What not to get!
Submitted: Wednesday, Aug 07, 2013 at 19:14
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Member - Coldee
There are a lot of gadgets on the market and no doubt many are very handy, but I wonder how many are, to put it politely, just something else that takes up space.
I would like to put forward extra
driving lights. If you're travelling it is best to be off the road by dark in the first place. If caught out standard high beam in most vehicles is satisfactory to excellent.
I have lived out west and have driven at night with heaps of roos about (not by choice, just trying to get
home) but standard lights are pretty good now and, to be honest, most external
driving lights are either possum spotters or worm burners ( or both). They are either not adjusted properly or bounced out of whack by rough roads. Unless you live in a remote area you don't need them.
Reply By: olcoolone - Wednesday, Aug 07, 2013 at 19:53
Wednesday, Aug 07, 2013 at 19:53
I would say nearly everything you buy for the first time if it has anything to do with camping and 4 wheel driving, the amount of gear people have sitting in their sheds that the bought when they first started out; used it a few times and relised there was something better must be BIG.
We have found out if we spend good money on something better the first time we don't have that much gear we don't use anymore.
Now! For the
driving lights, we run really big
bright expensive
driving lights on most of our vehicles including work, we find they reduce fatigue 10 fold and are much safer..... the thing about you shouldn't be driving after dust is the biggest crook of **** I have ever heard and would love to find the first person who made the comment.
I'm not having a go at you personally but it's personal choice if you have
driving lights and if you decide to drive in the dark...... for us we have to drive long distances in the dark and we don't live in a remote area.
For anyone who says there standard light are great and it's all you need ...... what can I say without being moderated. LOL
I have never had a light go out of adjustment from driving on dirt roads, years ago when rallying we had to run support straps to stop vibration; but thankfully mounting designs have come along way.
People fit big tyres,
winches, lockers and host of other 4x4 gear that they may only use once a year if lucky..... I have a simple philosophy " It has to work as it is intended to, be functional, be useful and be used".
AnswerID:
516063
Follow Up By: pop2jocem - Wednesday, Aug 07, 2013 at 20:05
Wednesday, Aug 07, 2013 at 20:05
Then there is the philosophy that it is better to have it and not need it rather than need it and not have it!!! (;-))
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: SDG - Wednesday, Aug 07, 2013 at 21:26
Wednesday, Aug 07, 2013 at 21:26
Have travelled to
Adelaide,
Melbourne, and
Brisbane, then back
home( Wagga) a fair few times aver the last 20odd years. Last year, for the first time ever, I saw the road to
Mildura in the daylight. (Never again. Boring as anything) I saw Dubbo for the first time earlier this year.
Prefer to drive at night, although, as of late my body/brain is thinking otherwise.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - johnat - Friday, Aug 09, 2013 at 21:46
Friday, Aug 09, 2013 at 21:46
The original post was in relation to camping - I think - so driving at night and THEN having to set up a van in darkness is not something I'm over much comfortable with! This may have to do with the fact that I have a wind up van to setup, and doing that in darkness is un-wonderful, to say the least!
Still, lighting the world with your headlights/spots/drivers/wide beams is no benefit if there is an oncoming vehicle, and the difference between "full" illumination and "low beam" can be the difference between
bright daylight and moonless night. Far better, I feel, to be comfortable with BOTH levels, rather than to have a huge difference between hi and lo beam illumination!
FollowupID:
795466
Follow Up By: olcoolone - Saturday, Aug 10, 2013 at 08:22
Saturday, Aug 10, 2013 at 08:22
Thats a pretty logical answer, obviously you drive very little at night or you only drive at night in built up areas and this excuse for why you don't like
bright high beams due to when you have to go down to low beam is a strange reason...... so you think it is better to increase the risk for all your driving instead of limiting the risk.
Besides that most (99%) caravanners usually pull up by 2pm in a truck
parking bay for the night and wake at 5am to do another 200 kilometers.
Setting up at night we don't see as a problem.
BTW do you have
driving lights fitted to your vehicle?
FollowupID:
795476
Reply By: member - mazcan - Thursday, Aug 08, 2013 at 14:03
Thursday, Aug 08, 2013 at 14:03
hi all
I never drool at the mouth when I see all the gear some people have with them and in and hanging off/on their vehicles
simply because it was their personal choice
/or a b/sh----g salesman that convinced them that they cant possibly manage with out x amount of gadgets or they have an image they want to live up to
also it was their own money that paid for the items not
mine
so i don't give a toss
some stuff is required and also makes life easier depending how often it is to be used and for what
based on each individuals likes and dislikes
I have bought some items that weren't as good or as useful as I thought it would be but so be it
I paid for it so in the end a bad decision
but that's life
just do what you want and make sure you enjoy it and don't worry about what others think
that's my basic moto for life and so far it's working
well
keep breathing
cheers
AnswerID:
516088
Follow Up By: AlbyNSW - Thursday, Aug 08, 2013 at 18:53
Thursday, Aug 08, 2013 at 18:53
Good call Mazcan
I not real sure of the purpose of this whole thread, what some consider useless is useful to others. Whatever works for you is all that matters
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Reply By: Drew - Karratha - Thursday, Aug 08, 2013 at 19:50
Thursday, Aug 08, 2013 at 19:50
I bought a plastic 'solar' shower from Kathmandu on special (for about $5 - down from close to $50), it leaked like a sieve without being able to turn it off the first time I used it, and was too hard to fill in the first place... I burnt it in the fire to prevent anyone else from losing water too.
I wont take my Webber Baby Q on another remote trip again due to the weight / space / gas bottle required.
The fold-up chair with a built-in foot rest stays at
home.
The COBB now stays at
home unless space isn't an issue, but it is handy...
The cheap air compressor that pumped tyres up from 16 - 12. I made sure I ran it over before I took it back for a refund (and bought a Blue Tongue that has been working faultlessly (slowly) for the past 12 years)
I love my spotties as I try to travel at night - would rather risk the roos and cattle than caravanners, wide loads, and dicXheads trying to pass in the wrong spots. I will upgrade to HID's when funds allow.
My 12v impact wrench has undone bolts that otherwise would have been stuck for another day (Chain guard on a bobcat), and makes wheel rotations a breeze)
My cheap fold-out kitchen is the most ridiculous piece of crap (including backgammon on the top), however when space isn't an issue, it gets a spot as it has a place for the butane cooker, a sink, shelves, hooks to hang things, etc. Each time I unfold it I wonder why I bought it - thinking it must have been VERY cheap. It makes life easy though...
Drew
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Reply By: KevinE - Thursday, Aug 08, 2013 at 20:44
Thursday, Aug 08, 2013 at 20:44
G'day Coldee,
For me (because everyone is different) I could do without the following:
Bullbar: yes, they look the business, but having traveled at least as much as most others on this
forum in remote areas I don't need one (that comment is about me, not anyone else!). Would I buy one? Yup! but coz I like the way they look, not because they do anything special. I remember when they where called "roo bars" lol!
Roof rack: again, I don't need one. In fact, the roads we travel would most likely cause a loaded roof rack to damage our 4WD.
2 way
UHF radio: never needed one, bought one coz I thought I should, but I've never needed to use it. Hate the bloody thing - too much jibbering on it!
GPS: Why would anyone who can read a map ever need one???
Swing out kitchen in the camper trailer; I took it out & sold it after towing it around the country for 15,000km & not ever using it.
Lift kit; once again, they look the business, but why? I tour in remote
places, I don't play in mud or mess around with cars on
rock faces. If I was really serious about climbing extreme terrain, I'd use 2 wheels, not four. Motorcycles crap all over 4WD's in most extreme situations.
Quick up gazebo's: probably great if you're in one spot for a while, but I don't do that. We do short hops, with overnight stops in different locations as a rule.
I'm thinking that there will be all kinds of responses to this question based on age/family situation/how 4WD's are used by individuals & none will be the same.
AnswerID:
516107
Follow Up By: Drew - Karratha - Thursday, Aug 08, 2013 at 20:51
Thursday, Aug 08, 2013 at 20:51
They are the first things I put on a 4x4 - Bullbar, Roofrack, UHF, Lift kit, in-dash touch screen GPS - prob in that order too... Never had a camper trailer as I cant tow the boat too, and the sandfly proof gazebo is a must!! Last holidays I went up North on a fishing trip in a mated Captive without all of the above - never again...
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: KevinE - Thursday, Aug 08, 2013 at 21:02
Thursday, Aug 08, 2013 at 21:02
There ya go Drew,
Like I said, we're all different!
Thanks for your follow-up & happy travels mate! ;-)
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Follow Up By: Drew - Karratha - Thursday, Aug 08, 2013 at 21:27
Thursday, Aug 08, 2013 at 21:27
Hi Kevin - Exactly what I was thinking as I was reading your post - hence my FollowUp! Drew
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Reply By: Echucan Bob - Friday, Aug 09, 2013 at 09:08
Friday, Aug 09, 2013 at 09:08
Some people have dismissed
driving lights as unnecessary. I don't know if you can remember back to when having a heater in a car was an expensive accessory, or when a car radio was a large valve unit that cost as much as the car. We take a lot of things for granted these days. Personally, the things that make long distance travel pleasurable and safe are: climate control, comfortable and infinitely adjustable seats, cruise control, a good entertainment system, and good vision. Some OEM headlights are OK, but none compare with the improvement in vision that HID
driving lights afford. I do a 1200 km round trip through country NSW every few weeks. The bi-turbo diesel BMW X5 ticks all the boxes except for adequate lights, even though it has OEM bi xenons. I added Roo Lites with HID inserts. The BMW dealer is disgusted, but it makes (the unavoidable night part of) my trip a lot less tiring.
The only other extra for these trips are a 10L jerry of diesel, a good compressor and tyre plugging kit, included because the BMW relies on run flat tyres. Thankfully, not needed in the three years I've been doing this trip.
Bob
AnswerID:
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