piratexpress1369a
Explorer
This is a really good shake down trip. ...can't wait for the video
Unimogadventures - Our build and travel thread
- Thread starter Iain_U1250
- Start date
steve4wdaus
4WDaus "tralia"
Enjoy the Flinders Ranger and keep the photos coming.
Cheers steve
Cheers steve
Iain_U1250
Explorer
We had a great time at Arkaroola, great camping down next to the river and very quiet. With the weather starting to get hot we headed up to the most isolated part of our trip. The Birdsville Track through the desert gets a fair amount of traffic in the winter months, it is around 500km of dirt road with basically a pub/roadhouse in the middle, and pretty much nothing in-between. Since it was summer, there was not much traffic - we saw one other vehicle the whole trip. It was one of the hottest days I have ever experienced. We stopped at the Mungeranie Pub around midday, and it the owner of the pub showed us that the floor under the verandah was 44 Deg C in the shade. Outside in the sun, the ground was 55 Deg C.
We met a guy cycling around Australia, he had been riding since before sunrise, and made it to Maree at the start of the Birdsville track, he made it before it got too hot. I don't think it is something I could do, I prefer a bit of luxury. He was going to Coober Pedy along the Oodnadatta track, but was staying in Maree until it cooled down
Our external temperature gauge on the truck which is in the shade, was measuring 55 Deg C air temp whilst we drove up the track. We had a very strong headwind all the way - EGT would sit around 650 Deg C on even the slightest uphill if I tried to keep at 90kph on the smooth parts, so I slowed down to 80kph and backed off up the hills and changed down if the EGT alarm went off- set at 680 DegC as it makes a racket. Fuel consumption was pretty high - around 30lt/100km, worst we have every gotten but not that bad considering the lower tyre pressure, strong headwind us being around 7.5 tons being full of fuel, water and food.
Despite the incredible hot temps, the engine stayed around 100-105 Deg C. I put in the 72 Deg C thermostat before we left, and down in Melbourne engine temps seldom got above 75 Deg C when it was less than 25c outside. Our a/c struggled to keep pace until my wife put on of our sunshade on the side window where the sun was coming in, our laser gun measured the glass at 48 Deg C and I remembered to switch off the OEM fan sucking in the outside air. When we stopped for a break around 2:00pm, I did a quick check around the truck with the laser gun. Thermostat housing confirmed as 100 Deg C, the transmission was around 99-105 Deg C, front portals, 60C, front diff housing - 65C, rear portals, 80C, rear diff housing, 70C, and Claas overdrive was 105 C. The diesel tank on the sunny side was 60C. I let it idle to keep the a/c going for the wife, and the electric fan was able to drop the coolant temp below 88C - enough for it to cycle out - then the a/c fan came on and that stayed on all the time, but it was enough to keep the engine around 88-90C. There were so many flies that within a minute or so, I had to retreat back inside the truck to get my fly net on my hat. Never seen it so bad before and we have been to some pretty bad places. We drove until the sun went down, then turned off the track and up over a sand dune to camp for the night.
It was a pretty uncomfortable night, it was still 39 Deg C at 11:30pm, and the moon was so bright, we were out taking photos at 10:00pm and even the flies did not go to sleep it was so bright. It was still 34 C when the sun came up. I'll post some photos when we get a better internet connection, we are now on our way home, it was a real test for the truck, and it passed with flying colours, seems MB know how to design a proper cooling system after all and my electric fan set-up is adequate for the truck.
We arrived at Birdsville around 8:30am the next morning, to find basically everything was closed until Easter weekend. I decided to get a move on to escape the heat once we were back on the tar roads. We did the 1600km in two days averaging 89kph. Not bad for a 32 year old off-road truck. Tyres seem to have taken a bit of extra wear at that speed especially with the tar being over 60 Deg C surface temp.
Back home now and going to do all the improvements we think will make it better. First off is the rear winch plate and gas bottle storage. Going to weld it to the back plate which has been heavily reinforced for the train hitch. I'll add the two tow point underneath, and some reinforcing on the sides.
This mog used to tow some railway carriages around, it had a plate on the dash saying "Engage Low Range when pulling more than five carriages" so the rear plate is pretty substantial compared to other mogs, so I might as well make use of it.
I will add some lighter brackets and a protection bar to hold our gas bottles, better to have them outside than in one of the storage pods. Trish will make a canvas cover for the winch to keep the dust out, and maybe one for the gas bottles as well.
We met a guy cycling around Australia, he had been riding since before sunrise, and made it to Maree at the start of the Birdsville track, he made it before it got too hot. I don't think it is something I could do, I prefer a bit of luxury. He was going to Coober Pedy along the Oodnadatta track, but was staying in Maree until it cooled down
Our external temperature gauge on the truck which is in the shade, was measuring 55 Deg C air temp whilst we drove up the track. We had a very strong headwind all the way - EGT would sit around 650 Deg C on even the slightest uphill if I tried to keep at 90kph on the smooth parts, so I slowed down to 80kph and backed off up the hills and changed down if the EGT alarm went off- set at 680 DegC as it makes a racket. Fuel consumption was pretty high - around 30lt/100km, worst we have every gotten but not that bad considering the lower tyre pressure, strong headwind us being around 7.5 tons being full of fuel, water and food.
Despite the incredible hot temps, the engine stayed around 100-105 Deg C. I put in the 72 Deg C thermostat before we left, and down in Melbourne engine temps seldom got above 75 Deg C when it was less than 25c outside. Our a/c struggled to keep pace until my wife put on of our sunshade on the side window where the sun was coming in, our laser gun measured the glass at 48 Deg C and I remembered to switch off the OEM fan sucking in the outside air. When we stopped for a break around 2:00pm, I did a quick check around the truck with the laser gun. Thermostat housing confirmed as 100 Deg C, the transmission was around 99-105 Deg C, front portals, 60C, front diff housing - 65C, rear portals, 80C, rear diff housing, 70C, and Claas overdrive was 105 C. The diesel tank on the sunny side was 60C. I let it idle to keep the a/c going for the wife, and the electric fan was able to drop the coolant temp below 88C - enough for it to cycle out - then the a/c fan came on and that stayed on all the time, but it was enough to keep the engine around 88-90C. There were so many flies that within a minute or so, I had to retreat back inside the truck to get my fly net on my hat. Never seen it so bad before and we have been to some pretty bad places. We drove until the sun went down, then turned off the track and up over a sand dune to camp for the night.
It was a pretty uncomfortable night, it was still 39 Deg C at 11:30pm, and the moon was so bright, we were out taking photos at 10:00pm and even the flies did not go to sleep it was so bright. It was still 34 C when the sun came up. I'll post some photos when we get a better internet connection, we are now on our way home, it was a real test for the truck, and it passed with flying colours, seems MB know how to design a proper cooling system after all and my electric fan set-up is adequate for the truck.
We arrived at Birdsville around 8:30am the next morning, to find basically everything was closed until Easter weekend. I decided to get a move on to escape the heat once we were back on the tar roads. We did the 1600km in two days averaging 89kph. Not bad for a 32 year old off-road truck. Tyres seem to have taken a bit of extra wear at that speed especially with the tar being over 60 Deg C surface temp.
Back home now and going to do all the improvements we think will make it better. First off is the rear winch plate and gas bottle storage. Going to weld it to the back plate which has been heavily reinforced for the train hitch. I'll add the two tow point underneath, and some reinforcing on the sides.
This mog used to tow some railway carriages around, it had a plate on the dash saying "Engage Low Range when pulling more than five carriages" so the rear plate is pretty substantial compared to other mogs, so I might as well make use of it.
I will add some lighter brackets and a protection bar to hold our gas bottles, better to have them outside than in one of the storage pods. Trish will make a canvas cover for the winch to keep the dust out, and maybe one for the gas bottles as well.
piratexpress1369a
Explorer
The outside temperature being that hot is that normal or is it just getting out of hand
piratexpress1369a
Explorer
Just watched the video on YouTube that was awesome. . How did it feel in the cab.any pucker moments lol
Iain_U1250
Explorer
Only time it ws a bit scary was going down hill and the back started to move out, I just floored the accelerator and it straightened up, apart from that it was surprisingly easy, just chugging along in low range 4 or 5th.
It was not pleasant outside, but bearable inside the truck even without the a/c on as long as you had plenty to drink.
Iain_U1250
Explorer
That looks pretty miserable, cold, wet and overcast, reminds me of Melbourne. 
nick disjunkt
Adventurer
I'm no expert on the Australian climate, but I'm not sure Melbourne ever gets to -12!
Iain_U1250
Explorer
Just a few quick updates on some modifications we have added to the truck.
I've finished the rear winch plate, installed the winch and wired it all up to the dash controls. I've also made some gas bottle holders to take the two 2kg gas bottles we use for outside cooking
Alosn with some covers for the valves of the gas bottles to protect them from mud and dust.
My wife has made the big canvas rear storage bag for the rear luggage rack. It holds all the light but bulky things that fill up the storage compartments. It has a full length zip and a cover so we hope most of the dust stays out.
We have a few more modifications and additions, including a second 2000W inverter, an extra 240V outlet for the main inverter, fit the Sat Phone docking station and aerials we had on the Land Rover, and fit some better locks to the food drawer, the old ones were not strong enough to keep the drawer closed on rough roads. We have a few more weeks to finish the modifications on the truck and clean out the shed before we head off for another 15 week trip across Australia.
I've finished the rear winch plate, installed the winch and wired it all up to the dash controls. I've also made some gas bottle holders to take the two 2kg gas bottles we use for outside cooking
Alosn with some covers for the valves of the gas bottles to protect them from mud and dust.
My wife has made the big canvas rear storage bag for the rear luggage rack. It holds all the light but bulky things that fill up the storage compartments. It has a full length zip and a cover so we hope most of the dust stays out.
We have a few more modifications and additions, including a second 2000W inverter, an extra 240V outlet for the main inverter, fit the Sat Phone docking station and aerials we had on the Land Rover, and fit some better locks to the food drawer, the old ones were not strong enough to keep the drawer closed on rough roads. We have a few more weeks to finish the modifications on the truck and clean out the shed before we head off for another 15 week trip across Australia.
piratexpress1369a
Explorer
Covers look great. ..what does it cost you to run sat phone
Iain_U1250
Explorer
We use a pre-paid one with Inmarsat. Cost about $1 per minute, or text message. It can receive emails for free. We have our docking station set up to send our position after we turn off the ignition for longer than an hour ( we can overide it if we want to) . It sends a message to a gmail account which then forwards the message on to all our kids so they see where we are. It works as long as the aerial on the roof can see the satellite. We buy $100 vouchers, and so far never run our of credit before the time limit expires, which is a bit of a waste, but cheaper than a monthly fee unless we were on the road full time.
piratexpress1369a
Explorer
Cool thanks