Lr

I intend to hire a campervan for a long trip from Broome to Cairns via
the Gibb River Road and the Gulf Track. As far as I can tell, no
campervan hire company includes much in the way of parts and spares
that may be needed along the way. Is any company better than the
others in this respect? If not, what's a good way to get the parts
and spares without spending a fortune? Thanks for your help!

Roger Martin

"LR" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > I intend to hire a campervan for a long trip from Broome to Cairns via
    > the Gibb River Road and the Gulf Track. As far as I can tell, no
    > campervan hire company includes much in the way of parts and spares
    > that may be needed along the way. Is any company better than the
    > others in this respect? If not, what's a good way to get the parts
    > and spares without spending a fortune? Thanks for your help!

You need to check with hiring company, most would not like the idea of you
"fiddling" with their vehicle. Most long haul hire companies have membership
of the motoring clubs in Australia and would just get a local mechanic out
to fix up the problem. In the areas you are going to that may not be such an
easy option and you need to make sure that the hirer knows exactly where you
intend going. If you go "out of area" it may be left upto you to fix up
repairs and the costs involved.

Have a great trip.

--
www.bribieisland4x4hire.com

Lr

Thanks, Roger.

I had no intention of taking the vehicle to an unauthorized area. The
hire company will know exactly where I'm going.

I also have no intention of doing anything other than just doing the
minimal repairs so that I can get back on the road.

The problem is that repairs are difficult and time consuming in some
of the areas I'd like to visit. That's why it's advisable to have
some parts and spares on board.

"Roger Martin" wrote in message news:...
    > "LR" wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > I intend to hire a campervan for a long trip from Broome to Cairns via
    > > the Gibb River Road and the Gulf Track. As far as I can tell, no
    > > campervan hire company includes much in the way of parts and spares
    > > that may be needed along the way. Is any company better than the
    > > others in this respect? If not, what's a good way to get the parts
    > > and spares without spending a fortune? Thanks for your help!
    >
    > You need to check with hiring company, most would not like the idea of you
    > "fiddling" with their vehicle. Most long haul hire companies have membership
    > of the motoring clubs in Australia and would just get a local mechanic out
    > to fix up the problem. In the areas you are going to that may not be such an
    > easy option and you need to make sure that the hirer knows exactly where you
    > intend going. If you go "out of area" it may be left upto you to fix up
    > repairs and the costs involved.
    >
    > Have a great trip.

Roger Martin

"LR" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Thanks, Roger.
    > I had no intention of taking the vehicle to an unauthorized area. The
    > hire company will know exactly where I'm going.
    > I also have no intention of doing anything other than just doing the
    > minimal repairs so that I can get back on the road.
    > The problem is that repairs are difficult and time consuming in some
    > of the areas I'd like to visit. That's why it's advisable to have
    > some parts and spares on board.

I'd buy some fuel filters to suit the vehicle - often crappy fuel causes
more problems than anything else - if its a diesel make sure that you know
how to re prime the fuel system. See if the hire company provides extra
inner tubes and a tool repair kit for tyres - check that they dont use
tubeless tyres. Fan belts are always handy to have. Fuses, bulbs, etc.

Mush else and you are going to need more than the basic tool kit supplied in
the vehicle.

Other things to watch for are blocked cooling fins on radiators - dust, mud
or grass seeds (spinifex).

Rak

"Roger Martin" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > "LR" wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > Thanks, Roger.
    > >
    > > I had no intention of taking the vehicle to an unauthorized area. The
    > > hire company will know exactly where I'm going.
    > >
    > > I also have no intention of doing anything other than just doing the
    > > minimal repairs so that I can get back on the road.
    > >
    > > The problem is that repairs are difficult and time consuming in some
    > > of the areas I'd like to visit. That's why it's advisable to have
    > > some parts and spares on board.
    > >
    > I'd buy some fuel filters to suit the vehicle - often crappy fuel causes
    > more problems than anything else - if its a diesel make sure that you know
    > how to re prime the fuel system. See if the hire company provides extra
    > inner tubes and a tool repair kit for tyres - check that they dont use
    > tubeless tyres. Fan belts are always handy to have. Fuses, bulbs, etc.
    > Mush else and you are going to need more than the basic tool kit supplied
in
    > the vehicle.
    > Other things to watch for are blocked cooling fins on radiators - dust,
mud
    > or grass seeds (spinifex).
Good advice. Knowing how to re-prime a diesel system is a very good tip. I
have experienced that a few times in very remote areas and luckily a
companion knew how to do it. I had no idea, and didn't even know it was
necessary..
I would also take more spanners etc than those normally included in the
basic tool kit
An extra spare wheel is reassuring. And maybe one of those aerosol cans that
supposedly do a temporary puncture repair ; I have carried one but never
used it.
And a strange item always carried by a bush mechanic I once knew: wire coat
hangers - strong, flexible, adaptable... and free!. These can be used for
all sorts of temporary fixes. He somehow managed to reattach a bus's drive
shaft whose mountings had broken using this wire, and it held on for the
next few hundred km of Middle Eastern desert, just long enough for us to get
to the next city where it conveniently fell apart right outside a welding
shop. I have also used them to re-attach the battered exhaust system of a
Land Rover after too many miles of NT dirt roads.
A few bits of tube etc are cheap and useful too. And various types of glues
and adhesive tapes. After water got into my fuel tank (actually frozen water
vapour in freaky -25C weather), I managed to get home running from hand-held
jerry cans fed directly to the engine via long plastic tubes (much easier in
a rear engine VW!). Probably not too safe, definitely smelly, but at least
effective. This would also provide recovery from a burst fuel tank.

Probably there are many more of these cheap and effective emergency fixes.
Perhaps there is a book or website with a list of such tools and tricks?
But I wonder what can be done about ever more complex electricals? I was on
a long drive in a friend's Audi last year when the immobiliser refused to
turn off and we could start the car. An emergency service failed to bypass
the immobiliser and we had to abandon the car and hire another. An Audi
garage later bypassed the immobiliser but could not repair it. These fancy
gadgets really worry me for bush driving.

Roger

Raffi Balmanoukian

in article [email protected], RAK at [email protected]
wrote on 7/3/03 1:03 AM:

    >
    > "Roger Martin" wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    >> "LR" wrote in message
    >> news:[email protected]...
    >>> Thanks, Roger.
    >>>
    >>> I had no intention of taking the vehicle to an unauthorized area. The
    >>> hire company will know exactly where I'm going.
    >>>
    >>> I also have no intention of doing anything other than just doing the
    >>> minimal repairs so that I can get back on the road.
    >>>
    >>> The problem is that repairs are difficult and time consuming in some
    >>> of the areas I'd like to visit. That's why it's advisable to have
    >>> some parts and spares on board.
    >>>
    >>
    >> I'd buy some fuel filters to suit the vehicle - often crappy fuel causes
    >> more problems than anything else - if its a diesel make sure that you know
    >> how to re prime the fuel system. See if the hire company provides extra
    >> inner tubes and a tool repair kit for tyres - check that they dont use
    >> tubeless tyres. Fan belts are always handy to have. Fuses, bulbs, etc.
    >>
    >> Mush else and you are going to need more than the basic tool kit supplied
    > in
    >> the vehicle.
    >>
    >> Other things to watch for are blocked cooling fins on radiators - dust,
    > mud
    >> or grass seeds (spinifex).
    >>
    >>
    > Good advice. Knowing how to re-prime a diesel system is a very good tip. I
    > have experienced that a few times in very remote areas and luckily a
    > companion knew how to do it. I had no idea, and didn't even know it was
    > necessary..
    > I would also take more spanners etc than those normally included in the
    > basic tool kit
    > An extra spare wheel is reassuring. And maybe one of those aerosol cans that
    > supposedly do a temporary puncture repair ; I have carried one but never
    > used it.
    > And a strange item always carried by a bush mechanic I once knew: wire coat
    > hangers - strong, flexible, adaptable... and free!. These can be used for
    > all sorts of temporary fixes. He somehow managed to reattach a bus's drive
    > shaft whose mountings had broken using this wire, and it held on for the
    > next few hundred km of Middle Eastern desert, just long enough for us to get
    > to the next city where it conveniently fell apart right outside a welding
    > shop. I have also used them to re-attach the battered exhaust system of a
    > Land Rover after too many miles of NT dirt roads.
    > A few bits of tube etc are cheap and useful too. And various types of glues
    > and adhesive tapes. After water got into my fuel tank (actually frozen water
    > vapour in freaky -25C weather), I managed to get home running from hand-held
    > jerry cans fed directly to the engine via long plastic tubes (much easier in
    > a rear engine VW!). Probably not too safe, definitely smelly, but at least
    > effective. This would also provide recovery from a burst fuel tank.
    >
    > Probably there are many more of these cheap and effective emergency fixes.
    > Perhaps there is a book or website with a list of such tools and tricks?
    > But I wonder what can be done about ever more complex electricals? I was on
    > a long drive in a friend's Audi last year when the immobiliser refused to
    > turn off and we could start the car. An emergency service failed to bypass
    > the immobiliser and we had to abandon the car and hire another. An Audi
    > garage later bypassed the immobiliser but could not repair it. These fancy
    > gadgets really worry me for bush driving.
    >
    > Roger
    >
    >
    >


Probably the best overall pocket guide is Andrew St. Pierre White's 4x4
manual for S. Africa. It had heaps of concise and prescient hints on bush
travel, equally applicable to Australia. Check Google and Amazon and the
other suspects for copies.

Keith Sayers

On Wed, 2 Jul 2003 08:48:47 +1000, "Roger Martin"
wrote:

    > check that they dont use tubeless tyres.

These are not nowadays as much of a worry as they used to be. If
need be you can put a tube into a tubeless tyre, although it is then
advisable to drive carefully until you get to somewhere a proper
repair can be done.

    >Fan belts are always handy to have. Fuses, bulbs, etc.

Agreed. I would also suggest some wooden blocks - the ones I
carry are about 3"x6"x12" - to get yourself out of a bogging.
__________________________________________________ ____________
Keith Sayers, Canberra, Australia [email protected]
Mail : 6 Clambe Place,
CHARNWOOD, ACT 2615 http://www.pcug.org.au/~kmsayers
--------------------------------------------------------------