We 'Canter'ed to the tip.

[Aussie Iron]

We went for a trip to the tip of Cape York up along the "Old Telegraph Track" in my Canter. But first I better show how it was set up and some of what we changed. It started life as a work vehicle.
--------------- Needed some super single wheels. Alan was able to supply some nice lite weight Alloy 16" rims, tyres are Kuhmo KL71 315/75-16 127Q rated.

 

[Aussie Iron]

Next we went for a winch. Had to be good enough to be able to un-stick it if it gets well and truly bogged. Trouble is big winches are heavy on the front of Canters that already have trouble with the front suspension bottoming out, so fit it elsewhere! The 20,000 lb winch was supplied by Tigerz11, it weighs 75 Kg with cable. Under the back it went just over the tow bar so that it an be used out the back as well as the front. It was run around a couple of pulleys to the passenger side and along the chassis rail.--------------------------------------------

 

[alan]

What can i say, very nice wheels!!:victory:

 

[SkiFreak]

No bias there Alan...

 

[Overland Hadley]

:lurk:

 

[Aussie Iron]

With the super singles comes the problem that the wider tyres just stick out of the front guards, so we needed to fit a set of front flares. These are universal rubber mudguard flares but to fit them you need to reinforce the plastic that they are fitted to. This was done by using 1.5mm sheet steel cut to fit in behind it. You can also see that I widened the rear of the front guards. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Out of the front comes the winch cable and also a hard point to be able to run the winch cable to if we needed to double line it and also as a tow point. These are secured to a rail that fits between the chassis rail The new tyres made a lot of difference to the ride on the front but to make it better we had new springs made for the front. These are 30mm longer from the center bolt back, effectively making the shackle hang back further and also giving us more clearance on the bump stop. This also then required new shock absorbers because we had to have more extension. Rancho 9000 adjustables were my choice.

 

[vince666]

Hey Aussie Iron,
The truck is looking good, I'm hoping to get to the tip of Oz soon as well. Do you have any pics of how you routed the winch cable from the rear to the front of the truck? My winch is front mounted, love to be able to use it backwards as well.
How about a few more pics of your truck on the run.
Thanks

 

[Aussie Iron]

We are getting there, time doesn't let me get the whole story out at once. Winch routing - I will have to take a few photos when I get some time. A slide-on camper was fitted to the back of the Canter so we went in luxury compared to what my sister and brother had on their Nissans. They just had roof top tents. The drums carry our spare fuel , Having the "truck" I could carry it as they didn't have the room. In the long run getting fuel wasn't a problem. My sister arrived at my place at Ambrose traveling from Coolum. Next day we left to go to Townsville where my brother lives. Spent some time there getting his vehicle finished as he had been inundated with work. We set of traveling via Cairns, Mareeba to Mount Molloy to sample one of their world winning best hamburger. From Mount Molloy onto the Peninsula Development Road and north towards Weipa finally taking the turn off to Batavia Downs reaching Bramwell Roadhouse. Here is where the Old Telegraph Track starts and I was promptly told that the Canter with my camper wouldn't make it. I just said I can always turn around and come back. The first crossing is Palm Creek and by all accounts is the easiest. Easy in and out. Well not this year by the seems of it. The first picture is the way in 2 metre drop down the other is the tail end of the way out after some has been filled up with dry fill. The bumper was in the mud on the drop down. The comments from the crowd were that this is going to be fun as it wouldn't make it and would have to be winched out as a lot of the previous vehicles had to be winched up. But up it went with not a care in the world to the cheers of the crowd. It would have been nice to have had a video of the climb But it didn't happen.

 

[PKDreamers]

Cool pic thanks for sharing.
Did you get stuck anywhere and was the width of the Canter a problem anywhere at all??

 

[Aussie Iron]

We knew we were going to have to do quite a few water crossing all at varying depth and the Canter is fitted with extended breathers on both gearbox, transfer case and diffs. But not high enough so they were extended to the top of the head board to give 1.5 metre of clearance. The breather on the fuel tank was also raised to there. The standard air cleaner that was fitted was sealed on the drains on the bottom and grease applied to the seal on the base. No water entered the system at all which was good. I fitted new batteries that are sealed and just have breather tubes that can be closed of for a short period of time when going through a lot of water. ----------------------------------------- The people standing in the water are marking holes in the volcanic rock, some are big enough to drop the front of a vehicle in. Other crossings were gravel bottom.The water crossing of notoriety is Nolans Brook being better than a metre deep and about 25 metres across it takes a lot of vehicles every year. Most end up getting water inside. The first 9 metres is mud, the next 9 being moving sand then a climb up about 40 cm of soft sand and then easy climb out.This is normally taken by following the high spots to cross. Well after walking it, it was decided that the straight across track would suit the Canter. We put a cheap blue tarp down the front and let it fold well under then drove through with only a little bit wheel spin as we climbed the sand bank. Again not a problem and no water inside.

 

[Aussie Iron]

The track is well eroded with one or both of the wheel tracks washed out.This meant that a lot of the time we were leaning one way or the other, certainly not to the my wife's liking. We only had three places that had large trees over hanging the track that we were forced to go around but it wasn't a problem. At times trees along the side of the track were close and we ended up leaving the passenger side window folded in. There are scuff marks on the paintwork but no dents. The same as the two Nissan Wagons that we traveled with. Some of the approaches and departures are narrow and caution has to be taken not to scrap the sides of the Canter. The log bridge at Crystal Creek was interesting to cross but putting the wheels in the right place, it ended up not being a problem. The pucker factor came into play only once (my level is fairly high as I make my living operating my bulldozer contract clearing lantana and doing fire breaks on the hills around Gladstone) and this was on a right hand bend apparently called Cannibal where the outside wheel track is that raised up that much and the inside washed out that I could put my hand out the window and touch the ground. I can tell you that the side way stability even with the camper on is unreal and you will feel the factor come into play long before you get there.

 

[Aussie Iron]

In summary

The rest of the trip was just site seeing around the tip and was well enjoyed. The return trip was down the development road, very corrugated but taking your time is the key to not damaging your vehicle. The tyres we bought worked out to be a good choice as we never had a problem, no flats and plenty of traction when needed. I used tyre beads for balancing the tyres and Tyredog to keep a check on them. I had a problem getting the parameters set but worked it out in the long run. The little lock rings that are used to stop the senders from getting taken are a problem when you have short valve stems but some things you put up with. I believe I will be looking at a setup with internal sensors. The winch ended up being taken along for the ride as it was never needed, the Canter went every where it was pointed which gives me confidence to go further afield. FUEL. Well we used a fair bit of it doing 4696 Klms with an average of just over 20L /100. My normal average is 16L /100. I guess the camper is a real drag. My average on the track was 17.5L/100.This was a lot of 1st and 2nd gear work. The run home from Townville was into a strong headwind and the average ended up being just a bit over 22L/100 and a lot of time we could only get 70Klm /Hr. One of the Nissan Wagon that I traveled with averaged 13L/100 it had a 2.8 L turbo engine and not heavily loaded, the other averaged close to 16L/100 it is fitted with a 4.2 L engine non turbo and was loaded more. Was it a problem taking the camper - no not really, will I take it again - probably not, looking at cutting the drag down to make it more road drive friendly, hills were killing it. Well plans for the next run are all ready in the works it will be to the TURBO Shop to see if we can a bit more HP out of it. So if you have one sitting around for a 4D33 let me know.

 

[z_halen]

One of the best threads i've read for a while... Lots of actual 4wding... I love it.


How'd you go with overhead clearance also ? many dramas.

I'd love to see lots more pics. if you've got them

Well done on getting to the tip also..

 

[Aussie Iron]

Only had 3 trees on the track that were a problem, in one place we went down the old track that had been blocked by a tree about 30cm thick and drove over it. The others we just went around. Should have taken more photos, the others we have are not that spectacular, I believe next time it will be video camera that we take as you can pull the photos out that you want. Trouble is that you can't drive and take photos and you also need someone to guide where you put your wheels. It was a FUN trip, Dan.

 

[canter tourer]

I'll be looking at something like this in the future, maybe ok for your truck too?
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/271029096562?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649