What is the most useles piece of 4wd eqipment you have purchased?
Submitted: Saturday, Apr 13, 2013 at 16:59
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Member - The Bushwhackers -NSW
Hi all,
This has been bugging me for a while. I have all sorts of recommended stuff for travelling off-road, but are we wasting money sometimes?
My previous car, and my current one, both came equipped with
winches, but never used so far. I guess I purchased them, as they would have added to the price of the car at purchase time, but I didn't go out of my way to get one. Yes I have standard recovery gear (used on a few occasions for others benefit), and general stuff like compressor etc.
The biggest waste of money so far has been my Hema Navigator 6. My wife and I recently completed The
Darling River Run, much like the one listed here on
treks with a few side trips. The Hema was so innacurate that it was a total joke. I was only using street nav, as I was plotting by major centres, but time and again it would try to send me different ways to the signposts, and take me 10 or 15 klm out of the direction I was after. The 'best' had to be when it said I was at my destination (
Wentworth) while I was sitting next to a signpost saying W 30! Yes I have contacted Hema support, and was told to update my machine. Fine, but how often do I do trips like that? Would I trust it in the 4wd side? No bloody way! ( by the way my Hema 4wd atlas got me
home).
Have you got a gripe or 'what cheeses me off' story? This one really pains me, as it was bought for our first 'outback trip, and failed miserably!
Very disappointed, Hema!
Dave
Reply By: mountainman - Saturday, Apr 13, 2013 at 22:45
Saturday, Apr 13, 2013 at 22:45
worst piece was the heat exchanger shower set up..
waste of money..
good gear but a pain to set up..
best by far my winch, got me out plenty of times, and mates, even done some body work on the cab, with 2 snatch blocks.
on the hema, you need to know how to use it..
people run them on comps, and offroad, and they loove it.
looking at buying one myself..
AnswerID:
508966
Follow Up By: Member - Andrew L (QLD) - Sunday, Apr 14, 2013 at 20:40
Sunday, Apr 14, 2013 at 20:40
Your kidding, it is one of the betetr items I have.
Plumbed in with a suction and shower screw-on fitting on the bullbar, and the pressure pump switch on the plastic on/off switch adjacent on the grill.
Don't even have to lift the bonnet, just a 10/20 litre plastic jerry of water, fit the suction hose, fit the shower hose, nude up and shower away..soap and shampoo on the bulbar, clothes and towel on the bonnet, and a foam mat on the ground. Darn easy and simple.
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Follow Up By: Michael ( Moss Vale NSW) - Sunday, Apr 14, 2013 at 21:36
Sunday, Apr 14, 2013 at 21:36
I agree Andrew, a hot shower in the afternoon, cant beat it, the engine running also charges the batteries for my hungry fridge! Michael
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Reply By: Rangiephil - Sunday, Apr 14, 2013 at 10:24
Sunday, Apr 14, 2013 at 10:24
Funny you know . We all drag around extra diffs,gearboxes etc with 4WD, and they are only ever needed maybe 1% of the time.
But when you need it , you really need it.
To me it is the same with a bullbag. I drag it around for years, then on a club trip the only way to extract a stuck in "vomit" country is to winch and inflate the bullbag under the front of a car to lift it. Or someone gets a flat on a 1 in 3hill ( Mt Walker) and there is no room to put a jack under the car. So to me it's insurance .
I have a Warn 6000Lb portable electric winch which fits to a receiver that I bought over 20 years ago. I have never used it to extract myself, but once used it to recover a car half off a collapsed causeway. I wouldn't have a winch on the front of the car gathering rust, but this is in a neat box which fits in the back floor
well.
So horses for courses I say.
Regards Philip A
AnswerID:
508983
Follow Up By: Member - Serendipity(WA) - Sunday, Apr 14, 2013 at 12:03
Sunday, Apr 14, 2013 at 12:03
I totally agree with Philip
A lot of the extras we might have are for a just in case situation. And there it depends on what sort of travelling you do. Not all of us will go off road in difficult situations and some of the 'must have' gear will be irrelevant. Courses for horses.
I suppose I must have bought stuff over the years that turned out to not be useful in my situation and have generally sold it off. Nowadays I have a pretty tight kit of gear that when I look at it can say when and how it has saved me and justify that because of the
places I go that gear needs to stay with me.
It is always tempting to buy some of the stuff you will see at the 4x4 displays but that is where I really need to
check myself and say do I really need it. In saying that I don't have a winch, I have been stuck but have managed to get out without a winch - eventually. I do have a hi-lift jack which has saved me a couple of times. And I can see some people would use a winch often because of where they go.
Again courses for horses.
Cheers
Serendipity
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Reply By: Echucan Bob - Monday, Apr 15, 2013 at 17:51
Monday, Apr 15, 2013 at 17:51
I was pleased to see the highlift jack nominated. They are heavy, dangerous, difficult to use but look pretty cool when mounted ostentatiously on the spare wheel holder.
Also on my list is the winch. Heavy,
suspension stressing, fuel consuming and useless, but again make a "statement" especially when driven around the suburbs.
My list includes the bull bar (or crowd control bar for the suburb bound 4 WDer). I haven't got one on any of my current vehicles. I haven't hit a roo ever, let alone in over 20 years of owning 4WDs. I reckon if I did hit a roo at speed the bar wouldn't make any difference anyway _ the roo would end up just as dead. Mounting lights is harder without the bar though. To be of any use the bar would have to be steel and weigh a tonne. So you'd do more damage to
suspension etc than you would prevent in a collision.
I also hate generators and chain saws on trips, but they may be a bit off topic.
Bob
AnswerID:
509086
Follow Up By: Member - Scott M (NSW) - Monday, Apr 15, 2013 at 20:10
Monday, Apr 15, 2013 at 20:10
Bob, disagree with you on the bull bar. Wouldn't leave
home without my cow-catcher on the front of the troopy.
So far it's accounted for 3 roos, 2 goats, a stand of silky oak saplings, and about 30 m of bank without a scatch on the 40.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Trouper (NSW) - Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013 at 17:10
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013 at 17:10
Bob..Living on the south coast of NSW I've collected 3 roos in 4 years with no damage to the Troopy. Hate to think of the cost involved if I had no BB. To say their useless is a useless statement.
Jeff
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