I'm sure a lot of you grey's out there have been down gravel and out back roads etc, now what i am about to tell you is a short story of what can go wrong when travelling in the out back it is definitely not written to stick it up any one just a friendly reminder of what can go wrong.
I got a call from a friend a few days ago he is one of the old prospectors i take with me once a year, he asked if he sent me some pics could i let him know what is wrong with his camper trailer suspension which i said yes no problems, i received the pics and had a few ideas what he had done but i couldn't contact him as he was out of range again so i left a message. Mean while one of the other old blokes who came back earlier came around to look at my van rebuild, as we were talking i mentioned about old mate with the camper problem and what i thought had happened, i asked if they had hit any wash outs or irregular road conditions and if so how fast were they going etc. The chap i was talking to at the time explained that they had hit a wash out going around the 80 km mark, he also asked me if i could go around to his and have a look at his rig as he felt that the draw bar on his van was sitting lower than normal. I went around to his that afternoon and had a look at his duel cab and van and pointed out that he has bent the chassis on his ute which will now be written off or straitened at a repairer depending on costs i would imagine.
Now it turns out they were travelling in a convoy of four vehicles and the person leading was the chap i organized to look after the old blokes as i couldn't take them this year due to the van rebuild, he tells me that they hit this at the start of the trip when they were all fully loaded and excited heading the back way from Kalgoorlie near Mount Celia to Laverton. He also told me that he did call the wash out over the uhf but the others may not have heard who knows but i reckon judging by the damage they would have had to change there undies when they stopped.
The friendly reminder is when travelling in the out back take all you emergency supplies and equipment as you are aware but think about tyre pressures, road conditions, speed, your weights and good communication equipment like decent fitted uhf radios not just a hand held because it is cheaper, as these two blokes will now have to have there vehicles repaired. Old mate did get back to me a couple of days later and we have organised a new set of springs and parts to be sent up to Leonora so he can collect them and fix his trailer.
I have added a couple of pics of the trailer springs but not of the ute as my friend was to embarrassed. With my caravan rebuild i will do a post in a few days or so.
Hankook tires have that pattern on the side walls. I have them on my ute and they seem to be ok.
That is a severely broken spring and will need some solid work to replace it.
And is that one spring or two. Just looking at the photos seems to suggest two sides of the trailer.
That is a good reason not to follow too close behind any other vehicle in the bush, dust poor visibility and loose gravel which reduces stopping power.
