My solution to Spinifex(Hummock...lol) grass........

Submitted: Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 00:24

ThreadID: 41560 Views:3699 Replies:5 FollowUps:4

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Willem

Having done a number of Extreme Cross-Country OFF TRACK journeys, I normally do the following

1. Remove all bash plates from vehicle and leave at home

2. Use one Shade cloth for bullbar and one shadecloth(tied to bullbar) hanging down low so that it drags on foliage(this latter method does not always last very long but it does the job for a while).

3. Check chassis cavities every night.(YES, EVERY NIGHT WITHOUT FAIL!!!)

4. Drive a Nissan GQ which has exhaust covers which protects the hot pipe from coming in contact with grass.

Mainly have grass accumulate at gearbox cross member and in front of fuel tank.

I have also seen an exploration vehicle with shadecloth tied on behind sump with cable ties to wherever. This is sort of double protection against grass collecting.

Have never had a fire issue from grass in 30 years of 4wd-ing

Cheers

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Reply By: Robin - Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 08:20

Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 08:20

Some good points there Willem

The 4800 petrol GU I drive also has those double layered skins on the exhaust system and it runs pretty cool also.

Always been a reason why I do not go for aftermarket exhaust.

Robin Miller

AnswerID: 217420

Reply By: troopyman - Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 09:25

Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 09:25

Well if i could find my book safe outback travel by jack absalom that i have owned for 25 years it would tell me all i need to know about driving in spinifex . Mind you i have never been to the outback .

AnswerID: 217435

Follow Up By: Willem - Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 09:46

Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 09:46

Ahhh........ the venerable Jack A....who advocated somewhere in his writings to burn your tyres to attract attention if broken down in the Never Never...hmmm

FollowupID: 477873

Follow Up By: David from David and Justine Olsen's 4WD Tag-Along - Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 10:11

Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 10:11

Haha...Now thats stupid.

Couldn't he think of burning the spinifex/hummock grass/spikey stuff that sets fire to cars.

FollowupID: 477879

Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 18:01

Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 18:01

A bit out of date - Epirbs are cheaper than tyres now :-))

Jack Absalom and Jeff Carter's books taught be a fair bit about outback travel in 2wd back in the 70's.

FollowupID: 477973

Reply By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 10:33

Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 10:33

Willem, just an interesting thought. With the locusts (spelling??) in wa I have put fly screen across the grill and snorkel air ram to prevent clogging/damage to the radiator. I have noticed a lot of people using shade cloth. When I first looked at doing this I tried blowing through the shade cloth into my hand and barley any air came through.

Now driving a surf alarm bells started going off - EEK temp guage rising in my head.

So I opted for flyscreen instead, which you can get in either nylon or the strong metal form.

Do you reckon that the flyscreen would work as good but allow better air flow, or would it not be as strong as the webbed type shade cloth and just tear?

I know if I was up in Nothwest WA with a fully loaded surf, spinnifex would not be a problem if I had shade cloth on the front of the car cos I'd be stopped every 5 minutes waiting for the engine to cool down LOL!

AnswerID: 217445

Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 18:07

Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 18:07

Jeff,
I think you're right - flyscreen is better than shadecloth, and alumnium flyscreen looks to be better than fibreglass. If you've got a vehicle with good cooling, and travel in winter, it shouldn't matter.

I used to use the lightest shadecloth (about 50% I think), but went back to aluminium flyscreen recently. I run it over the front of the grille, where it works best and is easy to wipe off.

FollowupID: 477975

Reply By: RussellV - Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 12:34

Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 at 12:34

Good stuff Willem!

I wonder how the shadecloth idea would go with a GU 4.2 TD. Apparently, they reckon it's not advisable to block the grill with anything or it may damage the turbo??? Not sure how right that is. Maybe others have soemthing to say on that one!

Cheers

Russ

AnswerID: 217461