4WD Course recommendation in Brisbane area
Submitted: Monday, Jan 22, 2007 at 14:51
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Member - Lis & Paul (NZ)
Hi,
We are heading to
Brisbane to buy a 4WD in March. We'd both like to do a course on basic 4WDing so I have some questions. I'm thinking of doing a 1-2 day 2(of us) with 1 instructor with our newly purchased vehicle. As we are both fairly useless mechanically - and know nothing about diesels I am wondering if we could find a custom course which would also explain stuff like how to
check fluids (I do know where the radiator is but thats about it) , adjust tyre pressures, where the jack points are on our vehicle, and maybe advise what spares/tools we should carry.
I know about the 4WD clubs and they sound fine if we were going to be living here - but as we are looking at arriving/buying vehicle, equiping vehicle doing course and heading south it does sound very practical. Also I don't really want to be in a group situation were we have specific needs a bit different from the general run of the mile punter
Thanks for your help
Lis
Reply By: Steve63 - Monday, Jan 22, 2007 at 16:27
Monday, Jan 22, 2007 at 16:27
Don't know of any specific courses in
Brisbane but you may want to revise the order and do the course first. I would ring a few
places and see what you need to bring. We started how you are planning to and would have made different choises in equipment if we had done the course first. Over the years you tend to collect all the stuff anyway ie longer straps etc but it is cheaper to buy the right stuff first up.
One on one is more effective training re hands on but others can often ask questions you have not even thought of.
You need to have a good idea where you are going to get specific answers. The further you go away from civilization the more gear you tend to need.
There is plenty of info on this site re
tools and spares under vehicle setup. Don't forget about a
first aid kit and make sure you have some idea about how to use it. Make sure you can do the easy stuff like change hoses, fan belts and tyres. This is often what breaks and is easily sorted with very basic skills. You may want to get a
Gregories workshop manual for the vehicle. They are reasonably cheap and can help with troubleshooting. Have a decent map.
Remember people die every year iin the outback. Make sure that you know the drill (carry plenty of water, stay with vehicle etc) and that someone knows where you are and will miss you. There is a booklet called "Travelling safely in the outback" or something similar that should help on this front. Paranoia is not a bad trait if you are traveling alone in remote areas. Even if you are not planning to go really remote it is not hard to lose your way and be off regularly travelled routes.
Have a good trip.
Steve
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