Been at Long Waterhole a few days now, been very busy as we watched bad weather looming.
After a chat with the local Plods decided to weather it out as we are good for about 7 days. Said OK as long as we don't have to move on.
Me thinks: Just watch what everyone else does. Oops, only 3 here now. Worked before at Bowenville (sitting it out) so here we are.
Roast Lamb for dinner and a few reds, watch some recorded telly (and the weather radar) SHould be clear by the weekend.
Cupie said
09:24 AM Jul 14, 2016
Never been there (we don't bush camp) but I had a look at lots of pics on the net.
Seems like a great bush camp, but not a place to be if it rains, unless you are happy to sit until things dry out.
I'd be looking for a spot to put the tug in case I needed to get out of there in an emergency. A nervous nelly I suppose.
Enjoy
Snippy said
09:34 AM Jul 14, 2016
Cupie wrote:
Never been there (we don't bush camp) but I had a look at lots of pics on the net.
Seems like a great bush camp, but not a place to be if it rains, unless you are happy to sit until things dry out.
I'd be looking for a spot to put the tug in case I needed to get out of there in an emergency. A nervous nelly I suppose.
Enjoy
Good point re the tug. Town is only 3 k's so could walk to town if need be. Also we are told that flooding is not an issue here. (Unless too many reds involved )
Will enjoy...Cheers
Magnarc said
11:56 AM Jul 14, 2016
Snippy, With that photo you should change your name to Sylvester!!!
Snippy said
12:04 PM Jul 14, 2016
Magnarc wrote:
Snippy, With that photo you should change your name to Sylvester!!!
Haha! Snippy is a female, but yes, Sylvester looks right.
We won't mention what happened to Tweety Pie
Happywanderer said
04:27 PM Jul 14, 2016
Have stayed there. Would imagine it could get very muddy with the rain. Keep safe.
jules47 said
04:31 PM Jul 14, 2016
Stayed there not long after rain - very boggy, and lots of churned up areas left by travellers slipping and sliding to get out. Like the Long Waterhole though.
kandagal said
04:36 PM Jul 14, 2016
We stayed there for a month once while Keith did a bird list for the local coucil
Snippy said
04:43 PM Jul 14, 2016
Update: Took 2 4wd to recover a van. Only 2 of us left. Access road ripped up by the 3 that left. Really boggy now.
wendyv said
07:35 PM Jul 14, 2016
Judging by tonight's weather report, there's going to be a lot of wet camps in central and NW Qld.
brickies said
10:47 AM Jul 15, 2016
Times like this caravan parks look good
Cupie said
01:50 PM Jul 15, 2016
brickies wrote:
Times like this caravan parks look good
A couple of them side by side in the main street of Winton & in walking distance from a choice of pubs including the famous North Gregory. Can even camp out the back of it.
Cloudy. High (80%) chance of rain, most likely in the morning and afternoon. Heavy falls exceeding 70 mm possible in the southeast. Winds south to southeasterly 15 to 25 km/h. Overnight temperatures falling to between 7 and 10 with daytime temperatures reaching around 17.
Sunday 17 July
Summary
Min 11
Max 21
Possible shower.
Possible rainfall: 0 to 0.2 mm
Chance of any rain: 30%
Central West area
Partly cloudy. Medium (40%) chance of showers. Winds south to southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h tending east to southeasterly during the morning. Overnight temperatures falling to around 11 with daytime temperatures reaching the low 20s.
Monday 18 July
Summary
Min 13
Max 24
Possible shower.
Possible rainfall: 0 to 1 mm
Chance of any rain: 40%
Central West area
Partly cloudy. Medium (40%) chance of showers. Light winds becoming easterly 15 to 20 km/h during the morning then becoming light during the afternoon. Overnight temperatures falling to around 14 with daytime temperatures reaching the low to mid 20s.
Tuesday 19 July
Summary
Min 16
Max 25
Shower or two.
Possible rainfall: 5 to 30 mm
Chance of any rain: 60%
Wednesday 20 July
Summary
Min 17
Max 28
Possible morning shower.
Possible rainfall: 0 to 2 mm
Chance of any rain: 40%
Thursday 21 July
Summary
Min 15
Max 26
Partly cloudy.
Possible rainfall: 0 mm
Chance of any rain: 20%
The next routine forecast will be issued at 4:15 pm EST Friday.
Product derived from IDQ11295 and IDQ10200
Looks like a wet arse Tuesday ....
-- Edited by Cupie on Friday 15th of July 2016 01:54:49 PM
Snippy said
02:18 PM Jul 15, 2016
Thanks Brickies and Cupie.
We are stranded here with one other fairly large van who appears to be sitting it out like us.
If the forecast rain for Sat and Sunday hold it should be firm enough for us to get out on Sunday.
At Bowenville on day of no rain was sufficient to be able to drive out.
As W/Zone is going for 20-40 ml on Monday we will have to look at getting a tow out on Sunday or early Monday. I think car will make it but not towing the van.
I am on NRMA Ultimate plan but don't know if that covers us here.
brickies said
02:48 PM Jul 15, 2016
It was great that the local plod came to visit and know you are there so that must make you feel safe , I am sure the local are loving all this rain so just chill out part of the fun .
Snippy said
03:08 PM Jul 15, 2016
brickies wrote:
It was great that the local plod came to visit and know you are there so that must make you feel safe , I am sure the local are loving all this rain so just chill out part of the fun .
Sure thing Brickies, Cold meat from last nights roast and a few reds will help while away the hours.
It's great to see how green the countryside is right through from Toowoomba.
Lived Augathella years ago, it was never like this.
jules47 said
04:40 PM Jul 15, 2016
I think getting out of the Long Waterhole would be a bit worse than getting out of Bowenville, which is relatively flat and level compared to the waterhole.
good luck, hope you are okay getting out when the rain stops.
Cupie said
06:33 PM Jul 15, 2016
If you are in no hurry to get to your next destination it is often better to just sit it out for a few extra days rather than risk damage to your rig.
A nice spot with reasonable weather. Why leave if you don't have to.
If there is no chance of flooding, I'd just sit down & make the best of it until I was able to drive the tug in & out without difficulty.
If you do choose to leave, don't forget to lower your tyre pressure. Following is one view on the subject ...
(but having lived out west, I'm sure you know all about this .. sorry if I'm telling you how to suck eggs.)
When four wheel driving, changing the tyre pressure is one of the best 4wd tips and tricks youll learn. It is the most effective ways of changing the performance of your 4wd in almost all off-road situations. The only point of contact between your 4wd and the earth is its tyres. So it makes sense that modifying the tyres in some way has a huge impact on the performance of your 4wd when youre off road. The cheapest and simplest modification you can perform on your tyre is to change the tyre pressure. And in almost all off-road situations, this means reducing your tyre pressure.
Its important to mention, however, that not re-inflating your tyres when you get back onto the black-top is dangerous. You could risk your tyres, your 4wd, and even your and others lives. Driving with reduced tyre pressure at highway speeds for long periods of time will cause tyre failure. With reduced tyre pressure, the flexing in the rubber will cause heat build-up. This weakens the rubber causing tyre blow-outs. Also, high speed turns with reduced tyre pressure can cause your tyre to separate from the wheel rim, increasing the chance of vehicle rollover
Reducing tyre pressure is also better for the environment. With reduced tyre pressure, your four wheel drive will sit on top of the surface rather than digging in. When vehicles dig in, they cause damage to the tracks. Other vehicles then try to drive around this damage and the track becomes ever increasingly wider, encroaching into the surrounding environment.
Tyre pressure in soft sand
Tyre Pressure Tiny sand mountains
When driving on soft sand, the forward motion of your four wheel drive will create small sand mounds in front of each tyre. Although the ground may appear to be flat, as shown in the image on the left, your vehicle is constantly trying to climb a very steep slope. The only part of the terrain that is important to your vehicle is the part that is in contact with your tyres.
As you move forward, your vehicle is constantly forced to try to lift its entire weight up and over these tiny hills, however with harder tyres, rather than climbing these mountains, the sand is pushed in front of your tyres, and your 4wd effectively slides back down again. This constant effort and wheel spinning can cause your tyres to dig in further until you become bogged.
Reducing your tyre pressure increases your vehicles foot print. This increased surface area spreads the weight of your car over a larger area and helps to prevent your four wheel drive from sinking into the soft sand, thereby helping to prevent the build-up of these mountains and enabling your vehicle to maintain forward momentum with significantly less effort. And also greatly reduces the chances of you becoming bogged.
Its important to note that this strategy can, and should be applied to any tyre in contact with soft sand, including non-powered wheels, or wheels on a camper trailer. Leaving the tyres on your camper trailer fully inflated will mean that the tiny sand mountains will be created, forcing your 4×4 to tow the trailer up a never ending sand mountain.
Reduced tyre pressure in other terrain
Tyre Pressure Profile
There are a number of advantages gained by reducing your tyre pressure in terrain other than soft sand. The three main advantages are:
Larger footprint this allows less sink-ability in soft terrain, and increases the surface area in contact with the ground, increasing traction. At very low pressures, the size of the contact patches can increase as much as 250%.
More comfortable ride Over rough and corrugated tracks, decreasing your tyre pressure softens the tyre. This then absorbs a significant amount vibration that would normally be transferred through to the suspension.
Shape-ability Increases the tyres ability to shape itself around obstacles, rather than have to climb over them. A softer tyre shapes itself around objects, where a harder tyre will need to drive over the top. This ability to conform to the terrain reduces the chance of puncturing the tyre, but also greatly improves traction. The more of the tyre in contact with the ground, the better grip the tyre will achieve.
However reducing the tyre pressure does decrease clearance under all parts of the vehicle, including the axles and diffs.
How low should you go for off-road driving?
Let me answer this question with another How long, exactly, is a piece of string? The school of thought on how much you should reduce your tyre pressure is very varied. Asking 10 different 4wd specialists how low to reduce your tyre pressure will produce 10 different answers. But there are many factors contributing to how low you should go. These include:
Sidewall stiffness
Tire aspect ratio (vs.wheel diameter)
Driving speed
Trail surface/softness
Vehicle Weight
Sidewall Stiffness
If youre tyres have stiff sidewalls, then the sidewalls will provide support and will prevent the tyre from flattening out. Reduce your tyre pressure more to allow the tyre footprint to increase.
Tyres with more flexible sidewalls will allow the tyre to balloon sooner, allowing a larger footprint to be created at higher pressures.
Tyre aspect ratio
The lower the profile of your tyre, the less youll be able to reduce the pressure without risking damage to the rim.
Driving speed
Driving quickly with reduced tyre pressure will cause damage to your tyres. The constant flexing of the tyre causes heat build-up and eventually will cause catastrophic failure of your tyre. There is also an increased possibility of the tyre separating from the rim in high speed turns.
Either of these events can cause you to lose control of your vehicle.
So if you intend to drive quickly then increase your tyre pressure without exceeding the recommended maximum.
Trail surface/softness
On smooth surfaces, tyre pressure may not need to be reduced at all. And in fact perhaps should not be reduced. With smoother surfaces, the tendency may be to travel faster. Travelling at higher speeds with lower pressure tyres can be dangerous.
On more rugged surfaces or on steeper terrain a lower tyre pressure may be required. Remember, lowering your tyre pressure will increase the footprint of your tyre and therefore increase traction. On harder surfaces, however, the lower the tyre pressure, the greater chance of rim damage occurring. Harder tyres offer more protection to the wheel rims, but provide less traction.
On corrugated roads, reducing your tyre pressure will assist in the absorption of the corrugations, making your ride significantly more comfortable.
When it comes to driving on sand and mud, the softer it gets the lower you will probably need to go. Its all about increasing your footprint to keep your vehicle sitting on top of the surface rather than digging in. Just keep in mind that lower tyre pressures increase the risk of popping your tyre off the rim.
Vehicle Weight
Lighter vehicles, or less loaded vehicles, will need a lower tyre pressure to achieve the same balooning effect.
Trailers
Remember to reduce the tyre pressure of whatever youre towing as well. If youve got a camper trailer hitched behind you when youre driving on soft sand, and you dont reduce its tyre pressure, then your car will be trying to drag the trailer up those constantly moving hills.
As a general rule, reduce the pressure in your trailer tyres to the same as what youve reduced your vehicle tyre pressure to. Alternatively, before you leave on your trip, reduce your vehicle tyre pressure to what you expect to be using on the soft tracks. Once you have done that, measure the footprint length that you have achieved. Then reduce your trailer tyre pressure until you achieve that same footprint with your trailer tyres.
So how low then!
As a general rule, the looser the surface (snow, mud, sand) the lower the tyre pressure required.
For harder surfaces (rocks, hard clay, hard rutted dirt), a starting point would be to reduce your tyre pressure by one third of the standard road pressure.
On softer surfaces (Sand, snow, mud), you could start by reducing tyre pressure by one half of your usual road pressure. This will vary depending on the surface youre driving on, and the types of tyre youre using. If you notice your vehicle struggling then reduce the tyre pressure in small increments (2 to 4 psi at a time).
But remember, the lower you go, the slower you go.
References
TyrePressure Profile Harry Lewellyn (Extract from book SHIFTING into 4WD)
Snippy said
07:23 PM Jul 15, 2016
Cupie wrote:
If you are in no hurry to get to your next destination it is often better to just sit it out for a few extra days rather than risk damage to your rig.
A nice spot with reasonable weather. Why leave if you don't have to.
If there is no chance of flooding, I'd just sit down & make the best of it until I was able to drive the tug in & out without difficulty.
If you do choose to leave, don't forget to lower your tyre pressure. Following is one view on the subject ...
(but having lived out west, I'm sure you know all about this .. sorry if I'm telling you how to suck eggs.)
When four wheel driving, changing the tyre pressure is one of the best 4wd tips and tricks youll learn. It is the most effective ways of changing the performance of your 4wd in almost all off-road situations. The only point of contact between your 4wd and the earth is its tyres. So it makes sense that modifying the tyres in some way has a huge impact on the performance of your 4wd when youre off road. The cheapest and simplest modification you can perform on your tyre is to change the tyre pressure. And in almost all off-road situations, this means reducing your tyre pressure.
Its important to mention, however, that not re-inflating your tyres when you get back onto the black-top is dangerous. You could risk your tyres, your 4wd, and even your and others lives. Driving with reduced tyre pressure at highway speeds for long periods of time will cause tyre failure. With reduced tyre pressure, the flexing in the rubber will cause heat build-up. This weakens the rubber causing tyre blow-outs. Also, high speed turns with reduced tyre pressure can cause your tyre to separate from the wheel rim, increasing the chance of vehicle rollover
Reducing tyre pressure is also better for the environment. With reduced tyre pressure, your four wheel drive will sit on top of the surface rather than digging in. When vehicles dig in, they cause damage to the tracks. Other vehicles then try to drive around this damage and the track becomes ever increasingly wider, encroaching into the surrounding environment.
Tyre pressure in soft sand
Tyre Pressure Tiny sand mountains
When driving on soft sand, the forward motion of your four wheel drive will create small sand mounds in front of each tyre. Although the ground may appear to be flat, as shown in the image on the left, your vehicle is constantly trying to climb a very steep slope. The only part of the terrain that is important to your vehicle is the part that is in contact with your tyres.
As you move forward, your vehicle is constantly forced to try to lift its entire weight up and over these tiny hills, however with harder tyres, rather than climbing these mountains, the sand is pushed in front of your tyres, and your 4wd effectively slides back down again. This constant effort and wheel spinning can cause your tyres to dig in further until you become bogged.
Reducing your tyre pressure increases your vehicles foot print. This increased surface area spreads the weight of your car over a larger area and helps to prevent your four wheel drive from sinking into the soft sand, thereby helping to prevent the build-up of these mountains and enabling your vehicle to maintain forward momentum with significantly less effort. And also greatly reduces the chances of you becoming bogged.
Its important to note that this strategy can, and should be applied to any tyre in contact with soft sand, including non-powered wheels, or wheels on a camper trailer. Leaving the tyres on your camper trailer fully inflated will mean that the tiny sand mountains will be created, forcing your 4×4 to tow the trailer up a never ending sand mountain.
Reduced tyre pressure in other terrain
Tyre Pressure Profile
There are a number of advantages gained by reducing your tyre pressure in terrain other than soft sand. The three main advantages are:
Larger footprint this allows less sink-ability in soft terrain, and increases the surface area in contact with the ground, increasing traction. At very low pressures, the size of the contact patches can increase as much as 250%.
More comfortable ride Over rough and corrugated tracks, decreasing your tyre pressure softens the tyre. This then absorbs a significant amount vibration that would normally be transferred through to the suspension.
Shape-ability Increases the tyres ability to shape itself around obstacles, rather than have to climb over them. A softer tyre shapes itself around objects, where a harder tyre will need to drive over the top. This ability to conform to the terrain reduces the chance of puncturing the tyre, but also greatly improves traction. The more of the tyre in contact with the ground, the better grip the tyre will achieve.
However reducing the tyre pressure does decrease clearance under all parts of the vehicle, including the axles and diffs.
How low should you go for off-road driving?
Let me answer this question with another How long, exactly, is a piece of string? The school of thought on how much you should reduce your tyre pressure is very varied. Asking 10 different 4wd specialists how low to reduce your tyre pressure will produce 10 different answers. But there are many factors contributing to how low you should go. These include:
Sidewall stiffness
Tire aspect ratio (vs.wheel diameter)
Driving speed
Trail surface/softness
Vehicle Weight
Sidewall Stiffness
If youre tyres have stiff sidewalls, then the sidewalls will provide support and will prevent the tyre from flattening out. Reduce your tyre pressure more to allow the tyre footprint to increase.
Tyres with more flexible sidewalls will allow the tyre to balloon sooner, allowing a larger footprint to be created at higher pressures.
Tyre aspect ratio
The lower the profile of your tyre, the less youll be able to reduce the pressure without risking damage to the rim.
Driving speed
Driving quickly with reduced tyre pressure will cause damage to your tyres. The constant flexing of the tyre causes heat build-up and eventually will cause catastrophic failure of your tyre. There is also an increased possibility of the tyre separating from the rim in high speed turns.
Either of these events can cause you to lose control of your vehicle.
So if you intend to drive quickly then increase your tyre pressure without exceeding the recommended maximum.
Trail surface/softness
On smooth surfaces, tyre pressure may not need to be reduced at all. And in fact perhaps should not be reduced. With smoother surfaces, the tendency may be to travel faster. Travelling at higher speeds with lower pressure tyres can be dangerous.
On more rugged surfaces or on steeper terrain a lower tyre pressure may be required. Remember, lowering your tyre pressure will increase the footprint of your tyre and therefore increase traction. On harder surfaces, however, the lower the tyre pressure, the greater chance of rim damage occurring. Harder tyres offer more protection to the wheel rims, but provide less traction.
On corrugated roads, reducing your tyre pressure will assist in the absorption of the corrugations, making your ride significantly more comfortable.
When it comes to driving on sand and mud, the softer it gets the lower you will probably need to go. Its all about increasing your footprint to keep your vehicle sitting on top of the surface rather than digging in. Just keep in mind that lower tyre pressures increase the risk of popping your tyre off the rim.
Vehicle Weight
Lighter vehicles, or less loaded vehicles, will need a lower tyre pressure to achieve the same balooning effect.
Trailers
Remember to reduce the tyre pressure of whatever youre towing as well. If youve got a camper trailer hitched behind you when youre driving on soft sand, and you dont reduce its tyre pressure, then your car will be trying to drag the trailer up those constantly moving hills.
As a general rule, reduce the pressure in your trailer tyres to the same as what youve reduced your vehicle tyre pressure to. Alternatively, before you leave on your trip, reduce your vehicle tyre pressure to what you expect to be using on the soft tracks. Once you have done that, measure the footprint length that you have achieved. Then reduce your trailer tyre pressure until you achieve that same footprint with your trailer tyres.
So how low then!
As a general rule, the looser the surface (snow, mud, sand) the lower the tyre pressure required.
For harder surfaces (rocks, hard clay, hard rutted dirt), a starting point would be to reduce your tyre pressure by one third of the standard road pressure.
On softer surfaces (Sand, snow, mud), you could start by reducing tyre pressure by one half of your usual road pressure. This will vary depending on the surface youre driving on, and the types of tyre youre using. If you notice your vehicle struggling then reduce the tyre pressure in small increments (2 to 4 psi at a time).
But remember, the lower you go, the slower you go.
References
TyrePressure Profile Harry Lewellyn (Extract from book SHIFTING into 4WD)
Yeah, covered that, sitting and waiting. We are good for another 6-8 days.
ken thomas said
03:20 PM Jul 16, 2016
Theresa creek dam in clermont had 160mm over 2 days, with the road in flooded and the dam wall overflowing
Ken
Grey fox said
09:33 PM Jul 16, 2016
Really would not lower tyre pressures in mud, tyres have to go through mud not over it remember the old skinny tyres went further in the mud than the wide ones. Especially that western mud and if it is not dry enough it will cake onto the tyres has been known to clog the wheel arch.
Snippy said
04:31 PM Jul 18, 2016
RACQ came out today, still unable to tow us out but took me into town in 4x4 then lent me their workshop car to stock up on provisions etc.
Heavy rain tomorrow but then clear for quite a few days so expect to get us and the other van out by the weekend.
Terrific service RACQ
Their have been many caught out and the town streets are full of vans. All CP are full.
Oh well! Such is life.
Cupie said
09:39 PM Jul 18, 2016
Great news ... Fingers crossed.
I'll have to look more closely at my RACQ cover. I am amazed that they will extract you in these circumstances.
Keep us posted.
(looks like you won't have to experiment with tyre pressures.)
Snippy said
05:03 PM Jul 19, 2016
Cupie wrote:
Great news ... Fingers crossed.
I'll have to look more closely at my RACQ cover. I am amazed that they will extract you in these circumstances.
Keep us posted.
(looks like you won't have to experiment with tyre pressures.)
We have Ultimate cover which covers us. However council with Police took over as flooding in the "place that never floods" started flooding. Apparently this covers us as well as an emergency was declared.
Winton is jam packed with c'vans that are stranded, there is nowhere to go, nowhere to stay.
Cupie said
07:26 PM Jul 19, 2016
'No where to go'? Try the front bar at The North Gregory staggering distance to the van. Grab a spot at the footpath window & watch the passing parade.
There were a couple of very cheerful, friendly & efficient young barmen in there on my last visit.
It's nice sitting out in the back beer garden too.
I'm about to let my Ultimate expire. I will renew it before the next long trip. Good insurance with my ageing rig I think. As I rarely use the Patrol when not on the road, I transfer the cover to the Mazda when back home. But it hardly needs it having only 20,000km on the clock after almost 3 years.
-- Edited by Cupie on Tuesday 19th of July 2016 07:28:27 PM
Been at Long Waterhole a few days now, been very busy as we watched bad weather looming.
After a chat with the local Plods decided to weather it out as we are good for about 7 days. Said OK as long as we don't have to move on.
Me thinks: Just watch what everyone else does. Oops, only 3 here now. Worked before at Bowenville (sitting it out) so here we are.
Roast Lamb for dinner and a few reds, watch some recorded telly (and the weather radar) SHould be clear by the weekend.
Never been there (we don't bush camp) but I had a look at lots of pics on the net.
Seems like a great bush camp, but not a place to be if it rains, unless you are happy to sit until things dry out.
I'd be looking for a spot to put the tug in case I needed to get out of there in an emergency. A nervous nelly I suppose.
Enjoy
Good point re the tug. Town is only 3 k's so could walk to town if need be. Also we are told that flooding is not an issue here. (Unless too many reds involved
)
Will enjoy...Cheers
Snippy, With that photo you should change your name to Sylvester!!!
Haha! Snippy is a female, but yes, Sylvester looks right.
We won't mention what happened to Tweety Pie
A couple of them side by side in the main street of Winton & in walking distance from a choice of pubs including the famous North Gregory. Can even camp out the back of it.
edit ..
Winton Forecast
View the current warnings for Queensland
Forecast updated at 9:34 am EST on Friday 15 July 2016.
Forecast for the rest of Friday
Central West area
Cloudy. High (80%) chance of rain. Heavy falls possible in the east. Winds southeasterly 20 to 25 km/h. Daytime maximum temperatures around 13.
Fire Danger - Low-Moderate
UV Alert from 10:20 am to 2:50 pm, UV Index predicted to reach 5 [Moderate]
7 day Town Forecasts
Saturday 16 July
Central West area
Cloudy. High (80%) chance of rain, most likely in the morning and afternoon. Heavy falls exceeding 70 mm possible in the southeast. Winds south to southeasterly 15 to 25 km/h. Overnight temperatures falling to between 7 and 10 with daytime temperatures reaching around 17.
Sunday 17 July
Central West area
Partly cloudy. Medium (40%) chance of showers. Winds south to southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h tending east to southeasterly during the morning. Overnight temperatures falling to around 11 with daytime temperatures reaching the low 20s.
Monday 18 July
Central West area
Partly cloudy. Medium (40%) chance of showers. Light winds becoming easterly 15 to 20 km/h during the morning then becoming light during the afternoon. Overnight temperatures falling to around 14 with daytime temperatures reaching the low to mid 20s.
Tuesday 19 July
Wednesday 20 July
Thursday 21 July
The next routine forecast will be issued at 4:15 pm EST Friday.
Product derived from IDQ11295 and IDQ10200
Looks like a wet arse Tuesday ....
-- Edited by Cupie on Friday 15th of July 2016 01:54:49 PM
We are stranded here with one other fairly large van who appears to be sitting it out like us.
If the forecast rain for Sat and Sunday hold it should be firm enough for us to get out on Sunday.
At Bowenville on day of no rain was sufficient to be able to drive out.
As W/Zone is going for 20-40 ml on Monday we will have to look at getting a tow out on Sunday or early Monday. I think car will make it but not towing the van.
I am on NRMA Ultimate plan but don't know if that covers us here.
Sure thing Brickies, Cold meat from last nights roast and a few reds will help while away the hours.
It's great to see how green the countryside is right through from Toowoomba.
Lived Augathella years ago, it was never like this.
good luck, hope you are okay getting out when the rain stops.
If you are in no hurry to get to your next destination it is often better to just sit it out for a few extra days rather than risk damage to your rig.
A nice spot with reasonable weather. Why leave if you don't have to.
If there is no chance of flooding, I'd just sit down & make the best of it until I was able to drive the tug in & out without difficulty.
If you do choose to leave, don't forget to lower your tyre pressure. Following is one view on the subject ...
(but having lived out west, I'm sure you know all about this .. sorry if I'm telling you how to suck eggs.)
4wd Tips and Tricks Tyre Pressure
4wd tips and tricks Tyre Pressures
When four wheel driving, changing the tyre pressure is one of the best 4wd tips and tricks youll learn. It is the most effective ways of changing the performance of your 4wd in almost all off-road situations. The only point of contact between your 4wd and the earth is its tyres. So it makes sense that modifying the tyres in some way has a huge impact on the performance of your 4wd when youre off road. The cheapest and simplest modification you can perform on your tyre is to change the tyre pressure. And in almost all off-road situations, this means reducing your tyre pressure.
Its important to mention, however, that not re-inflating your tyres when you get back onto the black-top is dangerous. You could risk your tyres, your 4wd, and even your and others lives. Driving with reduced tyre pressure at highway speeds for long periods of time will cause tyre failure. With reduced tyre pressure, the flexing in the rubber will cause heat build-up. This weakens the rubber causing tyre blow-outs. Also, high speed turns with reduced tyre pressure can cause your tyre to separate from the wheel rim, increasing the chance of vehicle rollover
Reducing tyre pressure is also better for the environment. With reduced tyre pressure, your four wheel drive will sit on top of the surface rather than digging in. When vehicles dig in, they cause damage to the tracks. Other vehicles then try to drive around this damage and the track becomes ever increasingly wider, encroaching into the surrounding environment.
Tyre pressure in soft sand
When driving on soft sand, the forward motion of your four wheel drive will create small sand mounds in front of each tyre. Although the ground may appear to be flat, as shown in the image on the left, your vehicle is constantly trying to climb a very steep slope. The only part of the terrain that is important to your vehicle is the part that is in contact with your tyres.
As you move forward, your vehicle is constantly forced to try to lift its entire weight up and over these tiny hills, however with harder tyres, rather than climbing these mountains, the sand is pushed in front of your tyres, and your 4wd effectively slides back down again. This constant effort and wheel spinning can cause your tyres to dig in further until you become bogged.
Reducing your tyre pressure increases your vehicles foot print. This increased surface area spreads the weight of your car over a larger area and helps to prevent your four wheel drive from sinking into the soft sand, thereby helping to prevent the build-up of these mountains and enabling your vehicle to maintain forward momentum with significantly less effort. And also greatly reduces the chances of you becoming bogged.
Its important to note that this strategy can, and should be applied to any tyre in contact with soft sand, including non-powered wheels, or wheels on a camper trailer. Leaving the tyres on your camper trailer fully inflated will mean that the tiny sand mountains will be created, forcing your 4×4 to tow the trailer up a never ending sand mountain.
Reduced tyre pressure in other terrain
There are a number of advantages gained by reducing your tyre pressure in terrain other than soft sand. The three main advantages are:
However reducing the tyre pressure does decrease clearance under all parts of the vehicle, including the axles and diffs.
How low should you go for off-road driving?
Let me answer this question with another How long, exactly, is a piece of string? The school of thought on how much you should reduce your tyre pressure is very varied. Asking 10 different 4wd specialists how low to reduce your tyre pressure will produce 10 different answers. But there are many factors contributing to how low you should go. These include:
Sidewall Stiffness
If youre tyres have stiff sidewalls, then the sidewalls will provide support and will prevent the tyre from flattening out. Reduce your tyre pressure more to allow the tyre footprint to increase.
Tyres with more flexible sidewalls will allow the tyre to balloon sooner, allowing a larger footprint to be created at higher pressures.
Tyre aspect ratio
The lower the profile of your tyre, the less youll be able to reduce the pressure without risking damage to the rim.
Driving speed
Driving quickly with reduced tyre pressure will cause damage to your tyres. The constant flexing of the tyre causes heat build-up and eventually will cause catastrophic failure of your tyre. There is also an increased possibility of the tyre separating from the rim in high speed turns.
Either of these events can cause you to lose control of your vehicle.
So if you intend to drive quickly then increase your tyre pressure without exceeding the recommended maximum.
Trail surface/softness
On smooth surfaces, tyre pressure may not need to be reduced at all. And in fact perhaps should not be reduced. With smoother surfaces, the tendency may be to travel faster. Travelling at higher speeds with lower pressure tyres can be dangerous.
On more rugged surfaces or on steeper terrain a lower tyre pressure may be required. Remember, lowering your tyre pressure will increase the footprint of your tyre and therefore increase traction. On harder surfaces, however, the lower the tyre pressure, the greater chance of rim damage occurring. Harder tyres offer more protection to the wheel rims, but provide less traction.
On corrugated roads, reducing your tyre pressure will assist in the absorption of the corrugations, making your ride significantly more comfortable.
When it comes to driving on sand and mud, the softer it gets the lower you will probably need to go. Its all about increasing your footprint to keep your vehicle sitting on top of the surface rather than digging in. Just keep in mind that lower tyre pressures increase the risk of popping your tyre off the rim.
Vehicle Weight
Lighter vehicles, or less loaded vehicles, will need a lower tyre pressure to achieve the same balooning effect.
Trailers
Remember to reduce the tyre pressure of whatever youre towing as well. If youve got a camper trailer hitched behind you when youre driving on soft sand, and you dont reduce its tyre pressure, then your car will be trying to drag the trailer up those constantly moving hills.
As a general rule, reduce the pressure in your trailer tyres to the same as what youve reduced your vehicle tyre pressure to.
Alternatively, before you leave on your trip, reduce your vehicle tyre pressure to what you expect to be using on the soft tracks. Once you have done that, measure the footprint length that you have achieved. Then reduce your trailer tyre pressure until you achieve that same footprint with your trailer tyres.
So how low then!
As a general rule, the looser the surface (snow, mud, sand) the lower the tyre pressure required.
For harder surfaces (rocks, hard clay, hard rutted dirt), a starting point would be to reduce your tyre pressure by one third of the standard road pressure.
On softer surfaces (Sand, snow, mud), you could start by reducing tyre pressure by one half of your usual road pressure. This will vary depending on the surface youre driving on, and the types of tyre youre using. If you notice your vehicle struggling then reduce the tyre pressure in small increments (2 to 4 psi at a time).
But remember, the lower you go, the slower you go.
References
TyrePressure Profile Harry Lewellyn (Extract from book SHIFTING into 4WD)
Yeah, covered that, sitting and waiting. We are good for another 6-8 days.
Ken
Really would not lower tyre pressures in mud, tyres have to go through mud not over it remember the old skinny tyres went further in the mud than the wide ones. Especially that western mud and if it is not dry enough it will cake onto the tyres has been known to clog the wheel arch.
Heavy rain tomorrow but then clear for quite a few days so expect to get us and the other van out by the weekend.
Terrific service RACQ
Their have been many caught out and the town streets are full of vans. All CP are full.
Oh well! Such is life.
Great news ... Fingers crossed.
I'll have to look more closely at my RACQ cover. I am amazed that they will extract you in these circumstances.
Keep us posted.
(looks like you won't have to experiment with tyre pressures.)
We have Ultimate cover which covers us. However council with Police took over as flooding in the "place that never floods" started flooding. Apparently this covers us as well as an emergency was declared.
Winton is jam packed with c'vans that are stranded, there is nowhere to go, nowhere to stay.
'No where to go'? Try the front bar at The North Gregory staggering distance to the van. Grab a spot at the footpath window & watch the passing parade.
There were a couple of very cheerful, friendly & efficient young barmen in there on my last visit.
It's nice sitting out in the back beer garden too.
I'm about to let my Ultimate expire. I will renew it before the next long trip. Good insurance with my ageing rig I think. As I rarely use the Patrol when not on the road, I transfer the cover to the Mazda when back home. But it hardly needs it having only 20,000km on the clock after almost 3 years.
-- Edited by Cupie on Tuesday 19th of July 2016 07:28:27 PM