on the road again
- Thread starter blackduck
- Start date
blackduck
Explorer
G day Ben
WRT the catfish, weve been eating snapper, bluebone and barra all the way up the coast
my vote bluebone groper wins hands down for taste
the truck, runs like a dream, but because of the constant head winds my fuel economy has dropped a tad to about the 20L / 100 mark maybe a tad worse but by large ive been managing about 1000K to the tank
the only down side is the ride, but you know about that one ?
theres some great driving on this side of the country but the corrugated dirt roads really get on your nerves after the first couple of hundred K's
every wash out makes you think the front bump stops are about to come up through the floor
theres only one thing im going to change as a result of this trip
new suspension - parabolics of course coz the wife wont wear the cost of coils
new wheels - i like the look of alans bling wheels and am suoer impresed with the feed back from aussie iron but im thinking ill go 19.5's
and maybe new seats
I know thats 3 things but if i say it fast it sounds like one and the wife doesnt ask questions
still not sure how shes going to get into the truck after that cause shes only short
ill be sure to show it off when it happens
That story sounds so familiar. My wife said to keep dreaming so I did then one day she saw something different about my truck. In the beginning I said we will just do one thing but that quickly multiplied to air compressor paraboloics wheels and a towbar modification. Just waiting for confirmation on some flared front guards and then I will be set (for now).
blackduck
Explorer
just a few numbers from our little jaunt to Darwin
Laden weight combination van and truck - 9 T
Distance by road from Bunbury to Darwin - 4160Km
Distance travelled by odometer - 12006
Fuel used - 2750 lt
Fuel cost - $4468.40
Average - $1.63 per lt
Economy = 22.9 L/100km - thats 38 cents per kilometer
no breakdowns, puntures, or problems (except for a stone chip on the windscreen)
Forum members passed = 1
the one thing I take from this trip is the need to upgrade the suspension
blackduck
Explorer
with van in tow i normaly stick to about 90 kph "mitsubishi canter speed", which in reality is about 83 kph
without van its about 100 kph (mcs) or 91 to the rest of you
refreshments
on average it was 4 cans of beer per day for 184 days, thats 24 cases of beer (30's) or about $1080 in beer
but lookoing under the bed I know for a fact we are short 2 cases of white wine, 3 bottles of chivas, 9 bottles of bubbly and 2 casks of red
me thinks the wife has a drinking problem
I think that's very reasonable as I find my consumption almost the same even with an average weight of the truck being 5T for same truck.
blackduck
Explorer
G day Ben
without van and in near perfect conditions I have got about 17 - 18 L/100 which is on par with a landcruiser
what will make you smile though
at Lake Argyle we came across a bloke with a 200 series sahara towing a very heavy van
he was content returning 35 L / 100 from his big V8 diesel
THATS 35 LITERS
blackduck
Explorer
Some time ago whatcharterboat John made the comment " some people love the territory and some dont". well aparently we dont, or so my wife tells me anyway. so for some family reasons particularly she misses the grand kids (my take, anything with kids in it is missable) we are packing up and traveling back to Perth to become a mortgage holding full time employee of some faceless multinational.
Sounds sad doesnt it
This has nothing to do with me not winning the fridge in the naming comp and having to move south so I can drink cooler beer
unfortunatley we cant take ten months to get there like last time but we are going to take the inland route. so hopefully more great photo opportunities
so in a weeks time we leave darwin without really seeing or doing much
although when we are old we will come back
sad part is im going to have to sell my van (not much use having a van thats a home when youve got a house)
Im not (repeat NOT) getting rid of the truck
instead Im going to buy a big kick *** fishing boat to tow behind it
thats the ultimatum, she gets the grand kids I get a boat
Sounds sad doesnt it
This has nothing to do with me not winning the fridge in the naming comp and having to move south so I can drink cooler beer
unfortunatley we cant take ten months to get there like last time but we are going to take the inland route. so hopefully more great photo opportunities
so in a weeks time we leave darwin without really seeing or doing much
although when we are old we will come back
sad part is im going to have to sell my van (not much use having a van thats a home when youve got a house)
Im not (repeat NOT) getting rid of the truck
instead Im going to buy a big kick *** fishing boat to tow behind it
thats the ultimatum, she gets the grand kids I get a boat
whatcharterboat
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Hi Stu, I stopped into Darwin once on my way back over to do another crayfish season in the West. .....planned to visit some friends for no more than a week....... 3 wet seasons later , they had to drag me out kicking but like I said, it's not for everyone and from what I've heard over the last month or two, this wet (or lack of it) has been one of the worst......so no one can say you didn't have a good crack at it.
The boat trade sounds like a winner to me.......see if they will throw in a fridge!!!
Kind regards,
John
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Aussie Iron
Explorer
Sorry to hear that, I was sort of hoping that we might have meet some where along the road out there but you are going the wrong way at the time being. Have a safe trip and call the boat "Canter" so you can keep posting on this forum to let all out here know that you are still living a dream even if it is different.
Dan.
Dan.