The Rules of the River & 2 bogged prado 150s

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Re: The Rules of the River & 2 bogged prado 150s

Diff lock & reducing tyre pressures would have possibly helped a lot.. Murray mud.. yumm.

[William Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close William]

Re: The Rules of the River & 2 bogged prado 150s

Oooohh getting close mate to your new rig.... yes a set of 4 Matrix seem a very handy recovery tool...

Scratch that! I did a lot of running around today and the dealer is going to release the car to us tomorrow :shock: Going straight to the tyre shop for a BFG upgrade. Wohooo! Pics to come...

Diff lock & reducing tyre pressures would have possibly helped a lot.. Murray mud.. yumm.

Possibly would, however, we didn't take the compressor on this trip.

Cheers

[Mark from Brisbane Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark from Brisbane]

Re: The Rules of the River & 2 bogged prado 150s

Great report and sounded like a lot of fun....I never go anywhere without my ARB Compressor and Maxtrax.....only have two so may have to save up to make it four.

[Lapinas Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Lapinas]

Re: The Rules of the River & 2 bogged prado 150s

Maxtrax high on the Christmas wishlist? It's one of those things. If you don't have them, you get stuck. If you have them, you'll never use them.

Great work getting unbogged under those conditions!!

Like the saying goes red cars go faster and white Prados never get stuck! I used to teach novice 4Wheel drivers and the first thing we used to say is that if you go 4 x4 driving you will get stuck otherwise you are not trying and the idea is how to know how to get unstuck. Great team work fellas.

[William Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close William]

Re: The Rules of the River & 2 bogged prado 150s

Great report and sounded like a lot of fun....I never go anywhere without my ARB Compressor and Maxtrax.....only have two so may have to save up to make it four.

Thanks Mark. I sometimes wonder whether two planks of plastic are really worth $270. Though, after a few experiences like this, I reckon people would be willing to fork out a lot more.

Like the saying goes red cars go faster and white Prados never get stuck! I used to teach novice 4Wheel drivers and the first thing we used to say is that if you go 4 x4 driving you will get stuck otherwise you are not trying and the idea is how to know how to get unstuck. Great team work fellas.

Thanks, haha :lol: I've never heard that one! Good thing I have a White Prado, or is it? I'll try getting it bogged next time and prove that myth wrong :wink: Though, I have just returned from a trip to the Murray yesterday. We arrived on Saturday and it was pelting down rain since the day before that (according to the local milk bar owner). The track we were going on, was mostly packed sand, since the council had upgraded it for works on the dam, but there were sections of light mud that existed once you veer off the upgraded track. Having taken the 150 through the mud, I'd have to say BFGs make a huge difference. There was some slipping n sliding but they held traction better than I had expected. In that same bog hole, a local P plater decided to venture into the bush on Saturday night, got bogged and came to us for help. Mind you, the place we were camping was a about a 10 minute drive into the bush. First thing I said to him was "You're a local, don't you know the Rules of the River?". The response " Yeah we knew it was going to be bad, but we're risk takers". Moronic risk takers I reckon, especially since they were doing it in an old banged up commodore. Upon inspection, the wheels weren't dug in too bad. Some shovel work and a few pieces of bark found the car gaining traction, but being a rear wheel drive, there was plenty of sliding once it came off the bark pieces. We managed to get him out of the bog hole and back on the compacted sand track in about 20minutes. A shame I had walked too far from camp before remembering I had forgotten the camera! Though I did take a video and some photos of the trip. I will post them once I convert the video.

Cheers

[Lakey Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Lakey]

Re: The Rules of the River & 2 bogged prado 150s

I cant say. Mr Kakadu had only got his car for a couple of months and it was his first time out with that vehicle - he came from a landcrusier 200.

Who in their right mind sells an LC200 to buy a Kakadu!!! Is this a typo or what

[William Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close William]

Re: The Rules of the River & 2 bogged prado 150s

I cant say. Mr Kakadu had only got his car for a couple of months and it was his first time out with that vehicle - he came from a landcrusier 200.

Who in their right mind sells an LC200 to buy a Kakadu!!! Is this a typo or what

That's prety much the same thing I said when I first saw him with the Kakadu! He said the 150 had just came out with all these new bells and whistles, so he wanted to try it out. Ironicly, he didn't learn how to use half of them. Anyway, the Kakadu is a company lease, so he can easily switch back to an LC200 next year.

[Hutch Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hutch]

Re: The Rules of the River & 2 bogged prado 150s

The most important thing to remember here is that all the electronic aides, diff locks and maxtrax account for nothing if u don't have the skill or knowledge of how to use them.

[William Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close William]

Re: The Rules of the River & 2 bogged prado 150s

Alright, the mud/track on this trip was by no means deep and rutted like that of the pictures featured at the start of this thread. The mud was very light, only 5-10cm to hard ground and not as slippery like the clay-like mud of the other track - this track was a bit darker, like it had some soil mixed in it.

I've managed to encode some videos from my camera, but haven't yet been able to encode the video on the PradoCam (my 1080p laptop mounted webcam) which has the video from town to the campsite in more muddier conditions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9JugXOY0ao
Nothing special, just our new Prado going through some puddles while we look for a camping spot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTRGyz7B8ck
Getting some mud on those new BFGs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L9LCLJTHLk
Driving back from town to get some food to our camping spot approx 12hours after the rain had stopped. The mud was only 5-10cm deep to hard ground and was only a little slippery. As you can see, others with Camry and even a mini-bus made it through in the afternoon. This is the same location where the P plater got bogged the night before.


BFGs first drive through some puddles where the rains had flooded the track.


Some that looks like this.


Our camp site. Taken on Sunday, a day after the rain had stopped.



BFGs after driving back from town through some mud. I might show my dealer these photos and get him to lodge a report to Toyota HQ regarding those mudflaps. At the end of the trip there was a chunk of mud at the front end of the side steps.

We sprayed our cars down at town before driving back, and I noticed a lot of pebbles/small rocks that were wedged in between the tread of the tyres. I picked them out, but I cant see myself doing this every time I take the car out. What do the rest of you do?

Hope you enjoy the videos/pictures.

Cheers

[William Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close William]

Re: The Rules of the River & 2 bogged prado 150s

The most important thing to remember here is that all the electronic aides, diff locks and maxtrax account for nothing if u don't have the skill or knowledge of how to use them.

Hi Hutch/Rob/4x4 hero/diff lock police/4x4 troll, what ever you wish to be called.
This is the third tread you have left comments, which I perceive as derogatory and condescending, regarding my level of experience and the possession of driving aids. It seems to me you should jump in a Fred Flinstone 4x4 and do a run in the mud because you don't seem to need any aids whether it be electronic or mechanical. Although I agree the fact that experience is important, the best way to gain experience is to get out there, get your hands dirty and make mistakes. Isn't that what experience is? I'm not here to debate with you my level of experience or what I do to my vehicle. I'm only here to share my experience with others and take away the experience of others to better prepare myself.

BTW, we didn't have a pair of maxtrax, and if we did, we would have been out a lot quicker. What was time consuming about this recovery was walking into the bushes to pick up branches and twigs - something a maxtrax can overcome as it can be used over and over.

This will be my final response to any unconstructive comments you may have.

[ntp Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close ntp]

Re: The Rules of the River & 2 bogged prado 150s

DING... DING... DING...

Come on fellas... no need for fighting words.

[Hutch Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hutch]

Re: The Rules of the River & 2 bogged prado 150s

The most important thing to remember here is that all the electronic aides, diff locks and maxtrax account for nothing if u don't have the skill or knowledge of how to use them.

Hi Hutch/Rob/4x4 hero/diff lock police/4x4 troll, what ever you wish to be called.
This is the third tread you have left comments, which I perceive as derogatory and condescending, regarding my level of experience and the possession of driving aids. It seems to me you should jump in a Fred Flinstone 4x4 and do a run in the mud because you don't seem to need any aids whether it be electronic or mechanical. Although I agree the fact that experience is important, the best way to gain experience is to get out there, get your hands dirty and make mistakes. Isn't that what experience is? I'm not here to debate with you my level of experience or what I do to my vehicle. I'm only here to share my experience with others and take away the experience of others to better prepare myself.

BTW, we didn't have a pair of maxtrax, and if we did, we would have been out a lot quicker. What was time consuming about this recovery was walking into the bushes to pick up branches and twigs - something a maxtrax can overcome as it can be used over and over.

This will be my final response to any unconstructive comments you may have.

PM sent.

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Re: The Rules of the River & 2 bogged prado 150s

Hi Hutch/Rob/4x4 hero/diff lock police/4x4 troll, what ever you wish to be called.
This is the third tread you have left comments, which I perceive as derogatory and condescending, regarding my level of experience and the possession of driving aids. It seems to me you should jump in a Fred Flinstone 4x4 and do a run in the mud because you don't seem to need any aids whether it be electronic or mechanical. Although I agree the fact that experience is important, the best way to gain experience is to get out there, get your hands dirty and make mistakes. Isn't that what experience is? I'm not here to debate with you my level of experience or what I do to my vehicle. I'm only here to share my experience with others and take away the experience of others to better prepare myself.

BTW, we didn't have a pair of maxtrax, and if we did, we would have been out a lot quicker. What was time consuming about this recovery was walking into the bushes to pick up branches and twigs - something a maxtrax can overcome as it can be used over and over.

This will be my final response to any unconstructive comments you may have.

I live by this motto, you can buy all the gear in the world but you can't buy ability. The only way to gain ability is to get out there which you are doing. Problem is you failed to have even a basic knowledge of recovery techniques and that makes it dangerous. At a minimum you should never go into the bush without a snatch strap, shackles, a compressor and tyre gauge. It's amazing how much more traction you get when you lower your tyre pressures. As for putting branches and sticks into the ruts, well that's going to end in tears for the next person who will most likely stake a tyre. It's great you are getting out there and having a go however please have a basic understanding of what you're doing when you're out there.

[samo Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close samo]

Re: The Rules of the River & 2 bogged prado 150s

lets keep in on topic fellas and not turn it into a experience thread. cheers samo

[William Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close William]

Re: The Rules of the River & 2 bogged prado 150s

PM sent.

PM replied & received. The war is over. If only peace talks were this easy between USA & Iraq lol :lol:

I live by this motto, you can buy all the gear in the world but you can't buy ability. The only way to gain ability is to get out there which you are doing. Problem is you failed to have even a basic knowledge of recovery techniques and that makes it dangerous. At a minimum you should never go into the bush without a snatch strap, shackles, a compressor and tyre gauge. It's amazing how much more traction you get when you lower your tyre pressures. As for putting branches and sticks into the ruts, well that's going to end in tears for the next person who will most likely stake a tyre. It's great you are getting out there and having a go however please have a basic understanding of what you're doing when you're out there.

I appreciate your comment, but please don't assume too much. I actually do have basic knowledge of recovery techniques. As I have stated previously, we've done worse recoveries in similar circumstances. At no point were we or the cars in danger. As you can see, the mud at the murray sets quite fast and hard. If our recovery attempts were to fail, we would be waiting out the rain and shoveling the car out in drier conditions. We had over a weeks worth of food/water, cellular coverage, a farm nearby with a tractor and friends at the town 20minutes away with more mud capable vehicles. Honestly, we recovered the car the way we did as a challenge, not because we had to.It was a lot of fun too.

As a minimum I do carry basic recovery gear on every trip regardless of the weather:
1. Strap
2. Shakles
3. Shovel
4. Extra rope
What you have to remember is that this was not supposed to be a 4x4 trip, but a camping one. There can only be so much space in the car for recovery gear. We've made do with the above for many many years without drama. Also a note on these branches and twigs we were using. I've also been using them for many many years to recover cars and have not once had a punctured tyre. We were restricted to camping in dry weather as I previously had a camry (bridging car while we waited for the Prado 150 to be released!!)... I've now got a Prado which has warranted the purchase of a MaxTrax, so we can venture out camping/fishing in wet weather. We actually use that track quite often, and we've recovered cars in a similar fashion on that very same track, just 100m up. That track actually comes off a farmers road, which connects to the main track, so I don't believe many people use it. Anyway, we have never had a puncture from driving on that track even after weeks/months of laying down twigs. I think the clay-type mud at the Murray is somewhat unique. The ruts that were there, seem to fill themselves and anything in them up. I've been on a track there with moderately sized ruts, only to return in a months time (rain in between) to find that they have been filled. I know its not the council/park ranger as the track still looks like swiss cheese. I think this happens as people drive on the outter edges of the ruts, which breaks up dirt and fills the rut up, rain later errodes it further and the process repeats until the rut is somewhat shallow. Here's what I'll do, the next time I go there, I'll go to the bog site and take a few photos for you so we can see what happened to those twigs we put down.

Just think about it, there are countries out there who get by with much less than us. They do not have the luxury of having aids or recovery gear, but do have man power and natural resources. Perhaps as an "oh no my recovery gear has failed" exercise, you should set your recovery gear aside and try the absolute basics of recovering yourself with the resources you have around you. Ofcourse, please attempt this in a safe environment with a Plan B at hand...

Cheers

Reason for edit: misread D4D's post.