If it’s an expedition, then you will need to get some serious survival gear which is beyond the scope of this article. What I’m going to assume is that you will be somewhere near civilization, at least in the vicinity of other travellers and therefore will only need to carry a level of recovery gear to save you from serious embarrassment.

So let’s start with a shovel. Yes, it’s pretty basic but you can solve many problems with a good shovel. Note the adjective. Get a good tool for the job and not some flimsy space saving, fold up jobbie. Some prefer the long handled type and they generally attach it to the roof rack. Mine is a short Cyclone shovel which measures exactly 3 foot on the old scale and fits neatly in behind the back seat. When you are moving serious quantities of sand or dirt, you need a well-balanced and sturdy tool for the job.

Next on my list is a Hi-Lift jack. Why? Because unlike most other jacks it can do two jobs. It’s a jack and it’s also a hand winch. You’ll need a good, broad base plate. This could be your bread or chopping board. You’ll only need to use it in an emergency.

Drill a couple of holes in the base plate for nuts & bolts to stop the winch from sliding around. The jack can be carried on purpose built rack fittings. Personally, I dismantle mine and the parts fit into various compartments of my luggage area. It takes less than a minute to reassemble the parts.

ARB also market a set of straps that will allow you to attach the jack to a wheel in order to lift it out of a hole and an attachment for lifting via your bumper. Check out your attachment options prior to purchase to ensure you can actually use this jack with your vehicle. It’s too late to find out after you’re bogged. Practice before leaving home and do follow all safety instructions when using the jack.

Exhaust jacks are also popular but they may take up more room in your cargo area.

Many vehicles carry electric winches but in reality, how often are they required unless you are really on an expedition? Whatever your choice, winches need other accessories like correctly rated shackles, cables and tree protectors. A very useful accessory is a tree to attach your cable to or some other form of anchor. Your vehicle may also need reinforced recovery points to be added.

If you are travelling over sand, a snatch strap is an essential accessory. They take up little space and will get you out of most bogs if you are travelling in company.

Some travellers also carry tracks to drive over in case of trouble. You can pay a lot of money for some brands which I’m sure do an excellent job. We will be reviewing some later. In the meantime, take a good look at your existing mats. If you have a good thick set like I have, a cheap modification is to drill a couple of holes at each end so you can link them together with cable ties to create your own tracks in an emergency.

Finally, you will need a compressor. Not an el cheapo model but something that will quickly re-inflate your tyres after you’ve let them down to cross a loose surface. If you think it will be hard to re-inflate your tyres, you will be reluctant to deflate them when you really should. And then you will get bogged. So get a good compressor.

You have two options: have one permanently mounted or buy a portable one. A portable one is also handy around the shed but a permanently mounted one may be easier to find!

The first thing to consider if you are planning to travel over rough roads is your tyres. Many new vehicles come with tyres that are provided with an emphasis on best handling on city streets. While this is less the case for four wheel drives, many of the more compact designs are shod with rubber that will disintegrate quickly on dirt roads.

Your tyres are your most important active safety equipment so do your homework and ensure that your vehicle is safely equipped for the terrain you intend covering. Light truck tyres and all terrain tyres may come into consideration but you need to ensure that you remain within the parameters set by your vehicle manufacturer to retain full warranty coverage.

Guards

Do you need underbody protection? Personally I consider a sump guard an essential component for any vehicle travelling on dirt roads. Most differentials are tough enough to go unprotected unless you’re planning to get airborne. Other protection plates should be considered if you identify vulnerable components hanging under the vehicle.

Radiator

You will encounter millions of insects during your journeys so an insect screen is a must. You will find purpose built screens for some vehicles or you can make up your own from fly wire or some other kind of mesh. Choose something with a fairly open mesh so that you don’t adversely affect air flow into the cooling system.

Bull Bar

Bull bars have excited a lot of discussion in recent years, principally because of the risk to pedestrians in an urban environment. In their proper environment, they have considerable utility and may enable your vehicle to survive an impact with a large animal well enough for you to carry on to your next port of call.

The first consideration in selecting a bull bar is compatibility with your airbag system. For this reason, home made bars are not the way to go. Your bar must be certified as compatible.

A second consideration is the effect on your approach angle and ground clearance. Approach angle is the angle at which you can successfully drive over an obstacle. Some bars will improve this. Others may reduce it. Similarly some bull bars dramatically reduce the ground clearance at the front of your vehicle.

In making your final selection, you need to achieve the optimal balance between strength and weight. Most bars are made of aluminum but new plastic bars are also coming into favour.

If you need to make provision for extra lights or a winch, now is the time to ensure that the preferred bull bar is suitable. It’s much more expensive to have the bar modified later on.

Lights

Do you need extra lights? This is really a personal decision. If you look around at the vehicles that live in rural areas, most people don’t bother. If you are travelling at sensible speeds, normal lights are perfectly adequate. If they are not, the first step would be to investigate stronger globes and check headlight alignment.

In some areas, fog lights may be useful but it’s probably better to avoid driving on unfamiliar roads in the fog in the first place. A spot light that reaches a bit further than your high beam is also a consideration but you may find repeatedly switching it off early enough for oncoming traffic a bit of a nuisance.

If you can find somewhere to mount a rear facing light, it will be an asset in some circumstances. For example, when setting up camp for the night.

Racks

Roof racks are essential for some travellers but if you can avoid them, your fuel consumption will be better. The same incidentally applies to bull bars. Anything that has the potential to change your vehicle’s aerodynamics should be considered a last resort.

If you have to use a rack, look for the best balance of strength and aerodynamics and make sure you are aware of your vehicles weight limitations for racks. If you put too much weight up there, you may damage your roof or make the whole vehicle more top heavy and vulnerable to rolling over. There are several good brands of luggage pods available which we hope to review later.

There are many other kinds of rack and rack acccessories available that will allow you to carry spare fuel and water , bicycles, spare tyres, jacks shovels, pretty well whatever your heart desires. Just make sure you really need this stuff and that it will be secure if carried externally to your vehicle.

Colour

There are pretty good reasons why most long term travellers choose white or light coloured cars. The most important consideration is safety. Dark vehicles are a major hazard. Even in normal visibility, they can be temporarily lost against a dark background.

Light vehicles are also cooler and this is an important factor when you’re going to be in the vehicle for long stretches of time and using it to carry food, cameras and drinks. They also look cleaner for longer periods between washes and many places have water restrictions in place.

Age and Popularity

Popular vehicles have more extensive support networks and you are less likely to be stranded for long waiting for spare parts. The same consideration applies to motors if you are using a truck or bus as a platform. Go with a major manufacturer who’s likely to have engines in all kinds of commercial vehicles circulating on the highways and byways.

Brand new vehicles can also be a risk. I recall being stranded in a campground for two weeks when a mate’s brand new motorcycle needed parts which were unavailable in Australia. The quickest solution turned out to be finding an engineer to recondition the damaged parts at many times the cost of replacement parts.

Avoid the latest and greatest. Wait for the second year of a new model when the bugs have been sorted and the spares are in the country.

In any case, seriously consider the extended warranties and back up services on offer. They may present excellent value especially if you’re buying a new vehicle.

Dimensions

If you are going bush, ground clearance is one of your most important considerations. Whether you plan to go seriously off road or not, there will be times when you will take bad roads and rough tracks. Avoid any vehicle with less than 200mm clearance when fully loaded. That’s high enough if you are staying on a solid surface. Adventurous souls will need more.

Clearance should be measured at the lowest point and you should get under the car on a hoist or put it over a pit and familiarize yourself with the dangly bits. Typically, the low point is going to be a differential, exhaust or muffler. You may be able to protect it with a sump guard or plate but only in exchange for some of your valuable clearance. In any case, if you know which bit is going to touch down first, you can often manoeuvre to take this into account.

Width is also a factor to think about. While a Hummer would be a pretty impressive tow vehicle, there won’t be much paint left after you take it down a bush track the first time. Given a choice of similar vehicles, narrower bodies are of some value in preserving paintwork from bush scratches. They won’t all polish out, trust me.

If you are ‘vertically challenged’, make sure you are going to be able to reach the roof either to clean it or retrieve items from the roof rack.

Loading and Towing Limits

When towing and carrying loads, you are required to stay within the manufacturer’s guidelines for your vehicle. Manufacturers are pretty clear what you are allowed to carry and tow with their vehicles. You just need to locate the relevant information on a compliance plate or in a manual.

As you are evaluating different options you will need to consider:

Load Capacity: The combined weight of passengers, accessories, fuel and contents must not exceed the Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) which will be shown on the manufacturers compliance plate. This plate will also advise of the Gross Axle Laden Rating (GALR) which will tell you how much weight may be carried over the rear axle. The latter will include the downforce of a towed vehicle on the tow ball.

Towing Capacity: You need to ensure that the vehicle’s permitted limits for towing braked or unbraked vans or trailers will safely meet your needs. This will require an assessment of the tow bar limits as well as the tow vehicle’s specifications.

If you get any of these wrong, you may void your warranty and will also break the law.

Manual vs Automatic

For ease of driving most people will prefer to drive an automatic. I’m personally not one of them.

In exchange for ease and simplicity, you get higher fuel consumption and a loss of control of how the vehicle adapts to some challenges such as hill climbing and hill descent.

For serious off road work, you can’t really beat a manual without going really high tech and risking high tech breakdowns. In sand, for example there have been numerous reports of automatic transmissions overheating on SUVs.

At the end of the day, it’s a personal preference and you need to take into account the needs of your co-driver, too.

Fuel

LPG is not a great idea as there will be many places in the bush where it is difficult to obtain. Not a bad choice if you have a dual fuel set up but ensure there’s good capacity for petrol.

Diesel continues to draw ahead of petrol as modern motors provide impressive fuel consumption figures with good power thanks to turbo chargers, superchargers and so forth. Check with your vehicle’s manufacturer before adopting bio-diesel as older motors cannot use it without some modifications to seals.

Unleaded petrol is fine and will suit many travellers very well. Petrol powered vehicles may pose an additional fire hazard in areas prone to bush fires so travel and park carefully. Be especially aware of the location of your catalytic converter if fitted and ensure that your exhaust system is sound and fitted with a spark arrester.

Cars that run best on Premium unleaded will encounter many remote locations that don’t stock it. It’s best to avoid these vehicles unless you are prepared to carry additional fuel.

In the proximity of Aboriginal communities, you may need to use Opal fuel. This is a BP fuel product that does not include the chemicals sought by petrol sniffers and should not harm your vehicle. You can review the fact sheets here.

Cruise Control and Trip Computers

An accurate trip computer may be a real comfort as you try to estimate if you can reach that next destination as darkness falls. On the other hand, mental arithmetic is good for the brain’s longevity.

Cruise control? Don’t leave home without it.

Motor Cycles

Motor cycles have their fans and we’ve certainly been amongst them in the past. In fact, two of the best preparations for life on the road are motorcycle touring and cruising on a small sailing vessel. You learn to maximise your comfort with minimal equipment and also how to be very creative with limited cooking supplies.

With careful preparation, it’s possible for two people to live off the back of a suitable motorcycle for months on end. A modern motorcycle in the right hands is very safe, reliable and the most economical form of motorised transport available. It is even possible for a larger bike to tow a purpose built trailer if you really want to take the kitchen sink but we’ve never found either to be necessary.

While there used to be a stigma against motorcyclists, the image has been totally softened by annual Toy Runs and groups like the Ulysses Club. So if you want to “Grow Old Disgracefully”, go right ahead.

Motorcycling will not suit everyone. It takes a level of fitness just to get on and off a big bike and if your joints are starting to go or if you suffer from poor circulation, it’s probably not the best option. If you’re keen, try shorter trips first of at least a couple of weeks at a time first and see how you get on.

Cars

Next in line would be the domestic motor vehicle, solo or with a caravan or trailer. Almost any recent model car out there will be able to circumnavigate on the tar with suitable driving habits but it’s not a great idea to go too small or too exotic. Personally, I’d recommend reading the safety and reliability records on any models that you are considering.

The Royal Automobile Association in South Australia has a great used car safety guide here. New cars are tested by the Australian New Car Assessment Program and their results can be viewed here.

If you are going to be travelling long distances, think long wheelbase. Small vehicles will jerk you around a lot whereas a long-wheelbased car will float more smoothly over the roads’ lumps and bumps and will have greater directional stability.

The best choices will be the most popular marques that have good service networks around the country. If you’re tempted to take something unusual, I’d recommend that you pick up a copy of “The Dog and Lemon Guide” to make a proper assessment of your chances of reaching your destination.

Tents

Going without a van or trailer means tenting or using some form of rental accommodation. Tents are amazingly cheap for what you get and tent sites are often easier to get without notice and are cheaper as a rule.

Chosen carefully, modern tents are easy to get up and down. Anything of a realistic size is best dealt with by two people even if designed to be erected singlehanded. Camping stores are full of great gear (which we will be reviewing elsewhere on this site) that will ensure that tenting is a comfortable option.While tents may be less private than vans and buses, privacy may be enhanced through an increased ability to access more remote sites. Somehow, tent sites are usually more memorable than the lump of concrete with a power pole that often serves as a caravan site.

If travelling by car or station wagon, it will be necessary to ensure that all gear is well secured and preferably stored in a separate space to the travellers who need to be able to spread out a bit on long trips. Small vans like ‘people movers’ have a lot going for them if equipped with suitable storage facilities.

Four Wheel Drive

The four wheel drive is often the first choice for long term travellers and comes in a range of styles and configurations. Generally tough, strong and well supplied with tie-downs and gizmos, it’s almost irresistable until fuel costs come into consideration. Many larger 4WDs have an irresponsible thirst for fuel, especially those using petrol.

If you don’t go four wheel driving now, the chances of doing so while you are away may not be especially high. Most popular tourist attractions have good roads into them and there’s nothing wrong with a little hiking from time to time.

Don’t assume a 4WD is essential. Care and reasonable ground clearance will get you into a lot of good spots enjoyed by the locals. A standard vehicle may suit you just as well and deliver such good economy that you can afford to hire a 4WD or take a tour in one from time to time. Is this an expedition, a holiday or a way of life?

Camper Vans

The next candidate for our consideration is the small camper van. These vehicles represent an attempt to cram a lot of facilities into a very small package. Just like a boat on wheels really and some people have been known to take their trailer sailers. The camper may represent a good choice for a couple especially if they like each other!

For longer trips, give consideration to packing a tent as well. This will allow you to leave a base camp set up and drive freely around without the hassles of having to pack up the bedding and other gear every time you run out of milk or decide to go back to that fishing spot you found.

Camper Trailers and Caravans

Which brings us to the obvious advantages of the camper trailer and caravan. Depending on what you choose, there is the impact of towing on your touring speed and economy as well as the related driving challenges of managing a towed vehicle. But once you arrive, you’re home. It’s your place just the way you like it.

Slide-On Campers

There is considerable variety available in slide-on campers and most modern designs are easily converted to free standing accommodation, providing the benefits of a small van as well as the versatility of the utility or truck carrying the unit. Pop top units are particularly worthy of clsoer attention.

Buses and Trucks

From here, the sky’s the limit. If you’re a great mechanic and handyman, converting a truck or bus is clearly a cost saving option. Getting these rigs finished is always a challenge. Keeping them going in the bush if the base vehicle is at all old may also be an issue as spares may become increasingly scarce. It’s fine to chase up rare bits on Ebay while you’re at home but what are you gunna do from Gunnadoo?

But don’t be discouraged if you know you have the skills. There are some great home built rigs out there and best of all, they’re usually tailor made for their inhabitants. From time to time, you’ll also come across a bargain where a project is well advanced but the creators’ health or other circumstances have let them down.

Motor Homes

Professionally built motor homes have clear advantages especially if you can influence their final configuration to ensure the specifications and facilities meet your needs. Don’t go any bigger than all of your drivers are comfortable handling.

Think carefully about some of the gadgets you include. Do you really want to share your living space with a noisy washing machine or dishwasher? Could that space be better utilised for storage, perhaps?

The large mobile home or bus also shares the major drawback of the smaller campervan. Once it’s parked, it’s a hassle to pack up and go elsewhere. For this reason, many of these rigs tow a smaller vehicle which adds to the complexity of travel as well as exacerbating the already challenging business of finding a parking space in country towns.

Fifth Wheeler

The fifth wheeler is a comparatively new option and has many things going for it. Price-wise it sits at the top end of caravan pricing and near the lower end of mobile home figures. But you have to add the cost of the ‘prime mover’ which can be a medium sized ute. This arrangement does mean that you then have a ute for commuting once you have established camp.

Conclusion

So there are many choices and pluses and minuses for each. As they say, there are no simple and no right answers, no one size fits all. Pick the style that best suits your personality and your dream. If you can afford a five star mobile mansion, go for it. If you just want to get around the country on the smell of an oily rag, it’s an option. And yes, we will look at fuel later in this series.