My 4x4 & Adventures

[MoparGreg]

Yeah, wish I was closer. Not sure if any plastic would cut it for my bike carrier.

[Moose]

Greg, I like the way you have set up your Patrol, you have a very tidy install that was well thought out for both space and weight. Where you live is much more suited for the expeditionary trips that here in the US. Yes we have wide open spaces but not all of those are free to roam. The longest trails that I know of here are a little over 100 miles long. (I know that I will be proven wrong)
David. I have pulled a quarter ton trailer behind my CJ loaded with all the gear for camp. Not to bad going forward but it is a real bear to do three point turns and heaven forbid backing down a steep hill that you cannot crest. Been there done that and have the memory of the stained shorts. . .

I found this Youtube video that shows a couple Patrols and a two door JK playing somewhere down under. They all have a lot to learn about vehicle placement and recovery techniques. Luckily the guy in the JK did not blow out his Dana 30 front diff trying to recover the stuck Patrol. Do the Nissan Patrols have an option for locking differentials? By the way I hate mud. . .

[MoparGreg]

Hey Moose after seeing that Im trading my Patrol in for a Jeep. Ah man what were those guys in the patrols thinking. I was waiting for them both to roll it when they went up high going down that steep hill. The Jeep guy had the right idea staying in the ruts. In saying that the Jeep looked much better set up with maybe 35" tyres & lift. the Patrols looked stock.

ANyway Patrols have a transfer case obviously to activate 4wd. In 4wd wheel drive there is high & low range. On the front hubs you can lock the hubs in with the wheel brace or leave them in auto which automatically locks hubs. I always manually lock them in as them you know its locked in rather than hoping it is in auto. When the hubs are locked you are not truely locked in. Sure in 4wd, all 4 wheels will spin but if you get a wheel in the air all the drive will be transferred to that wheel. Much like Davids Jeep I would think? David? SO most people over here run ARB airlockers, which is the most common. Some people only run the airlockers in the front as in stock form the LSD in the rear is pretty good. Im not up with all the tech stuff with 4wd but thats how I understand it.

Yeah mud, Ill avoid it if I can. If there is a chicken track Ill take it everytime as I dont want to damage my rig. If the going gets to bad I just turn around. I dont drive anything to crazy as I have 2 kids on board all the time. I quite often go for runs up the beach & onto the dunes. Loads of fun & the kids love it. Its amazing the amount of people that get bogged on the beach. Everytime I go there I recover 2-3 people each time. These people go there with no gear to recover them selves, not even a shovel.

[Moose]

Greg

When I go off road it is not to see how far I can get in the deepest mudhole. . . I go out as a sightseer on the roads way less traveled. I took a trip out to the Western US three years ago that had me saying WOW at nearly every turn and crest. It was an awesome experience soon to be relived on my next trip out.
I carry full recovery gear at all times in the back of the Jeep, you never know when they might be needed. I also carry a compressor, full first aid kit and a bug out bag with a change of clothes, a rain suit, spare glasses and and any med's that I need to take.Ten years as a Scoutmaster still carries over to what I do today.

Here is my two door JK Rubicon that has all the off-road goodies that is amazing out in the rough. No big lift, no huge tires that cause breakage, just enough to get me where I am going in comfort. This photo was taken at the Kodachrome park in Utah, yep that is where the film got it's name when it was first used in a National Geographic photo shoot.

[MoparGreg]

Hi everyone,

I haven't done much slotcar related stuff lately, just dont seem to find the time. All my parts are here to keep progressing on my track so Ill be back to building my track this week. Anyway for those that are interested I got some new tires & wheels for my 4wd. Originally my Patrol had 17" Alloys on it. I needed new tires & I was able to buy 16" steel wheels & tires for less than 17" tires alone. Still either way its not cheap when you need 6 of them. So I ended up going with 16x8 steels & 285/75/16 BF Goodrich KM2 muddies. These equate to 33". I have to say Im stoked with them. I had some balancing issues but its sorted now. Im glad I got these as when I hit the outback the 16" are more of a common size if ever I need tires in the middle of nowhere.

Here's the Patrol yesterday, we went for a drive up to yengo state forest about 45 minutes from my house. We had a great time. I only had 1 spare on the back yesterday. I decided to only carry 1 spare if Im going on short trips close to home. If ever I go away on longer trips Ill take both. I weighed the patrol on the weigh bridge & was shocked at the weight. So Im trying to keep the weight down.

[MoparGreg]

I was thinking I will add some photos here & there of my travels around Australia for those interested. We get to see some amazing scenery that most dont see.

This was taken last week when we got away for a few days. This is taken along Thunderbolts Way which crosses the Great Dividing Range. Named from a bushranger called Captain Thunderbolt that traveled these parts in the 1800's. The view was outstanding. We had driven along that dirt road a the bottom.



We stopped for lunch yesterday & this fella went walking past. A Goanna. I think its a Lace monitor. It wasnt to worried about us. It hung around for about an hour while we were there. Just a guess it was about 5-6 foot long.



We found a track that went into a dry rainforest. It was quite pretty down there. Stopped for morning tea at the creek & skimmed some smooth river pebble accross the water. Check out the old log bridge from the 1900's. You dont see timber like that anymore. The logs were HUGE!



Out near Walcha last week, driving along. Is this some kind of strange sheep crop circles. I have never seen sheep lined up like that



I was airing up the tires when I hit the bitumen & all of a sudden cows came from nowhere. By the time I finished airing up there must have been 10 times the amount in the photo. They were freakin me out.



Last photo some Aboriginal rock carvings up at Yengo.

[RazorJon]

looks like some nice country Greg, thanks for taking us with you :clap:

[Moose]

Hi Greg

I got back a couple of weeks ago from a 4445 mile round trip across the US to go drive some of the mountain roads in SW Colorado and on the slick rock in Utah.
It is amazing the scenic wonders that you can find when you take the side roads or back roads. I understand the reason you have set up your Patrol for. I was lucky that I could find places to stay along the way and not have to lug along all the gear needed to camp out on a daily basis. All that gear adds weight as you have found out and my Jeep needs all the help it can get at altitude. I also ran into free range sheep and cattle on the road but not in the "crop circle" like you did.
Here is one of my favorite photos from the trip, it is a place that most of the people going to Moab Utah miss, it took 25 miles of dirt roads to get to that overlook.

Ken

[dreinecke]

Greg - awesome pictures. The sheep one cracks me up! The new wheels/tires look good on the Patrol tool.

Ken - you need a new Jeep with the 3.6...WOW.