4WD Australia Tips

Essentials for your 4WD Australia Adventure

Welcome to 4WD Australia! Experiencing 4WD Australia and mastering outback 4WD driving on one of the famous outback tracks must be the most wonderful adventure available to the visitor to Australia. A great number of exciting outback destinations are simply not within your reach unless you start on a 4WD adventure. At 4WD Australia we recommend 4WD adventures in Australia even for the inexperienced 4WD adventurer – however, properly choosing and driving a 4WD vehicle requires a degree of understanding of your chosen 4WD Australia adventure. Here some essential preparations and skills you need to acquire before starting your own outback 4WD adventure. Aquaint yourself with professional 4WD literature and maps

Survival

Assuring your survival must be at the top of your list. Take Australia seriously. The Australian outback is as beautiful as it is cruel once you are stuck without water and know how. The golden rule of 4WD Australia is to travel with more than one vehicle. Particularly for the more remote and difficult tracks with little traffic it is essential that you do not travel alone. A second 4WD can tow you out when you are stuck, still drive you home when one 4WD vehicle breaks down and it makes for great photo opportunities of your 4WD Australia experience too… In either case the first thing to do is to find out the particulars about your track. Is it frequented enough that you can go alone? Where are the fuel and water sources on your track? What methods of navigation will you have? What points of evacuation and alternative routes are available on your 4WD Australia adventure? Where are the local people and what is the right time of the year to start this particular 4WD Australia adventure. If you can, register with the local authorities so they will look for you in case you do not arrive within a specified range of time. Also inform your friends and family as to your 4WD Australia adventure plans, where you go and when you will get there and therefore be in contact again. You will need to carry 5 liters of water per person and day and it is advisable to carry 50% more than you plan to use. Personally us fans of 4WD Australia carry even more. Fill your 4WD water tank but also carry bottled water in case the tank gets damaged as a lot of 4WD tanks are under body tanks, which may get exposed to a branch you drive into. Last but not least always get updated information on the local road conditions, seasonal changes and weather outlook before you set off. Deserts turn into rivers in Australia. Time planning your 4WD Australia adventure is therefore necessary, both because of seasonal changes and the supplies you need to plan for. Remember people who survive a hairy outback experience are the ones who have been able to keep their stress under control to think straight: What is the situation? What is the goal? What affects my survival? What courses of action are open to us? Stay with your 4WD vehicle if you want to be found. If you leave your vehicle to find water, mark your return route.

Some of the survival items you want to bring:

clothing for cold and hot / an extensive first aid kit / a tent for shelter / 5 liters of water per person and day / lighters and matches In case you planned 4WD Australia adventure properly but you are still stuck without water, food and shelter? Food is going to be your last priority; you can live 3 weeks without food but only 3 days without water. Generally the energy you would put into finding food will use more calories than you will find. Look for water instead. In case you see any windmills – they usually pump water out of a well and it will be your salvation. There are other ways to get your hands on water when stuck on your 4WD Australia adventure. You can get water: At the beach - boil salt water and catch the escaping vapor, the vapor is fresh water (use a lens or your 4WD cigarette lighter to start the fire) From Morning Dew - wipe down your vehicle in the morning and wring the cloth into a dish. Even better, spread your big tarp in the evening to catch dew. From Plants – put grass, leaves (anything green and not poisonous) into a closed plastic bag and into the sun. At Dry Creeks / rivers – most dry creeks have running water just below the surface. Dig a soak From Rocks – rock formations catch rainwater and often there will be a seepage near rock formations. If you have some food left when stuck on your 4WD Australia adventure, it is generally better to have one meal a day rather than nibbling. If you have no food at all you can fish, catch lizards, marsupials, grubs and insects. It is better for your survival NOT to eat at all if you have no water to wash it down.

Other survival tips:

Don't camp in dry creeks. There may be Flash floods. Check the depth before crossing water with your 4WD vehicle - wade through to check it. Leave your windows open when crossing water with your 4WD. A smoky fire will guide your rescue party. Use rocks to build 10m SOS signal for airplanes to see (if an airplane sees you it will rock its wings or flash green lights at night) The afternoon shade of scrubs and bush will always point to the south. To find east - west, put a peg or stick into the ground and place a rock at the end of the shadow the stick throws. After 20 minutes place another rock at the now moved end of the shade. The difference between the 2 rocks is the east – west direction.

Season planning for your 4WD Australia Adventure

As opposed to European countries your 4WD Australia paradise has mainly 2 seasons - wet and dry. Australians do define the 4 seasons but spring and autumn are generally short and are not relevant to 4WD adventures. The general rule of thumb is you want to start your 4WD adventure in winter for all northern tracks and in summer for all southern tracks. To make your 4WD adventure planning more difficult the rain season can vary by months from year to year. To for example plan a 4WD Australia trip into the Kimberleys you best plan to start in early june. Usually even the tardiest rainseason will have passed and you will be save from flooding. If you however enter the Kimberleys in early may when nobody else dares yet - and you get lucky and the tracks are dry - you will have it all to yourself. Not that it gets crowded, this 4WD adventure is the size of germany with 2 petrolstations. The general rule of rain and dry season always need to be confirmed before your 4WD adventure by checking up to date meteorological reports and weather outlooks. Bom.gov.au is the Australian governments official forecast and will tell you all you need. You may also want to check the road conditions before your 4WD adventure - see the listing in our essentials section. Did you know that the holiday season in oz is in december? Just like spain in august, Australia is on holidays over Christmas and everybody is off on his 4WD adventure.

Vehicle Tips and tricks for your 4WD Australia Adventure

When taking over your 4WD rental you will have to get used to its particular behavior. Lucky if you own one and already know the ins and outs of 4WD adventures in Australia! For the 4WD beginner, there are some basic facts to observe:

4WD Driving in Sand

Before you hit a sandy 4WD adventure track you do well to lower the tire pressure to at least 20psi - but you can go lower. The reason for this being that your tire will now have much more surface on the sand and much better grip. You are a lot less likely to get stuck. When driving on sand you also may cross particularly bad spots (preferably pre scouted) at increased speed to get through without ending your Australian 4WD adventure all bogged down. If you do get bogged down – the easiest way out is backwards in your own tracks.

4WD on driving Hills

When driving up a hill, start off by choosing the lowest gear you will need to get to the top. This way you won’t be stalling and rolling downhill or bogging into the soft ground. When coming down a hill, still stay in a gear - low enough so you do not have to break all the time. You will have better control of the vehicle.

4WD Driving in mud

Deep mud is tackled similarly to sand but a lot of times mud is superficial and therefore high pressure in your tires will do fine most of the time.

Driving on the beach

Avoid getting your 4WD into saltwater. Even so, after every beach drive immediately under body wash your 4WD to avoid damage. Inform yourself on high and low tides before driving on a beach. Never park on wet send, some sands drift and your vehicle may sink.

4WD Driving on roads

You might think that’s obvious but driving on the road must also be done properly. Re-inflate your tires where needed and disengage your 4WD – including your wheel locks as high speeds on regular roads with the 4WD lock engaged can cause permanent damage.

4WD Crossing water

While crossing any saltwater will lead to the destruction of your 4WD, crossing creeks and rivers is fine as long as you have pre-walked any area where you cannot clearly see how deep it is. If you cannot walk through, don’t even think about driving. Keep your windows open while driving through water - you will be out faster if needed. Do not attempt to change gears while you are in the water.

Choosing a vehicle

Choosing the right outback 4WD for your 4WD Australia adventure is crucial. If you are renting a 4WD vehicle you have a massive choice of vehicles at your disposal. To answer you have to know where you are going and what the specific circumstances of your 4WD Australia adventure will be. Consider your accommodation circumstances. Chances are if you are a fair dinkum 4WD adventurer you will not return to the closest hotel for the night. If you plan your 4WD Australia adventure with 2 vehicles and you have a wide choice of vehicles available to you it is a good idea to make sure at least one of the 4WD vehicles has a winch. A winch will allow you to retrieve a stuck or bogged down 4WD vehicle directly from your bull bar winch as long as you have made sure that your vehicle is on safe ground and will not move. When alone on your 4WD Australia adventure you simply hook the nose around a tree and pull yourself out of the water.

Spare parts list for a serious 4WD adventure:

2-3 spare tyres / Oil and other fluids your 4WD uses / Spare fuel filters / Spare motor belt / Wheel bearing kit and packing grease / Tyre repair tools / Ignition coil / Radiator and heater hoses and clips