Great tips there Simon for everyone. One thing I see regularly is people getting stuck because they dont take the time to actually check what and where they are driving into. If you get out and check then choose your pathway it can help alot. That also includes where do you turn around.
Hey Simon. Great tips. There is also one other method for getting out of a caravan (sand) bog type situation (particularly when travelling alone without other mates) which I’ve seen but not yet used. You can unhitch the caravan and place/secure a ‘Maxtrax Trailer Skid’ (I bought one recently) under the caravan jockey wheel and either tow or winch it unstuck using your (no longer bogged) vehicle. Apart from that, there appears to be about 5mins or so of blank/void at the end of your video 😁
Simon, compliments of the season to you and Liz. I have really been enjoying watching your travels via video. Being a non caravaner I feel have learnt a lot about the caravanning lifestyle that you Liz and the kids have been following and it does seem like a great way to spend part of one’s life. Having a 2019 Ranger ourselves and seeing your video about GVM, GCM etc. I have a question about your vehicle build and towing with the Zone on bitumen/hard surfaces. 1. Did you get a transmission oil cooler fitted to cope with the constant heavy load and if not, do you have a separate oil temp. gauge to monitor the auto box fluid temperature? 2. When towing the Zone on normal bitumen highways do you just use two wheel drive or do you use four wheel drive in High range for more stability, but at the expense of higher fuel consumption? 3. Also when on normal bitumen highways when up to cruising speed, do you leave the gearbox in auto mode or do you go to manual mode and keep in say 5th Thanks.
Thanks mate, glad you're enjoying our videos. To answer your questions: 1. No, we don't have a transmission cooler or temp gauge. I believe driving style has a lot to do with longevity. 2. Always 2wd on hard surfaces! Using 4wd on bitumen will cause major driveline damage. (Don't confuse 4wd with AWD, they're different systems) 3. I always tow in sport ("S") mode and use the manual transmission as much as possible. I never use 6th gear when towing. Hope that helps.
Simon, thanks very much for your concise and complete reply to my questions - I am guessing that you are quite a methodical person! Looking back at my question 2 regarding towing on hard surfaces, I must have had a brain snap and not stopped to think what I was asking because I am on my second 4WD ute and was well aware of both vehicle manuals warning about not exceeding a certain speed in 4WD mode on hard surfaces. Looking forward to seeing your plans for modifying your rig this year and to your further travels with your family.
Great advice on so many aspects of sand driving there, Simon - thanks mate. One added comment and one question: in years gone by (not that long ago) you weren't considered a REAL off road driver if you drove an automatic - "REAL men only drive a manual" and all that rot. But in reality, an automatic gearbox (especially some of the more recent ones, like the 10-speed on our LC300) let you maintain a nice smooth forward momentum much more easily than trying to change manual gears and getting bogged on the gear change. Definitely a plus vote for auto! The question - once you've extracted using the MaxTrax or whatever, wouldn't you lose the momentum if on very soft boggy sand if you stop to recover the MaxTrax from the sand? Or do you get the co-pilot to retrieve those, then just keep running with them until you reach firmer ground and can stop? ;) Makes for a very fit co-pilot.... ;)
Thanks Pete. You're right, despite what some purists might think, auto transmission is much better on sand in general. Generally you can get yourself back onto firmer sand to pull up and retrieve your recovery tracks (or wait for the co-pilot to catch up 😉)
Thanks Simon. Sand driving requires very different techniques. You 'nailed' this!
Glad it was helpful!
Great tips there Simon for everyone. One thing I see regularly is people getting stuck because they dont take the time to actually check what and where they are driving into. If you get out and check then choose your pathway it can help alot. That also includes where do you turn around.
Yeah for sure. Good advice. I've certainly been in that situation 😆
Thanks Simon….as a novice sand driver, all those tips help, cheers !
Glad to hear, cheers mate 👍
Very informative. All your advice aligns with the natural laws of physics. It must be right😊
I'll take it 😄 Cheers 👍
Great advice 💯🇦🇺
Glad it was helpful!
Really well explained Simon
Cheers 👍
Hey Simon. Great tips.
There is also one other method for getting out of a caravan (sand) bog type situation (particularly when travelling alone without other mates) which I’ve seen but not yet used. You can unhitch the caravan and place/secure a ‘Maxtrax Trailer Skid’ (I bought one recently) under the caravan jockey wheel and either tow or winch it unstuck using your (no longer bogged) vehicle.
Apart from that, there appears to be about 5mins or so of blank/void at the end of your video 😁
Good tip 👍 It would be a big recovery but if that's what it takes then so be it. Thanks mate, looks like I've buggered something up 🤣🤦♂️
Great advice. Thanks for the tips. 😊
Glad to hear it 🙌
Great video thanks
Glad you enjoyed it
Excellent video
Thanks
Simon, compliments of the season to you and Liz. I have really been enjoying watching your travels via video. Being a non caravaner I feel have learnt a lot about the caravanning lifestyle that you Liz and the kids have been following and it does seem like a great way to spend part of one’s life.
Having a 2019 Ranger ourselves and seeing your video about GVM, GCM etc. I have a question about your vehicle build and towing with the Zone on bitumen/hard surfaces.
1. Did you get a transmission oil cooler fitted to cope with the constant heavy load and if not, do you have a separate oil temp. gauge to monitor the auto box fluid temperature?
2. When towing the Zone on normal bitumen highways do you just use two wheel drive or do you use four wheel drive in High range for more stability, but at the expense of higher fuel consumption?
3. Also when on normal bitumen highways when up to cruising speed, do you leave the gearbox in auto mode or do you go to manual mode and keep in say 5th
Thanks.
Thanks mate, glad you're enjoying our videos.
To answer your questions:
1. No, we don't have a transmission cooler or temp gauge. I believe driving style has a lot to do with longevity.
2. Always 2wd on hard surfaces! Using 4wd on bitumen will cause major driveline damage. (Don't confuse 4wd with AWD, they're different systems)
3. I always tow in sport ("S") mode and use the manual transmission as much as possible. I never use 6th gear when towing.
Hope that helps.
Simon, thanks very much for your concise and complete reply to my questions - I am guessing that you are quite a methodical person!
Looking back at my question 2 regarding towing on hard surfaces, I must have had a brain snap and not stopped to think what I was asking because I am on my second 4WD ute and was well aware of both vehicle manuals warning about not exceeding a certain speed in 4WD mode on hard surfaces.
Looking forward to seeing your plans for modifying your rig this year and to your further travels with your family.
Like always good video, what settings of the electric break controller do you use when driving on sand?
Thanks, John. Great question. We turn it right down.
Hi guys. Great video as usual.
You have 5 minutes of blank screen at the end of the video, in case you weren't aware.
Thanks James. 👌 We've had a few computer issues lately 🤦♂️
@@TheLifestylePioneers Bugger!
Great advice on so many aspects of sand driving there, Simon - thanks mate. One added comment and one question: in years gone by (not that long ago) you weren't considered a REAL off road driver if you drove an automatic - "REAL men only drive a manual" and all that rot. But in reality, an automatic gearbox (especially some of the more recent ones, like the 10-speed on our LC300) let you maintain a nice smooth forward momentum much more easily than trying to change manual gears and getting bogged on the gear change. Definitely a plus vote for auto! The question - once you've extracted using the MaxTrax or whatever, wouldn't you lose the momentum if on very soft boggy sand if you stop to recover the MaxTrax from the sand? Or do you get the co-pilot to retrieve those, then just keep running with them until you reach firmer ground and can stop? ;) Makes for a very fit co-pilot.... ;)
Thanks Pete. You're right, despite what some purists might think, auto transmission is much better on sand in general.
Generally you can get yourself back onto firmer sand to pull up and retrieve your recovery tracks (or wait for the co-pilot to catch up 😉)
You Aussies use Pull Pal winch anchors for sand recovery down under? Own one, honestly haven’t had to use it though. Curious your thoughts.
I haven't heard of them. I'll have to check them out.
noticed a lot of recovery boards are rated to 10Ton, have you had any issues with melting or tearing off lugs on any boards?
We did with our old Maxtrax and we also cracked one but our TRED Pros (the green ones) seem a lot tougher and we haven't had any issues.
Noice Vid - ya seem to have about 5min of black screen at the end ??
Thanks mate. Yep, looks like I stuffed something up 🤣🤦♂️