Was I asking too much of the Pajero?

Submitted: Monday, May 29, 2006 at 20:54
ThreadID: 34394 Views:2877 Replies:8 FollowUps:7
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Hi guys and girls,
Jodie and myself headed out to Limeburners flat via the Wombeyan caves end on the weekend.Spent the first night freezing but soon warmed the tent with the gas heater, Sat morning wanted to go up to the oberon stock route via the steep hill out of Limeburners, all was going well until we got two thirds of the way up and we came to the sudden Very steep incline and with the 1100kg's of camper trailer in tow we lost traction as the ground had previuosly been chewed up and was way too soft to get thru. So had to admit defeat, reverse back down(with jodie out of the vehicle!) and continue back out the way we came in. It was a very casual nice drive though.
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Reply By: Member - Crazie (VIC) - Monday, May 29, 2006 at 21:04

Monday, May 29, 2006 at 21:04
Hi Unlce

My mate just got a new pajero exceed, so we decided to take it up the high country on Sunday for a bit of a test. We took it up the monument track which has some big holes and we were informed by a driver coming down that we might struggle as they did coming down. We put it into low and this thing just crawled up the track. I was really impressed with it.

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Follow Up By: Member - uncle - Monday, May 29, 2006 at 21:13

Monday, May 29, 2006 at 21:13
Hi Crazie,yeah so far we are impressed with ours,we have done this track before but in the opposite direction, and coming down was easy, but this time had the camper on the back as well but I think we'd have made it no worries if the track on this small section had'nt been chewed up.It was just like 8" of soft topsoil for a section of 30 metres but also a VERY steep jump up,the lower section was also steep but we had a hard shale surface and just walked up it. If we had a front mounted winch, I'd have pulled us up,but no way was I doin' it with the ARB hand winch!
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Reply By: Trevor R (QLD) - Monday, May 29, 2006 at 21:45

Monday, May 29, 2006 at 21:45
Uncle,
If you had to retreat then it is fair to say you were asking too much of the Pajero. I am in no way blaming the car entirely haha. Others in the same setup may well have made it, similarly some wouldn't have made it as far as you did.
If you retreat from a situation that doesn't always indicate a vehicle's incapacity but often indicates an individual's unwillingness to damage their pride and joy....not such a bad thing in my opinion.
Keep on enjoying your truck and I hope you find more tracks were you have to retreat. The more you find, eventually the less frequently you will be required to retreat as your confidence grows in both your truck and driving skills.

The 96 Paj I had was a fine offroad vehicle and I only found out it's true capabilities a couple a weeks before it was traded. This was also the last time my partner would ever come wheeling with me. We got that serious for her to say never again.

Cheers, Trevor.
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Follow Up By: revhead307 - Monday, May 29, 2006 at 22:17

Monday, May 29, 2006 at 22:17
lol Trevor

My wife has got out of the vehicle a few times..and yelled at me to stop a few times..

but you win.

Rev
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Reply By: Mad Dog (Australia) - Monday, May 29, 2006 at 22:11

Monday, May 29, 2006 at 22:11
No worries apart from wounded pride eh. Tough too with camper along for the ride.
I had an Nk Pajero years ago that was bluddy useless at climbing hills, can only put it down to the tyres, the make escapes me now but they were basically a highway tyre.
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Reply By: Member - Doug T (QLD) - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 00:01

Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 00:01
Uncle
About 1975 I turned off the Hume [Sesame St] near Mittagong and went around that road past Wombeyan caves and right through to Goulbourn , I was driving a Mazda E4100 Truck with a 27ft trailer behind , is that the road you was on ???
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Follow Up By: Member - uncle - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 06:49

Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 06:49
We were on that road for a while(ya did well with that trailer on!) Its a bugger of a road,very windy, however, we turned off at Langs FT and headed into Limeburners FT. Basically did the caves to caves route in craig lewis's book ,in reverse.Our main plan was to go to Yerranderie, but because we couldn't get up this very steep section that was basically soft sand, with the CT on we headed back the other way.It was quite a steep drop on both sides too,couldn't see the point in taking too many risks,and being the one being laughed at by a recovery squad.As we were miles from help.
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Reply By: brett - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 00:02

Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 00:02
Pobably asking too much of the tyres not the car. If you've got all 4 wheels on the ground the car doesn't have a lot to do with it. What sort of tyres and pressures were you running.
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Follow Up By: Member - uncle - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 06:51

Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 06:51
With my budget i'm running Sime AT's,quite a chunky tread pattern, had 38 in the rears and 34 in the front's..Mind you we were fully loaded with the CT as well,too much ??
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Follow Up By: Keith_A (Qld) - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 08:15

Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 08:15
I would fully agree Brett . Over the years, I have had to learn that lowering tyre pressures (on many terrains - sand, mud, hill climbs) makes all the difference.
It is only after years of 'research' this has sunk into my rather thick skull.
Problem is - in the heat of the moment, the brain just doesn't register the little things like tyre pressure. ( My male ego used to get in the way, and would see the right foot as the only solution. Experience - a great little teacher.)
Drop the tyres to 18psi and it would probably have idled up the damn hill.
(Then again, there are some conditions that are not possible to traverse without a winch. Perhaps the combination of powdery surface, incline and weight was one of these.)
....................regards........Keith
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Reply By: Member - Oldplodder (QLD) - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 07:59

Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 07:59
Uncle,
Reckon you did the right thing erring on the side of caution.
I would rather have a whole car to tell the tale than a wrecked one and a long walk.
Must be getting cautious in my old age!
But I suppose that the value of experience.
Now, do you think you would have got through without the CT?
If yes, the pajero isn't the limiting factor :-o
Maybe a tent next time.
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Follow Up By: Member - uncle - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 08:03

Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 08:03
Morning Old plodder, yep the Paj would have done it easy without the CT,have had it up inclines this steep before with no problems. But the CT did feel very heavy behind us.Cheers mate.
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Reply By: Richard W (NSW) - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 08:02

Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 08:02
Two mates went through in Diesel NP's about 12 months ago. One was towing an off road camper. Not sure what the track condition was like at the time or the tyres they were running.
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Reply By: Member - bushfix - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 08:20

Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 08:20
so did you get to yerranderie and have a coupla coldies and a chuckle with the wife?
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Follow Up By: Member - uncle - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 09:55

Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 09:55
No, we ended up changing plans and had a good laugh out at Wombeyan caves for one night and then spent another night at Wollondilly River stn,both camping areas were superb.Will save Yerranderie for another w/end.
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