TRANSPORTING your pooch to the vet, the local park, or away for a weekend of off-roading? Here’s how to stay within the law and keep your furry friend safe.

1: If a long voyage in on the cards, ensure there’s fresh water and plenty of snacks. It’s even a good idea to bring water for short trips, as plenty of dogs are likely to encounter bouts of carsickness.

2: If it’s a stinking hot day, protect your dog from the heat. Likewise, if it’s a freezing winter’s day, keep pooch away from the cold – this can mean putting them in the cabin instead of tethered out back.

3: Dogs can remain in the cabin or behind a cargo barrier in the rear of a wagon or SUV – not on a driver’s lap… obviously. According to the Victorian State Government: “It is recommended that dogs travel in the cabin of the vehicle and are kept either on the backseat in a restraining device or in the open cargo area of a wagon-type vehicle behind a cargo barrier.”

4: We see dogs hanging their heads out of windows all the time, but the Victorian State Government advises against this: “Dogs should not be allowed to travel with their head out of the car window; particles of dirt can enter a dog’s eyes, ears and nose, causing injury or infection.”

5: Victorian law dictates that dogs travelling on the back of utes need to be restrained via a tether or a cage. However, farm dogs that are actively working livestock are exempt from this rule.

6: If travelling for hours on end, remember to take regular breaks to give your dog toilet breaks and exercise.

7: Finally, whatever you do, don’t leave your dog unattended inside the vehicle.

Encounters with outback wildlife

NEW All-Terrain and Mud-Terrain rubber has been added to Continental Tyres’ line of General Tire Grabber tyres.

Called the Grabber AT3 (AT) and Grabber X3 (MT), the tyres have been designed with a key focus on delivering outstanding off-road ability.

In particular, the X3 has been designed to cope with extreme off-road driving, thanks in part to its high void wrap-around design.

The AT3, on the other hand, aims to maintain a balance between on- and off-road driving. This is achieved by combining TracGen and Comfort Balance Technologies.

Both the Grabber X3 and AT3 utilise high-strength steel, cut- and chip-resistant compounds, and DuraGen Technology’s unique three-ply construction for increased durability and puncture resistance.

“The brand has a great heritage that comes through in the capabilities of this new range. We are confident that the range will truly satisfy many ute and 4×4 driving enthusiasts throughout Australia,” said Continental Tyres Australia’s marketing manager, Russel Stewart.

“We know that for most ute owners and 4×4 driving enthusiasts, capability of a 4×4 tyre is truly important, which is why the AT3 and X3 range has been tested extensively to ensure safety under all off-road conditions. We are confident that any buyer of these products will truly enjoy what they have to offer.”

The AT3 will be available in 40 sizes for rim diameters ranging from 15in to 20in. The X3 will be available in 20 sizes for rim diameters ranging from 15in to 18in.

The all-new rubber will be available from most popular tyre stockists.

THIS is a great recipe to share with friends and family, either at home or camp.

A twist on the humble garlic bread, this is the perfect meal to make in a camp oven. The warm pieces of cheesy, garlicky bread are impossible to resist and, with winter coming, it’s best served with a bowl of hot soup.

Serves: approx. 8 INGREDIENTS

• An unsliced round or oblong crusty bread loaf, such as sourdough, Vienna or Pane di Casa.
• 1 cup (or more) grated/shredded melting cheese – such as a mix of mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan. Or try mozzarella, Gruyere or provolone.

• ½ to 1 cup (250g) butter – melted (amount depends on the size of the bread loaf).
• 2-3 cloves of garlic – crushed (or use 2-3 tablespoons tube/jar minced garlic), more or less to taste.
• 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley – finely chopped (or a good alternative is the lightly dried parsley now available on supermarket shelves).
• Salt and pepper, to taste.

• Preheat your camp oven to hot, or your home oven to 200°C or 180°C (fan-force).
• Using a large, sharp, serrated bread knife, cut the bread into a criss-cross (diamond) pattern, about 3-4cm wide, but don’t cut all the way through to the bottom of the bread.
• Place the bread on a large sheet of foil, enough to wrap entirely.
• In a small bowl, combine the melted butter with the other garlic butter mix ingredients.
• Using your fingers or a knife, pry open the cracks in the bread and evenly drizzle the melted garlic butter mix in the cracks.
• Sprinkle or spoon the grated cheese into the cracks.
• Cover and enclose the bread with foil.
• Make sure you have a trivet at the bottom of your camp oven. Place the foil-wrapped-bread on the trivet and cover and bake as detailed – coals top and bottom.
• Serve immediately – open up the foil and let everyone grab a piece!

• You could add finely chopped spring onions, chives or bacon. If you can’t be bothered melting the butter, just let it soften and then mix in all the ingredients and spread as evenly as you can throughout the cut bread.
• The denser the bread, the better the pieces will hold together when pulled off.
• You could prepare this at home prior to heading off on a camping trip, before finishing it off in your camp oven when you arrive at your campsite. To do this, wrap with both cling wrap and aluminium foil, then store in the refrigerator (or freeze it, to keep longer). Thaw before baking.

Want more recipes that incorporate cheese, then you can’t go past the ‘Perfect Italiano’ website and recipes. I used its ‘4 Cheese Melt’ product and it worked well. www.perfectitaliano.com.au/recipes

THE 2017 Birdsville Races will hit outback Queensland’s Simpson Desert on September 1 and 2.

Located 1590km west of Brisbane (1940km from Sydney and 1193km from Adelaide), the ‘Melbourne Cup of the Outback’ provides the perfect opportunity to dust off the 4×4 for a quintessential Aussie outback experience.

The two-day event marks the 135th anniversary of the races, with the first held in September 1882 – remarkably, the event has only been cancelled twice since.

“The Birdsville Races offer up a unique slice of Australian culture and experience that you really can’t find anywhere else in Australia or the world,” said Gary Brook, Vice President of the Birdsville Race Club.

“Birdsville is remote and that’s what makes the event so special – seeing the horses kick up the red desert dust and the coloured silks of the jockeys as they thunder around the track is truly spectacular.”

Birdsville, a town of just 115 locals, swells to between 6000 and 7000 people, all eager to attend the race, sit on the steps of the legendary Birdsville Hotel, try a camel pie at the Birdsville Bakery, and off-road to Big Red, Diamantina River, the Waddi Trees and the Burke & Wills campsite.

Explore: Simpson Desert, South Australia

In addition to the races, visitors will be spoilt with film and comedy nights, live music, cocktail nights, yabby races, street parties and Fred Brophy’s famous travelling boxing troupe.

“The Birdsville Races is so much more than a race meet; it’s a destination carnival and celebration of the outback that offers something different for everyone – in a completely unique environment,” added Gary Brook.

“Where else in the world would you find thoroughbred horseracing, gourmet food, music, comedy, film, fashion, boxing, tent cities, charity fun runs and true-blue Aussie pubs and bakeries?

Corner Country: New South Wales

“And all in one place, more than 1100km from any major metropolitan town of city centre? It’s pretty amazing when you think about it.”

Fashions on the Field is an integral part of the Birdsville Races, with attendees donning their best (or most outrageous) outfits throughout the two days.

“Every year, Fashion on the Fields brings some really interesting outfits out of the woodworks – you’ll always see Akubras, fascinators and sun hats, but you’ll get your fair share of surprises as well. And with thousands of dollars in prizes up for grabs, many racegoers take it very seriously and pull out all of the stops,” said Gary Brook.

A 6.1km fun run supporting the Royal Flying Doctor Service will also be run and won.

There are buses and limited flights in and out of Birdsville, but the best way to get there is in a trusty 4×4. Accommodation is available at the Birdsville Caravan Park or at Tent City (specifically set up during the event).

Two-day racing passes start from $60, while trackside hospitality options are available. For tickets, head to: www.birdsvilleraces.com.

WITH winter only a couple of days away, it’s time to stock up on some trick 4×4 gear to get you through Australia’s coolest months.

We’ve also listed a few products that’ll take the stress out of your next off-road adventure, be it a solar blanket, trailer plugs, or a ratchet set.

01: SECURITY BLANKET

SOLAR power is all the rage these days, so why not jump aboard the clean-energy wagon and harness the sun’s rays with a Baintuff 180W Foldable Solar Blanket. The lightweight (only 5.11kg) and compact blankets can be easily stored and retrieved when arriving or departing at camp. The blanket is a great option to keep the kids’ iPads running without draining the 4×4’s battery reserves.

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RRP: $999 Website: www.baintech.com.au

02: TREND-SETTER

STAY warm and cosy when out on the tracks this winter with a Cerium hoody, jacket or vest. Avoid the onslaught of the elements by adorning the light-weight, goose-down-filled clothing, which is designed using state-of-the-art methods to provide warmth to areas that need it most. The first-grade insulation, combined with a moisture-repellent fabric, could be a lifesaver!

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RRP: $580 (hoody); $530 (jacket); $370 (vest). Website: www.arcteryx.com

03: RATCHET AND CLANK

STRUGGLING to get to those pesky, hard-to-reach positions? The all-new GearWrench three-piece locking Flex Handle Ratchet Set is set to shorten the time spent tinkering in the shed on stubborn parts. With nine flex positions, the ratchet set is designed for jobs where accessibility is limited and to aid in the prevention of rounding out fastener heads. 84 ratchet teeth bite down for smooth operation, while the ratcheting arc is minimised to engage the next gear tooth sooner. The easy-to-use tool is covered by a lifetime warranty.

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RRP: $215 Website: www.gearwrench.com.au

04: LOCKED AND LOADED

THE new LockN’Load range unveiled recently by Yakima Australia is centred on a new Australian-designed rooftop cargo platform. The platform works with mounting kits designed for 4WDs to provide maximum strength and durability. A broad range of 4WD accessories will support the LockN’Load platform including brackets for recovery tracks, gas bottles, high lift jacks, awnings and spare wheels. Keep out a keen for initial products coming soon, as well as expansions to the range.

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Website: www.yakima.com.au

05: THUNDERSTRUCK

LOAD up your 4×4 and trailer and get ready for a weekend away, as Thunder has released a new range of trailer plugs. The range includes 12 different parts (including both plugs and sockets) to suit a variety of applications. Available in either seven or 12 pin, plastic or metal and round or flat, you’ll find a plug to suit every need. Constructed from high quality nylon or zinc, each plug contains high-grade copper pins.

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RRP: From $13.49 Website: www.thunderauto.com.au

As cars pack on the pounds, Deano discusses whether bigger really is better.

People are getting bigger and heavier. According to research conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, since the early 1990s the average weight of an American has gone up by 7kg, from 82kg to 88kg. That’s an increase of around 7.3 per cent in the past 20 years. And you can bet that, as with everything else, Aussies are blindly following in Americans’ footsteps.

While this is certainly a significant increase, people ain’t got nothing on four-wheel drives when it comes to packing on the pounds. From small four-wheel drives to big ones and everything in between (including 4×4 utes), weight gains of 20 to 30 per cent in the past two decades are common and seemingly acceptable.

Bulldust: Complex Four-wheel-drive electronics

Back in 1998 a five-door automatic Toyota RAV4 had a listed kerb weight of 1245kg, whereas today a five-door auto RAV4 tips the scales at 1615kg. That’s an increase of close to 30 per cent! Step up to a five-door auto Toyota Prado and the weight increase over the same period is 21 per cent (1848kg to 2235kg), while a Land Cruiser is also up 21 per cent (2270kg to 2740kg) and a double cab Hilux is up 20 per cent (1723kg to 2075kg).

Of course, increasing vehicle weight isn’t specific to Toyota; it’s the same with every vehicle manufacturer.

Unlike people, an increase in vehicle weight isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There are several positive reasons why vehicle weights have increased so significantly.

One of the main reasons for increased vehicle weight can be attributed to advances in both passive and active safety. Stronger vehicle structures with added crumple zones and rigid passenger cells obviously can’t be achieved without adding more material and hence more weight. The addition of components such as ABS hardware, various sensors, cameras and airbags also contribute to an increase in overall weight.

Another factor in increased vehicle weights is the desire to provide vehicle occupants with lower NVH levels and a driving experience that’s more isolated from what’s happening on the outside of the vehicle. Thicker glass, more sound-deadening materials and more supple body mounts all add to overall weight.

Then, of course, there is the consumer expectation that bigger is better, so vehicle manufacturers tend to provide a larger vehicle with each model update so that punters will have a tangible reason to upgrade on a regular basis. Yep, just like capitalism, it only really works when there’s continual and steady growth.

But, unlike capitalism, there are downsides to continual and steady growth when it comes to vehicle size and weight. Think negative effects on handling, acceleration and braking performance, increased fuel consumption, more wear and tear on consumables such as tyres and brake pads, and, importantly, decreased payload capacity.

Bulldust: Is technology so bad?

What about consumers who don’t want a bigger, heavier vehicle? Well, the vehicle manufacturers have got that problem covered each and every time they introduce a new sub-category. Yep, the RAV4 might be much bigger than it was, but for those after something smaller, Toyota has now introduced the C-HR, which is almost the same size and weight as the original RAV4 (it’s actually a trifle bigger and heavier). Likewise, Nissan offers the Juke below the X-Trail, Mitsubishi the ASX below the Outlander, Jeep the Compass below the Cherokee, and so on and so forth.

While hardly comparing apples with apples, it’s worth mentioning the extreme growth of Mini over the past 58 years. The original Morris Mini Minor 850 measured a diminutive 3054mm (L), 1410mm (W), 1346mm (H) and weighed just 625kg. Today, a Mini Countryman measures 4109mm (L), 1789mm (W), 1561mm (H) and weighs 1430kg. Yep, the Mini’s no longer very mini. In fact, you could say it’s twice the car it used to be, having packed on an astonishing 228 per cent in weight. That’s also not a direct comparison given the Countryman is an SUV.

Want to go one better? A current model Fiat 500X weighs three times as much as the original Fiat 500 from whence it gets its name. Now that’s some very serious weight gain.

A NIFTY little bit of gear we’ve been playing with over the last couple of months is the KeyMission170 action camera from Nikon.

No doubt capitalising on the popularity of action cams such as the GoPro, the KeyMission 170 (and its KM360 brother) bring the quality and optics of one of the world’s leading camera companies to the booming segment.

The KeyMission 170 is super-compact at 66.4 x 46.8 x 42.7mm (W x H x D) and comes with a range of mounts to secure it to a supplied suction mount or to flat or curved surfaces such as helmets. It also comes with a battery, charger, lens covers and a lens cover for underwater use. There’s also a remote control, so you can trip the camera if it is mounted on the outside of your vehicle while you are driving off-road.

The KM170 is waterproof to a depth of 10 metres, cold-proof down to -10°C, shockproof and dustproof, so it should easily cope with all the adventures you get up to with your 4×4 and other action toys.

The 170 shoots through a super-wide 170° lens, so it’s ideal for panoramic shots and movies, as well a close-ups. In video it shoots UHD 4K quality and includes special shooting modes such as slow motion, super lapse and time lapse. We’re still getting our heads around the whole moving pictures thing, but we’ve been having fun trying. The camera is easy enough to use and shoot with – it’s just editing a movie together that we’re working on.

The camera has 37mm screen on the back, so you can review your pics and films easily or, for a bigger screen, sync the camera to your smartphone or tablet using the Nikon SnapBridge app. This also allows you to instantly upload your pics to your favourite sharing or social media platforms.

We’ll be taking the little Nikon out with us a lot more in the future and working on our video skills, but you can check out a video we shot when we went out with the Jeeps from Double Black Off-Road here.

AVAILABLE FROM: www.nikon.com.au

PRICE: $480 approx. (online)

WE SAY: Simple and compact way to capture action.

THERE are plenty of dedicated fourbie owners who can point to their fathers as the men who first took them out on short adventures, and Brett Ashlin is no exception.

Vote for the Toyota LandCruiser 76 Series GXL to win the 2017 Custom 4×4 of the Year

But when it came time to slide behind the wheel of his very own piece of the action, like many young blokes, Brett’s passion was for fast and furious performance cars. Right up until about seven years ago when he finally succumbed to the constant nagging from a good mate to come out and experience the enjoyment of driving on the dunes at Alkimos in Western Australia. At first he wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about, but Brett soon realised sand-drifting was way more fun than a black-top slide.

Within five years, Brett was already amassing a great deal of knowledge through the tradition of buy it, build it and drive it. Having explored the impressive capability of the mighty GQ, owning two just to be sure, Brett upped the ante and landed a neat and tidy factory GU Patrol TD42T ute. With some slick custom barwork from his best mate Tim Bryant, it was transformed from beaut to beast and generated a lot of interest when first posted online.

Brett had some serious fun and learnt a lot with the big Nissans. This was highlighted by just how lucky he was with his partner, Jodie, who not only put up with constant rebuilds, but also lent a hand with the modifications. She also happily jumps behind the wheel to enjoy an off-road drive.

In fact, that’s probably why Brett loves four-wheel driving so much – he can get away from a busy life and have an adventure with mates or with Jodie and their two furry kids, Kota and Kaiser. And Brett’s no fair-weather, perfect-day-out fanatic, either. He knows only too well that breakages and bogging are never intended, but are inevitable if you’re doing a lot of 4WDing. Being prepared for anything is what’s most important.

Overcoming a tough challenge can be the biggest kick of all. Like when they were exploring near Albany with a couple of mates on board and decided to check out Dingo Beach.

“It would have to be one of the hardest beaches I have ever had to come off. I couldn’t describe the sand there, it almost felt like driving on jelly going up a sand dune,” Brett said.

After a couple of tries, and with tyres down to 8psi and both diffs locked, it was time for Jodie to take the wheel, while Brett took 40 metres of winch rope and the ground anchor up to the top of the hill. Already feeling pretty good with the safe solo recovery, they came across a ranger who warned them to stay clear of Dingo Beach, as cars were known to get stuck down there for days until a rescue team could come drag them up.

Brett was rightly proud: “Safe to say I was very chuffed with myself and the vehicle I built – I think being capable of performing a safe self-recovery in a competent vehicle is the key to a great four-wheel drive and an enjoyable trip!” And it was a long way from Brett’s worst day 4WDing, when he devastatingly put his first fourbie, the old GQ, on its roof.

In late 2015, Brett departed the Nissan camp and headed east to Queensland to check out a pristine 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser 76 Series GXL V8. It was a match made in heaven, and Brett got to know his new girl on a six-day speed-date drive home to Western Australia with mate, Tim. She was fairly stock, with just ARB colour-coded barwork and some spotties. Since then, Brett’s been very busy indeed. With a willing hand or two from Jodie, the 76 Series has been racked and stacked for off-road adventuring and is now a formidable package.

Brett is lucky – he doesn’t need to use his toy as a daily driver and so has a bit more flexibility in what mods he carries out. He enjoys weekend camping through to hardcore four-wheeling, but ideally his fourbie needed to be set up for touring, and that was the main focus of the build.

Brett loves the factory diff locks that have got him out of plenty of sticky situations and truly did their best to get him off that beach in Albany. And, despite the lack of essential factory cup holders in his 2008 model, Brett prefers the style of the old-school dash – everything else was up for improvement.

That nice ARB barwork that was already fitted was not exempt from tweaking. A simple first job was to mount the essential night eyes in the form of HID Projector headlights. Brett then cut down the middle of the bar’s centre section and it was removed in order to fit an 8mm plate with gusset supports for the Warn high-mount winch.

Brett has transferred the winch across three vehicles. “It’s never let me down, and with a motor upgrade and a few other little mods it’s proven to be a very reliable asset – along with the Warn XD9000 winch and a serious ground anchor, both mounted on the custom twin-wheel rear winch bar from XLR8 Fabrications,” he said.

Brett has been really happy with the DPU performance module custom-tuned by Brent O’Keefe at Diesel Torque WA. He reckons it has “unleashed the animal within” – I think he meant the animal within the 4.5-litre V8, but given Brett’s been involved in a few Cross Country Drivers Association off-road racing events as a navigator, plus taken part in local WA comps like the Pirtek WA Extreme Challenges and Perth Offroad Promotions Rocks and Ruts, maybe he wasn’t just talking about the Cruiser.

Brett’s more focused now on reliability than outright performance, so the module is nicely tuned to help out when towing the camper trailer to locations like Warroora Station just south of Coral Bay. His Christmas trip covered a full Warroora Station exploration, plus he went to Ningaloo Station to check out the old whaling station and abandoned lighthouse. He then ventured to Exmouth for New Year’s Eve and finally crossed the Cape range. All in six days – Brett and Jodie don’t believe in wasting any time when they get away.

Brett is now happy with the overall performance of the big wagon, though he’s considering an upgrade from a three-inch to a four-inch exhaust (I foresee more performance tuning ahead, after all).

The Land Cruiser’s manual transmission is fitted with a no-nonsense NPC billet flywheel and an Exedy clutch rated for 1300Nm, which ensures all that engine power can be directed with purpose. An EFS three-inch suspension lift, extended shackles, Boss triple-bellow airbags and custom-made sway bar disconnects means all that power isn’t going to waste when off-road, either. “I’m really happy with the suspension – it suits my needs and is quite comfy, considering how tough leafs are I also get awesome travel out of the rear end,” Brett explained. We can vouch for that – check out those photos!

Clawing through the toughest of terrain looks easy with the Allied Savannah 16-inch Beadlocks with Toyo Open Country MTZ 315/75/16s. Brett’s rating? “Amazing performance off-road, in any condition.”

On the inside Brett hasn’t wasted a single nook or cranny, fitting everything from a turbo timer to an OBD scanner and a set of Redarc boost/EGT and twin volt gauges for the batteries. The dash-mounted pedal module helps out by adjusting throttle sensitivity, made handy when tackling rough terrain where controlling right-foot pressure is essential.

As well as custom drawers for all the recovery gear, including the highly utilised ARB air pump, there are pop-up panels to ensure all available space can have bits and bobs stuffed tidily away. The design allows Brett easy access to the fridge, plus there’s room for a swag down the side if he wants to get an early start on the salmon run.

Without the need for the trusty ol’ girl to double as a family daily transport, Brett removed the false floor panels for extra space. He then fit insulating materials to the rear windows to keep the interior cool and assist the fridge in keeping its contents perfectly chilled.

The dual batteries with a Redarc controller are kept topped up when the vehicle is parked with the help of a 200W solar panel positioned on the Kut Snake roof rack.

A quick pullover is made comfortable with a rapid pull-out awning, and the Front Runner rear door table makes it easier to prep lunch while the portable barbecue sizzles. Add in an Outback roof console for the essential comms, a double DIN DVD player and a Hema HX-1 navigator on a custom-built mount, and there’s not much else to ask for to round out this package.

Brett’s happy with all his mods – if he wasn’t then he’d keep tinkering until they were right. While he’s built an awesome machine, he’s also proven that doing plenty of the work yourself makes using the end product more fun. Not to mention keeping the budget under control. He’s probably spent about $60K to date (including vehicle purchase), but he’s got a huge amount of bang for his buck, meaning that four-inch exhaust and air tanks may well be fitted in the not too distant future. All of this ought to make the Cruiser ready for a bucket list adventure, when Brett heads east to show the Victorian boys how a WA fourbie takes on the High Country snow.

It’s time to lift the standards in Australia.

The quality of the fuel we have to put up with in Australia has made headlines in recent months. In fact, environmental scientists have stated that Australian fuel quality and vehicle emission standards are ‘appalling’, and of the 35 OECD countries the quality of our petrol is ranked last, behind Mexico, Turkey and Estonia. Having been to Mexico recently on a road trip I find that hard to believe, but as I didn’t carry out a scientific study we’ll have to take their word for it.

Figures being touted by environmentalists and health professionals reckon up to 3000 people die each year in Australia because of air pollution, partly brought about by poor fuel quality and vehicle emission standards. Other countries around the world fare much worse. Still, many pointed to the ‘thunderstorm asthma’ event in Melbourne a few months back, which caused the death of eight people and sent the hospital and emergency network into meltdown, as an example of Australia’s worsening air pollution in major cities.

Footloose: Will a kangaroo cull make our roads safer?

Many scientists and activists are calling for our fuel standards to improve, with some calling for a complete phasing out of regular ULP within two years. That would leave mainly Premium ULP (PULP), which costs at least 10 cents a litre more than ULP, as the only fuel of choice.

We already have some of the dearest fuel in the world. Back in January, 2017, the ACCC indicated that Australian prices were among some of the cheapest in the world, but this was proven to be a complete fabrication.

The ACCC had been comparing our ULP prices with other countries PULP prices, to completely deceive the Australian motoring public. Doing so benefits only one group, and that’s the big petrol retailers.

Forcing petrol producers to upgrade their production systems to improve fuel quality would increase costs to motorists and make the few refineries we have left in Australia basically unviable.

Most believe diesel fuel is a far worse polluter than petrol, even if it’s far cleaner than it was 10 or 15 years ago and defences like particulate filters are widely used. The recent outcry over the VW diesel emission scandal has prompted much of this huge turnaround, where just a few years ago politicians were sprouting the environmental credentials of diesel over petrol.

Footloose: A bid to cut Australia’s regional road tolls

Diesel vehicles do emit less CO2 than their petrol equivalents, so the policy makers in Europe and elsewhere pushed for more and more diesel engines. Now with the focus turning to air quality the diesel vehicle doesn’t fare so well, emitting a range of pollutants including particulates and nitrogen oxide.

In the past few months the mayors of Paris, Mexico City, Madrid and Athens have said they are implementing bans on diesel vehicles so as to improve air quality, while London is contemplating a total ban on diesel vehicles by 2025. You can be sure that this measure will affect car manufacturers and what they produce in the future.

But consumers, me amongst them, like diesel as a fuel. While it has been rarely cheaper than petrol, I’ve noticed a shift in recent months that sees diesel often cheaper than petrol. Then there’s higher fuel efficiency, especially in an off-road situation, and the better torque and driveability of diesel 4WD vehicles. Diesel fuel is also safer to carry, and when I’m out in the desert with more than 200 litres of fuel on board I know which fuel I’d rather have stored away.

Currently our federal government is reviewing fuel laws and standards, so you can expect better fuel standards (both petrol and diesel), more expensive fuel and, if the European situation is replicated here, the beginning of the demise of diesel.

APPROACHING a fast-flowing obstacle on a 4×4 adventure can certainly get the adrenaline pumping.

Nerves of steel mixed with an element of stupidity is what’s required for the challenge to be accepted and completed – and this is often what makes YouTube so appealing at 1am in the morning on a school night.

We trawled YouTube and assembled a collection of river-crossing videos which (ultimately) had feel-good endings (read: no one gets hurt).

So, here’s what happens when you combine luck, bravado, skill and stupidity.

1: Land Cruiser 80 Series

An 80 Series hits pretty deep water (deeper than the driver probably thought), but the persistent steerer urges the off-road-capable Toyota to the other bank. Job well done.

2: Ford Ranger

This fast-flowing, deep river is one crossing you should probably steer clear of, but this eager driver had other ideas. There must have been something pretty good waiting on the other side.

3: Toyota Hilux

Off-road-focused Hilux – with two blokes in the tray, no less – shows a blatant disregard for nature. This one could have ended in disaster!

4: Jeep Wrangler TJ

TJ Wrangler, with a nerves-of-steel pilot, tackles a relentless rapid. Things get a bit dicey about half-way through, but a never-give-up attitude wins through in the end.

5: Isuzu Trooper

Floating Trooper switches from a 4×4 to a boat, yet a nice recovery from the driver sees it mount the opposite bank.

6: Nissan Patrol

Sometimes it’s a good idea to park your pride and admit you’ve bitten off more than you can chew. Just like this bloke.

In the end, all it takes is common-sense. If it looks dangerous, it probably is. Your best bet is to search for another crossing further up- or downstream – or give it a miss and head back.