Specifications

ENGEL
RON MOON’S
OUTBACK TRAVEL TIPS
For a day trip along the beach
close to home or for a longer
journey whether that’s a year long
extravaganza around Australia
or the world, prior preparation
and planning will always help
you overcome any difficulties and
unplanned occurrences.
Ensure your vehicle battery
and the auxillary battery are
in tip top condition when you leave
on a trip so you’ll have no problems
keeping the food cool and the beer
cold in your Engel fridge. Batteries
mounted close to an exhaust or turbo
really suffer from the heat and will
need to be replaced more often!
What’s best? A solar panel kit
or a small generator? Both have
advantages and both will help keep
your Engel Fridge running when you
are stopped for days on a magical
beach or desert waterhole. Solar
panels aren’t great when its cloudy
and need to be kept pointed at the
sun to be most efficient. Generators
need to be kept supplied with fuel
and can be a little noisy but will
consistently provide more power to
the battery as well as run power tools
and a lot of other electrical equipment
apart from the Engel fridge.
When heading bush always
carry a jerry can of water for
both you and your vehicle. It is better
to carry water in a couple of smaller
containers than in one big one.
Never leave home without it!
Never join two snatch straps by
using a D-shackle. If one strap
breaks you’ll have a deadly missile
flying through the air, which can
easily punch through a window, sheet
metal and/or kill someone.
A good remote area first aid kit
should be in every vehicle when
you head off on a trip. There should
also be someone who knows how to
use it and preferably, someone who
has done a St Johns first aid course
(see: www.stjohn.com.au). The life
that could be saved could be yours or
your loved one.
Don’t try and save money by
taking the shoddiest set of
tyres bush. It’s not only unsafe when
you are travelling at high speeds on
bitumen and dirt roads, but in four
wheel drive country you’ll have a lot
less traction and get more punctures
– remember, 90% of punctures occur
in the last 10% of a tyre’s life. And
replacing tyres in a country town is
always dearer than buying tyres in a
major city!
Always carry basic recovery
gear – a long-handled shovel,
a jack and jacking plate, an axe,
a snatch strap and a couple of
D-shackles. Ensure the D-shackles
are rated with a ‘safe working load’
(SWL) and that your snatch strap is in
good condition.
Tyre pressures (measured
when cool) are the single most
important thing to be aware of when
four wheel driving. In a normal 4WD
vehicle with 15 to 17 inch tyres
loaded for a trip on the bitumen,
tyre pressures should be around
36psi (250kPa). On dirt roads lower
tyre pressures to around 30-32psi
(210kPa- 225kPa). When on a
rough 4WD track for the best traction
lower tyre pressures to 24-26psi
(165kPa-180kPa). When heavily
loaded for a desert crossing similar
tyre pressures will be required. On a
beach, start of at 18-20psi (125kPa-
140kPa). You’ll be able to go lower
if you get bogged, but be very careful
if you are down to 12psi (85kPa) or
so. Always carry a tyre gauge and a
good compressor.
Lastly, a satellite phone or a
HF radio, or one of those new
fangled gadgets, a satellite GPS
Messenger called, ‘Spot’ (see: www.
findmespot.net.au), will allow you to
tell people where you are and how
you are in case of an emergency.
Somebody in your group should have
one – normal mobile phones and
UHF radios very often don’t work
where 4WD adventurers go!
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