D40 on the Old Telegraph Track

[Pete22]

Just thought I'd share a few pics of my recent trek along the Old Telegraph Track on Cape York. I had to recover a couple of times.....sunk in the mud in Logan's Lagoon (just to the south of Nolan's Brook) and did a self recovery out of Cannibal Creek. As we all know the D40 is not the greatest off road weapon, at least not in the fitout that mine has, but it was good fun anyway. Nothing that a winch couldn't fix. IMO the biggest problem with the D40 is the very poor ramp over angle that is a natural consequence of the veeeeeeeeeeery looooong wheelbase. Guess a set of 37 inch super swampers and a 5 inch lift would fix that though eh?

 

[4x4 ST-R]

Nice work mate. Even thought you do have the extra loooong wheel base, at least you still get out there and make the most of it. Great pics. Show us some pics when you get your lift and 37inch tyres. Haha

 

[Karlos Montoya]

Awesome pics! Did she leak at all?

 

[Eug]

Some nice pics mate.

How did the BFGs go? 32s?

 

[Pete22]

Awesome pics! Did she leak at all?

Yep sure did both in the cab and in tub. The water in the cab only happened because I was parked in the lake for a good 15 minutes setting up the winch and water also got in when I opened the door.....a necessary evil I'm afraid. No real problem though as all was dry again in 2 days.

 

[Pete22]

Some nice pics mate.

How did the BFGs go? 32s?

I'm a BFG fan and they are 265 70R16s or 31 inch. I reckon they are probably the best all rounder tyre and I get around the 90000km from them.

 

[KraftyPg]

Nice pics, although I do feel sorry for the poor bugger that has to get up and light the BBQ

 

[Pete22]

Nice pics, although I do feel sorry for the poor bugger that has to get up and light the BBQ

I carried that 4kg gas bottle as a spare (I have a 9kg bottle on the camper) and you know what......never used the bloody thing once. Reckon I'll only take that when I hear off on my own with the tent after this experience.

 

[KraftyPg]

If we all had a dollar for everything we've taken on a trip and never needed I'm sure we'd all be rich.

Different spares for different trips and although my trips are all really just touring I've cut down my spares list to almost nothing these days. Sure I might get caught one day without an air filter but carting an air filter, and oil filter, 15 bottles of oil 10 bottles of coolant, 400 electrical connectors 50m of electrical cable and who knows what else having used none of it on previous trips just doesn't seem worthwhile these days. Of course for serious trip I'd take more than I do for touring but I still look a lot more carefully at the final list than just taking one of everything..

 

[Pete22]

Here's a few more pics to whet your appetites.....this is a great trip to do and if anyone wants the trip plan I put together just email me and I'll sent it to you. Might be a good starting point for your next trip

 

[Pete22]

These couple of pics were taken on the very last day of the trip proper....after this we had a couple of weeks in Cairns and surrounds. These falls are on the Bloomfield River and the croc was sunning itself on a rock about 30 metres from the walking path. Also....as you may recall.....I had a fail to proceed on the final section over the Donovan Range to Cape Tribulation. The filler/dip stick tube on the auto transmission cracked near the box and leaked about 2 ltrs of fluid....enough to bring me to a halt. Thank God for NRMA Premium Care as not only did I get recovered from here to Cairns but also got a hire car for a week while awaiting repair. Gotta give a big tick to Westco Motors (Nissan) in Cairns but would hate to be somewhere there wasn't an International Airport as it took a full week to get the part.

 

[Pete22]

If we all had a dollar for everything we've taken on a trip and never needed I'm sure we'd all be rich.

Different spares for different trips and although my trips are all really just touring I've cut down my spares list to almost nothing these days. Sure I might get caught one day without an air filter but carting an air filter, and oil filter, 15 bottles of oil 10 bottles of coolant, 400 electrical connectors 50m of electrical cable and who knows what else having used none of it on previous trips just doesn't seem worthwhile these days. Of course for serious trip I'd take more than I do for touring but I still look a lot more carefully at the final list than just taking one of everything..

Agree Krafty....but I have learned that in the out of the way places you MUST carry a fuel filter, oil filter and air filter.....and in my case with the auto requiring fully synthetic oil....I also carry 10 ltrs of this liquid gold. These bits are simply not available in places like Birdsville, Weipa, Bamaga, etc etc. Figure that anything else that can't be fixed with 100MPH tape or fencing wire will require a recovery anyway

 

[KraftyPg]

Spares are definitely a must just not always the number people carry. For trips like you've just done there are certain spares that one would be silly to leave home.

We've got a humpy up in the Dargo area which we used to use quite a lot and is only accessible by a single lane track of mud, holes, water crossings and rocky climbs we've had guys stuck on that track for 10 hours when something has broken or failed because none of us ever really take spares for a trip 100ks from home. However the few times something has broken and we've had to return to Bairnsdale or wherever and get parts which has at times included over an hour doing a vehicle shuffle on the skinny tracks just to get a working unit out seems ridiculous to some but to us the room taken by spares is often better utilised by other stuff.

 

[siringo]

Looks like a great trip Pete and definitely one I'll be doing when I get a bit more free time.

Yep, the D40 aint the highest thing off the ground, but all vehicles get stuck somewhere (even the 37" lifted and locked things), you can't prepare for every type of terrain and obstacle.

I have plans for many trips over the next few years and don't expect the D40 to be able to get through everywhere I want to go, so I've done the next best thing and put all the recovery gear on it I will need, that's about as much as you can do.

Apart from the broken trans tube, any other problems??

 

[ljacko78]

great pics Pete! Good times