Summer 4x4 Off Road Vehicle Exploring

Discussion in 'Overlanding / Off-Road' started by Chuy, May 2, 2017.

  1. Chuy

    Chuy Member

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    I saw a thread on winter 4x4 exploring but wanted to share some summer triple digit off road tips.

    -Water Water Water and Water 5 + Gallons minimum in a BPA free container, I once drank the melted ice water from an ice chest and more than the bathwater taste the plastic leaching from the cooler made my stomach turn. It had a fowl taste unlike anything you could imagine. A garden hose drink would have tasted like SMART water in comparison.
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    - Tarps for shade, worth their weight in gold the bigger the better don't forget the cordage, a lot may be needed if no trees are around to tie down to.
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    - Shemagh or XL handkerchief, doubles as a cooling device when wet and shade

    - ARB fridge, skip the ice chest at best you will get a day out of it, maybe 2 if its a Yeti or Pelican once temps get above 110F, only the block ice will last.
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    - High Carb food and sweets, skip beef jerky and sodium rich chips

    - Bring the tools you need to fix your rig, JEEPers especially, they use all kinds of strange fasteners, metric/imperial, star, torx, security torx, and other odd tools.
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    - Always carry a snatch strap you never know when a Jeep may be around
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    - Always carry a good spare and a plug/patch kit, on this trip I left the full size spare at home.
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    - Lastly simply pack like you are camping for a multi-day over night, with this in mind you should have everything you need until help arrives.

    A couple of side notes:

    sleeping on the ground at night is out of the question in the desert way to many scorpions spiders and scorpions moving around in plain view.

    Bucket seats are nice off road but hard to sleep in at night

    having extra drinks and some food, is better than drinking cooler water and eating a water logged sub sandwich from the gas station.

    Im curious what anyone else has run across in their summer outdoor trips?
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2017
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  2. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    ahhhhhhh an 80 Series !!!! The Quaint Jeep Folk must feel a great sense of confidence when you travel with them know that rescue is but moments away.... :D:D

    Water.... plenty of water.... !!! Dehydration kills more people here in Australia than pretty much any other means. In addition to water means to create shade and a comfortable site to await rescue if it has all gone wrong. Most people here die "walking for help" the chances of surviving are greatly increased by staying with the big visible vehicle.

    Have a means and plan to recover the vehicle from being stuck. Have the knowledge to not get or lessen the risk of being stuck in the first place. Have enough water to sustain you while you recover it if stuck (see water again !!!). Last year I got my 80 bogged up to both axles in a remote area, not so remote I could not have walked for help (it was August here so very cool) but I dug/dragged it out. Took 5hrs to do so and despite it being cool I was lucky I had 10 litres of water in the back I had not unloaded into the house I was camped in. The two litres in my hunting pack was gone in the first hour !!

    You have covered much of what I did mate, (mostly water)...LOL And yes, ice chests/coolers are barely suitable when the temps get right up. There are tricks to improve their versatility but they are also time consuming prior to the trip. I like to have food with me that does not require refrigeration to preserve or water to reconstitute when in the height of summer. I use a 3way fridge that once stopped (or stuck) will run off a 2kg gas bottle (assuming my 12v is not an option anymore as I am stuck) for close to a week.
     
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  3. Bushman5

    Bushman5 Member

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    a panel marker or three. Weighs less than 2 oz's. Hi viz/two color.

    I DO use Pelican coolers (45 Q & 20 Q) . But i prechill them with block ice prior to leaving. I have frozen water in 2 liter bottles, thats my DRINKABLE (no nasty bugs or cooler taste) water, in addition to a couple large Nato cans. Meat is frozen, pretty much everything is frozen. Fresh veggies and cheese and eggs go into the smaller cooler , and I rotate out the ice bottles daily. They refreeze in the big cooler. I cover the coolers with the sleeping bags, in the shade of the truck.

    Temps in Lytton and lilloet BC rival those in AUS. No nasties on the ground except for ticks and rattle snakes in Osoyos BC.

    Great thread.
     
  4. Bushman5

    Bushman5 Member

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    CHUY.....get some jack stands under there man!!!!........please......ive seen and experienced a Hi Lift jack deciding to come down suddenly.......

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  5. Chuy

    Chuy Member

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    Bushman,

    You are spot on, that would have been unfortunate for me. I wish I had jack stands at the time of this break down. This was a field repair of a rear pinion shaft that snapped the ears off. The jack was just used to lift the frame up a few inches to take some pressure off the springs from axle wrap. The diff pinion was pointed almost straight up and I couldn't get the drive shaft yolk aligned without it.

    Like you said I have seen them fail many times in the field if not maintained exquisitely. I have actually been looking into carrying one of these vs the bottle jacks I now use. Its like a hybrid bottle jack/jack stand in one. I love you're Zuk by the way, I had a 4 door sport on a small lift for a short time.

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    Last edited: May 3, 2017
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  6. Bushman5

    Bushman5 Member

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    ^ thats an interesting concept...jack stand and bottle jack......
     
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  7. STPNWLF

    STPNWLF Member

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    That's genius, definitely have to look into those. Wonder if they have different models/load ratings.
     
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  8. CeeFried

    CeeFried Member

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    Loving this thread, couldn't count as high as the amount of people in the bush that are ill prepared hungry and or thirsty! Somethings to add on an already great thread.......as already mention by the Jeep basher Candy...WATER water and when your done packing water pack more water(here in BC and so many take for granted the amount of clean water we have from mountain run offs which is closed minded as not always there , regardless I still take minimum 40l Communications, CB,VHF, SAT Phone or even one of those Delorme Inreach SOS beacons they super cheap now! straps/shackles,a shovel(even a small shovel for is better than none! Sources of light/ warmth/ shelter /comprehensive first aid kit and the best of all common sense and preparedness! One last thing I couldn't trust that bottle jack jack stand combo as if the bottle jack fails so does the idea of the jackstand till it reaches lowest point which looks to be 12" just saying! I'm sure there's more but I slept in and just woke up! Woooo no rain for once SUNNY day
     
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  9. Chuy

    Chuy Member

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    Excellent advice CeeFried, PLB's have come way down in price and COM's are always an excellent idea.

    In regards to the jack/stand combo, I shared your exact same concern, but the jack has an auto engaging safety lever. Not 100% full proof by any means but a nice added safety feature. At about 1:40 you can see how it engages when jacked.

     
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  10. CeeFried

    CeeFried Member

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    Back on board with the jack and jackstand combo what a clever idea and agreed on the not 100% fool proof but nothing a nice solod round of wood or big rock doesn't solve back up just in case is a good life motto for jacking up anything! also I forgot another moocho important thing cheap and shelf life is long 5 years is pretty standard but can be longer I believe...should have in every vehicle house pretty much anywhere you may need....emergency rations low in sodium high calories and very compact size to value for adequate meal size small cube at a time... easily purchase from Amazon even! as I was taught remember if its could be a while or an unknowing amount of time guy may be lost or stuck eat your food according to expiry...if it isn't going to last eat it first! just saying since I never even thought like that till a buddy mentioned it to me! last food for thought....relying on a cell phone is not being prepared!
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2017
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  11. R Stowe

    R Stowe Moderator Staff Member

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    On the topic of water I've been intrigued by those floor board tanks like this one.

    https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/en/us/front-runner-footwell-water-tank.html

    It's a bit pricy but an option versus can or jugs.

    Also that jack is pretty cool. I'm going to pick one of those up.
     
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  12. Benson X

    Benson X Member

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