What tools and spares have you ACTUALLY needed to use while 4WDing?

Thanks Mick,

I will be doing 7 weeks in the Kimberley. But what I am looking for is not advice about what people think I need so much as people sharing what they have actually used (or what someone they know has used).

OzBadDude

A home made welding kit. On top of the normal tools and spares mentioned throughout the post, my homemade kit has served me well on many of my trips for both my repairs and others. Last trip we had trailer issues on several occasions. Also spring and coil issues on this and previous trips. Kit comprises simply a hand piece, earth clamp and lengths of welding cable with Battery clamps on the end (Of course I'm presuming you have a twin battery set up in your vehicle).

Cheap and easy to put together yourself, not heavy or too bulky and with a small pack of general purpose welding rods, can get you out of some real strife.






Cheers Mick

Mick,

I like those adjustable tent poles in your first video. Easy to adjust, respond to voice command, and stow on the roof rack with just a few occy straps.
Nice.

Bob

Loved the videos!

Phil, I have been looking at a 2007 Diesel Range Rover, how reliable are they? They are cheap at the $35G mark, so that worries me some. Im thinking about a bit of comfort in my old age!! Michael

Don’t be silly Phil, you shouldn’t be putting tap water into your radiator – whether it’s a cruiser or not.
Maybe that’s why you destroy water pumps.

A 2007 Diesel Range Rover for $35K - well I would run far, as that is way way below what they would be worth - closer to $60K.

Garry

I am a bit of a "luddite " when it comes to modern cars with air suspension and electronic everything.
My concern with an RRS is what I call "contingent liability", which is the possibility of a MAJOR problem that will cost lots. Also the RRS is just a D3 in drag with half the load space so I cannot see the point.

To me a deal breaker is the 19 or 20 inch wheels with low profile tyres. One member of a club to which I belong ruined 11 tyres on an outback trip to the NT.

If the suspension fails you will not find someone to fix it outside of Darwin or Perth.

If a turbo fails THE BODY of the car must be removed from the chassis to gain access. I find this unbelievable, and I am a Land Rover tragic.
All the D3 /RRS owners rave about the pleasure of driving their cars but to me ownership is more than driving. Once out of warranty they can cost heaps. The 2.7 diesel is not rebuildable so if you have a problem below the heads , a new engine is required.

So I decided to buy a D2 diesel with coil springs. They are relatively possible to DIY if not easy as you need triple jointed wrists to get to some parts. But at least you are not hostage to a dealer if something goes wrong out of warranty, and there are no specialists around.
Regards Philip A

BTW the only spares worth taking for an RRS are a sat phone and roadside assistance as there is very little you can do yourself unless you have an electronic device to reset things.
Even if you adjust the handbrake it needs to be reset with a dealer electronic device.
Thisis also true of my D2 , but I have bought a Nanocom which enables me to reset anything on the car.
Regards Philip A

Michael did say Range Rover which is a completely different car to a RRS.

To the RRS there is really no more chance in it breaking down than any other make. Your point on space is more to do with the shape of the space but depends on how many people you have - certainly the D3 has better shape to it.

You can put 17" rims on the 2.7s and 18" rims on other models so tyres are not the stoppers you think.

The suspension is very simple and you take things to do repairs if the worst happens which is a bag failure which is virtually unknown. If worried take a spare and fix on the side of the road. There is a manual inflation kit if the compressor fails but changing cheap consumable parts in the compressor before you leave and carry in the spares kit - again not a big deal.

Yes if a turbo fails (and how many really fail) the body comes off - BUT it is designed for this - a few hours to take off and put back on - no skinned knuckles working in tight spots - see what has to be done to change an alternator in a LC TDV8 - probably takes longer than a turbo on a RRS.

I am not sure where you got the idea the engine is not rebuildable as most parts are available but often cheaper to just replace. Though the engine is exceptionally reliable. Other repairs are no more expensive than most other cars but there are people who will take your money if you are not wary.

Like all vehicles, you need to understand your vehicle before taking it offroad. The RRS is no different. Yes a tool to read codes is helpful - can be as cheap as a $150 scanguage for simple codes, to a $350 basic Faultmate for most things to the full on gear that dealers use.

Garry , we are both on the AULRO forum so see all the same stuff.

If the poster was referring to a Range Rover there is even more need to be careful.
As you will know from the AULRO forum almost every TD6 diesel has a auto trans failure before 160KK.
RR Front suspension failures are becoming more common and AFAIK there is no pump up fix in the field as it is an o ring failure. On a recent club trip written up in the club magazine the only L322 Range Rover on the trip had a failure before Broken Hill and could not get it fixed until Adelaide.

Quote I am not sure where you got the idea the engine is not rebuildable unquote. From the AULRO forum comments from the technicians with experience. There is a thread live at the moment regarding just this. In any case the cost of a lower end failure is approachingf $10K and these seem to be getting more common as the cars get older. Also there is the 2.7 oil pump boss failure, which I was told about by a leading specialist who now insists on replacing the boss every time the belt is changed.( at an additional cost of $700)
Not everyone is an enthusiast like you and I and willing to spend $2000 plus on new rims and tyres. The car I cited was a D4 3.0 on which the owner had actually bought 18 inch rims and still had multiple failures.
On a club trip from Sydney to Darwin last year there were 4 D3 and D4 . 3 had tyre problems with one ( the one above) with many.
One suspension deflated south of Litchfield and had to drive to Darwin on the bumpstops.
Oh I forgot the screeching and locking on parking brake. Out of 4? D3/D4s on sand driver training for my club one parking brake locked on and had to be released manually , probably then calling for a dealer visit to clean and reset.

I am not using "rumours" to cite these instances. They are actual examples from people I know.

However they still love their D3/D4s and RRSs but I personally could not afford to have such failures so I stated "contingent Liability" ie something that may not happen but has to be planned for.

Gents,

could you take your Range Rover/Landrover conversation elsewhere. It's not relevant to this specific thread. Start a new one by all means but the OP has asked a specific question about "tools".

Thanks in anticipation of your consideration for the postee.


The squad

Yes agree to some extent but my response to points raised by Phil also apply to the OP - he was after real life experiences - knowing your vehicle and understanding what is likely to play up is one of the first considerations in working out what you need to take and how to set up your vehicle. If the OP was able to address similar issues with respect to his own vehicle to what Phil raised with the RRS then he will be well on his way to working out what equipment/tools/preparation would be needed.

That's roughly what we carry routinely - maybe a bit less on soft trips and a bit more when going remote. The only major additions I'd make to olcoolone's list are oils, tyre repair gear and a good compressor. If going seriously bush then it's assumed that the vehicle has been comprehensively serviced, including replacing belts and hoses, and we'd carry the old ones as spares.

Cheers

John

Thanks, both of you. That's helpful! Also, which of those things have you actually had to use?

OzBadDude

We've been traveling remote since sometime last century. This is the stuff we wouldn't travel without. Whether we've used it or not it will always be there. Do not try to minimise the stuff you'll need to get you home safely - much better to have it with you and not need it than to need it and not have it!

Which have we used? No idea. Most, probably all, over the past couple of decades.

Forgot to mention the first aid kit. We will always carry it, but like most of the tools and spares, we'll hope we bring it home unopened!

Cheers

John

LOL the grog of course! And used on every trip.

Don't hold back mate, let them all out and release the built up tension LOL

But with a Toyota you will need to carry a spare body as the current will be rusted out after your first water crossing.

You assume too much.
I never put tap water in my radiator only distilled water and Nulon Longlife every 2 years. before my last trip in the Classic I had the radiator rodded after 11years of service and it was still clean inside and there was NO corrosion in the engine after 240kk.

However I suspect that the Karratha Toyota dealer used Karratha tap water in the Land Cruiser radiator that failed after 1 year. I do not know about my friend in Perth whose 80 series radiator died at about 130KK. The point is that Land Cruiser OEM radiators seem to be poor quality from that sample. I must admit that I was envious that the radiator was the only problem he had, although he never took it off the bitumin.
Regards Philip A

Hi Phil or Rangiephil– I assume you are addressing me, but who knows?.
I was being polite using the term silly.
Your quote “PS if you have a Cruiser for sure change the radiator especially if you live in WA ( minerals in water) “
Change the radiator? Using tap water? – What are you on about? How long have you been 4WDriving?

Dennis, I cannot understand your aggression. Am I insulting the Toyota religion.

I think any person competent in English would understand that this was in the context of "If your car has done 160kk then you should change just about every "consumable " item before your trip". If I owned a Land Cruiser with 160KK with the original radiator I personally would have it rodded before any long trip and I would suggest that there would be few that would still be servicable.

My experience suggests to me that Toyota radiators are susceptible to damage from poor quality water , as IMHO a failure of a replacement OEM radiator in 12 months was exceptional and something I had not seen before.
The failure was a tube corroding through which is nearly always caused by mineral blocking and the radiator was replaced by the Karratha Toyota dealer.Karratha and many other WA areas have very heavy mineralisation in their tap water , and I do not trust dealers to use distilled water.
I guess I haven't seen everything as I have only been 4WD for 40 years in about 10 countries.

Regards Philip A

As per squad post in the thread above...enough. The responses to Baz's thread are not relevant to the topic. Please confine it to the topic at hand.

Many thanks

The squad

This post has been read by the moderation team and has been moderated due to a breach of The Chit Chat Rule .

Forum Moderation Team

My apologies to the original poster. It was a simple question to a non member so I can't MM him. Sorry about that! Michael

AND

multigrips
open ended spanners
ring spanners
hose clamps
WD-40
drift/punch

WOW!

That's a huge list! You actually used all of that in 30,000km?

For similar KM's this year, I used;

* standard vehicle jack once (blown tyre near Timber Creek)

* standard wheel brace once (re the above)

* Phillips head driver to replace a 7 pin trailer plug I lost near Oodnadatta (replacement bought in Alice Springs)

* Cable ties constantly (rocks hitting them on dirt roads & snapping them)

* soldering iron twice to repair electrics in CT

* crimping tool & wire stripper twice - to replace Anderson Plugs that I lost on rough dirt roads (replacements bought at Tibooburra & Innamincka)

That's all I can think of.

Like most, I carry heaps more, but that's all I've really had to use.

Thanks for your suggestions. I do have an EPIRB.

Agree about the hi lift jack, mine stays at home and have never regretted leaving it there, hydraulic bottle jack has been very handy though

What size shifter was that Rick? ??

Big shifter

or

Metric shifter

Ha ha

Regardless of the vehicle make, it sounds like you've practiced the "6 P" principle, something I swear by. On any trip accidents and mishaps can still happen (and do) but;

Prior Preparation Prevents Piss-Poor Performance.


;-)

Cheers Mick

Well the Landy did half let me down in July this year, but no tools were involved. I had a bad mud incident on the track through Warburton Crossing. The mud set rock solid and wrecked an ABS sensor leaving me without ABS, Terrain Response, Cruise Control and Stability Control. I actually had to steer the thing.... The nearest Star Fleet base was Adelaide so I just drove it back to Sydney with every warning light on the Star Ship console flashing. To its credit, the warp drive was still operational. Back in Sydney I had to wait 3 weeks for a new sensor from Star Fleet headquarters in the UK.

Ron,
You sound like a man after my own heart. I too carry a heap of "non specific" odds and ends. Bloody marvelous what you can cobble together with fencing wire, zip ties, duct tape, nuts and bolts and a fair helping of imagination.

A helping of your favourite brew, whether that be tea or something a bit stronger always helps to make the problem look manageable.

Cheers
Pop

Good idea,
I knew a guy once who had his spare key taped in the engine compartment.

He had a length of "coat hanger wire" linked to the bonnent opener and the other end was accessible underneath the engine in a discrete location. If he wanted to get the key he would get under the engine pull the wire and the bonnet would open.