Just how unprepared can you be !

Submitted: Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 08:31
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Driving up the highway Saturday we were waved over by some teenagers driving an older GQ patrol, they had obviously spotted our Patrol and were pulled over in a bad spot and looked like they had tyre trouble.

They were pulling a small beaten up boat and sure enough a quick look showed a fully delaminated rear passenger tyre on the car.

They had been there for 2 hours getting nowhere, didn't even have anything to drink.

So I offered to help them change the spare wheel.

Turns out they had left home with a faulty spare, not just flat
but with a big tear in it, with no hope of it being repairable.
In fact a third person had hitched off to a town 30k up the road with the spare in the hope of buying a replacement tyre.

Talking to one he indicated that the failed tyre had even had a slow leak
and of course they had no pump or anything.

So they waved me down with the plan to borrow my spare wheel and drive
to the town.

I reluctantly agreed to the plan, so they began to jack up the car
only to find they had no jack handle and where using a 6 inch shifter (there only tool).

Looked like an accident in the making to me so I got my stuff out.

Got the wheel off, and you could see that the delaminated steel belt had
torn out the rear wiring loom.
They new that and had tie in back up against the chassis rail
out of sight and out of mind I guess, bare wires and all.

Made them tidy this mess up then they put my wheel on whereupon we discovered that they had old style Nissan alloy wheels which used a big flat flanged wheel nut.

These nuts can't be used with normal Patrol wheels so they were stuffed again.

I probably could have taken a nut of each of my other wheels to fit it and would have in a real emergency but not here.

Didn't have a high level of sympathy for there plight be I agreed to pick up
there mate in the town and bring him and the wheel back.

Looking into the small boat it seemed to have not even a life jacket and
the local Lake Eildon has claimed quite a few unprepared fishing parties.

I don't know, I don't think even when I was young poor student I would have headed off on a trip so unprepared - but maybe my memory has faded.
Robin Miller

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Reply By: Allan B (Member, SunCoast) - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 08:43

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 08:43
Ah, the foolishness of youth. To be wondered at but not openly endorsed.

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Follow Up By: Robin Miller - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 16:19

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 16:19
Your right Allan - I'm sure we must have done similar but not to be admitted in wrong company.
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Follow Up By: Member - nick b - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 17:49

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 17:49
I have a chuckle to myself at time when I think back to some of our adventures , 4wding & shooting trips around Alice springs back in the 70's ,
I think I could right a Blog on all my unprepared foolish trips & adventures .
but i'm still here living & learning .

cheers nick

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Follow Up By: dazren - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 20:00

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 20:00
AH !!! Of course we all did foolish things when we were young, I did and i bet you did to ?? I remember when i was 16, and one of our mates was 18 and just got his license, bought an old FC Holden for $90.00 we all put in for petrol and went off for a week-end drive to Mallacoota, on the NSW border, it was a long way from melbourne, we had a great weekend, and sunday afternoon we decided it was time have a feed, and then head off home again,
So we pooled our money together, and came up with a total of $6.00 between us, with an almost empty tank, and 4 very empty young bellies ??

What did we do ??? the same as you would have done, we spent the $6 on a feed of chips and potato cakes, waited till dark, found 3 old 1 gallon petrol containers at the back of a shop, we then cut about 6 foot off someones garden hose, found a car to milk some petrol out of, and away we went, had to drive thru the night, and stop about 4 - 5 more times in little country towns to milk another 3 gallons, but we got back to melb, no problems, It was Not the right thing to do, but then again no real harm done eh ! dazren
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Follow Up By: Member - nick b - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 21:14

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 21:14
dazren : so you would have stolen robin's wheel & wallet !!!!
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Follow Up By: SDG - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 22:55

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 22:55
I'm amazed i'm still alive. If I tried anything now like what I did as a teenager, I would end up in serious trouble.
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Reply By: Member - DAZA (QLD) - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 09:05

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 09:05
G/Day Robin

Some times they need a bit of Guidance.

I know a lot of us will educate our kids re: Motor Vehicles either by them taking an interest when we use to work on our vehicles, or us taking an interest in theirs.

Some unfortunately don't have people to show any interest at all.

And the other problem for young people is dollars, they are flat out putting fuel in the tank let alone keeping it well maintained.

I suppose we all thought we were bullet proof in our youth lol lol.

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Reply By: x4by4 - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 12:41

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 12:41
Its not only the young ones.
Reminds me of a dark night two years ago at 01:00 just inside Vic border from SA. Going up a long hill I see an old car on the edge of the road boot up and a bloke in the boot.
I overshot and decided to reverse back 100m to look with all lights on. Decided it was probably safe and parked behind him.
Well he had a front LH flat, and was trying to undo the spare from the boot but the thread was rusted below the floor level. Using a length 4x2 timber (mine) he finally broke the plastic top cover to free the wheel. Tyre thread look good (not bald).

Then he used the scissors jack and was winding it up under the front floor. I repositioned the jack on the seam and made him chock the wheels.
No wheel brace to undo the bolts. Ok I lend him mine.
Wheel changed, lower down and its flat. He has no tyre gauge but blind Freddy can see its flat.
No pump, so I get my Bushranger II
Battery is flat.
Reposition my Toyota to the front to run the pump and jump start him.
The car was about 20 yrs old and showing its age, it had wheel bolts not stud/nuts he was in his 50s I guess, and looking a bit down and out.
Anyway he asked “How much do I owe you?” I would have loved to say $50 just to see the look on his face, but of course you don’t charge a bloke on the side of the road, so we shook hands and off he went.
Summary: he could not get his spare free without assistance
Could not undo the wheel bolts
Spare was flat with no pump
Battery was flat
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Follow Up By: Robin Miller - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 16:13

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 16:13
You gotta wonder sometimes X4 don't you.

You remind me of Xmas when we meet an old 60 series bonnet up oil light flashing on a 4wd track on dark with 3 kids. Gave him some oil and he reached into his pocket and all he had was 3 gold coins , like you couldn't take them , but again it really does make you wonder sometimes.
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Follow Up By: x4by4 - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 17:24

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 17:24
Robin,
Another unprepared pair were two aussie kids 17 and 19 yrs old, hitchhiking on the Nullabor about 30km west of Ceduna when it was still dirt. Not much traffic then and they had no water of food with them. They had been on a motorbike that broke down and they left it off the rd and started walking. Ended up dropping them off in Perth the next day.
Yep, it does make you wonder
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Reply By: workhorse - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 14:41

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 14:41
I think these are good examples of helping out those who need it. An almost forgotten art that we older (hope I don't offend anyone here) people remember as just being part of everyday life and living in a community. For me it still goes on as I live in small rural town where my faith in humanity inconstantly being reinforced. Seems it's becoming a rarity now.
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Reply By: Member - Tony (ACT) - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 15:18

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 15:18
Reminds me of a couple of years ago, wife and I are on our way up to Cairns, driving north from Hebel through a bit of flood water. See a car pulled up on the edge of the road in the dark, so stopped about 50m behind with my lights on.

There is a bloke down beside the LH rear tyre no light trying to change a flat.

End of the story is I changed his tyre put all his gear in the boot, it turns out he was thew local minister from St George, who ended up putting us up for the night and breakfast the next morning.

All we had to do was a tour of the church the next day. So it pays to help out no matter who they are or how unprepeared they might be.
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Follow Up By: Bazza - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 16:28

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 16:28
It's also the very old .....

I was going home very late from work one night when I spotted two elderly ladies in white bowling outfits standing beside their small car in the break-down lane. It was about 10.30 at night and I was concerned for their safety, so I stopped to see if they were OK. Apparently they were on their way home from a function when the car stopped. As soon as I got out of my car I could smell hot oil and after lifting the bonnet I soon discovered the problem. There was oil everwhere and a hole about the size of your fist through the side of the motor. I asked them what happening and they said "it just grinded to a stop". I asked them if the orange/red oil warning light was on and they said that it had been on for the 20-30klms. I then asked the driver if she'd thought of stopping and her exact words were ....." I was waiting for something else to happen". It did!
I did have a laugh, unfortunatly at their expense.
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Reply By: Jack - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 16:59

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 16:59
"Just how unprepared can you be !" - isn't that a bit rich comming from you Robin?

I apologise if I have mistaken you for the wrong person, but arn't you the same person who was confronted by long standing ponded water on last years desert trip and then had to drive cross country for a few days creating deep ruts and unnecessary environmental damage to get out of it, all because you did'nt take the necessary pre-trip research?????

Again, sorry if I have mistaken you for someone else.
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Follow Up By: workhorse - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 20:20

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 20:20
Ah, and it was going along nicely before this.
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Follow Up By: Member - Serendipity(WA) - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 20:24

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 20:24
Jack I think there is a bit of a difference here.

I think there is a difference between meeting unforeseen circumstances but being able to deal with them and just being not prepared for anything.





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Follow Up By: Robin Miller - Tuesday, Feb 28, 2012 at 07:57

Tuesday, Feb 28, 2012 at 07:57
With that amount of spin I suspect you must have voted for Julia Jack .


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Reply By: Axle - Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 22:04

Monday, Feb 27, 2012 at 22:04
G/Day Robin,....LOLTheres also a saying theres no Fool like a old fool !!!

Did a 1000k trip in one day recentley, in the cruiser only to realise the so called spare was a flat candidate from the last trip, Totally forgot about it

Pure Arse gets you there sometimes!!


Cheers Axle.
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Follow Up By: Robin Miller - Tuesday, Feb 28, 2012 at 07:59

Tuesday, Feb 28, 2012 at 07:59
I think it must be age slowing our memories Axle.
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Reply By: Member - Boobook - Tuesday, Feb 28, 2012 at 06:45

Tuesday, Feb 28, 2012 at 06:45
LOL.

There are a bunch of people with no preparation and one guy who is meticulous with his research and preparation. What a contrast.
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Reply By: Member - Dunworkin (WA) - Thursday, Mar 01, 2012 at 02:07

Thursday, Mar 01, 2012 at 02:07
Many years ago we were travelling across the Nullabor trying to get to Adelaide as my Grandmother was sick and in Hospital.
The car we had at the time was a Plymouth which Dad had been hammering to get across in time, however around Nullabor Station the car just stopped, Dad tried everything to get it going but no success. Anyway by the end of the day, (no traffic out there in those days) the owner of Nullabor Station happened along heading home, as was always the case back then he stopped and on hearing our plight stated that every part of his car (luckily a dodge) would be taken off and put on ours so that we could get going again, they finally got ours going, when ours started he just told Dad and Mum to get going, someone would come looking for him fairly soon, he would just wait. We went off and Mum and Dad were fortunate enough to get to the Hospital before my Grandmother died.
On the way Home Dad and Mum called into the station to give them a gift for their help, (they wouldn't take any money at the time). The guy said he put all the parts that had come off our car on to his, he turned the key and off it went, he said the parts were still on his car and working well when we got back. That's how it use to be and looking on here there are still a lot of helpers around.


Simba, our much missed baby.

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