What spares do you carry

Just wondering what spares and tools other members carry with them on their trips.
I always carry the belts,hoses,fuses,tyres etc but am including extra`s like water pump,thermostat housing.I have a preety good selection of tools and soldering iron,electrical joiners,form a gasket,stop leak,silastic etc.
When I first srarted going away there were angle grinders,drills and a host of other electrical tools which I have stopped taking because of not using them.
Just wondering thats all.

Cheers

Phil

cruiser1 wrote:Just wondering what spares and tools other members carry with them on their trips.
I always carry the belts,hoses,fuses,tyres etc but am including extra`s like water pump,thermostat housing.I have a preety good selection of tools and soldering iron,electrical joiners,form a gasket,stop leak,silastic etc.
When I first srarted going away there were angle grinders,drills and a host of other electrical tools which I have stopped taking because of not using them.
Just wondering thats all.

Cheers

Phil

Phil I've travelled Australia a lot since 1977 when we first took off in a Subaru 4WD and a FJ55 Landcruiser. We carried all the items that you're meant to carry but I've never used anything but a few fuses. I learned that if I carried it it never broke. Now I carry two spare wheels and a few fuses if I intend to do a lot of offroad or we're away for a very long time.

For tools I take a look around the vehicle at the sizes of the bolts. I make sure I've got all the bolt sizes covered of those items that you are capable of servicing on the road. I have a soldering iron and solder with a bit of insulation tape. I have the factory jack and a high lift jack with a base plate. I have a piece of pipe to fit over the wheel brace. I take a multimeter (useless for most people) pliers, multigrips, adjustable wrenches and a couple of good screw drivers.

I've crossed the country in a ......... and broke, plus a lot of tyres offroad - maybe more vehicles but I can't recall them right now.
1968 Landcruiser FJ55, Rear tailshaft, Complete exhaust
1968 Holden, Windscreen
1977 Subaru 4WD, Front half shaft
1984 Mazda T3000, Oil pressure switch, Bigend Bearings, Alternator in 100,000km
1987 Landcruiser HJ75, Two conrods - deep water, Windscreen, Starter motor
1987 Alpha Quatro, Fuel pipe crushed over rear axle
1990 Landcruiser HJ80, Front sway bar mount, Radio antenna
1998 Subaru Forester, Headlamp globe (twice), 2 x CV Boots in 345,000km
2003 Isuzu NPS300, RH window motor, Radio antenna
2004 Isuzu NPS300, ?
2013 200 series Landcruiser Diesel, Front CV joint twice - all up weight 6.3Tonnes

I have never broken a radiator hose or belt. Over the years I've replaced a few fuses but mostly on accessories fitted. I've done lots of little wiring repairs to spot lights, towbars, radios etc but it's always the after market accessories.

If I'd have attempted to carry the spares I'd never have had the item that broke. The only time I failed to make the repair was when the Mazda did a second set of bearings because the crankshaft was too badly damaged. It came home on a truck from Exmouth.

Phil


19

Hi Phil,

Check out my website for what I carry in my Troopy under 'Vehicle Equipment':

www.havewheelswilltravel.iinet.net.au

It's pretty comprehensive & so far has got me out of trouble in case of a breakdown that is not major.

Cheers

Ted

mate I don't carry any spare parts so its a waste of time flagging me down on the highway..

I do carry 3 spare split rim tyres, 75L of water, food, sat phone, essential tools, wire, gaffa tape, trolley jack and that's about it.

Don't see the point of a water pump-hoses -thermostat---if u think it might shit itself then change it at home prior to departing, coz one thing will lead to another,

New fan belts including the matched pair every year regardless.

start of with a new air filter and a service ---even if yah car isnt due for a service --coz then u have 10-15,000KS befor u worry about an oil change.

Globes -- well mine are sealed beams and if they decide not to work then day time driving till I replace the light.
The light bars are very good these days and I have one on my bull bar plus 2 spotties.

Fuses--well silver ali paper will suffice

I haven't had much drama in the bush and trust me I get to go were others fear to tread.

but u cant be carefull enough.

regards
oneday

i take some oil incase a sender unit leaks or i as has happened a fellow prospector needed some and didnt have any, a matching pair of fan belts as i have had a branch flick up and damage one b4, tyre repair kit and 2 inner tubes, a couple of cans of zush instant tyre repair, 2 spares, a decent well stocked tool kit, gaffer tape, and old glow plug for a soldering iron, solder and wire, air compressor and tyre deflator/gauge, a MUT111 mitsubishi diagnostic kit as going into limp mode is bad out there an issue with all newer 4WD's, jump leads, a box of common nuts and HT bolts as they vibrate loose sometimes and a supply of dry food and water in the car, 40lt of diesel and i tow a small pop up caravan with food, water, batteries and solar panel and it gives me some home comforts. i like to be able to relax and not worry if something goes wrong and can be self sufficient for a month. i also now take an emergency windscreen after the last trip.

I travel a bit like Ray. Tools, tape, spare belts, water, diesel. I service the vehicle before I leave and
take oil and filters to do another service before the return trip.

Regards Roger.  

A 2kg fire extinguisher and a comprehensive first aid kit and a packet of "humbugs".
I also take my wife. She fixes everything
These days, I'm always within reach of the RACV and medical assistance so I have more spares for detectors than vehicles. My Suzuki never breaks down anyway

Robert

Thanks guys for the replies.I have now added a couple of extra`s to pack in the troopy.

Cheers

Phil

I forgot about our trip in the Mercedes MB100D.

We bought this vehicle off a German backpacker who was driving south from Townsville to fly out from Sydney. I asked him to drop it at Cape Palmerston Holiday Park where our bus is parked now. We flew to Makay and jumped into the Mercedes for the drive home to Capel. We had six weeks off, just enough time for a one-way trip.

We travelled west to the corner country. We crossed a few sand dunes to make it into Haddons Corner. Firstly I was surprised to find that the van was front wheel drive and then very pleasantly surprised by its on and offroad performance.

We travelled down the Strzelecki Track to Adelaide to service my son’s rally car before heading west across the Nullarbor. Half way across we headed north to Koonalda to find a geocache and then north to the caves. From there we headed west to a trigonometric point at S31° 23.734' E129° 48.873'

To get to the trig we followed two wheel tracks through the low shrub until we were about 400m north with it at right angles to the track. We then headed off following the GPS directly to GZ. On the way back we just followed our own wheel tracks. The shrubs were all bent the wrong way and I didn’t know at the time but the van was missing its belly plate.

A few minutes on and all the dash lit up with red lights. Something had made its way into the engine bay and derailed the serpentine (fan) belt. It took me a while to find the problem because the engine is completely out of sight when you lift the bonnet.

Fortunately I’d packed a 10mm spanner because that’s all I needed to remove the front bumper, headlamps, grille, radiator and shroud. The belt was ok but the tensioner was missing. I sent Mrs M back up the track looking for bits while I worked on trying to get the belt back in place. Before long she was back with the tensioner and spring but I was having problems working out how to fit the belt. When I routed it one direction it was too short, the other way it was too long.

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I tried and tried but in the end I sent Mrs M back up to the trig to see if she could get telephone reception. My son would be able to help if we could contact him. Eventually I worked it out but Mrs M was still missing and the sun was setting. I realised she had gone back without the GPS. I grabbed the GPS and a torch and ran after her. She couldn’t get phone reception so was wandering about with the camera shooting flowers or something.

We wandered back to the van and bolted it together under torch light. I dropped one little bolt and we both watched it fall into a tuft of grass lost forever. That was no problem as nearly every bolt was the same size. I just grabbed another from a bracket that seemed to have one more than it needed.

It was dark by the time we headed off again with a tarp tied to the front to stop the same thing happening again. We carefully followed our path in until I realised the track had disappeared. I looked at the big GPS and the tracking showed that we’d crossed the two wheel tracks that we came in on.

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As I turned to head back Mrs M said “watch out for rabbit burrows” a moment before the van lurched and crashed to the ground. We had the front bumper lying on the ground and a rear wheel about 150mm down with a big hole behind it.

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All I had was the original bottle jack that was too long to fit underneath. I tried jacking under a wheel stud but the jack almost disappeared down the burrow as well. Before long Mrs M was back with a pile of little stones. There was nothing big around. I ended up standing the jack under a wheel nut and driving the wheel 1/4 turn at a time using the little stones under the jack and putting as many as we could under the wheel as it lifted.

Before long we had the wheel high enough to keep the bumper off the ground. We went around and cleared the dirt from in front of each wheel before one swift charge out of there

u 2 certainly get around this island.

Intrepid adventurers would be an understatement.

It certainly helps to have a bit of mechanical know how.

regards
oneday

Very handy couple to be in convoy with, you gotta make do out there some times.

Great story and pics Phil.Nothing like good old ingenuity in the out back.

Cheers

Phil

thats a good read Phil, gotta watch those rabbit burrows, the whole area can be riddled and then your stuck. i was once out in some dunes in two rocks north of perth and parked up on top of one to check out the view. we couldnt go forward anymore so i reversed up only to see a trail of oil. quickly shut down the motor and took a look to see no sump plug. luckily not much shrub on the dunes so followed the trail back and found it sitting in the sand. replaced it and walked a few km to get some oil and all was fine but i was very lucky it had only just happened. things do go wrong so being prepared and having some knowledge can be a life saver in remote areas.

nightjar wrote:Very handy couple to be in convoy with, you gotta make do out there some times.

I think Topcat is the guy I want along with me. He carries more gear than Repco and that could come in handy.

You can never have too many womens stockings out bush I reckon. 

Well those black tights to be more precise.

Seriously, I always have a few floating about and use bits all the time. There's bits tied all over my roofrack, great for tying fishing rods or practically anything to roof racks, stick your external speaker inside a leg and tie it to your back pack strap, tie your detector to the seat or whatever when travelling around, use as a bungy cord, tying tarps, etc, etc. Stretchy and strong as anything, ties easily, million and one uses. Sexy wire?

I've only worn them prospecting once..

Last trip I stuffed up my ankle, the nobbly bit was really sore to touch and real painful to walk, so made a sort of orthotic donut out of a bit of foam to put inside my boot and take pressure off. How was I going to keep it in place? Easy put stocking on over sock, slip foam inside over ankle bone, stick foot in boot. Although I have used them heaps that's the only time I've actually worn one while prospecting… and, although it might seem a bit weird, I must say it felt quite nice slipping my foot into my boot… very smooooooth  

Stingray

Stingray wrote:You can never have too many womens stockings out bush I reckon. 

Well those black tights to be more precise.

Stingray

Stingray, I'd really like to know your source.

I know you speak the truth because when I was a young bloke my first car was a Fiat 600. It had a remote fan and water pump. If I threw it back to second gear when going too fast it would snap the fan belt.

Dad told me I should always carry a stocking in case of emergencies. Whenever I laid my hand on one I felt a sharp jab in the ribs from an elbow or I go a slap in the face

Stingray[/quote]


Whenever I laid my hand on one I felt a sharp jab in the ribs from an elbow or I go a slap in the face  

[/quote]

Memories, memories!

STOCKINGS for an emergency--I can just see our old mate the General with a shitty pair of jocks and a pair of stockings on--god help me.

regards
oneday

For this trip I am carrying,
Hoses and belts
Tyre levers
Two spares on rims 
Two spares unmounted
Compressor 
Cordless rattle gun
 15 litres diesel oil
Oil filter 
Fuel filter
Tow rope 
Jumper leads
Fuses 
Terminal kit
Full kinchrome metric toolkit, 
And maybe a couple of other items that I have forgotten.