armourermark
Member
Are you not worried about water ingress between the plates rotting them from the inside out? Or will all joints (including bolt holes) be sealed?
nuggetstuff
Member
no not worried. I didn't weld all the way around so moisture should get ok but basically where I go, there isn't too much moisure.. 
armourermark
Member
Good point, well presented, ha!
200tdi ayre
Well-Known Member
Yep the roads here are abit killer
armourermark
Member
Jeezus, don't think you'll be able to plug that one!
200tdi ayre
Well-Known Member
Haha no ...
Boss driving, going round a corner 100kph, quadbike on the back, crunch. We were worried we weren't going to make it back on fuel and then this happened :doh:
nuggetstuff
Member
Yep..that is what happens!
Specifically for that reason I run a tyre pressure monitoring system.
Sidewalls are pretty soft these days and when driving on dirt/corrugated roads it is often hard to tell when you have a flat and when you realise it is generally too late. The problem then is that you are remote, a spare down and a new one is going to cost mega bucks if you can find one.
A TPMS cost about the same as a tyre in the bush these days and it gives a warning when the type loses 20% of the set pressure. This then gives enough time to stop before shredding the tyre. You then generally have the option to plug it and keep going. Good insurance I reckon.
Specifically for that reason I run a tyre pressure monitoring system.
Sidewalls are pretty soft these days and when driving on dirt/corrugated roads it is often hard to tell when you have a flat and when you realise it is generally too late. The problem then is that you are remote, a spare down and a new one is going to cost mega bucks if you can find one.
A TPMS cost about the same as a tyre in the bush these days and it gives a warning when the type loses 20% of the set pressure. This then gives enough time to stop before shredding the tyre. You then generally have the option to plug it and keep going. Good insurance I reckon.
SmileySteve
Well-Known Member
Fantastic thread! been a great read mate, cheers for the entertainment, this is awesome stuff
nuggetstuff
Member
Got most of structural part of the portable winch organised today..
Got a start on the electrics but still got a big day ahead of me tomorrow to be ready to leave am Monday!
Finished off the portable winch today. Didn't have time to run the cable from the battery to the rear under the truck so used the power leads supplied with the winch, added an Anderson plug and then made leads to reach the battery. The leads are connected to the battery with an Anderson plug on and roll up behind the main battery so pretty neat for a temp. job.
Bit of an exercise but should get me out of strife if I need to get out backwards, especially as I will be on my own.
Truck is ready, loaded and I'll be up at sparrows to hit the road in the morning. Cheers
Got a start on the electrics but still got a big day ahead of me tomorrow to be ready to leave am Monday!
Finished off the portable winch today. Didn't have time to run the cable from the battery to the rear under the truck so used the power leads supplied with the winch, added an Anderson plug and then made leads to reach the battery. The leads are connected to the battery with an Anderson plug on and roll up behind the main battery so pretty neat for a temp. job.
Bit of an exercise but should get me out of strife if I need to get out backwards, especially as I will be on my own.
Truck is ready, loaded and I'll be up at sparrows to hit the road in the morning. Cheers
nuggetstuff
Member
With the truck packed and ready it was a 3 day, 2,500 kms drive from Brisbane to Alice Springs from where I would actually start the trip.
From Alice I was taking the Tanami Track and then heading out Kintore Rd so it is always reassuring having travelled so far, to find that the road is indeed open. The road was originally cut by Len Beadell and his Gunbarrel H/way crew and ran from Alice Springs almost to the west coast nearly 3,000 kms away. Today it is a graded road to the Canning Stock Route but is still full of Len history. Sadly the road west of the Canning has long gone.
The West McDonnell Ranges are spectacular with constantly changing colour
The aboriginal town of Papunya, and all others west only sell a special “Opal” blend of petrol which prevents petrol sniffing. Sad but true.
This old girl was used to bring people who were still living the desert nomadic life into the settlements.
The patch of red dirt with the AFL goal post is the local sporting ground…breed em tough out here!
Unfortunately a lot of areas have been closed to non aboriginals…
The West McDonnell’s just keep on rolling…
Gotta love Len’s signs..even Lassie the dog get s jumper..
The intersection of the Gary Junction Rd and the Sandy Blight Track, another of Lens roads is close the settlement of Kintore.
The road has been changed a bit from the original track and so the original signpost is 20-30 metres off the road.
Len’s road crossed the Northern territory/Western Australia border and he was very keen that travellers knew this so he made sure it occurred on a straight section of road.
He set an astrostation and determined the exact crossing position from that.
The astrostation was at the base of this tree. Interestingly he was only about 30 or 40 metres of the actual border position.
From Alice I was taking the Tanami Track and then heading out Kintore Rd so it is always reassuring having travelled so far, to find that the road is indeed open. The road was originally cut by Len Beadell and his Gunbarrel H/way crew and ran from Alice Springs almost to the west coast nearly 3,000 kms away. Today it is a graded road to the Canning Stock Route but is still full of Len history. Sadly the road west of the Canning has long gone.
The West McDonnell Ranges are spectacular with constantly changing colour
The aboriginal town of Papunya, and all others west only sell a special “Opal” blend of petrol which prevents petrol sniffing. Sad but true.
This old girl was used to bring people who were still living the desert nomadic life into the settlements.
The patch of red dirt with the AFL goal post is the local sporting ground…breed em tough out here!
Unfortunately a lot of areas have been closed to non aboriginals…
The West McDonnell’s just keep on rolling…
Gotta love Len’s signs..even Lassie the dog get s jumper..
The intersection of the Gary Junction Rd and the Sandy Blight Track, another of Lens roads is close the settlement of Kintore.
The road has been changed a bit from the original track and so the original signpost is 20-30 metres off the road.
Len’s road crossed the Northern territory/Western Australia border and he was very keen that travellers knew this so he made sure it occurred on a straight section of road.
He set an astrostation and determined the exact crossing position from that.
The astrostation was at the base of this tree. Interestingly he was only about 30 or 40 metres of the actual border position.
nuggetstuff
Member
mate it is a pretty special part of the world that is for sure. Once you get over the border into the north west of WA it is really starting to get remote and I'll cover that in the next post.
Cheers
Cheers
flat
Well-Known Member
nuggetstuff
Member
Len had a bit of trouble on this trip when the tucker wagon had tipped over and caught fire. It was also home to a substansial water tank and legend has it that by the time Len and the others realised what had happened and driven back, the water in the tank was boiling. As the contents of truck we scattered around, Len scooped up some tea leaves in his mug, took out his service revolver and plugged a hole in the tank so he could fill the mug with boiling water!
There are still some bibs and bobs of the truck at the original sight.
The actual truck has been relocated to the Kiwirrkurra Aboriginal Community and partially restored
Never a shortage of camels out here
Or great sunsets..
Or long, straight , dirt roads…
Or abandoned communities…
Complete with “one holers”
And a John Deere tractor where at least the front half looks OK!
The Desert She Oaks provide great shade for the weary traveller
Whilst the road now deviates from the original a bit, the original is often still visible and with a bit of bush bashing, you could follow a fair bit of it. Unfortunately the trees seem to grow better where the grader has been that where the soil is virgin.
Jupiter’s Well was originally drilled as permanent water for a Mapping crew but eventually came into disrepair.
The new well is not far away but in a much better place for those who might camp overnight..in fact it is a great spot to camp with lots of Desert She Oaks for shade and crystal clear water which can be pumped up with a hand pump
As I have said, the road has deviated from Lens original but thankfully they have taken the time to retain the original signs (with replicas) and they can still be found and visited
Sometimes I just couldn’t help but travel on the original track
Gary Junction is the where the Gary Junction Rd meets the Gary Highway
The original road headed to Well 33 on the Canning Stock Route but they don’t advertise it these days and only a discerning few take the trouble to take it.
There is the easy way of course…
But I sure a hell didn’t come all this way to take the easy way!
The big screen came in very handy on this section as the track was very difficult to navigate in sections…
Well 33 is an oasis in this harsh and arid land
And a great place to bunk for the night…
.
There are still some bibs and bobs of the truck at the original sight.
The actual truck has been relocated to the Kiwirrkurra Aboriginal Community and partially restored
Never a shortage of camels out here
Or great sunsets..
Or long, straight , dirt roads…
Or abandoned communities…
Complete with “one holers”
And a John Deere tractor where at least the front half looks OK!
The Desert She Oaks provide great shade for the weary traveller
Whilst the road now deviates from the original a bit, the original is often still visible and with a bit of bush bashing, you could follow a fair bit of it. Unfortunately the trees seem to grow better where the grader has been that where the soil is virgin.
Jupiter’s Well was originally drilled as permanent water for a Mapping crew but eventually came into disrepair.
The new well is not far away but in a much better place for those who might camp overnight..in fact it is a great spot to camp with lots of Desert She Oaks for shade and crystal clear water which can be pumped up with a hand pump
As I have said, the road has deviated from Lens original but thankfully they have taken the time to retain the original signs (with replicas) and they can still be found and visited
Sometimes I just couldn’t help but travel on the original track
Gary Junction is the where the Gary Junction Rd meets the Gary Highway
The original road headed to Well 33 on the Canning Stock Route but they don’t advertise it these days and only a discerning few take the trouble to take it.
There is the easy way of course…
But I sure a hell didn’t come all this way to take the easy way!
The big screen came in very handy on this section as the track was very difficult to navigate in sections…
Well 33 is an oasis in this harsh and arid land
And a great place to bunk for the night…
.
nuggetstuff
Member
hahahah...yes it is a UHF radio ariel. It has a spring loaded base and I also turned up an extension for it so it doubles as a height "feeler Gauge" so I know if the roof rack is going to clear branches etc.
Cheers
