Today, had one of the scariest part of our journey.
We decided to drive up to the lookout at Lake Dumbleyung, and hit the dirt road around 11.00 am. The scenic drive is about 3.5km. About 1.5km in, we hit a section of the road that was slippery, and our 3.5tonne van was pulling our Patrol all over the place. On the right hand side of the road was a grassy bank, maybe about 1.5 metres high, however on the left hand side was a drop of maybe 15 - 20 metres on an angle of 45 degrees. We got to a stage that we decided maybe it was better to reverse back, rather than continue to drive forward. Possibly not the best move, as the van still continued to slip and slide all over the road, finally ending up in a jack-knife situation, luckily on the high side.
We called up channel 40 and spoke to the road house in Dumbleyung, who called up the shire and arranged to have someone sent out to assist us. We had inches of red mud attached to the tyres on both the 4wd and van, we spent the time waiting for "shire" scraping it off, to expose the tread. After a wait of around 1 1/2 hours, a holden colarado arrived, (not a tow truck or a grader or a tractor). He drove us up to the car-park near the lookout so we could check the road. We decided it would be best to continue up to the lookout, attached to the holden with a snatch strap.
We got up, no further drama, turned around and slowly headed back, taking extreme caution on the area where we had chopped up the road. I suppose we were lucky in that as we waited for several hours before we came off the road, it had time to dry out a bit more.
Lesson Learnt: When a road says "Dry Weather Road Only" Don't use it if it has been raining!
It is a bit sad, when a Holden Colorado pulls out a 4.2Lt Nissan Patrol towing a 3.5t Kedron.
-- Edited by Dunmowin on Monday 23rd of September 2013 07:17:28 PM
This may help you feel better. My b-I-l got their Nissan Patrol, minus van, stuck in mud at Lake Nuga Nuga, and his daughter pulled him out with her little Suzuki Grand Vitara. He still gets teased about it.
Gday...
"So is anyone going to buy a Holden Colorado, sure seems a good plug for them" ..... the answer is - please read my emphasis above.
I would assume the Patrol (with van) was also 'driving/pulling' ... so all it needed was a bit of 'extra' to overcome the loss of traction .. and from the original report the road 'improved' past the 'slippery bit' as well.
Cheers - John
Aw John you've taken away all their pleasure,,,,,,,,,lol.
Gday...
Shoulda kept me mouth shut .... but this is how urban myths develop over a can or two round a campfire or two.
Sorry y'all
cheers - John
-- Edited by rockylizard on Monday 23rd of September 2013 09:11:36 PM
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2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 SE Auto - 2008 23ft Golden Eagle Hunter Some people feel the rain - the others just get wet - Bob Dylan
We all learn these lessons,,,,,, lucky it was slow motion.
I glided off a road into a station near Lightning Ridge on this trip,,, it was so smooth,, just a gentle drift off the road/track,,, just got away with it,, lol. SWMBO was not impressed.
We walked the 2 km stretch of the track out to a formed dirt road that afternoon to see if we could get the van out. It was muddy/sloppy on top (graded a couple of weeks before) but firm underneath,,, got out OK.
Pays to put the boots on sometimes and walk a bit.
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Why is it so? Professor Julius Sumner Miller, a profound influence on my life, who explained science to us on TV in the 60's.
At least it all ended well with no damage, other than maybe a little pride.
This may help you feel better. My b-I-l got their Nissan Patrol, minus van, stuck in mud at Lake Nuga Nuga, and his daughter pulled him out with her little Suzuki Grand Vitara. He still gets teased about it.
Good advertisement for the Holden ...Everyone I know who owns one only can give top marks regarding there grunt and towing plus comfort they recon is AI.
This may help you feel better. My b-I-l got their Nissan Patrol, minus van, stuck in mud at Lake Nuga Nuga, and his daughter pulled him out with her little Suzuki Grand Vitara. He still gets teased about it.
Gday...
"So is anyone going to buy a Holden Colorado, sure seems a good plug for them" ..... the answer is - please read my emphasis above.
I would assume the Patrol (with van) was also 'driving/pulling' ... so all it needed was a bit of 'extra' to overcome the loss of traction .. and from the original report the road 'improved' past the 'slippery bit' as well.
Cheers - John
__________________
2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 SE Auto - 2008 23ft Golden Eagle Hunter Some people feel the rain - the others just get wet - Bob Dylan
This may help you feel better. My b-I-l got their Nissan Patrol, minus van, stuck in mud at Lake Nuga Nuga, and his daughter pulled him out with her little Suzuki Grand Vitara. He still gets teased about it.
Gday...
"So is anyone going to buy a Holden Colorado, sure seems a good plug for them" ..... the answer is - please read my emphasis above.
I would assume the Patrol (with van) was also 'driving/pulling' ... so all it needed was a bit of 'extra' to overcome the loss of traction .. and from the original report the road 'improved' past the 'slippery bit' as well.
Cheers - John
Aw John you've taken away all their pleasure,,,,,,,,,lol.
__________________
Why is it so? Professor Julius Sumner Miller, a profound influence on my life, who explained science to us on TV in the 60's.
This may help you feel better. My b-I-l got their Nissan Patrol, minus van, stuck in mud at Lake Nuga Nuga, and his daughter pulled him out with her little Suzuki Grand Vitara. He still gets teased about it.
Gday...
"So is anyone going to buy a Holden Colorado, sure seems a good plug for them" ..... the answer is - please read my emphasis above.
I would assume the Patrol (with van) was also 'driving/pulling' ... so all it needed was a bit of 'extra' to overcome the loss of traction .. and from the original report the road 'improved' past the 'slippery bit' as well.
Cheers - John
Correct Rocky lizard, yes, we were also driving/pulling, in fact the tow rope was slack most of the time, more there for confidence than anything.
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Pay it forward - what goes around comes around
DUNMOWIN is no longer on the road and still DUNMOWIN!
Totally agree brickies, however, we had been told by a local that there was a car park near the lookout suitable for turnaround for a caravan. At no time at the base of the road did it say "not suitable for caravans", if it had, we would have heeded that warning. What we missed was the sign saying "Dry weather only", or actually realising/knowing that there had been enough rain on a 500 metre stretch of the road to affect us the way it did. The kind worker from the Shire who helped us out told us a similar thing happened last week. He agreed with us that the signage needs to be changed and made more prominent.
__________________
Pay it forward - what goes around comes around
DUNMOWIN is no longer on the road and still DUNMOWIN!
Thanks Baz, we are still trying to get the red mud out of tyre wells, running boards, shoes/boots - we have a nice little pile beside the van today as it continues to dry out.
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Pay it forward - what goes around comes around
DUNMOWIN is no longer on the road and still DUNMOWIN!
Thanks Baz, we are still trying to get the red mud out of tyre wells, running boards, shoes/boots - we have a nice little pile beside the van today as it continues to dry out.
Yep I feel for you getting the mud out. I had a Pajero in the 80's and took Mum & Dad across a mud flat near a creek in Darwin,,, REAL BLACK MUD AND SMELLY TOO,, Mum in back said "what's that black stuff flying past my window",,, I took one look and s**t myself,,,, we were picking up lumps like 1kg of butter,,,,
anyway got out quickly as we didn't stop (luckily in low with diffs locked)
took weeks to dry the mud and get out from under,,, I learnt.
__________________
Why is it so? Professor Julius Sumner Miller, a profound influence on my life, who explained science to us on TV in the 60's.
.... but this is how urban myths develop over a can or two round a campfire or two.
