HE’S a gadget freak and proud of it.

This was first published in 4×4 Australia’s February 2011 issue.

One look inside Matt Beetham’s Toyota Prado and you can tell. The dash and roof are chock-a-block with meters, radios, leads and screens, and that’s just the start of it. It’s a well-equipped tourer, especially when it comes to keeping in touch with the rest of the world, and there are few places it wouldn’t go.

But it wasn’t always that way. I used to live around the corner from Matt and didn’t even notice a new fourby had moved into the neighbourhood – it was just another Prado.

“The car was in stock standard condition with only the bullbar and tow bar when I bought it,” says Matt. But it didn’t stay that way for long and I started taking notice the day I saw it wearing a solar panel on the roof.

Over the following weeks it sprouted antennas, grew several centimetres higher and began looking like a car owned by someone who likes the bush. Meanwhile, Matt was also doing renovations, and some days I’d spot him rendering or helping the concreters. I’d sometimes pass his half-opened garage door and hear banging and grinding going on. Must be a hands-on bloke, I thought, and resolved to say g’day.

Sure enough, turns out Matt had done most of the work on his Prado – only the Repeller alarm was fitted by someone else. He’s come up with a good mixture of store-bought and hand-made features, then put them together himself. It’s not his first shot at it, after setting up two 4X4s in the past, and he’s settled on a set-up that’s based on experience.

He’s a veteran when it comes to two-way radios. “I’ve been into radios since I was 16,” Matt says, “and I had a UHF base station at home.” He still has one, too, and given that he and partner Paicy both work close to home, and both their cars are UHF-equipped, they save a lot of money on phone calls!

The Prado doesn’t end with just a UHF, though. You’ll notice four aerials on the bullbar, three for radios and one for the mobile phone. Inside the cabin, up on the roof, Matt mounted an Icom 400 Pro 128-channel UHF radio for general comms, which gets the most use.

The other Icom is a 208H UHF/VHF armature radio, which he mostly uses for scanning and receiving; he did have marine VHF programmed into it, but now it’s only set for UHF duties. The Codan 9323 HF radio, with its remote head mounted on the dash beside the Nokia car-kit screen, has around 400 channels, and Matt has programmed in the main ones like the Flying Doctor, VKS-737, weather channels and so on.

“I have Icom hand-held radios, too, so we can go walkabout in the bush or fishing,” he says. “Every radio has its purpose. I can listen to ABC cricket in the middle of nowhere,” he adds.

There’s no shortage of power behind the communications and other gear. Matt put a second battery under the bonnet – the same as the cranking one – and two 65 amp-hour deep-cycle batteries under the luggage system in the rear.

The under-bonnet batteries are separated by a Redarc 100-amp isolator, and the second one is held down on a tray Matt made from 40mm angle iron. He installed two battery-level gauges on the dash, one hooked only to the cranking battery, the other monitoring the three accessory batteries.

He has a 300-watt inverter “to keep the notebook computer powered while camping, which in turn keeps the kids happy during the wet weather.” Everyone’s kept happy by the 50-litre Waeco fridge. The Solarex 40-watt solar panel on the roof trickles charge to the batteries while they’re camping, and Matt says it does a fine job.

His party trick is the LED flashing orange lights inside the front and rear glass. “I’m just into gadgets,” he admits again, but there is a real safety benefit to having them: his job takes him into the ports, where being visible can prevent an accident.

The Prado’s shelves are Matt’s handiwork. After measuring the interior, he simply welded together some angle iron to form the frame and used plywood for the shelves.

He bought a Black Widow slide for the fridge and boxes to hold the bits he keeps back there – things like a remote-area first-aid kit, 2.5-tonne hand winch with 30 metres of cable, a pair of 10m high-tensile chains, three 9000lb snatch straps, two winch straps and various shackles.

With the bullbar-mounted no-name 9500lb winch and the two high-lift jacks – one mounted to the bracket on the rear door, the other on the roof rack – Matt shouldn’t struggle to get out of a bog. The ARB roof rack is also home to a long-handled shovel, a second spare wheel and tyre, and about 20 litres of water in the 100mm PVC pipe, which has a tap and is primarily for washing with.

The spotlights on the bullbar are 130-watt Narvas, and Matt has a couple of always-handy work lights rigged up at the back on the fourby.

Matt attached the snorkel himself, a job only a confident and careful bloke would attack on his own. Drilling big holes in exterior bodywork is not for tyros, but Matt gives no indication that it worried him in the least. There’s a tiny mark on the paint where he slipped, but I’m sure only he notices it until he points it out to people like me.

The minute NSW vetted bringing in that ridiculous VSI-50 legislation which threatened the straightforward fitment of your common and garden variety suspension kit, Matt went out and installed one. He chose a heavy-duty EFS kit with the standard 50mm lift, but ended up getting more than twice the rise!

Not because he opted up, but because the standard springs were completely knackered. “I gained 110mm overall because the stock springs had sagged so much,” he says. He’d noticed his Toyota seemed a bit of a low rider. “You’d go to the shops and see other Prados and think, whoa – and that was before I added the weight.” He’s very happy with the EFS set-up.

Matt has added another gadget – a reversing camera, wired to stay on all the time. “I can tell the distance to tailgaters,” he laughs. He bought it cheap and fitted it in just one and a half hours. If that seems quick, he reminds us that “I’ve pulled that car apart so many times”.

One of the benefits of doing work on your own vehicle is that you get to know it a lot better. Matt knows his Toyota and its set-up inside out, having rigged similar systems before, and now done so much to this fourby. Watching it tackle trails and a few steep challenges on the day we spent photographing it, I can say it handles its load well and is sensibly built for having tons of fun in remote places – exactly what a good 4×4 should be.

GET AWAY? GET AWAY

Matt has one regret: after all this work, he’s yet to do a trip in his beautifully equipped Prado. Not even a weekend.

“Same old story,” he says. He and Paicy both worked shifts, and the rostering planets never aligned; now Matt is 9-5 and it’s no better. “And now with kids,” he shrugs. And the renovations. Life gets in the way!

“We’re planning to do the Simpson or Fraser Island, but I’ve booked leave and my partner can’t get it,” he says. “It’s partly our fault for not dedicating it.” You get the feeling he’ll be dedicating it soon enough, though. With a rig set up for family camping, he won’t be shrugging off the impediments for too much longer.

“The kids love four-wheel driving,” he smiles. “They love the bumps and going through the mud.”

TROOPERS

Matt has a soft spot for TroopCarriers. Not only has he owned two of the rugged Toyotas, he’d love another. Both 75 Series models, they were decked out similarly to how he’s now got his Prado set up.

“I’d just bought a ’97 model and we found out Paicy was pregnant. I ummed and ahhed, but by the time you put a seat in the back and fit baby seats…” Matt’s voice tails off before he says, “I should have kept it.”

He was close to buying a V8 Troopie but reckons the city dealer talked him out of it. He sounds surprised as he reveals it, but I wasn’t sure if it was more about the dealer not wanting to sell something or Matt letting him change his mind.

He’d like Paicy to take over the Prado so he can have a Troopie, but there’s one sticking point: “If my partner could drive a manual … we’ve discussed this. I’d definitely go back to a Troopie.”

LUCA Giovannetti was a 4×4 virgin before he purchased his FJ Cruiser.

This was first published in 4×4 Australia’s July 2012 issue.

The closest thing to a proper 4×4 he had owned was an AWD Subaru STi. Not very close then. Luca has always longed for an original FJ40 (check out the numberplate), the problem was he needed a daily driver with all the mod cons, which ruled out anything from the 1970s. So Toyota’s FJ Cruiser seemed like the perfect choice.

The FJ has the right amount of power (200kW) and all the comfort and safety features Luca was looking for – six airbags, cruise control, great stereo and the ability to go off-road with ease.

Luca’s not one to leave any vehicle he buys standard for long, but with minimal 4×4 experience he had to talk to some experts to get the ball rolling. After picking up the FJ at Healesville Toyota he paid a visit to ARB, who fitted a set of Old Man Emu coils matched to Nitrocharger Sport shock absorbers. The new set-up gives the FJ a 50mm lift all round and improves ride and on-road handling.

“A big improvement to the FJ’s ride quality compared to the stock set-up,” Luca said. The extra height also maximises the vehicle’s wheel articulation and allows a larger tyre to fit within the guards.

Next up was changing the OE tyres for something that would perform better. Luca was after a tyre that would work in every situation, on- and off-road. After doing some research he went to Tyreplus in Glen Waverley for five BFGoodrich all-terrains in a 285/70R17 size.

In keeping with the blacked-out theme, Luca decided on a set of Series 7028 rims (17 x 8.5) from Pro Comp Australia. These mean-looking wheels have a matte-cast blast finish and are manufactured using low-pressure casting technology claimed to give them immense strength. They also suit the FJ Cruiser perfectly and remain within the edge of the guards.

The BFG tyres combined with the 50mm lift gave the FJ a 76mm lift overall. Luca was pretty stoked when he saw his elevated FJ for the first time – it was starting to look like a serious machine.

Things were coming together mechanically, but the FJ still had that white roof and silver highlights on the grille, bumper and mirrors. Luca wanted the FJ to have an urban assault vehicle, SWAT-team theme. No chrome, no silver, no white roof.

Exotic Kustoms in Melbourne took control of the FJ’s exterior and after a few days in the shop it resurfaced looking a fair bit meaner. Exotic wrapped the roof in a flat-black vinyl, painted the grille, mirrors, door handles and bumpers satin black and even blacked-out all the badging.

Vinyl wrapping a 4×4 is a great idea. Apart from applying a custom colour or pattern to your vehicle, it also shields the original paint from the elements. So you can hit off-road tracks without worrying about stone chips and scratches; great protection when you have a brand-new 4×4.

The difference these things made to the look of the FJ was amazing. It’s gone from a standard daily driver to a stealth bomber. Luca also tinted the front windows to match the factory rear privacy glass.

Having pimped the body, Luca decided to add extra lights. He ordered the mother of all LED lights from Monster Lights in Melbourne. The ML240X sits above the windscreen packing 16,000 lumens of pure white light. This model runs a combo beam, which consists of 90 percent spot and 10 percent flood.

On the rear of the roof rack there’s a ML48X flood beam. The great thing about this light is that it has a low current draw, meaning it can be wired directly across the reversing circuit without the need for a relay. Luca reckons the ML240X sitting on his roof is powerful enough by itself and is pleased that one light can do the job.

The FJ’s engine is stock, but Luca has fitted an aftermarket exhaust system. Because the FJs had only just been released in Australia, no-one locally was doing an exhaust specifically for them.

HiTech Mufflers in Sydney came to the rescue by designing and building a bolt-on cat-back stainless steel system. This system follows the original path of the stock set-up, but has a larger diameter and uses a hi-flow muffler. The exit is kept tucked up out of harm’s way and the whole exhaust system has a polished finish. The FJ has better throttle response now and a nice bark to the exhaust note.

With everything finished on the FJ, we took it to the Melbourne 4×4 Training and Proving Ground for some fun. This was Luca’s first proper off-road drive in the FJ, so he had Robbie Emmins give him some basic training and run him through all the different areas we could use.

After a bit of articulation work to begin and a quick river crossing, Luca sent the FJ over the site’s steepest drop. The FJ did it easily, and with that rush of adrenaline we think Luca was soon hooked on his FJ and four-wheel driving in general.

After about three hours of driving, the once-pristine FJ was now a totally different colour – it looked like something out of Operation Desert Storm. Luca was proudly no longer a 4×4 virgin, and his FJ looked like the real deal.

While the mods list on Luca’s FJ isn’t massive, he has improved some key areas on what is already a capable vehicle in stock form. And for someone starting out in the world of off-roading, he now has a package that will more than cope with any future adventures he has planned.

NO-ONE wants to get stuck when exploring a new track or heading to a remote campsite, but this is inevitable for four-wheel drivers.

Your best friends in such a situation – additional recovery vehicle aside – are going to be a winch, the always-packed snatch strap and shackles, plus your rated recovery points on which you’ll attach the strap or winch cable.

These, as Adam Craze from Ironman 4×4 explained, are a non-negotiable must-fit accessory: “If a person is planning on going off-road and touring, we believe rated recovery points play an important part of a vehicle build.

They provide a safer connection point for all forms of winching or snatch recoveries. If they (the owners) are planning on using the vehicle in four-wheel drive, they should have recovery points.”

Simple, eh? Well, it should be, but note the mention of ‘rated recovery points’. For most 4x4s – as in, nearly all new models and a surprising number of ‘older’ or ‘traditional’ vehicles – this will mean you’ve actually had an aftermarket rated recovery point (or points; two is far better than one) fitted, rather than trying to use either the tow/transport hooks or the towball.

LOOKS DECEIVING

SO, WHAT about those tie-down/transport hooks? Well, they’re attachment points used to secure a static vehicle for transport (to the dealership, for example). These points aren’t subject to the incredible forces and load a recovery point has to cope with in a recovery situation, where a vehicle’s weight is working against both the snatch strap and the vehicle attached to that strap.

In short, it is incredibly unsafe – and stupid – to use them in recovery situations. Tie-down hooks will bend or break very quickly under any heavy load, leading to a catastrophic failure that could see your shackle transform from a vehicle saviour into an airborne missile that’ll effectively slingshot from its attachment.

The other corker is the use of a towball to hitch a recovery rope/strap to. As you’d expect, this is also a short road to disaster, with the ball incapable of coping with the force exerted by the kinetic energy involved in a recovery situation.

A rated recovery point, designed specifically to withstand the forces generated during this procedure, is the only way to ensure optimum safety, as ARB’s Steve Sampson explained.

“In terms of the OE tie-down points, they’ve been designed to secure a vehicle when it’s being shipped/transported from Thailand/Japan or wherever it has been manufactured through to Australia,” he said. “So they haven’t had any sort of rating for, say, any sort of additional load which may be placed on them – like if they were to be placed under some sort of snatch recovery or a winch load.

“So the difference between that and a rated recovery point is the rated recovery point has been designed, tested and developed so it can sustain any sort of additional load if it was having any sort of snatch recovery or winch load placed onto it.”

The lack of knowledge around safe recovery procedures and the confusion from owners regarding whether they can use tie-down/transport hooks and/or the towball is, according to Adam Craze, still a legitimate concern – a result, in part, due to the continuing boom in new 4×4 sales.

“I would say that most (4×4 owners) do not understand that tie-down points are not to be used for any style of recoveries,” Adam told us. “It is just like towballs; they should not be used. As the market expands, so does the need for awareness of this potential problem.

The 4WD vehicle market is expanding with a lot of first-time 4×4 owners who want to use their vehicles off-road and they all need to know how to uses their vehicle and recovery equipment safely.”

Adam added that he (along with 4X4 Australia) highly recommends joining a 4×4 club and/or doing a 4WD course that includes safe recovery techniques and education on the equipment needed to perform them.

THE POINT OF IT ALL

IT’S important to note when talking about ‘rating’ a recovery point that those numbers on which the rating is based are often for a best-case scenario (i.e. a perfectly straight line-pull during recovery).

Even then, the obstacle your vehicle is stuck in/on can add less or more force and load to the recovery points, strap and shackle involved in pulling you out – as well as the vehicle’s chassis – increasing the number of variables that influence the load amount on a recovery point.

Plus, you need to take into account the angle of the recovery – for example, ARB designs its recovery points to be rated for load at maximum wheel-turn angle.

The ARB recovery point is one part of a unique system designed to safely handle and transfer force into the chassis experienced during a recovery event, effectively protecting against potential chassis/vehicle damage.

Steve Sampson explained: “It is of no benefit having a recovery point with a high rating that fails to adequately distribute the force into the chassis in a manner that does not compromise the structural integrity of the OEM chassis system. The worst thing you want is for the recovery point to handle all loads/forces experienced in a recovery and yet damage or compromise the OEM chassis it is fitted to.”

Of course, aftermarket recovery point manufacturers take the variations on load angles into account when designing the products, and, remember, these things are built to do just one task: ensure a recovery is as safe and efficient as possible.

The design process also takes into account all the implements used in a recovery situation, with the idea to push any potential fail-point on to the least destructive component of the recovery procedure – the snatch-strap, rope or cable.

“Essentially, we’ve come up with a system which we call the ‘Recovery Train’, so we want to make sure that the weak point … is not the recovery point,” said ARB’s Sampson. “Generally, what you’re going to have is the recovery point, and you’ll have a shackle, and you’ll have a snatch-strap attached to the other vehicle.

We want to ensure the weak point within that is the snatch strap, so all of our recovery points have been designed to work with a 4.7-tonne rated shackle and then an 8-tonne-rated snatch strap, so the weak point is always going to be the snatch strap.

“The 4.7-tonne shackle will generally have a safe working load of five or six times, so it takes it up to 24- to 26-tonne. We would much rather – if something was to go wrong – the strap would be the part that would break, rather than having a big chunk of metal flying through the air, which has been ripped off the vehicle.”

It’s common to see off-road vehicles fitted with two recovery points at the front end. Two points aren’t essential, but if you can fit two to your rig (not all vehicles can be fitted), we’d recommend it.

The reason for this is to get around the potential problem of a single point being inaccessible – one side might be deep in mud/broken/stuck under something. A choice of two points allows you to take best advantage of where the recovery vehicle is and at what angle it’s positioned, allowing for the ‘straightest’ line-pull possible.

Two recovery points mean you can use an equalising strap – often called a bridle strap – which allows you to connect the two points at a junction to the main recovery line. This effectively halves the load each point has to take up and distributes the load/force across a wider area, which may minimise any chassis twist or damage.

This method works best when tackling a straight-line recovery, because once you’re recovering on an angle, the load distribution – or share – across the two recovery points is altered, with one under more load than the other. Also take into account that the equalising strap is being loaded from its ‘side’ rather than in a straight line from its end, which may affect the effective load rating of the strap.

“If you were to use some sort of bridle strap – if it’s made out of some sort of plasma or Dyneema-style rope – the load rating on that rope is generally done on a straight-line pull,” Steve Sampson said. “So if you’re using that as a bridle strap, the load point actually then becomes as a side pull on that particular rope.

“Realistically, when you’re stuck in mud or whatever, it’s pretty rare that you’ll have a 100 per cent dead-straight pull, so the load would be very hard to distribute half-and-half on those two points.”

A rear recovery is often needed to extract a vehicle, but when it comes to a rear recovery point the best (often only) recovery point available is the towbar hitch (not the towball).

Adam Craze explained: “Although we normally concentrate on designing front recovery points, a rear recovery point is just as important. In most cases a (rated) recovery hitch in a towbar is a safe and acceptable point to use. A towball is not ever – never ever – acceptable to use as a recovery point.”

In terms of rated rear recovery hitches, Adam explained the rating must always come from the lowest rated part involved – in the case of an Ironman 4×4 rear recovery, a hitch rating of 4.75-tonne (as opposed to the company’s minimum 5-tonne rating for a front recovery point). This also applies to front recovery points and all the implements involved.

WHY WOULDN’T YOU?

THE recovery point is a relatively basic accessory when it comes to fitment and maintenance, despite the huge amount of engineering and design time involved. This takes into account a vehicle’s chassis strength, maintaining the load rating even at maximum angle of recovery (usually based on the maximum wheel angle of the vehicle), air-bag compliance, and its near-bombproof build (plate steel and high-tensile bolts).

This doesn’t mean you just fit and leave it, as the recovery point, like all fitted accessories, needs to be regularly checked to ensure it’s still correctly fitted and there’s no sign of fatigue or damage.

The relatively straightforward fitment process and ease of maintenance, tied in with the simple fact they’re an essential for anyone considering venturing off-road, means there is really no reason not to fit rated recovery points to your vehicle … and there are way too many reasons why you should.

SAFE AND SOUND

SAFETY during a recovery – snatch or winch – is paramount, so it’s essential to have the correct gear and follow certain safety procedures during the process. This starts in your garage, by checking recovery points for any damage or loose fittings. Next, ensure your recovery kit (strap, shackles, gloves, etc.) is packed in your rig and all contents are serviceable.

When it’s time to initiate the recovery, ensure you can access the recovery point safely and easily. Check the wheels are on firm ground, and under no circumstances should you crawl under a vehicle bogged in soft mud. Move everyone out of the way of the area and ensure they stay to the side, as should anything break and fly off it will generally do so in the direction of the recovery.

When attaching the snatch strap or winch cable, connect it to your recovery point via a rated shackle and don’t overtighten the shackle. Instead, wind it right up and then back it off a quarter-turn to avoid it seizing when under load and thus making it impossible to remove.

The most common shackles are metal-rated shackles, but for those looking to eliminate the slight chance of a rated shackle breaking and sending dangerous pieces of flying metal through the air, you can opt to use a rated soft shackle.

The Roadsafe soft shackle is made from 10mm 12-strand synthetic rope (similar to synthetic winch rope), hence the ‘soft’ moniker, and is rated to a ‘rope splice’ breaking load of nine tonnes (similar rope tech is used in yachting, but with less loading involved).

It includes a loop at one end and a large knot at the other, with ‘bracing’ sections of the shackle colour-coded to line up with your recovery point and snatch strap.

We asked Troy Schipper, 4WD Product Development Manager at Roadsafe, exactly how the soft shackle works. “The soft shackle utilises tension to set the knot,” he said. “Setting up the shackle requires the shackle to be positioned so the load is across the shackle and not directly on the knot. Once load is applied in a recovery situation, the tension applied to the loop at the base of the knot will hold its shape.”

Troy also reiterated the advice of Adam and Steve regarding maintenance and regularly inspecting the shackle (and the rest of your recovery gear) to ensure it’s all in working condition and set-up correctly during recovery.

Finally, once set-up, don’t forget to throw a damper (recovery blanket, for example) over the snatch strap/winch cable before recovery.

Communication between the two vehicles involved is the last essential step to a successful recovery, and it’s especially pertinent during a snatch recovery. The driver in the bogged vehicle needs to know when the snatch is about to take place so they can (if possible) accelerate to assist in the pull.

Plus, an agreed stop point must be communicated between the vehicles to save additional load/strain on the vehicles and recovery components.

THE POWER OF FORCE

SO, HOW much force and load is involved in a vehicle recovery? Well, that’s a very difficult question to answer due to the nature of recovery situations.

Each recovery situation is unique and will contain a number of variables: the weight of both the bogged/stuck vehicle and the recovery vehicle; the substance the vehicle is stuck in (mud will add much more suction force to the recovery compared to sand); whether either vehicle is on an incline/decline; and whether the tyres on the bogged vehicle are inflated and/or are at any particular angle.

Adam Craze added: “As Newton states, the force is equal to the weight, multiplied by acceleration”, with all of these affected by the above.

Having said that, controlled tests have been conducted that measured force in a particular recovery situation. One such test was undertaken by the late, highly regarded 4×4 journalist Ian Glover, in conjunction with Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited (MMAL), to test/check for any potential distortion in the then-current Pajero’s monocoque chassis during a recovery.

This test involved using a stock Pajero stuck in relatively soft, shallow sand (just under the sill). The 4×4 was subjected to a straight-line pull snatch recovery on level ground and then a recovery on an incline.

The MMAL engineers used a load meter to record the load in kilonewtons (kN) through the snatch strap via a ‘strain gauge’ (attached to a plate metal block on the meter that stretched under load) to a laptop on-board the vehicle.

The load recorded for a straight-on (no angle) recovery on a flat surface was 2.06-tonne (20.6Kn) – an ‘ideal scenario’ in terms of a snatch recovery.

The second recovery was undertaken with the Pajero bogged on a short incline (less sand depth than the level location, but the wheels again pointed straight-on), and the recovery vehicle snatched the bogged Paj forward and over the incline.

The figure recorded in this scenario was 3.16 tonne (31.6Kn), showing how factors such as gravity/incline influence load on the recovery points, shackles and the snatch strap. This also explains the high load rating figures on aftermarket recovery points, snatch straps and shackles – and why you should fit and use them.

MERCEDES-BENZ’S iconic G-Wagen was developed more than 40 years ago to transport militaries across the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East, so it’s only fitting that when a new variant arrived in Australia, Benz chose to take it to the desert.

Despite a much-publicised 2011 expedition on the Canning Stock Route, where failed shock absorbers brought the media convoy to a halt, Benz has been brave enough to do it again, this time choosing an east-to-west crossing of the Simpson Desert.

The new variant is the G300 CDI Professional wagon, which joins the cab-chassis variant as the workhorse models in the G range. The G-Pro wagon uses the same 3.0-litre diesel V6 engine, five-speed automatic transmission, full-time 4×4 and triple diff-locked driveline as the cab-chassis, in a bare-bones four-seat, five-door wagon.

The desert convoy included three G300 wagons and two cab-chassis variants, as well as two left-hand drive G500 wagons belonging to explorer Mike Horn, who joined us to make this trip. Drivers came from media outlets around the world, most of whom had never even been to Australia before, let alone visited the remote and rugged terrain of the Outback.

As the convoy filed out of Birdsville the newbies were given a baptism of sand as we hit Big Red, the biggest of the 1100-odd sand dunes, that marks the eastern edge of the Simpson. With tyre pressure dropped, they soon learned the capabilities of the vehicles and the workings of the low-range transmission and differential locks.

G-Wagen expert and factory test driver Erwin Wonisch was on hand to help with the in-the-field training, and it wasn’t long before everyone was an expert and we ventured farther west.

The new experiences for the international contingent continued when the sun went down, as they rolled out swags for the first time and spent their first night under the stars, where the Milky Way shines brighter than anywhere else.

The adventure took three days to reach Dalhousie Springs via The QAA Line, French Line, Poeppel Corner, Knolls Track and the WAA Line. The Gs took on the dunes with ease and ate up the flatter track sections. The loaded cab-chassis felt the best in the rough stuff, while the bellowing V8s of the G500s sounded killer as they roared up the dunes.

After a warm swim and quick shower at Dalhousie, the trip broke north to explore the history of Old Andado Station and be regaled around the campfire by caretaker Cobby Bob’s bush poetry.

Mount Dare to Finke and some rocky private property tracks near Mount Ooraminna showed the Outback in a vastly different light to the sandy deserts of the days previous, but the jewel in the crown lay ahead as the journey was completed under the massive rock domes of Uluru – Kata Tjuta.

The seven G-Wagens covered more than 3000 Outback kilometres (when you include the drive to Birdsville from the east coast) without a fault – and all shock absorbers worked as they should, to the relief of the Mercedes-Benz Australia team.

The G-Pro 461 vehicles use a heavier duty oil-filled shock absorber rather than the gas-filled AMG shocks on the 463 Gs that failed on the Canning, and these are obviously better suited to the punishing Australian terrain. The torturous terrain didn’t even claim a tyre on this trip, as the Professionals are all fitted with BF Goodrich all-terrain tyres on 16-inch alloy wheels as standard.

It’s this standard equipment, along with its simple and pure design, that makes the G-Professional the obvious choice for expedition work like this desert trip. While they may miss out on the luxury features of the 463 models, the Professionals have the gear you really need for remote-area touring.

G300 CDI CAB-CHASSIS

MERCEDES-BENZ released the cab-chassis Professional to Australia last year, and we are the only market on the planet to get it. While we praised the truck for its ease of use and heavy 2.4-tonne payload, we were critical of its stiff-riding chassis and rough ride quality. This was noted both unladen and with a tonne on the tray.

Since it was launched, Benz has looked at these criticisms and is working on a softer suspension package that might be offered as an option in the future. However, something that has already been implemented on the truck is a new pair of rear shock absorbers that are 15mm longer.

15mm mightn’t sound a lot, but the change appears to have transformed the cab-chassis models that were used on this trip. These vehicles also had close to 1.5-tonnes on them – aluminium canopies, tools and supplies – but we spent a day driving one on the WAA line and loved it.

In fact, it has become a favourite of the two-model G-Professional range. With its longer wheelbase over the wagon, the cab-chassis rides better and ambled up and over dunes, was comfortable on the rough tracks, and hauled the load needed to support and feed the crew on this trip.

Swap out those toolboxes for a serious camper and the G-Pro cab-chassis could be the perfect expedition rig.

THE WORLD’S GREATEST EXPLORER

MIKE Horn has faced a firing squad in the Congo, been sat on by a polar bear in the Arctic, and circumnavigated the globe under his own steam the long way around as he followed the equator for its full length. So ‘the world’s greatest modern-day explorer’ is a title he has earned through hard work and a true spirit of adventure.

South African-born but now residing in Switzerland (during those rare moments when he is at home), Mike’s life is comprised of one expedition after another, and that has taken him to the extremes of the planet. Mike joined us for the Simpson Desert crossing with his daughter Jessica and their two G500 Benzes. This was the next leg in his current Pole to Pole expedition, which started in Monaco in May.

From the lifestyle capital of the rich and famous, he sailed his custom-built yacht Pangea down the west coast of Africa to Namibia, where he picked up his G-Wagens and drove via deserts and jungles to South Africa. From here it was back on the boat to sail to Antarctica for a not-so-casual solo crossing on skis via the South Pole that took 55 days, before getting back on the boat to sail up to us in Australia, via New Zealand.

The journey from Australia will take Mike to New Guinea, through Asia where he hopes to bag a couple of as-yet unclimbed 7000-metre peaks, all the way up to the Arctic where he will again cross the Pole solo, before returning to the start point in Monaco. It’s a two-year adventure that will put Mike on six of the seven continents of the world.

You can follow the expedition via the website at: www.mikehorn.com/pole-2-pole

JEEPS and V8 engines go together like rum and coke.

This was first published in 4×4 Australia’s January 2012 issue.

It’s a marriage made in heaven, yet the company only ever offered a factory-fitted V8 in the CJ5, CJ6 and CJ7 models.

The successor to the CJ, the Wrangler, was never endowed with a V8 from the factory, yet Jeep enthusiasts, being what they are, were quick to swap out the standard six-pots for bent-eights and more grunt.

Ford Windsors, Chevy small blocks and GM LS-series engines have all found happy homes in Wrangler engine bays over the years, but when American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) wanted to create a factory-style V8 conversion for the TJ Wrangler, it went to Jeep’s parent company Chrysler for a donor, and used the iconic Hemi V8.

This is the modern Hemi, not the legendary mill that Top Fuel drag-racing engines are still based on today, and it features all the mod cons including electronic fuel injection and variable camshaft timing for better driveability and fuel economy.

AEV first fitted the Hemi to the TJ Wrangler in 2003 and, by 2006, when the TJ was replaced by the JK, had produced and sold close to 200 conversions. AEV has been behind many of the wild concept vehicles that Jeep unveils at events like the SEMA show and Jeep Safari each year and its close association with Chrysler has given it first-hand knowledge of how a vehicle manufacturer puts a car together.

This has enabled the company to give its conversions a factory finish and AEV has received four Daimler-Chrysler Design Excellence awards over the years as testament to its engineering and design skill. With the launch of the JK Wrangler, AEV set about designing a conversion for the more refined model, and it also offered the conversion in a do-it-yourself kit form for the home mechanic.

The DIY kit contains all the hardware you need to fit your own 5.7 or 6.1-litre Hemi engine including ‘no measure’ engine and transmission mounts, radiator, computer, plug-and-play wiring harness, and coolant bottle. Plus you get all the plumbing – three new air conditioning hoses, two powersteering hoses, a new fuel line, radiator hoses – and even clamps you need.

AEV’s Premium HEMI Kit adds a custom Flowmaster stainless steel exhaust, catalytic converters, a chrome exhaust tip, heavy-duty transmission cooler and an AEV ProCal Module so you don’t need to go to a dealer for the set-up. The ProCal will enter the VIN and allow you to program the throttle at home – not to mention all the normal ProCal features like setting your speedometer, gear ratio, TPMS thresholds – and have a high idle for winching operations.

JeepKonection in Melbourne is the AEV distributor here in Australia, and when it needed a vehicle to adapt the Hemi conversion kit to right-hand-drive and get all the necessary approvals for road registration, it created this Hemi hauler.

JeepKonection is a part of Pro Comp 4×4 and Pro Comp’s Alan McMullen is a long-time Jeep enthusiast. He’s owned plenty of them. Mostly modified and competes in off-road competitions, winning the Outback Challenge in a GM V8-powered TJ. What Al doesn’t know about getting Jeeps to work well off-road isn’t worth knowing so he’s the ideal bloke to head up AEV’s Aussie outlet.

“This vehicle is part of our JeepKonection business where we install, test, modify if required and obtain engineering approval if required in order to ensure the products we sell are legal for use in Australia,” Alan told 4X4 Australia. “We use the AEV, LHD Hemi installation kit, and modified specific parts to enable the kit to be installed as in a RHD configuration.”

A brand-new 2010 Wrangler Sport Unlimited was bought to start the project and the standard V6 engine was soon turfed. The AEV conversion kit, a 5.7-litre Chrysler Hemi and five-speed auto were also shipped to the shop for the transplant.

The engine and 545RE five-speed auto are brand new and sourced in the US by AEV. The 5.7-litre Hemi is 2010 Grand Cherokee spec and features variable valve timing to produce 260kW and 520Nm.

The engine breathes through a pod style air intake and out through cast exhaust manifolds and an AEV dual 2.5-inch system to a single three-inch outlet which Alan says just scrapes through on the noise test for registration. There’s nothing like the sound of the V8 and this heavy breathing Hemi won’t disappoint!

Of course, the AEV conversion kit was designed for left-hand-drive vehicles and the crew at JeepKonection had to modify various components to suit our right hook Jeeps. These include the engine and transmission mounts, power steering and air conditioning lines and the modified components by JeepKonection were sent back to AEV in the US where they are now produced for the RHD kit.

Fitting the conversion is a relatively simple job that can be done by any good mechanical workshop or done by JeepKonection in less than a week. A drive-in/drive-out Hemi conversion on your JK Wrangler will set you back $25,000 and includes the new Hemi engine, five-speed auto, the kit and all fitting costs.

Then there are all the AEV extras you’ll no doubt want. On this high rolling R&D test bed these include the front and rear bumpers. The front bar accepts an electric Warn winch if desired while the rear bumper has a wheel carrier to allow up to a 40-inch spare tyre and 19-litres of internal water tanks. It’s a really clever design that gives added protection to the rear of the Jeep while adding some water storage.

The wheels on this Blue Meanie are AEV Savegre alloys measuring 17×8.8-inches and they mount monster 37×12.5-inch Pro Comp MT hoops. “This vehicle is fitted with AEV’s 3.5-inch premium suspension kit,” says Alan. “It has been swerve/lane change tested according to ISO 3888-1 Part 1, double lane change test and it passed.

This test is outlined in Section LT, Vehicle Standards Bulletin 14, National Code of Practice for Light Vehicle Construction and Modification, and now that the vehicle has passed with the suspension it can be registered here legally.” This test should make the kit legal in any state of Australia.

The suspension kit comprises Bilstein mono-tube shocks, 3.5-inch raised coils, drop mount brackets and roll-centre correction. Currently the Blue Meanie mounts the standard Dana diffs but they won’t be there for long.

“The next step is to install Dynatrac Pro Rock 44 front and Pro Rock 60 rear diffs,” says Alan – the heavier-duty axle housings give more ground clearance than the standard units and have locking centres. “Then we’ll perform the swerve test again with the Dynatracs to get legal status with this configuration.”

You might also notice the heat reduction bonnet. This is another AEV product and is designed to draw hot air out of the engine bay to improve cooling. The Hemi engine already benefits from an AEV radiator, but the bonnet helps aid air flow. The Hemi Wrangler runs fine without the stylish steel bonnet although AEV recommends fitting it if you tow for extended periods in warmer climates.

Other cool gear from AEV includes protection guards for the rear corners, and underbody, an air intake snorkel, the ProCal module and a clever jack baseplate that lifts the jack for raising vehicles with higher suspension. There’s a range of suspension kits, wheels and accessories and some other Jeep models are catered for as well.

AEV and JeepKonection can transform your Jeep no matter what your desires. This vehicle clearly shows the ability of the engine and suspension conversions and with factory fit and finish as well as road legal certification, your Jeep will never be the same again.

YOU BRUTE

ALAN McMullen also had his AEV TJ Brute out on the day we drove his Wrangler. Like the Hemi engine conversions, AEV designed and developed the Brute ute and now sells them through its worldwide distributors as a DIY kit, or JeepKonection can build them for you. Alan’s vehicle is the only one to be built by JeepKonection so far.

The Brute is built on a stretched TJ chassis and the kit includes the frame extensions, cab closeout, rear frame extension with winch mount, bed assembly with tailgate, Brute hard top, fuel and brake lines, and body mounts.

Jeep was so taken by the Brute when it was first shown in 2003 that it took one back to Detroit to see about factory production. But it was too close to the launch of the JK and a proposed factory JK pick up, so the plan was kyboshed. The proposed factory JK ute is also why AEV hasn’t done a JK Brute itself.

For a JK ute, Mopar offers its JK8 Independence kit and JeepKonection will soon be playing with one of these here in Oz.

Alan has had the yellow Brute on the road now for three years and it is still powered by the original 4.0-litre straight six. But, like the blue Unlimited, there are more plans for it – and they include a 6.0-litre GM V8, six-speed auto transmission and an Atlas transfer case.

Should be wild!

A COUPLE of friends of mine travel with such a great toolbox in their vehicle, I hardly need to carry anything.

They rarely need the stuff themselves, but they’ve helped out dozens of less-equipped travellers wandering the backblocks of this country.

But do you really need to carry so much repair gear and spare parts? I’ve consolidated a little since my early days of outback travel as vehicles have become more reliable and I better maintain them. Plus, a major breakdown in the scrub is basically untenable even with all the tools, so a recovery of sorts will be required.

I remember a trip in the 1980s with the late Russel Guest (who established the still very successful and highly regarded Guests 4WD in the Melbourne suburb of Alphington) when one of our convoy blew a harmonic balancer when at full noise trying to cross a dune on the CSR.

Such was the devastation under the bonnet by the flying pieces of balancer that the water pump, radiator, hoses, alternator, air-conditioner plus associated hoses, along with the vehicle battery, were all damaged or destroyed.

I’ll always remember Russel’s words as he slammed the bonnet shut: “Well, that’s stuffed”, he said in a classic understatement. That 60 Series ended up on a very long snatch strap as we towed it back to civilisation, but that is another story.

What tools do you need to carry on your next bush trip? First up, we always carry a repair manual for our vehicle. Even if you haven’t got any vehicle knowledge, somebody with more mechanical knowledge may be able to help if they know where to start with your particular vehicle.

Then start your kit of with:

• Set of open-end/ring spanners.

• Set of sockets.

• Small ratchet driver.

• One large ratchet driver and socket extension arm.

• A couple of adjustable spanners.

• Set of screwdrivers and Phillips head screwdrivers.

• Engineer’s hammer.

• Hacksaw and blades.

• Pliers and multi-grips.

• Set of files: ‘bastard’ grade, round, flat and square.

• Electrical and gaffer tape.

• WD-40 or similar.

• Tube of oil/fuel-resistant Silastic.

• Kit for repairs to fuel tanks, radiators, etc. Ensure they’re compatible with tank (metal or plastic).

• Basic tyre repair kit, such as the Speedy Seal from ARB.

• Cable ties (selected sizes).

• Selection of fuses.

On bigger, longer trips, or those involving remote cross-country jaunts, I carry an extensive tyre-repair kit which includes tyre levers, a bead breaker and more. For one of the best on offer, see: www.tyrepliers.com.au

I also carry extra gear for 12-volt welding, using a set of jumper leads (that are always in the vehicle) and the two big batteries under the bonnet. A piece of welding glass for eye protection set in a piece of cardboard makes a handy eye and face mask, while my welding handpiece and lead from the 240-volt welder at home completes the emergency kit.

Some people will recommend three 12-volt batteries connected in series, but I’ve always found two to be more than enough.

With all of the electrical outlets and accessories we tend to carry these days, as well as towing a trailer, one of the most common problems plaguing travellers is an electrical fault. A multimeter is essential for analysing electrical issues when in the scrub, while a good soldering iron (we like the butane-fuelled ones) is paramount for wiring repairs.

I keep most of my often-used tools in tool rolls, which makes them easy to pack and easy to get to.

IT’S big, slab-sided and plain white. Could there be any better canvas on which to create the ultimate touring 4×4 than Toyota’s venerable Troop Carrier?

This was first published in 4×4 Australia’s May 2012 issue.

If ever there was a motorised pack mule, this would be it. Melbourne’s Michael Alexander agrees, and after a decade of roaming the country in GU Patrols, his search for the perfect bush tourer led him to switch to the Toyota brand.

“When researching a replacement for my 4.2 Patrol, I spoke to a number of trusted travellers and tour guides about what would make the ideal tourer,” says Michael. “I needed something strong and unbreakable with a decent payload that would stand the test of time. The objective was to set up the vehicle from scratch and keep it for a lifetime. Well, 15 to 20 years at least.”

The 70 Series Toyota Land Cruiser Troop Carrier – to use its full name – has changed a bit in its more than 25-year lifespan, but it has stuck with the simple and proven basics of a tough ladder chassis, live axles front and rear, rugged suspension, plenty of interior space, and a reasonably high load-carrying capacity.

These attributes put it in a dying breed in the new-car showrooms with only Land Rover’s Defender to truly compare it with. In reality, the Troopie is in a league of its own.

The 78 Series Troopie, with its powerful V8 turbo-diesel engine and coil-sprung front end, is far more user-friendly than the earlier truck-like versions, making it much better suited to recreational touring. Michael’s vehicle is a 2008 model bought new, so it doesn’t have the new airbag-equipped dashboard of the latest model.

“I took delivery of it on a Friday afternoon and dropped it off to have the third door installed the following Monday morning,” he recalls.

Third door, you ask? Look closer and you’ll see there is a rear door on the passenger’s side of the vehicle. This was fitted by Polans Truck Refinishers in Dandenong, Victoria.

People have been crying out for a four-door Troopie for as long as the model has existed to aid passenger access to a rear seat or the front of the cavernous cargo area. Toyota hasn’t supplied a solution in 25 years and Polans is one of a few innovative aftermarket companies to have delivered the goods.

Many of Polans conversions are for mining and industry vehicles, but the job well suits a recreational application. Michael’s Troopie has no back seat but the cargo area has been thoughtfully configured to make the most of the space and the third door takes full advantage of the design.

The conversion is a steel frame reinforced, fibreglass door that uses many factory Toyota components, including the original sliding side window and the door handles and catches. The internal frame incorporates a side intrusion bar and, being engineered for the mining sector, you can bet it’s structurally solid and safe for the toughest treatment.

In this vehicle, the third door provides access to a storage area that is separated from the cabin and rear cargo area by steel cargo barriers. When travelling, this area is normally used for Michael and his wife Lynne’s personal luggage while the spare parts and some recovery gear are stored under the floor. A Black Widow roof shelf carries lightweight soft items like bedding and jackets.

A pair of Black Widow roller drawers resides in the rearmost cargo area on the driver’s side, with a fridge slide and 40L Engel fridge on the left. A shelf above these allows more storage and another roof shelf carries lighter gear. Aside from touring the country, Michael’s other passion is kite-surfing and the roof shelf allows him to store his kite-surfing gear securely up and out of the way when on trips.

Most of the storage system comes from Black Widow and was installed by Outback 4WD of Bayswater. Outback was also responsible for the external fit-out which included ARB bullbar, side-rails and steps, a Kaymar rear bar with dual wheel-carriers, a Warn XD9500XP winch, Lightforce HID auxiliary lights and HID upgraded headlights.

The GXL Troopie came on skinny steel split rims and these were quickly replaced with CSA Stampede alloy wheels wearing LT285/75-16 Cooper tyres, including a pair of matching spares to hang on the rear bar. The bigger tyres required wheel-arch flares and these are fibreglass TJM pieces and the passenger-side rear flare had to be modified to fit the new rear door.

A SmartTyre tyre-pressure-monitoring system is fitted to keep tabs on the pressure and temperature of the tyres. The SmartTyre system comes from Autron, which also supplied the cruise control – a modern convenience not offered on the 70 by Toyota.

Useful extras that do come from the factory include the standard air intake snorkel, optional diff locks and an auxiliary fuel tank. It’s factory items such as these that make the 70 Series such an attractive option for outback travel. Michael opted for the twin diff locks when ordering the Troopie and extended breathers venting high in the engine bay are used to protect the diffs against water ingress.

The standard auxiliary fuel tank holds 90 litres of diesel in addition to the 90-litre main tank, but it was swapped for a 180-litre aftermarket tank to give 270 litres in total. That’s good for around 1900km of touring, according to Michael. Water is carried in a 57-litre tank with built-in pump.

Despite its size, the Troopie only has a 955kg payload and all this extra gear bites into how much can be carried. Quality aftermarket suspension helps with how the vehicle carries the load and rides, and this Troopie’s load-bearing rear leaf-spring pack has been replaced with ARB’s Dakar springs as part of a full Old Man Emu (OME) suspension upgrade.

The kit includes OME coil springs up front and shocks all round. The uprated suspension gives a 55mm increase in ride height and the rear end is further boosted by Polyair bellows.

Also under the car is a three-inch exhaust system from Taipan XP. This had to be modified by Outback 4WD to miss the large aftermarket fuel tank that resides behind the rear axle. The big-bore exhaust allows the 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8 engine to breathe easier. Fuelling is optimised with a programmable ECU chip from Morepower. Otherwise, the engine remains standard.

Engine bay accessories include a Piranha Power Shower and dual-battery system from Autron. The dual batteries help keep the fridge running and supply power for the 12-volt shower, plus there’s a 600W inverter and extra 12-volt accessory outlets in the front and rear of the cabin.

The driver and passenger part of the cabin has its fair share of electrical gadgets, too. The most prominent is the iPad mounted atop the dashboard. Michael and Lynne use the iPad for navigation and have a full set of Hema and topographic maps on it running through Memory Map. They always know where they are thanks to the Spot tracker, which can be used to let others know their exact location should they need to be found.

There’s no shortage of communication devices with a GME UHF radio, Motorola sat-phone and Barrett HF radio all fitted to the Troopie. The HF head unit is on a roof shelf; the main unit is mounted to the rear-most cargo barrier and its self-tuning antenna is the big one on the rear bar. The pair of pod gauges on the A-pillar is from Autron and shows the driver the tyre pressures and temperatures and the state of charge in the dual batteries.

The only thing Michael says he can improve on is to fit a better stereo than the standard Toyota unit. A comprehensive list of spare parts is carried including a full set of filters, hoses, wheel studs and centre bolts, as well as the tools to fit them in the bush if necessary. A full recovery kit and fire extinguisher are among the essential gear.

The Troopie has been on the tracks for more than three years and has racked up plenty of outback kilometres, including north-east Arnhem Land, Fraser Island, the Queensland Channel Country, Gulf Country, the Simpson Desert, Kakadu, the Pilbara, the Flinders, Steep Point and the Grampians.

Michael rates Bawaka in north-east Arnhem Land and The Canning Stock Route as his favourites. “Bawaka has soft white sand, crystal-clear water and a croc called Nike; it was sensational. Unfortunately, the traditional owners would not let us photograph the best bit.

“The Canning provides the ultimate remote area experience, with only 12 other vehicles sighted over 21 days on our trip. It doesn’t get better.”

This year the Troopie is due to tackle the Victorian High Country, Cape York, the Kimberley and the Simpson. Life’s good for some.

THE dirt road wound through the forest, which for a short distance seemed more like a scene from a Tolkien book, and I half expected a band of hobbits to appear through the wind-blown trees, gloomy clouds and drizzling rain.

This was first published in 4×4 Australia June 2012 issue.

Abruptly, the forest gave way to more open country, the weather cleared and we were driving alongside the wide, reed-covered expanse of the Aire River Inlet. Here in the river’s backwaters there are a couple of small lakes but they are more reed than water, while tucked up on the bank is a small and very pleasant campground.

Further along, the road crosses the river on a wooden bridge and you arrive at the larger Aire River West campsite, which is a beauty, with plenty of flat areas to set up a tent or camper and good access to the water itself. It is pretty popular, not only with humans but also a varied collection of bird and animal life.

Just before you cross the bridge to the campground, a sandy track leads further along the edge of the creek to the beach at the river mouth. Vehicles aren’t allowed on the beach, but the track is about as close as you’ll find to a 4X4 track anywhere in the area. From the campground on the western side of the river, the Sand Road winds along the edge of the stream through the Aire River Wildlife Reserve to meet with the Great Ocean Road at Glenaire.

Both campgrounds are within the boundary of the Great Otway National Park, which stretches along the Otway Ranges inland from Torquay to west of Cape Otway, where it joins with the Port Campbell NP. In all, the park covers 102,500ha while the adjoining 37,600ha Otway Forest Park is the next biggest reserve in the region.

The Surf coast, famous for Bells Beach, takes up much of the eastern coast of the Otways. The Great Ocean Road winds through verdant forest and along spectacular stretches of coastline to the magical Twelve Apostles and Port Campbell, so you’ve got to expect that you’ll never be too remote.

In fact, we were blown away by the number of people camping and caravanning, surfing the curling breaks, canoeing the placid rivers or backpacking the Great Ocean Walk. And it was mid-week, in autumn, and well and truly out of school holidays.

This is also the Wreck Coast. Tragically, the lists of ships that ended their days floundering on a reef or rocky headland number into the many dozens – more than any other similar stretch of coast in Australia. At Wreck Beach, near Moonlight Head, west of Cape Otway, the Marie Gabrielle was swept ashore in a south-west gale in 1869 while 22 years later the Fiji was wrecked just a short distance away.

Today their anchors can still be seen, but if you want to see them save the trip down the steep cliff and the 366 steps for a relatively calm day and preferably at low tide.

In an attempt to stem the flow of catastrophic wrecks the Cape Otway lighthouse was built in 1848, and is now the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia. Perched high on the cliffs above a turbulent sea where Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean meet head-on, it’s a great spot to visit to soak up the heritage and the wilderness aspect of this wild coast.

A little-known piece of history took place near here in 1802. The English were alarmed that the French navigator and explorer Nicholas Baudin, who mapped much of the western and southern coast of Australia, had landed and set up a camp.

Thinking that their sovereignty was under threat the English quickly sent a crew to run up a British ensign to ensure their claim to this southern tip of Australia was intact. In their haste the English crew ran the flag up the makeshift flagpole, upside-down, much to the amusement of the French. A rough camp and an upside-down ensign today mark the very spot.

Just north of Cape Otway is one of our favourite camps. Tucked in among the tea-tree, right on the coast is the Blanket Bay campground. This spot is super popular, with sites going to a ballot for the summer and Easter holidays, but there’s pleasant swimming and snorkelling here, you can launch a small boat off the beach and there are many delightful walks to enjoy.

Away from the coast, though, it’s a lot quieter. For most of our sojourns into the Otways we travel Mt Sabine Road which winds along the spine of the mountains for much of their length, but the quickest way to get from Geelong to the southern tip at Cape Otway is through the small township of Forrest. There are a number of forest tracks of varying standard established for mountain biking around this small mountain hamlet.

Further south, in another effort to turn the region’s economy from forestry to tourism is the Otway Fly Treetop Walk and Zip Line Tour near Beech Forest. For those adventurous enough to wander through the tree-tops or to take a fast flying-fox ride among the trees this is a cracker, but with howling southerly 60-70km winds during our visit, we chickened out.

From the Mt Sabine Road several lesser roads drop off the crest towards the coast or inland and while many have been closed permanently to four-wheel drivers, during the drier months a number of seasonally-closed tracks are opened to enjoy.

While much of the logging has stopped in the area since the State Forest was divided into state and national park, you may be surprised by the number of log trucks and timber crews you’ll encounter. Cutting timber from plantations on privately-owned land, the big trucks feed more than 1700 logs a shift to the remaining sawmills in Colac and elsewhere.

No trip to the Otways would be complete without at least one visit to a waterfall. There are around 40 waterfalls that warrant a name in the national park and adjoining state forest with probably the best known being the 30m plume of Erskine Falls, inland from Lorne.

If that’s a bit too touristy, head south to Sabine Falls, which makes up the tallest in the region with three separate segments plunging 130m over the escarpment at the head of Smythe Creek. Triplet Falls, with its elevated boardwalk passing through a mixed forest of mountain ash and myrtle beech, is south of Beech Forest and is well worth the 1.8km walk.

Our last port of call on our weekend trip was to a spot I hadn’t visited before. Johanna Beach is reached by either of two dirt roads – Red Johanna, or Blue Johanna (the latter having the most blacktop), off the Great Ocean Road west of Glenaire.

The beach here is often the replacement location for the Bells Beach Rip Curl Pro when the waves are too small at Bells, so there is always a good chance of a good surf break while the fishing can be pretty impressive as well. The campground tucked among the trees a short distance back from the clifftop is a beauty.

Somehow we managed to drag ourselves away from this spectacular coast promising ourselves it wasn’t going to be too long before we visited this magnificent region again. You should try it soon.

TRAVEL PLANNER

WHERE The northern end of the Great Otway National Park (NP) is about 1.5 hours from Melbourne; the southern end, west of Cape Otway, is an easy three-hour trip via Forrest and Lavers Hill.

CAMPING: PARKS AND RESERVES There are a host of campsites in the Great Otway NP, both in the mountains and along the coast. For more details phone 13 19 63 or visit: www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/great-otway-national-park

CAMPING AND ACCOMMODATION There is also a lot of accommodation in and around the area, with campgrounds located in all the major towns. Apollo Bay, closest town to Cape Otway, has all a traveller requires.

THINGS TO DO Surfing, diving, snorkelling, fishing, four-wheel driving, beach walking, bushwalking, day walks and birdwatching.

MORE INFO visitgreatoceanroad.org.au

parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks

THERE’S no denying Justin Montesalvo and his team at Patriot Campers continue to raise the bar, not only with their trailers but also with their Super Tourer 4×4 builds.

Vote for the Patriot Campers’ 6×6 LC79 to win the 2017 Custom 4×4 of the Year

The company is little more than four years old and has built a long list of happy camper customers here in Australia, and now it’s taking that service and quality to international markets, with exports to the USA and elsewhere around the globe.

The Super Tourers are top-shelf builds of current model Land Cruisers, and they’ve found their way to customers in the Middle East, Mongolia and back home in Australia. Justin’s own ‘Black Truck’ LC79 is currently on tour in the USA, where it’s getting plenty of attention in a market that doesn’t get 70 Series Toyotas, and it will be at the SEMA Show.

When we heard the Patriot team was preparing something special for the Melbourne 4×4 Show back in August, we wondered what they might come up with to top anything they have shown to date. From the time photos of the build first started leaking online, and then pictures of it on the road heading to Melbourne, it was obvious Justin had delivered on his promise for something special.

The custom Land Cruiser 79 stole the show, with thousands of onlookers crowding around it over the weekend. Patriot worked with some of the leading businesses in the Australian 4×4 industry to create a 70 Series like no one had seen before – and, just one week later, we were thrown the keys to it.

THE BUILD

PATRIOT started the build with a brand-new 2017 Land Cruiser 79 GXL. When the car rolled off the truck in Melbourne it had less than 100km on the clock, and when we met the guys for our drive it had done just 400 kays.

The rear of the Toyota ute was stripped and the back-end of it effectively cut off. This allowed the complete Jmacx 6×6 system to be installed in place of the factory rear axle and leaf springs.

The Jmacx set-up replaced the back part of the chassis with new rails mounting the coil spring suspension and trailing arms; however, the Patriot truck uses adjustable airbags in lieu of the coils, with prototype TJM remote reservoir shocks.

The airbags were supplied by Airbag Man and are height-adjustable up to 100mm to allow easier access to the cab at their lowest and provide better off-road clearance when cranked up. Plus, the system is self-levelling when driving. Both of the rear diff housings are made by Jmacx; the rear-most one retains the factory Toyota locking diff, and the first one is fitted with a Detroit soft locker.

The Jmacx 6×6 set-up is designed and engineered to work with up to 35-inch tyres, but, as usual, Justin took it to the next level and fitted 37-inch Mickey Thompson MTZs. This simply required tweaking the adjustable links that are part of the Jmacx set-up. However, even a 6×6 79 on 37s wasn’t enough for Justin.

No, he had to go further and worked with Marks 4WD to fit a set of its portal hubs to each of the axles. The portals not only add an extra 150mm of clearance under the diffs, but the gear reduction in them helps to compensate for the power losses associated with fitting larger diameter tyres, which is especially needed when running on 35s (or in this case, 37s).

Pushing all that weight and rubber requires extra power, and there’s no doubt GSL Fabrications is the king of tuning single-turbo 1VD engines. Patriot has used GSL upgrades for a few of its Super Tourer builds, including for its own cars, and Justin had no hesitation in turning to them again.

“We got the boys at GSL to go to town on it,” Justin said. “I gave them free reign over the truck as I’ve got a lot of faith in them now after what they’ve proven with my black truck. By the time this is finished and tuned, we’re going to be looking at around 500 flywheel horsepower!”

The 6×6 features GSL’s 100% kit which signifies a 100 per cent increase in torque over standard, but, like everything on this car, the engine has been cranked up to 11. From the TJM intake snorkel through to the insane five-inch stainless steel exhaust stacks, this engine is one heavy breather.

Backing up the engine is an NPC clutch made to handle all of that extra grunt and – probably the only factory component on the car that has been left untouched – the Toyota five-speed gearbox.

There isn’t much the Patriot team haven’t messed with on the truck: the cab was painted a custom grey colour with contrasting bonnet; the tray is a new design for Patriot and one that will feature on all future Super Tourers; the interior is more like a luxury European car than a farm truck; and even the front bar was custom-made by TJM to match the wider wheel track.

It’s a tour de force of custom components from some of the best names in the local 4×4 industry, and it’s one that will showcase to the world the work of not only Patriot but the contributing businesses.

Via its massive social media following and television series, Patriot already has the attention of the global off-road market. The team wowed fans with the black truck and now the Mega 6×6 is set to blow them away.

THE DRIVE

EVEN when you’re the editor of a national 4×4 magazine, it’s not every day that someone throws you the keys to a vehicle with a $450,000 replacement cost – certainly not one that has been custom-built with hundreds of man hours going into it, has only 500km on the clock, and not even its owner has driven it off-road yet.

I’ve heard it said before that Justin Montesalvo is a mad man, and I was convinced of it once he agreed to let me drive his rig.

It was with much trepidation that I drove the Mega 6×6 out of the spot where we had been shooting our initial images, but I needn’t have felt that way. Aside from the huge step up into the cabin, the leather-lavished interior and the gorgeous sounding rumble from the exhaust stacks, driving the 6×6 on road is just like any other LC79.

Obviously, there’s a bit more poke available from the GSL-tweaked engine when you squeeze the throttle down, and it was yet to be tuned to its full potential when we drove it, but it rumbles along like many other kitted Cruisers.

The airbag suspension is very firm and could be softened up for my liking, but it certainly rides nice at 80 to 100km/h on rough roads. Plus, there’s no feeling of the second rear axle scrubbing the tyres on tight turns on sealed roads as you might expect.

The size of the thing only comes to the fore when you get it off-road and the tracks feel super tight – with the Marks portal axles and +35 offset ROH wheels, the 6×6 is 150mm wider than your garden variety LC79. Justin also mentioned the amount of work that went into fabricating the custom wheel-arch flares, so there was no way I wanted to scrub them against a tree or bank.

I again questioned Justin’s sanity when we stood at the bottom of a deeply rutted climb and I asked him if he’d rather drive his car up there himself. “Nah mate, you’re here to drive it so better you break it than me.”

The first pinch was a fairly straightforward rocky climb with a step as it veered left. I wanted to see what sort of traction the six-wheel drive gave, so I only switched in the rear locker which would work with the soft locker in the other rear axle.

The Cruiser crawled up the first part with ease, but as the track turned and the left front went up the step – lifting a wheel on the second axle and the outside front – it scrabbled for grip and forward momentum. The safe option was to ease back and put the front locker in, and it breezed on up.

The next obstacle was a deep, rutted gorge barely wide enough to pilot the Cruiser up, and again I was conscious of keeping those fender flares off the walls. With front and rear lockers in, the Patriot Cruiser never wanted for traction; but, taking a cautious line soon had the front left wheel hoiking high as the rig leant in toward the bank.

The safest way forward was to run the synth line out from the TJM Torq 12,000lb front winch (there’s another one mounted at the back) to pull the car across to the left as it edged further up. Tight passes between trees were the only other difficulties for the big 6×6, while power and traction were never in doubt.

This is one seriously capable truck, but its size dictates that it’s better suited to open country rather than tight bush tracks. It would be a weapon in the desert or up on The Cape, and we’re sure we’ll see more on that when it appears on the Patriot Games TV series.

LET’S get this straight right from the get-go: Mercedes-Benz’s new X-Class ute is a lot more than just a Nissan Navara with a flash grille tacked on to it.

The Germans have given the donor D23 a thorough going-over to create the X-Class, and the version that wears the three-pointed star is a completely different vehicle.

Yes, the X is built on the Nissan chassis, but the chassis rails have been braced and altered where needed to improve NVH and dynamics. Chassis crossmembers have been altered and an extra one added for the same reason, and the suspension mounting points have been tweaked.

The axles under the chassis are wider by some 70mm, and the rear axle is a Mercedes-Benz unit that features disc brakes in lieu of drums. The double-cab body also comes from the Nissan, but all the external sheetmetal is new, the cabin is wider and, as such, both the front and rear screens are wider.

Only the side glass is carried over. The new roof panel bulges upwards to allow a taller seating position in the rear pew, and the cargo tub is all new and bigger than that on the Navara. The body has been braced where needed, and extensive sound insulation has been used to reduce cabin NVH.

The four-cylinder engine and driveline is carried over from the Navara, but Mercedes-Benz played with the engine mounts and used its own engine control software to reduce engine noise.

Power and torque figures remain the same as they are in the Nav, and the seven-speed auto is also the same one used in the Navara – as is the six-speed manual; however, Benz has implemented a cable-linked gear shifter to again reduce vibration in the cabin.

The V6 diesel engine will be Merc’s own 3.0=litre unit and will be backed by a Merc seven-speed auto and full-time 4×4 with low range – no, this isn’t the V6 diesel that was used previously by Nissan in the D40 Navara. The X350d won’t be available until mid-2018, while the four-cylinder X220d and X250d models will go on sale in Australia in April.

So the X-Class isn’t all-new, but it’s no Navara either. You could say that Mercedes-Benz has done a mighty fine job of re-engineering and improving the Navara. Australian pricing for the X-Class is yet to be revealed but is expected ahead of its 2018 local launch.

Our tip is that to be competitive in the already hot one-tonne 4×4 ute segment the X220d and X250d variants will need to be priced close to other utes already in the market, particularly for the lower spec Pure and Progressive models. However, Mercedes-Benz will be able to set more of a premium on its range-topping V6 X350d Power variant.

As was reported from the unveiling of the X-Class back in July, it will come to market with a choice of three grades with three engine options, and with either a part-time or full-time four-wheel drive system depending on the engine selected. Only a double-cab body style will be offered, but both traditional ute and cab-chassis cargo areas will be available.

Our drive in Chile last week was of the X250d in both Power spec (with the seven-speed auto) and Progressive spec (with six-speed manual).

Power is the top specification of X-Class and adds chrome trim to the body-coloured bumpers, 18-inch alloys, LED headlights, ARTICO man-made leather seats and dash trim, dual-zone climate control, COMAND infotainment system, and eight-speaker audio and keyless entry, among its many standard features. This is the vehicle we think best represents the Mercedes-Benz brand.

Drop down the range to the Pure spec and you feel like you’re in a commercial vehicle with its standard air-conditioning, vinyl-covered floors, basic equipment, 17-inch steel wheels and unpainted black bumpers. The X-Class does fall under the Mercedes-Benz Vans division and not the passenger cars one, after all.

In between the two is the Progressive spec, which we feel would have the most appeal to many buyers. On top of the Pure spec it adds 17-inch alloy wheels, body-coloured bumpers, carpeted floors, black cloth-covered seats, Garmin sat-nav and other convenience features including the Audio 20 sound system with seven-inch display screen.

There are also a number of option packs available to add things like climate control air-con, LED headlights, improved audio and navigation systems, and larger alloy wheels.

The X250d Power feels the most like a Mercedes-Benz vehicle. It’s quiet and refined inside, well-behaved on road, and it gets along well with the 450Nm engine back by the seven-speed auto. The big thing is its refinement, as there’s none of the engine noise transmitted to the cabin that you get in a Navara, and the seats and trims have a luxury feel.

The suspension soaks up bumps and undulations and keeps the vehicle pinned through sweeping bends and controlled on broken and off-road terrain. Notably, the multi-link coil rear suspension is well-behaved and predictable. Mercedes-Benz put a lot of work in to the spring and dampener calibration to optimise the wider wheel track of the X-Class over the Nissan vehicle.

The hydraulically-assisted power steering is on par with other one-tonne utes in terms of feel and directness, but the Navara has never been great in this regard and it’s one area we hoped Mercedes-Benz might have improved the vehicle.

Off-road, the engine delivers plenty of low-down torque and traction control works well, but the set off-road course hardly challenged the car. From this drive we could only say that the Benz’s off-road ability is no better than any other one-tonne ute.

Disappointingly the same levels of refinement don’t extend through the X-Class range, as the Progressive and Pure specs don’t get the same level of insulation as the Power; the Nissan engine intake noise was evident when we drove an X250d Progressive with the manual gearbox.

We wouldn’t say NVH levels are a deal breaker, but it lessens the appeal of paying a premium for a prestige marque when it doesn’t deliver in full. Pricing will be a key factor for buyers of the lower specification X-Class models.

The six-speed manual gearbox in the Progressive is smooth and simple in its operation, but it had a whine in top gear when cruising on the highway. It must be said that this was a pre-production engineering vehicle, so we’ll need to wait until we drive the final product to see if it is a genuine fault with the car.

Our launch drive impressions are that Mercedes-Benz has done an amazing job with what it had to work with. The X-Class will slot right in among the top vehicles in the one-tonne 4×4 ute category, yet it remains to be seen just how close to the top it will fit – can it match the Amarok in terms of overall performance and accommodation?

Then there’s the issue of how well it will handle a load in the tray or haul anything close to its 3500kg towing capacity. Answers to those questions will have to wait until we drive it here.

2018 Mercedes-Benz X-Class X250d specs: Engine: 2298cc I4 diesel, 16-valve DOHC Power: 140kW @ 3750 rpm Torque: 450Nm @ 1500-2500rpm Transmission: 7-speed automatic transmission with dual range, part-time 4×4 Suspension: IFS with double wishbones and coil springs (front); multi-link live axle, coil springs (rear) Brakes: four wheel ventilated disc brakes Steering: hydraulic rack and pinion power steering Wheels: 17-, 18- or 19-inch with 255 tyres Price: TBA