Urban 4WD uses
Submitted: Sunday, Jan 25, 2004 at 22:37
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Member - StevenL
Hey Guys,
Just watched the Skyshow fireworks in
Adelaide. It is a half hour show for Aust Day weekend and is one of the best displays in Oz. I live in North
Adelaide only a km or so away from the park where it all happens but people come from
miles around in their thousands.
The whole suburb is parked out by about 4pm for the 9pm show. Still they come in their thousands driving around trying for the
parking spot. This is when the Urban 4WD hero comes to life! They park on the median strips, climb over gutters, traverse footpaths and do all manner of incredible (and incredibly stupid!) manouvers all the while ignoring the blasts of the horns and abuse hurled by the car drivers held up while they attempt to wedge said 4by into that almost accessible spot.
It occurs to me that this is about as off road as some of these shiny Disco's and Paj's et al get. It is soon apparant as they push up the gutter with rear wheels spinning that they have not even engaged the 4WD properly. Lord help these people when they actually go bush!
I've seen some interesting sights to tonight. If these people all stay in the city then it should be all the more quiet for the rest of us as we ExplorOz.
StevenLPrado GXL TD Manual
It's on order, Delivery in April '04.
This
pic will have to do till then. Can't wait!!!
Reply By: Diesel1 - Monday, Jan 26, 2004 at 10:08
Monday, Jan 26, 2004 at 10:08
I'm a Top Ender where generally the majority of 4wd owners do use their vehicles off-road. I guess you could say people up here own 4wd's more out of necessity than just for a weekend toy. Having worked at the local Toyota dealer, I witnessed some incredibly stupid things over the years and the following was a ripper.
A bloke wandered into the workshop one day carrying a 100 series Landcruiser rear cross member (spare wheel winch attached) and he was obviously peeved & disgruntled about something. The story was that he had a flat tyre around about halfway between
Borroloola &
Wollogorang and when he had attempted to change it, he couldn't lower the spare because the handle would not mate with the winch.
He said that he had to unbolt the cross member and then wait 2 days for somebody travelling through to lend him a hacksaw so that he could cut through the winch cable. The following conversation took place:
Me: Sir, did you read your owners handbook?
Him: Why should I, I know how to change a tyre.
Me: Sir, why did you not fit the winch handle security attachment so that you could lower the spare?
Him: Didn't know there was such a thing.
Me: Sir, did you read your owners handbook?
Him: ----------- no answer.
It scares me to think that there are people like this travelling to
places where ignorance or stupidity could very
well cost lives. This bloke by the way had only owned his vehicle for 6 weeks - his first 4wd.
Diesel1
AnswerID:
44336
Follow Up By: joc45 - Monday, Jan 26, 2004 at 12:30
Monday, Jan 26, 2004 at 12:30
Hi Diesel,
Similar thing happened to us at
Ningaloo - following friends in their 12-month-old 100 series and noticed their spare swinging from the chain. Called them on the radio, and caught up to them. Much scratching of heads as they tried to work out how to wind the chain up. Handle wouldn't fit. Read the handbook? - No. I noted that it needed the security device. Where is it? Dunno - the dealer was blamed for not including it. I looked in the glove box and found two, neatly wrapped in plastic, never opened. Wheel wound back up, on our way again.
And this was the second 100 series they'd owned.
Then again, I shoudn't be too critical - we came back from a wilderness trip and found that I'd left the key to the spare wheel padlock on the workbench in the garage. Whoops!!
Gerry
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Follow Up By: Diesel1 - Tuesday, Jan 27, 2004 at 08:33
Tuesday, Jan 27, 2004 at 08:33
G'day Gerry,
I guess you're right about being too critical - I've made some monumental blunders over the years, but I've never made the same blunder twice. Some people go through life never learning from their stuffups and it this type that create a lot of inconvenience to others. I've knocked around the outback for most of my working life (40 years) and have been involved in a few rescues and quite a few vehicle recoveries and there seems to be 2 common factors - ignorance & stupidity.
In this day & age every man and his dog are heading out to experience the beauty and splendor of the outback and too many of them just don't have the knowledge or expertise to get themselves out of trouble when it happens.
I believe in what Henry Ford stated: 'anything more complicated than a
kitchen fork is bound to fail' and I reckon all outback travellers should take on that philosophy. It keeps you on the ball, especially in relation to trip planning and preventative maintenance.
Diesel1
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