Road trip

[220]

Looks like I will be doing a road trip this weekend, son & his girl friend are both in the Army.
His girl friend shipped out overseas for 6 months last week doing embassy security, Monday week son starts doing covid hotel quarantine for a unknown time. 2 dogs and no one to look after them, son is on restricted travel due to being on standby for deployment so cant drop them off.
Only 2300km or close enough to 1400 miles from home to his place. Should be able to do it in 24hrs driving non stop and sharing the driving, a day to rest and another to get home.

Planning the route now, think I will take the most inland option as less traffic and seeing as we have covid border check points should be a lot quicker processing.
It is very sparsely populated for a lots of it hundred km or more between towns for much of it and besides wildlife the biggest issue will be getting fuel. Should be looking at 500km between refuels so trying to sort leaving times so we hit towns when stations are open. Looks like we will have one 800km stretch with no fuel available so will have to carry a bit to get us through.

Will go through some of the iconic Australian country towns, Nyngan, Bourke where they recorded a record temp in 1903 of 121, Cunnumulla a place Wiki list the main industries as wool production, kangaroo and pig hunting, Blackall and Charleville

[JEBar]

sounds like a good trip .... please take pictures and report back

[Hatchdog]

Wonderful trip too bad it’s a power drive both ways. Oh well, enjoy the scenery as it wizzes past. And stay safe.....

[Sir Henry]

Drive safe. Those long road trips can be very tiring.

[Ernie]

That's a Looooong day of driving. Be safe.

[BigAl52]

Have a safe trip 220. Watch out for Roo's

[BrokenolMarine]

Didn't your son bang a roo on his last trip to see YOU. I think I remembered seeing parts of it on the brush guard on the front of his truck when he arrived in the pics you posted.

Be watchful... The wife smacked a deer a couple years ago with the Nissan Titan. IT ran out of the woods and into the side of the truck, then tumbled down the side at 70mph. Two weeks for parts to come in, $7,000 in damages. Took them two tries to match the paint, and wind still hisses on that rear passenger door above 70.

[220]

Didn't your son bang a roo on his last trip to see YOU. I think I remembered seeing parts of it on the brush guard on the front of his truck when he arrived in the pics you posted.

Be watchful... The wife smacked a deer a couple years ago with the Nissan Titan. IT ran out of the woods and into the side of the truck, then tumbled down the side at 70mph. Two weeks for parts to come in, $7,000 in damages. Took them two tries to match the paint, and wind still hisses on that rear passenger door above 70.

Yeah son hit i think 7 on the last trip down, this is probably the photo you are thinking of


Taking my nissan navara, think they are sold as frontier over there. Not as big a bar as sons but a good solid steel bar on it. Already have one good ding in drivers side front panel where I cleaned up a kangaroo on the corner of the bar at around 50mph and the tail whipped around across the panel. Still the bars are really designed to minimise damage and keep you mobile instead of being stranded 100 miles from the nearest town.
Work today a good sleep and should be on the road in under 24hrs, will try and remember to get a few photos as the scenery rushes by.

[BrokenolMarine]

That's the pic I remembered!


We have a 2015 Nissan Frontier Pro4x... It's Lava Red, and we love it. Goes anywhere, and drives like a dream. Gas mileage sucks but you can't have everything. 15mpg city, 18mpg highway.

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We also have the 2010 Titan Pro4x, we have taken really good care of it. Still looks almost new. It's Galaxy Black, with the metal flake in the paint. That gets about 12mpg in heavy traffic and 15 on the highway, but would pull the house off the foundation.

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This is the truck that the deer, being chased by a pack of hunting dogs, ran out of the woods and hit the passenger side quarter panel and went right down the side, doing $7,000 in damage.
Dang deer hit EVERY panel on the right side as he rolled down the truck, screwed them all up. They got the wrong rear passenger door panel in twice... which delayed the repairs.

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Sheriff had no trouble believing it was a deer strike, knocked the crap out of him. The poop and hair on the truck left no doubt.

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The Galaxy Black paint was very hard to match and they had to paint the truck twice. Did a GREAT job over most of the truck but the painter must have got distracted and one area got NO flake in it at all. Flat black in a section about the size of a trash can lid. Had to strip and repaint that whole side to make it blend. They had the truck for about a month... we were not happy. The rental was a piece of crap but the paint shop owner covered the cost.

[JEBar]

Yeah son hit i think 7 on the last trip down, this is probably the photo you are thinking of

I couldn't help but think back to you son hitting those Roos when I read the opening post in this thread .... sure hope your drives proves to be uneventful

[220]

Mine is 2012 kingcab with the turbo diesel I get around 20mpg on the highway.
Took a mate to a shoot and he was amazed at it cruising up hills at 75mph in 6th gear. Once it gets to about 1800rpm the torque and power is great, below that not so much. Around the farm I find myself in low range more often than not simple to put it closer to the power at low speeds idling around,

[220]

Trip ended up being a non event, phone call from son 12hrs before we were due to leave saying he had been informed he wasn't being deployed.
Everything was packed, extra gas the lot, relived and disappointed at the same time.
Good news out of it is that he is now eligible for time off over christmas and can travel so will probably be home in a few weeks.
We haven't seen him for almost 12 months and he has had a Big boy brass sitting in my safe for 9 months he can finally shoot.

Sorry I havent replied earlier but have been run off my feet, normal 40+ hour week in the shop and then everything happening at the farm. In the middle of lambing, spent a day last weekend shearing and another calf marking, hay making season is underway as well and bees are going flat out so pulling honey and chasing swarms and then get the regular farm chores done.

[Rifletom]

220, wow, relieved and disappointed at the same time; yeah, I can understand that. At least you don't have to do the marathon driving. Hope all is now well and take care.

[Hatchdog]

How were you going to fit the trip into all your work at home? Rhetorical question of course but holy cow are you busy!!!!

[Oldbrass]

That's a cool ROO guard on that first rig. Y'all auditioning for the next Mad Max movie? God speed to your love ones for a safe return it's a crazy world.

[PatientWolf]

I hope your drive is going safely.

[BrokenolMarine]

Glad you didn't have to make the trip,
Your son won't be deployed,
And will make the trip home for the holidays.

Having deployed often in the Corps with my Helo units I units, I know the risks there are. Having driven from coast to coast here in the US on more than one occasion, there are much more threats from other drivers than animals you might strike.

Congrats on your triple win.

[220]

Well son made it home for 3 weeks great to catch up, he finally got to shoot his henry that had been sitting here for 9 months. Did a little more load development and he did manage to roll a fox with it.
He had a uneventful trip home barely saw a kangaroo and didnt collect any which was a nice change from the last trip when he cleaned up I think 7 coming south.
Decided his old ute was due for retirement, it has served him well taking all the punishment he has given it. 19 year old and nearly 300,000 mile son it with all original driveline. He was so happy with it he purchased the one my daughter was driving. Same year model, color but 150,000 less miles on the clock, manual instead of auto and a lot straighter.
First thing he did was find a new bar to fit, the one on his old ute was a little worse for wear after all the impacts with wild life. Has gone even bigger this time with the pipe work being 4" he snapped this pic some where on the trip home yesterday

[Ernie]

Wow! I think if I tried to drive a vehicle that looked like that around here I would have some problems with law enforcement. Very impressive.

[Hatchdog]

Holy Mad Max Batman, that’s a corker!

That looks so cool but the best part is the two dogs looking out the back.