranging the window flaps, but that's not difficult to work out and the whole thing rolls up back into it's bag with plenty of room to spare.


Massive door.
We then moved to the final Kalahari box - the largest, and began to work on the swag. The mattress is huge! There were moments of doubt that it would actually fit in the swag. The swag could be considered free standing, but anything that size is going to need to at least have the base pegged out tight to maintain integrity in the wet. The access door is huge and there are internally adjustable windows at each end. The swag is very roomy and most people could easily sit up inside of it.

 
Not quite free standing.
Heaps of room to sit up inside.

 Obviously the proof of the mattress comfort is in the sleeping - there was no opportunity to do that today, but there will be next weekend - report to follow.
Rolled up swag (left) and awning tent (right).
Rolling the swag up is definitely a two person job but the sturdy buckles and clips do offer confidence with pulling it down tight. There is no 'swag bag' (which is unusual in the market nowadays), but the heavy PVC base will offer good protection for roof-rack and ute tray loading.

Thursday 28 May 2015

Our Top Nine Tyre Tips.



1. Everyone has an opinion on tyres!


And everyone else is clearly an idiot! You will find a massive wealth of experience from people who will passionately defend their own opinion and readily tell you that brand A and brand B are useless, despite the fact that they have only ever used brand C themselves. Everyone has a different set of expectations from their tyres. Everyone has a different set of criteria upon which they base their judgements. Consider everyone's
experience and opinion - then form your own.


2. Get the right tyre!


Not all tyres are created equal. Your tyre purchasing decsion should be based upon your needs and ambitions, not what your vehicle manufacturer decides. First make the choice between a Passenger or Light Truck tyre. Then decide upon your favoured tread pattern. Lastly, go shopping for the brand of premium tyre that meets your needs. Yes, you want a premium brand.

 

3. Don't be 'that' guy!


We've all met the bloke who refuses to let his tyres down. They are nearly as obnoxious as the "pfft, I did it all in 2wd" guy. Here are the best excuses from the Mr Highway Pressure.

a) I don't have a compressor.


Really? You bought a 4x4, for multiple thousands of dollars to go to the beach and you couldn't manage to lash out on a compressor? I've certainly picked up rentals that lacked a functioning compressor (despite assurances from the rental company) the fact of the matter though is that unless you are truly remote, there will be someone around, or a servo, who can help you to pump your tyres back up. You had

better hope that there is someone around because you will need them to rescue if you don't.

b) It was just a quick trip onto the beach.


Yeah, we can all relate to this... However much more than air down/up time can be lost when you are bogged... on your own... while the tide is coming up...

c) I have low profile tyres.


As unfortunate as this is, it's a bigger and bigger problem and for many owners there are very limited wheel/tyre options. I guess that you need to weigh up the potential rim damage and the potential bogging potential. If you are bogged at the time, I guess you answered your own question. The fact is that your low profile tyres are a problem offroad in general. Highly inflated low profile tyres are a bigger problem.

d) I'm heavily loaded and need the sidewall height!


This one is a cracker. "I'm heavily loaded" translates to "I'm going to get bogged faster than my mates." Let's discuss the physics... lowering your tyre pressure might reduce your sidewall height (and therefore clearance) by a couple of centimeters... getting bogged in soft sand could reduce your clearance all the way to the diff. You gain clearance by reducing pressure because you stay on top of the sand instead of going under it.

4. Get the right pressure for the task!


The right pressure depends upon
a) Your load
b) Are you towing
c) Tyre size
d) Tyre construction
e) The terrain
f) The conditions

That dude on Facebook who recommended 22psi, without asking any of the above questions, should probably not be your only source of info.


5. Local knowledge is important!


Obviously knowing where you are going is important, but spending a bit of time speaking to a reputable source regarding the current local conditions can save you a lot of heartache. You will need to make a decision on the trustworthiness of your source, of course but the small investment of your time in seeking out the very latest updates to track conditions has got to be worth it.

6. Don't guess at your pressure!


Get them right! You need a quality gauge and you need to use it. Letting your tyres down by eye, looking at how much they 'Bag Out' isn't a sound strategy. Modern vehicles are constantly monitoring wheel speed - uneven tyre pressures result in an inconsistent rolling diameter and can cause havoc with your vehicle's safety and traction systems.
On the topic of "Bagging Out"

7. You don't drive on sidewalls!


How "bagged out" your tyres are is irrelevant - just stop saying it. Your aim is not to make the tyre wider, it's to make the contact patch longer... why not swap "bagging out" with '"increase my footprint"? It's a much more accurate way to describe what you are doing.

8. Everything has changed!


The way that your 4x4 grips, starts, stops and turns has been changed by reducing your tyre pressure - you need to change your driving style too. Harsh braking and sudden steering should be replaced by considered and smooth driver inputs. Tight turns on higher traction surfaces should be avoided.
Low pressure - Low Speed

9. One (two part) rule to rule them all!


At the Australian Offroad Academy we have a uniform policy on tyre pressure advice and teaching.
"Go as low as you need to go, but no lower... but be prepared to go lower if your needs change."


Do you know who learns heaps about tyres? All of our course participants... Why not join them?

Go to www.AustralianOffroadAcademy.com.au to learn more.

While you are here though, check out this video from Queensland Tourism from one of our Girls Got Grit Weekends.

More info about Girls Got Grit 4x4 weekends right here.



Saturday 9 May 2015

Quick trip to the tropics

Barely back from Barcaldine there was just enough time for some trailer maintenance, head scratching and a new show stand layout design before loading everything up again for a trip to one of our favourite places - Mackay.

The Quad and SxS trailer (on loan from our friends at Evolution Electrical Racing) needed a bit of love after the Barcaldine trip so mike took to it with the grinder, welder and paint brush.

World's flimsiest caravan?

The plan here was not to create a very large camper trailer, but rather a new platform for upcoming Ag and 4x4 shows.
SxS and Quads are an increasingly large part of our work.


Bump in day.
With the Mackay AgTradeLife show being our first 'Solo' show for the year, and the first event that we would be taking both the CFMoto U8 Side by Side and the CFMoto X6 Quad we were looking for an option that would;
  • Keep us up out of the mud.
  • Give us plenty of shade.
  • Create a dark corner for our flat screens.
  • Solve the problem of having to store the trailer somewhere during the show.




Of course the whole stand is powered by our Goal Zero Yeti and solar panel tripod.

The trip to North Queensland wasn't just to stand around at a show though.

We also had another of our series of courses across the state for a Qld Govt Dept. For this Mackay group we had access to some brilliant terrain close to the city, yet seemingly miles away.
4x4 in Mackay
a 4x4 playground, so close to the city.
In this particular site the ever present and accessible MAXTRAX got a workout on terrain that is exactly what these guys experience in their daily work tasks.
Getting the Pajero dirty.




What a tough workplace.

There's no point in pretending.








Saturday 2 May 2015

Is this 'The Ultimate Mother's Day Gift'?

Are you searching for the Mother's Day Gift to top them all?


Is your mum an independant lady? Looking for an adventure?

Are you prepared to have dad kicked out of the driver's seat?

It's not too late, grab a Gift Voucher Here.

Our "Girls Got Grit" weekend away on Fraser Island is just what you and mum are looking for.
This isn't just a quick lap around the Island.

Did you catch our feature on The Great Australian Doorstep?

Corroborree Beach Traffic Jam

Hit the beach on Sunday Morning to experience the 'other' side of the Island.

Learn to negotiate the ever changing landscape of Fraser Island.

Mum will get down and gritty learning real offroad skills including:
  • Minimum Impact Driving Techniques
  • Tyre Pressures
  • Vehicle Preparation
  • Track Assessment
  • Tides
  • Vehicle Recovery with MAXTRAX and Snatch Straps
  • Navigation with Hema Mapping products



Get to experience the very best of Fraser Island by spending a night on each side of this world heritage listed offroad destination. The Weekend away includes some pretty flash accommodation at Kingfisher Bay Resort and Eurong  Beach Resort.

We'll check off many of Fraser Island's Iconic destinations including:
  • Lake McKenzie
  • Central Station
  • Maheno Shipwreck
  • Eli Creek
  • Coloured Sands
  • Lake Wabby Lookout
Special Mother's Day Gift Vouchers are available.

Mum's weekend away with one of her girlfriends, or on her own, includes
  • Return barge transfers from River Heads.
  • Resort accommodation for 2 nights.
  • All meals from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch.
  • Sunset drinks.
  • Expert instruction.
  • Access to our exclusive training track.
  • Expert guidance around Fraser Island.
  • Memories and real learning.
  • National Parks vehicle permit.
 To find out more, or to make a booking for mum, visit our webpage.

Have you visited our Instagram Page?

There's all sorts of surprising content on our Instagram page.

April Skills Weekend - a great weekend away.

Every few months we run a big weekend at our Landcruiser Mountain Park Training Centre.
8 cars joined us for the Low Range Course on Saturday, and 6 for the Advanced Course on Sunday.
We had a great collection of cars and drivers.

 Saturday's team enjoyed a range of terrain types in the, at times, heavy rain with tyre choice quickly proving to be a massive influence in terrain handling ability.

Everyone loved the FJs

We did some water crossings, hill climbs and practiced our 4x4 Recovery techniques.

After a pleasant night around the campfire we started our Advanced Skills Course on Sunday morning with a drive on some of the Park's more challenging tracks..

We were too busy driving to get many photos.
The afternoon was spent performing advanced recovery including a wide variety of winching techniques and styles.

Sunday 26 April 2015

Weekly Wrap - so much to tell you - end of April - Part 1, heading west.

Welcome to last week's, and this week's weekly summary of the goings on at the Australian Offroad Academy.

A very big fortnight. So big that we are going to need to split it up into a few updates.

Go West

Mike and Dave packed up the Mazda and SxS and Quad and headed off for a quick trip to Barcaldine. Stopping on the way to complete accredited Side x Side training with a team of researchers from Central Qld University to are doing fauna monitoring on Curtis Island with Qld National Parks.
The SxS is a great tool for carrying team and payload into sensitive locations.
What a tough place to work. As much as the landscape on the Western Side of Curtis Island has been changed forever, there is still a whole lot of wilderness over there, and a few offroading challenges.
These teams have transitioned from 4x4 to SxS as the lighter weight and reduced footprint allows them to get their equipment and personnel into sensitive environments with out causing the impact that a full size 4x4 can.
Lightweight and Manouvreable
One on one attention during training
Our CFMoto SxS even has bucket seats
Our stop in Rockhampton was all too short and we were back in the Mazda heading west towards Barcaldine.
We were chasing the sunset from Blackwater.


 After an early start from the pitcuresque town of Alpha we arrived in Barcaldine ready to begin.

We and the team enjoyed some Outback hospitality at the Mandy's Cafe in the Main Street of Barcaldine before heading out for a day on the buggies in the QLD Outback.


We use our quad bike as our 'chase' vehicle during SxS courses, this enables us to stay close to our clients but maintain the same low environmental footprint as them.
SxS courses include high speed skills and low speed maneuvering.
Our CFMoto U8 is equipped with a fully compliant utility bar from Britax and some seriously clever LED Spotties from X-Ray- we aren't afraid of the dark in this buggy.
The CFMoto X6 LWB is a whole lot of bike.

Yeah, we go through a few witches hats.


With our time in Barcladine at an end, we stopped and made a few promotional visits around town, and hit the road again.
Check out this sunrise as we were getting ready for another day on the road.


For those interested in such things, we had a fuel mileage of 18.1 l/100kms on the way out to Barcaldine and 20.5 l/100kms on the way back into a pretty consistent headwind.

Once back on the road it was a straightforward run back to the Fraser Coast to prepare for a full weekend of more courses at Landcruiser Mountain Park and Noosa North Shore...