Going Solo Tips for hitting the tracks safely as a single vehicle

GOING

By Grant Hanan & Linda Bloffwitch

Solo

Want to travel solo but don’t know where to start? Grant and Linda have travelled this way for years, and share their tips on how to safely hit the tracks as a single vehicle.

If you’re ever planning on travelling to remote areas without a fuel or supply stop within cooee, we’ll be the first to put our hands up and say travelling with other vehicles is the wiser and safer option. At the very least, travelling with a second vehicle means you won’t be left stranded if things go pear-shaped. Although travelling with a bunch of others has its benefits, you might just find it’s not always roses. In fact, it’s never fun watching a potential war break out after someone’s bacon and egg cook up isn’t ready by wheels up time. At the end of the day, it’s all about compromise when travelling in a group. With that said, you do have a choice. You can either tolerate the group and accept you may not get to do everything you want, or you can try going it alone. This is where travelling as a solo vehicle has its benefits. For starters, you’re not choking on others’ dust. Then, when any dust is made, it’s your own and going behind you. And if you’re travelling somewhere and pop over a rise, it will be high-fives when you’ve been the first to see wildlife in its natural

habitat. Nor do you need to worry whether you’re making too much noise at camp, and you don’t need to collaborate with others about changing travel plans at the drop of a hat. These are just some of the things that make solo vehicle travelling appealing. But make no mistake. Being a single vehicle travelling remotely and complacency don’t go together. In fact, it could kill you. While that might sound a bit melodramatic, it can, and does happen. Nobody ever wants to hear you’ve made the news for all the wrong reasons. Yes, disasters can happen

Travelling solo means no noisy neighbours to contend with.

to the best and most experienced travellers, but being prepared and having anticipated an event means you’ve already thought about it and what you might do when things go south. So what can you do? Well, no doubt you’ve heard the saying that prevention is better than cure. Start by developing a maintenance check procedure for your set-up well before leaving home, so you can follow it on a daily basis while you’re on the tracks. The types of checks on this list should include things like checking under the bonnet for fluid levels, and crawling underneath to look for any leaks and anything that might be working loose. Also, always check wheels nuts, especially when you’re travelling on corrugated roads. Remember to add in checks of your roof racks and all the items kept up top to your list, and regularly give the hitch assembly, suspension and tyres a once over if towing. The check should take no longer than 10 minutes daily and should become part of your morning routine just like having that morning cuppa. Let’s look at some other things to consider if you’re travelling as a solo vehicle.

Something we came across during one of our trips.

Remember to regularly check up top in case any gear has come loose.

A breakdown of any sort will test your level of mechanical knowledge and reasoning. Naturally, a wellmaintained vehicle goes without saying, but having it serviced by technicians who understand your type of travel and the expectations of your vehicle while travelling is a top priority. This is also the time to have any extra things checked and serviced. Servicing and spare tyres are two of the basics to address if towing, and it’s a massive bonus if your trailer can have the same wheels and tyres as your vehicle so they’re all interchangeable. The main trailer failures we’ve come across on the tracks are generally suspension related. You know, things like wheel bearings, broken springs and hangers, and hitch coupling fatigue and breaks. Basically, your camper needs to be capable for tackling the tracks your vehicle can take you to. You also should be carrying the right spares so you’re prepared if things go pear shaped, otherwise the worst-case scenario may mean you have to unhitch and leave the trailer behind to get help.

The owner of this would have had a rude shock when they eventually stopped down the track and found it missing. After destroying a tyre while using tyre sensors we’ve now upgraded to a more reliable brand.

TYRES

We’re not talking a simple puncture here, but where someone’s spare is already cactus, another tyre’s gone flat, and they don’t have a plug kit. We’ve also seen others on the track who are carrying plug kits, but the puncture is well beyond plugs and where a patch and glue, possibly even a tube would be handy to get them to the next town. This is why you need to carry the tools and have a bit of know-how to keep you going. We’ve even seen brand new tyres get a puncture where the driver didn’t know it and kept on driving until the tyre was wrecked. Ok, we’ll put our hand up for that one. Things could have been different if we had good tyre monitoring equipment as an early warning device (which we thankfully now have after replacing our old one that let us down too often).

FLAT BATTERY

This one happens to the best of us. Accidently leave a door open or an accessory on and you’ll find the battery drops overnight to a point where it won’t crank the engine over. The simple solution here is to have a second battery that’s capable of crank starting through an isolator switch or even from jumper leads. It’s also easy enough these days to carry

a small battery jump starter pack in your vehicle, but test it before leaving home to make sure it can start your vehicle. Another option is a solar solution of sorts to recharge the battery, but you may have to sit around while it recharges.

BAD FUEL

This isn’t uncommon in remote places when fuel can be stored in a range of tanks. And while it may take longer to fill, use a fuel filter funnel from the beginning to ensure the fuel isn’t contaminated. We also like to carry spare fuel filters, so you just need to know how to change one. It’s also handy to know what process your vehicle has for re-setting any alarms, so do some research before leaving home. This isn’t something you want to learn out on some remote track.

We wouldn’t contemplate any remote travel without taking a fuel filter funnel. You might only use it once on a trip, but you’ll be glad you’ve got it if you need it.

A satellite phone can sometimes be your only contact to the outside world.SPARE PARTS & TOOLKIT

Our kit has a very good bottle jack, some hand tools, spanners, screwdrivers, hammers etc., that we always travel with. We also like to include a battery handheld drill, grinder, saw and a rattle gun. Using this combo plus having some pieces of steel plate, various nuts, bolts, pop rivets and a pop rivet gun, we can pretty well fabricate and make a range of brackets to get us going. Lastly, with some vehicle batteries and a stick welder, it’s possible to repair broken metal parts. You can’t rely on some passerby to lend you that shifter you need, so tools and spares isn’t an area to skimp on for solo vehicle travelling.

COMMS

Your mobile phone isn’t any good to you the minute you’re out of phone service, so we carry a satellite phone with a comprehensive list of numbers to call for help in the case of emergency. If we can’t fix the issue ourselves, it’s peace of mind knowing someone could possibly talk us through a vehicle problem to get us going again. Or it could be that you’re making that call for someone to come to you. But knowing who you’ll be calling before you’ve left home and what process you need to follow, adds a bit of comfort that there is help available if needed.

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We’re not suggesting you need to be a Bear Grylls of sorts on the tracks, but you are responsible for your own wellbeing. Chat to your doctor about your travel plans well in advance and fill any medical prescriptions you need before you go. We treat our health checks no differently to those of our vehicle and camper, so they’re done well in advance. Having a good understanding of first aid wouldn’t go astray, so it’s always a good idea to jump on a course to keep up with the latest techniques. And while you can call for someone to talk you through an emergency with your satellite phone, don’t leave home without a comprehensive first aid kit. While you don’t have to carry every bit of gear in the kit so you’re a mobile hospital, you need a few more items than a packet of band aids and some panadol. We carry a few different kits that are scattered around our setup, and another is permanently left in a backpack which we use while bushwalking.

ACTION PLANS

You’re probably wondering what we mean by action plans, but it covers things like what you’ll do in the event of a fire, or if you need to be evacuated, what steps you’ll follow to make that call to be rescued. Or perhaps you have a vehicle accident, what you will do? Maybe you’ll travel with a personal beacon, and if so, where will it be stored, and how will you use it? These are just a few of the things that can be included in action plans, but we think you get the idea. It all comes down to being prepared for that 'just in case' situation.

EMERGENCY SUPPLIES

If you’ve no other choice but to sit and wait until help arrives, it’s common knowledge that the golden rule is to stay with your vehicle. If this ever happens, our plan involves keeping out of the elements by erecting a shelter of sorts, making ourselves as comfortable as possible, and to simply conserve energy. For this reason, we always travel with an emergency supply of food and water, and we know how long that reserve can last if we had to alert authorities. And no, supplies doesn’t mean just carrying a couple of chocolate bars. It includes a range of tinned or packet meals and soups, and anything else that we’ve packed which is long lasting.

We don’t think you can ever be too prepared if you’re considering travelling as a solo vehicle, and complacency is less likely to set in if you can assess all the risks in advance. We live in a very big country and there’s loads to explore. Do the research, take the right approach, and you too can be on the receiving end of some sensational benefits that travelling as a single vehicle provides.

These guys had been stuck on the track for a day while waiting for someone to come and help.