4X4 Australia

We don’t always have the time or disposable income to head off for a couple of weeks, travelling long distances to reach and explore iconic locations like the Top End. But what’s stopping us from enjoying remote areas closer to home?

No matter where we live in Australia, we’re fortunate to be able to easily reach remote locations – sometimes by driving for just one day. Accessible by a standard four-wheel drive and in the far west of outback New South Wales is one of these places: Kinchega National Park.

An area of many contrasts, this park boasts glistening lakes, dominant rivers and spectacular night skies while offering a sense of remoteness that will all but quench your appetite for adventure.

On our recent trip to Kinchega, we set off from Sydney, setting the compass for the banks of the Darling River, close to Menindee in the Kinchega NP. We had planned a couple of nights’ camping along the majestic Darling River, using this as the base from which to explore the remote lakes, tracks and plains before arriving at our final destination, the Silverton Hotel, a famous outback pub west of Broken Hill.

As an Irishman who has recently visited the birth and home place of Robert O’Hara Burke in his native County Galway in the west of Ireland, I was excited about visiting this part of outback NSW, where Burke and his men camped at Menindee along the Darling River. It was here where the expedition made final preparations before embarking on the ill-fated journey across the continent, heading towards the Gulf of Carpentaria.

After a day of driving east along the Sturt Highway, passing through Hay and Mildura, we decided to camp for a night on the Murray River. There are plenty of choice when it comes to good bush camps along the Murray and this was but a taste of what was ahead.

We continued on towards Wentworth and then took the High Darling Road, heading north-east on the Darling River run, as it’s often referred to. This will be the start of your adventure, too, if you’re coming from the south.

It will not be long before you hit the dirt and start kicking up dust behind your vehicle as you make your way to Kinchega NP. You will notice the landscape dramatically change from light greens to vast areas of low shrub land, sandy plains, and the distinctive shiny grey lakes that make the Kinchega NP a unique place to visit.

Campsites
1

Just before reaching the park you’ll pass through the small settlement of Pooncarie, another stop-over for Burke’s expedition. From here it’s about 127km of good-quality unsealed outback road to Menindee.

Kinchega NP is about 800km from Sydney or 750km from Melbourne. On the eastern side of the park you will find the Darling River, which runs from the southern banks of Menindee and covers 62km of river frontage, offering some truly great camping.

Menindee was a strategic base for a number of Australia’s explorers. Most notable were Sir Thomas Mitchell, who used it in 1835, Charles Sturt in 1844, and Burke and Wills, in 1860. When you arrive in the quiet settlement, go into the local shop and ask for directions to some of the 30-plus bush camping sites along the Darling River. They are situated about 10km from the town. You can also pick up your last-minute supplies while you’re there.

Menindee and the adjoining Darling River was a significant stop-over for Burke’s expedition, which stayed there for more than a week before his team split into a smaller group to eventually make its way to the Gulf of Carpentaria.

We chose to camp along the Darling River for a couple of reasons. First, we wanted to experience the riverside environment that Burke’s expedition encountered prior to continuing its expedition, but we also wanted to enjoy the superb camping spots along the meandering river. Take your time when choosing the site that suits your needs. There are plenty to chose from, many with concrete fire pits near the riverbank if you want to light a fire to cook your evening meal.

After checking out a couple of options, we found a great spot right on a river bend where we were enchanted by the sounds of noisy cockatoos as well as the local water birds.

After setting up camp and taking some time out to absorb the picturesque river setting, we decided to get the fire going, get the Dutch oven hot and bake traditional Irish soda bread accompanied by some superb lamb shanks that we purchased in a butcher’s shop in Hay.

The Burke and Wills expedition party arrived along this river bank on October 14, 1860, and when you sit by the fire, it’s easy to imagine what the scenes must have been like back in those days – the setting up of the large canvas tents, the hustle and bustle of carts, horses and camels mingled with the sounds of the men preparing their expedition equipment for the journey north. You can only really experience and bring to life these scenes by seeking out these historic and often hard-to-get-to locations. This is why we drive 4WDs.

As the light faded and the final flurry of birdlife came to an end, we enjoyed a couple of cold beers from the fridge – Burke’s crew probably drank warm rum. Ah, the beauty of having a fridge in your 4WD. Modern comforts – they definitely have their merits.

Broken hill
1

Out here, early risers will be treated to a spectacular red and orange tinge on the red gum trees and sandy river banks. We decided to spend some time simply soaking up the atmosphere. It’s easier to stay longer than planned.

Kinchega NP offers plenty of choice when it comes to exploring and enjoying the freedom of driving on its many remote dusty tracks. As you get closer to Menindee Lake, you will be struck by the unusual sight of the black gum trees that eerily protrude from the still and vast lake. This iconic landscape will definitely draw you and your camera close to the lake’s edge for a photo that will be hard to replicate anywhere else in Australia.

Another unique feature of the lakes is the odd-looking murky-grey water that fills Lake Menindee, which enhances the sight of the dead gum trees scattered across its surface. There is a lot of lake out there. In fact, the combined expanse of the Menindee Lakes is considered to hold more than three times the volume of Sydney Harbour when full; now that’s a lot of water.

The NP also boasts a number of activities. This includes trekking along the lake’s shores, fishing in the Darling River and exploring ancient Aboriginal and early European sites throughout the park. The area is also famous for having some of the country’s best-kept wool sheds, including Kinchega Station, established in 1875. Worth a look for another step back in time.

If you have come to see the wildlife, you will not be disappointed; bearded dragons and sand monitors can often be found basking on the park’s tracks, while kangaroos and emus can be seen in abundance throughout the surrounding plains.

So, if you are itching to pack up your 4WD and head off on a mini-adventure that won’t consume too much of your valuable annual leave but still offer you a sense of remoteness, this location ticks all the boxes. It’s an area with some great unsealed tracks, and it’s rich in natural history and heritage. It’s a place for nature lovers, photographers and those who just want to experience the unique camping along the Darling River.

TRAVEL INFO

Burke’s backyard

Burke’s home place in the west of Ireland was a very different environment to the one he experienced in the Australian heat of October 1860. Burke came from a privileged background and was raised in a 17th century, 11-bedroom house perched on 44 acres at St Cleggans near the village of Craughwell in County Galway.

Surprisingly, Burke is not very well-known in Ireland. In fact, when locals are asked about the magnificent house that Burke was born and raised in, they often refer to its most recent owners, the famous American Huston family – movie producer John Huston and his daughter, academy award-winning actress Angelica Huston, most famous for playing the mother, Morticia, in The Addams Family movies of the ’90s.

Angelica Huston converted Burke’s home into a luxury hotel before selling it on to an Irish businessman.

It’s easy to see why many of the world’s famous explorers, most from privileged backgrounds, were prepared to give up their creature comforts at the drop of a hat to live in a canvas tent, exploring a largely undiscovered world.

I don’t think much has changed today for the majority of us who own 4x4s. Given the choice, I would certainly swap a stay in a luxury hotel for a swag, dusty riverside campsite and a warm campfire under a star-filled solar system. That’s my idea of five-star accommodation.

There’s an old joke about hire cars being able to go places no other vehicle can reach.

It’s a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that some hirers are more likely to flog and mistreat a vehicle they don’t own. In reality, those of us who have spent a fair amount of time at the wheels of hired cars know that the fine print in most rental contracts frowns upon such behaviour, and typically backs up its terse written warnings with potentially hefty additional fees and charges.

Ironically, many of the larger companies that hire out four-wheel drive vehicles specify in those rental agreements that their rigs are not to be driven off-road – at all! Some even preclude their use on unsealed dirt roads. It makes you wonder.

As a regular visitor to New Zealand, I spent a long time tracking down a Kiwi business that rented 4x4s that I was allowed (even encouraged) to get down and dirty with. I enjoyed several great years as a customer of a Christchurch-based outfit, but, sadly, the business eventually closed its doors when its affable proprietor moved across the ditch to Oz and joined the burgeoning 4×4 tag-along tour industry. I sure do miss the unique service!

Of course, a lot of ‘proper’ off-roaders no doubt look down their noses at the notion of hiring a 4×4. The same is true of serious anglers when it comes to the subject of hiring boats.

There’s nothing quite like your own tweaked and customised set-up. But the fact remains that we sometimes find ourselves in a position where we’re unable to make use of our own vehicles and watercraft, typically because we’ve flown to a particular destination. At such times, hiring may be the only viable option.

As a case in point, on a recent visit to Tasmania, my wife Jo and I took advantage of a wonderful new hire outfit intended to service the island state’s significant FIFO (fly-in, fly-out) recreational fishing market. Clinton Howe is a tackle shop proprietor based in Ulverstone, on the north coast of the Apple Isle.

Operating simply as Tassie Boat Hire, Clinton offers a fully kitted-out 420 Quintrex Renegade side-console tinnie with a 40hp outboard, bow-mounted electric motor, depth sounder, marine radio and all the other important ‘fruit’ demanded by high-end sport fishers. This rig is more than capable of tackling anything from highland lake trouting to estuary bream work, or even near-shore coastal action, in the right weather.

Better still, Clinton also offers a 2011 Mitsubishi Triton 2.5-litre turbo-diesel, twin-cab ute with an auto transmission, as a tow vehicle, to complete the turn-key package. We used this full rig for a week of high-country trout fishing and were absolutely delighted with the package, not to mention Clinton’s pick-up and drop-off service at the airport!

For less than $350 per day, all-up (boat, ute and airport transfers), it was excellent value, particularly when compared with the cost of getting your own vehicle and boat across Bass Strait and back for a short-term visit.

Not surprisingly, Clinton’s first 4×4 and boat hire rig is already heavily booked, especially for the busy summer/autumn period, and he has recently put a matching set-up on the road. I reckon he’s on to a winner and may eventually need a third package.

If you’d like to find out more about this interesting option, have a look at Clinton’s Tassie Boat Hire page on Facebook, or visit his website at: tassieboathire.com.au

Why did I choose the latest Cooper S/T MAXX tyres for my Troopy?

Sure, they have the latest Amor-Tek technology and an extra ply in the rubber to increase sidewall strength. And sure, their new chemically bonded silica tread compound improves grip. But none of these features is why I chose another set of Coopers for the Troopy.

Nope – I chose Coopers again because I had a great run on my last set of S/T MAXX and an earlier set of STs that copped more than 75,000km. I figure that when you’re on to good thing, stick to it.

As I’ve stated before, I know there are other treads out there that would plug away better in the mud, and others that would perform better on twisty bitumen roads, but if you want a capable all-rounder, it’s hard to go past these aggressive-looking all-terrains.

People have tried to nudge me towards the new Cooper STT PROs – but as good as they seem to be, they are not what I want in a tyre that will cover huge kays touring through sand and mud, plus rock driving and the dreaded school run.

For me, the 285/75R16 S/T MAXX has the perfect all-round tyre pattern, and it’ll see the Troopy eat up plenty of tracks.

One problem I’m faced with – because I have offset Dynamic steel 16×8-inch rims on the Troopy’s rear and slightly wider than standard rubber – is tread protruding past the bodywork, which is illegal.

This will be easily fixed by adding wheel arch flares – it’ll be my first job to prevent fines. While I’m at it, I’ll also widen the mud flaps to suit the flares. This’ll minimise the gunk that gets flicked out the rear. It’s not major job but worth mentioning for anyone contemplating something similar.

For more information and pricing visit www.coopertires.com.au

Rated

Available from: www.coopertires.com.au RRP: 285/75R16 – $389 (location dependent) WE SAY: Excellent all-round rubber to tackle anything

Thanks

Leicht’s Tyre and Auto in Port Macquarie fitted and balanced my Coopers S/T MAXX tyres.

The guys there have won awards for their supply of Cooper Tires, and when my tyres were fitted I spotted the lads using a torque wrench to manually tighten my wheel nuts. I wish more tyre mobs would do this instead of incorrectly using rattle guns to overtighten nuts.

I appreciate the time spent doing it correctly, especially when I have to remove a wheel and don’t have Arnie close by to help undo the wheel nuts. Also noteworthy were the correctly set air pressure settings, which I did check back home. Overinflating seems to be common practice at some tyre stores.

Leichts Tyre and Auto can be found at 97 Hastings River Drive, Port Macquarie. There are also other outlets in Kempsey and Tamworth. See www.leichtstyres.com for details.

While we were out for our 4X4 Of The Year award, our mates at Camper Trailer Australia magazine were over Dargo way, doing similar things with the latest camper trailer offerings.

They conducted a thorough test of the trailers in the Victorian High Country, and at the end of their test week, the Patriot Campers’ updated X1 took the win, making it three titles in a row now for the Patriot team.

Updates to the already impressive Patriot X1 include a wider chassis and 150mm-wider wheel track that results in a 30 per cent lower centre of gravity, for even more stability off-road.

Quality EFS shocks are now standard and ROH alloy wheels are available on the Limited Edition variants, which can be ordered in a choice of colours. The internal battery has been moved to give more room in the redesigned storage boxes and the battery is now charged via a Redarc BMS1230 system.

Patriot trailer camper set up
1

Significantly, the roof-top tent that was standard on the X1 has been replaced with a camper trailer tent to give more covered space for users, and there’s now also the option to add a canvas patio to the driver’s side.

At the end of 2015 Patriot Campers relocated to a massive new facility at 1 Activity Crescent, Molendinar, Queensland. From there they will be producing the X1, X2, the Toy Haulers, the Patriot Super Tourers – such as Norm’s 79 double-cab, featured last month – and the mighty 200 Series. Drop in to see them, or get online at www.patriotcampers.com.au.

Our Hilux giveaway car was looking pretty daggy. It is an ex-Telstra car, after all. Following its tour-of-duty fixing phone lines in country Victoria, it was due for a new lease of life.

Click here for your chance to win 4×4 Australia’s Custom Toyota Hilux.

While the TJM barwork and flares have helped toughen it up a bit, it was still rolling on the stock steel wheels and well-aged OE suspension.

It was the suspension that caught the keen eye of Phil Cochrane as we rolled the Hilux in to his OnTrack Automotive workshop for an EFS upgrade. “It looks very sagged, so I’m wondering what we have to work with here,” he said as the 2010 vintage Toyota went up on the hoist.

Despite having 161,000km on the clock, the Hilux had a full factory service history and it still drove very well. It was just way too low for our liking. Queensland’s EFS Suspension came to the party with a fix, supplying a kit complete with new front coils, rear leaves, XTR shocks and all the associated hardware. The suspension is listed as giving a 40mm lift in height, but once installed it showed just how saggy the OE stuff was, as the new suspension propped up the Lux by more than 40mm.

A suspension kit install is run-of-the-mill stuff for Phil and Chris at OnTrack, after 30 years in the fitting-out and servicing 4×4 vehicles. In fact, it’s just about a daily occurrence there. All that experience has taught them what works and what doesn’t work, so they recommend EFS suspension products whenever possible.

That experience has also taught Phil that time working on a car can be saved with a bit of preassembly. So, with the parts ordered in advance, he was able to have the front struts assembled and ready to bolt in before we arrived. Phil even does this for the DIY customers who may not have proper spring compressors at home, allowing them to buy the complete ready-to-bolt-in struts that have been correctly and safely put together in the workshop.

With this done in advance, fitting the front struts was relatively quick and easy. Phil completed the job as though he could do it with his eyes closed. The rear leaf springs took a bit more heavy lifting and some supporting of the rear axle to get the parts in place. It’s not rocket science, but the job’s made all that much easier by experience and the right tools.

When we selected the springs for our Hilux, we considered the steel bar and winch up front, and the fact that the canopy that is on the car now will be coming off. We had also stated our preference for a comfortable ride over load-lugging ability, so the medium-spec rear springs were chosen for this job.

EFS’s XTR shocks are a premium product designed for 4x4s that do a lot of outback travel. They are a twin tube design with a 64mm diameter; a 2mm wall thickness; and an external tube for increased oil capacity and resistance to stone damage. A 40mm piston rides on a 20mm hardened chrome shaft for the ultimate in control and durability.

With some newfound space to fill inside the flared ’guards, we took the chance to fit the Cooper STT Pro tyres and ATX alloy wheel combo we have had waiting for a couple of months. The 265/70-17 Coopers fill the gap sweetly and will give the Hilux some genuine off-road ability to go with its tougher street appearance. Best of all they look the part without stepping outside the legal boundaries, so there’ll be no heat from The Man on whoever wins this sweet ride.

With the Hilux riding higher and rolling tough, it was sent around the corner for a wheel alignment, including castor correction. Then we were on our way. Initial impressions on the short road drive back to 4X4 HQ were: one, the view over the bonnet now seems much higher with better all-round visibility; two, the mud terrain pattern STT Pros are obviously noisier on road than the stockers, as you would expect, but they are not intrusive all; and, three, the suspension rides firmer but not overly so as some aftermarket kits do. The EFS guys obviously got the product selection right to match our request.

Of course, it won’t be until we get to take the Hilux bush that we can really gauge its improved performance, but we have to say it will be a whole lot better than it was. Before then we’ve got more gear to fit to it as the build continues and the giveaway promotion kicks off next month. Stay tuned!

OnTrack Automotive

Phil Cochrane has been running his specialist 4×4 workshop OnTrack Automotive in Ferntree Gully for near on 30 years. That’s experience you can’t put a price on and with plenty of outback miles under his belt, Phil knows a thing or two about what’s needed for a capable and reliable vehicle in the bush.

OnTrack is a supplier and fitter of EFS Suspension products, Lightforce lights, GME radios, Exedy Clutches, Piranha, IPF, DTS Turbos, Redback Exhausts and Ironman 4×4 products. The workshop can also carry out log book servicing and pre-trip inspections on your 4×4 to make sure it is in top condition.

You can find OnTrack Automotive at 4 Thomas Street, Ferntree Gully, online at www. ontrack4x4.com.au, or via phone on 03 9753 5565

Contacts:

EFS Suspension – Available nationally. Find your nearest stockist at www.efs4wd.com.au

OnTrack Automotive – Ferntree Gully, Victoria. www.ontrack4x4.com.au

Want to see more of our Project Hilux build? Check out the below:

Toyota USA pulled the wraps off the TRD Pro version of its Tacoma ute at the Chicago Auto Show in February.

The Tacoma is similar in style and size to our Hilux ute – just a little bigger and, of course, there’s no diesel engine option for the Yanks. The Tacoma is powered by a 3.5-litre, direct-injection, Atkinson-cycle petrol V6 with a choice of manual or automatic transmission.

The excitement starts with a TRD-tuned suspension featuring FOX 2.5 internal bypass shocks and TRD-tuned front springs with a one-inch lift and corresponding rear leaf spring upgrade. The off-road goodies continue with 16-inch TRD black alloy wheels wearing Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain rubber, a TRD Pro aluminium front skid plate and Rigid Industries LED front fog lights.

Then there are all the dress-up parts, including a bespoke TRD bonnet vent, colour-coded body parts, model-specific badging and so on.

On the inside, TRD Pro buyers get black TRD Pro leather-trimmed heated front seats with TRD Pro logos, premium audio with navigation, a TRD shift knob, TRD Pro floor mats and a GoPro camera mount integrated in to the rear-view mirror. This is a neat accessory available on many Toyota 4x4s in the USA for owners who like to capture their off-road action on camera.

The TRD Pro Tacoma joins the bigger TRD Pro Tundra that was released a year ago, and these models with their good looks and high-performance off-road suspension are Toyota US’s answer to the Ford Raptor.

Don’t hold your breath for any such exciting models from Toyota Motor Corporation Australia. A TMCA spokesman told us that, while he loves the looks and concept of the TRD Pro vehicles, Toyota Australia had no such plans for the Hilux here.

This comes despite the fact the Hilux has no competitor to Ford’s popular Ranger Wildtrak, and new car sales so far in 2016 show the Ranger is putting up a strong challenge to Hilux’s dominance of the sector.

Ford’s dress-to-thrill Wildtrak lists at $57,890 to cap the Ranger line-up, while the top-spec Hilux SR5 double cab is $53,990, suggesting there’s room for a sportier-looking model – the specs list suggest the same.

Our tip is that at some time this year we’ll see a dressed-up Hilux range-topper that, like the Wildtrak, has all the add-ons but sans the good bits like uprated suspension and tyres.

The last and only time TMCA applied the TRD touch to the Hilux was back in 2008 with a limited run of utes featuring a supercharged V6 engine, Bilstein-tuned suspension and a smart-looking body kit. But the blown engine failed to deliver a worthwhile performance increase and the suspension tuning was off the mark.

The TRD Hilux died a quick death along with the TRD brand in Australia. Toyota says there are currently no plans to re-introduce TRD to Australia but “never say never”. We live in hope.

With over 25 years as one of Australia’s leading winch distributors, the decision was made to develop a new range of winches with the main requirement being to produce a winch of a high standard at and quality an affordable price. Many years of research and testing has lead to the development of the VRS winch range.

This is advertiser content.

Years of testing has proven the VRS range of winches

The main features of the VRS winches include: 5.3hp motor, 500amp fully sealed contractor, 3 stage planetary gears, double lipped spring assisted drum seals, automatic cone brake and stainless steel hardware. What does this mean?

Performance, reliability and a really great product at an affordable price.

While the VRS winch range was not designed with bells and whistles, it features quality components for reliability and performance and with already many thousands in the field, most being tested and tried in all conditions, the VRS range of winches has proven to be a great product with many satisfied customers.

VRS winch range now with IP68 water and dust rating.

The VRS range is constantly being tested and developed and recently extra detail was given to the seals and the components to ensure longevity and reliability and now we are very proud to announce the VRS range joins a very select group of winches that offer IP68 water and dust rating.

The IP68 rating increases the durability and reliability dramatically over products that don’t feature this rating.

VRS – Compact in design and dimensions – fit most bull bars.

VRS winches are available in two sizes 9500lb and 12500lb, both have compact dimensions meaning they are designed to fit all winch compatible bull bars.

The VRS winches are also complemented with either a steel aircraft grade wire cable and roller fairlead or a synthetic rope and hawse fairlead.

VRS winches are available throughout Australia in over 300 locations and are supported by a national company with many years selling quality products.

The VRS winch range come with an Australia wide limited lifetime warranty, this give you the confidence of knowing that the VRS product range will be supported for years to come.

A great winch is only half the story. The after sales support behind the product will give you the confidence of this winch long after the other companies have closed up shop. Every component of the VRS winches is available as a spare part.

VRS Recovery range.For the best recovery results complement your VRS winch with the full range of VRS recovery gear which includes, tree trunk protectors, snatch straps, drag chains, winch cable dampeners and complete recovery kits.

For more information on the full range of VRS recovery products visit www.vrswinch.com.au or call 1300 669 951.

The Loaded Lux build giveaway car gets some TJM Protection, a Mean Mother winch and Lightforce LED lights.

Click here for your chance to win 4×4 Australia’s Custom Toyota Hilux.

BEHIND BARS

Aside from the factory accessory canopy, our Lux looked sales-rep stock, so some fresh barwork was needed to toughen it up and to protect it in the bush. We wanted a different look for the front of the car and elected for a steel bar without top hoops. Sure, it doesn’t offer the best level of animal-strike protection for the radiator, but it’s the lighter look we wanted for this rig.

TJM’s ‘Frontier’ winch bar fit the bill, but the catalogue only lists it for the 2011 ‘facelifted’ model onwards. It’s basically the same came car as our 2010 model, so the guys at TJM said they would make the bar fit.

The car went to TJM Airport West for the fit-out, where James managed the job. The steel Frontier bar still offers better frontal protection than the plastic OE bar and it also allows a better approach angle. With integrated fog lights, LED indicators, high-lift jacking points, and provisions for light and aerial mounts, the ADR-compliant bar gives the Lux a smarter yet tougher look.

The TJM bar is rated to take a 9500lb winch, perfect for the Mean Mother Edge 9500lb winch we had. TJM Airport West fitted the winch to the bar before installing the whole assembly on the car.

Just about every one of these Hiluxes that we’ve off-road tested over the years has gone back to the company with bent or damaged factory aluminium side steps. On our car these were turfed in favour of TJM’s 50mm tubular steel steps that offer genuine sill protection. They mount direct to the chassis for extra durability, plus they offer the owner the option of fitting TJM brush bars (with a different bull bar) should they want to add them down the track.

That same durability carries through to the back, where James fitted a TJM Rear Step/tow bar. 63mm tube steel; high-lift jacking points; alloy tread plates and a rated class-4 tow bar all add up to deliver protection, functionality and good looks.

With bigger tyres coming soon for the Hilux, we wanted a set of SR5-style flares for it and chose the TJM fiberglass reproduction items. These fit like factory, but if you look closely they don’t quite meet the front bar as they should, but that’s the price we paid for electing to fit a later model bar. They’ll nicely cover the set of Cooper Tires we have ready to fit next month.

PULLING POWER

The Mean Mother Edge winch is rated to pull 9500lb. Its 4.8hp motor delivers through a planetary gearbox with hardened steel gears while the remote-control box is connected using tin-plated heavy-duty copper cables for the best conductivity. For the sake of safety and the benefit of lighter weight, we asked for the winch to come with synthetic rope rather than steel cabl,e and the fact that MM use genuine Dyneema rope on its synth models backed up our choice. 30.5 meters of the tough, blue 9.5mm Dyneema rope fits to the drum of the Edge and exits the bar through an alloy hawse fairlead.

The Mean Mother Edge 9500lb winch with Dyneema rope and hawse fairlead retails for $999.00.

THE FORCE IS WITH US

Also mounted to the bar is a pair of Lighforce LED 180 spot lights. These little wonders impressed us with their performance when we tested them last year (See the video at www.4x4australia.com.au/gear/electronics-gadgets/1410/lightforce-led-180-road-test/ ) and again in our LED light test. So it was a no brainer to fit our Lux with some Lightforce lux.

Using seven 10W high output CREE chips installed in deep reflectors, the LED180s punch above their weight and outshine many bigger, cheaper LED products. With military-spec water and dust protection, they are durable, too, so they cope with all the hazards being on the front of a Toyota can throw at them.

Lightforce also supplied us with a pair of its LED ROK lamps, which we’ll be mounting in the back as camp/work lights once we get to that part of the rig.

CONTACTS

TJM 4×4 Equipment Available at TJM stores nationally www.tjm.com.au

Mean Mother winches Available in leading 4×4 accessories retailers www.haigh.com.au

Lightforce Available in leading 4×4 accessories retailers www.lighforce.com

Want to see more of our Project Hilux build? Check out the below:

GENERAL MOTORS has unveiled a pair of Colorado ute and Colorado 7 wagon-based concept vehicles with a heavy Holden involvement at the Bangkok International Motor Show.

Wearing a number of Australian-designed accessories, the Chevrolet Colorado Xtreme and Chevrolet Trailblazer Premier concepts are basically thinly-veiled pointers to the facelifted production versions of the 2017 Holden Colorado and Colorado 7. Both are due in Australia from about August.

Holden’s GM Australia Design team at Fishermans Bend in Melbourne helped style and prepare the facelifted bits of the show vehicles for Chevrolet, using the as-yet unreleased RG Colorado Series II. Expect to see the actual production versions in May.

Boasting a redesigned bonnet, grille, and headlights, for a sleeker and more contemporary nose cone, GM is counting on both the Xtreme and Trailblazer to attract “more premium” truck and SUV buyers.

To that end, their cabins are said to exude a higher-quality and more refined ambience, to better take-on the hot-selling Ford Ranger Wildtrak and Everest respectively. These include an upgraded eight-inch colour touchscreen, improved upholstery material, and – in the Trailblazer/Colorado 7 – wood door appliqués with steel inserts and chrome detailing.

The larger (18-inch) wheels and all-terrain tyres, especially, are also an attempt to give the Colorado ute a wider and more planted stance; don’t expect to see the Trailblazer concept’s 22-inch wheels on a Colorado 7 any time soon though.

Meanwhile, some of the Australian Holden-designed accessories include the bull bar – which is a new and far more integrated unit than what is currently on offer, a ‘Safari’ bar, snorkel, sports bar with a styled in-fill panel, roof basket with LED light bar, side steps, rear-step tow bar, and wheel arch flares.

“Holden has long been involved in concept design and construction across all of GM’s brands – GMC, Chevrolet, Opel, Vauxhall, Buick, and Cadillac,” GM Australia Design Director, Richard Ferlazzo, told 4X4 Australia.

“We want to expand the genuine accessories market, that’s marketed and sold by Holden. We’ve been missing out in the past.”

The show vehicles themselves started life as production examples the existing model (launched in 2012), pulled from the Thailand assembly line, before being flown to Melbourne for their glamorous makeover. The facelift is the work of GM’s Brazilian Chevrolet division.

Brazil remains the design, engineering, and manufacturing “home room” for the one-tonne truck and its crossover wagon sister.

Holden builds “at least” one or two one-off concept vehicles annually for its overseas GM divisions, most famously of recent times the Opel GT (2016 Geneva show) and Buick Avenir (2015 Detroit show).

However, with the closure of manufacturing announced in December 2013, Holden no longer has the capability to fully engineer and validate a vehicle to production. What a shame.

I was coming down the Oodnadatta Track the other day, dropping in to outback towns including Finke in the Northern Territory, and Oodnadatta, William Creek and Marree in South Australia.

It was bloody hot and there were very few travellers on the road, so each town was a welcome stop in the heat-soaked landscape.

Not one of these small but important towns – that service a vast and remote inland area – had mobile phone reception! Well, Oodnadatta has a short-range Optus service, I’ve been told, but that is all. That’s bloody disgusting in this day and age in a modern country such as ours!

Meanwhile, when passing through countries including Kenya and Mongolia, we found much better and wider mobile phone coverage. For me, that was a revelation of how badly our telcos (and our governments) treat outback Australia and its people.

While some of those iconic Aussie towns and communities may have some form of internet connection, most of the time it is unavailable to the travelling public. In Marree, an internet connection was available at the local pub for public use, but the town has been forced to stop it because of the poor (slow or near non-existent) connection provided by the much-talked-about National Broadband Network (NBN). That is piss poor!

All is not lost, however. Supposedly, the mobile phone network will get a big upgrade over the next couple of years, with the Federal and State governments teaming up with Telstra and Vodafone in a $385 million program to bring mobile services to far-flung places. Note that Optus did not get any of the monetary pie, even though they did apply for some.

In total there will be 144 new and upgraded base stations built across New South Wales, 110 in Victoria, 68 in Queensland, 130 in Western Australia, 11 in South Australia, 31 in Tasmania and five in the Northern Territory.

These bases include Gooloogong in NSW, Dingo in Qld, Cape Otway in Vic and the Aboriginal communities of Imanpa in the NT and Fregon in SA. There was no reference to important tourist towns such as those mentioned on the Oodnadatta Track or elsewhere across the country, but they could be lucky … we’ll see!

These new and upgraded base stations from Telstra and Vodafone will supposedly provide improved mobile reception and coverage to 68,600km² and new external antenna coverage to more than 150,000km². More than 5700km of major transport routes will also receive new handheld or external antenna coverage.

By all accounts both Telstra and Vodafone will determine the rollout sequence of the new and improved bases, while the feds said they will closely monitor the upgrades and ensure that regular public updates are provided.

The first new base station was to be completed by the end of 2015, but have we seen any updates on that? And have we seen any progress with the NBN and its supposed ‘future proofing’ of all of Australia?

Ask any bush person and most would agree that it’s a cruel joke. Download limits are, where they exist, tiny – and connection is so slow that even sending a basic email is often impossible. The publican at Marree, who wanted to upload pics to a tourist-popular website, had to drive to Port Augusta, 380km away, to get a connection good enough for the job!

After all that and the billions of dollars spent, I wouldn’t be relying on my mobile phone to get me out of trouble when I’m stuck in the outback. And if you have a mobile phone provider other than Telstra, best of luck getting coverage anywhere in the outback.

I’ll continue to pack my sat phone or my HF radio, thanks – and I suggest you do something similar!