Things we broke on our trip around Australia

Instead of writing a blog entry on things we had to repair on our trip - I figured I would be best to put it all here on a page, and update it as we go along.

In planning for the trip, you cannot cover every eventuality, however I have seen many things that have effectively stopped travellers in their tracks.  I have tried to build redundancy into as many things as possible, so for example if the car battery goes flat, I have a switch allowing me to jump the car off the battery in the canopy or the camper trailer.  If that fails to get me going, I can put the solar panel directly onto the car battery in order to charge it.  I also have some jumper leads, in case someone else comes along, so we can jump start the car also.  Overkill?  Perhaps, but it means I am happier going into more remote places with the family on-board.  

When you carry so much stuff with you, it is inevitable that things will break.  Thankfully we have been able to keep the show on the road thus far, with only minor breaks and inconveniences. 

*****  UPDATE *****

Major Breakdown - Tensioner Pulley Failure 

Coming south from Bamaga, we broke down.  The full story of our amazing rescue can be found here:  http://project2014australia.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/returning-south-was-not-so-easy-our.html

For the technically minded, the simple breaking of our serpentine belt due to a tensioner pulley coming out of alignment had caused a catastrophic chain of events.  Part of the belt had got under the timing cover, causing the timing belt to not just skip a tooth or two, but break also.  This caused serious damage to the valves and cylinder head, but thankfully the pistons and the block were undamaged.  The parts list was extensive, but included a new cylinder head, water pump and a modified timing cover to ensure it never happens again.  

I will be keeping a sharp eye on the tensioner pulley in question, to make sure this never happens again.  Ironically the car will run without the serpentine belt quite happily as the water pump is driven off the back of the engine.  So the old pantyhose trick should indeed work, if I run it around the alternator to keep the batteries charged...  All the stuff you find out with the benefit of hindsight and bit of experience.

What has been incredible and needs to be stated again was the unbelievable level of support from Volkswagen.  When you consider where we broke down - nearly 1000km north of Cairns, their roadside assistance in the form of VW Assist far exceeded my expectations.  Not only did they ship Rocky back to Cairns for repair, they also paid for our accommodation until Matilda also arrived in Cairns, they paid for our flights from Bamaga to Cairns, and they also arranged and paid for a hire car with a tow bar until Rocky was back on the road.  Emma from Volkswagen and  Warwick from VW Assist will probably never read this - but they are part of a wonderful team of people and we very much appreciated their support over the past month or so. 

We considered lots of dual cab utes in determining which one we wanted to travel around Australia in - and the more research you do online the more horror stories you find about every model available.  Our decision on the Amarok was based on its comfort, towing ability and overall size.  It is 

a brilliant car - and whilst we identified a weak point, it also highlighted the lengths Volkswagen will go to to honour their warranty and look after their customers.  Would I recommend an Amarok - absolutely.

Major failure - wheel bearings on camper trailer...

Our crossing of the Tanami Desert nearly undid all our good planning.  Moral of the story is maintenance is vital.  Read about it here:  http://project2014australia.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/tanami-or-when-we-nearly-lost-it-all.html

*****  UPDATE *****

Sometimes it is a little more than pride that gets dented!

With everything packed carefully according to frequency of use, the tools are all packed in the deepest part of the ute.  Of course when something does need to be fixed, it does require a fairly substantial unpack :)  I keep the essential items close at hand.  These are:  

• Duct (cloth) tape
• Self Amalging tape
• Kwik Grip Glue
• Fuses
• Multi Meter
• Cable Ties

Not quite everything out!

A short summary of the things we have broken or replaced is:

• On the camper trailer, due to poor maintenance, both wheel bearings failed on the Tanami Desert.  The resultant damage destroyed the existing bearings, and the ones I replaced them with.  The stub axles also were replaced - having to be machined in Alice Springs (road freight would have taken over a week, and air freight around $1300)
• Zipper Slides on the near side camper doors - supplied free by YKK Zippers - THANK YOU!
• New batteries in camper - Fridge in trailer was playing up, turns out the batteries were just old and needed replacing.
• New battery in canopy - Fridge in canopy was playing up - could have been a lose connection - but don't tell Jo!
• Ripped the awning of the camper trailer - came down in high winds - professionally repaired in Hobart.
• Coleman HWOD pump - numerous failings - grrrr
• Mudguard brace on ute tray - corrugations or was that using the guard to support the weight of the vehicle??  
• Laptop - died - what can you do - bought a new one
• Phone - died - see above
• Helper Springs - u-bolt failed - expecting too much from it I suspect!

Mud guard brace

One of the first casualties of the corrugations of miles of dirt roads was a weld on the tray mudguard.  It was quickly welded up in Adelaide

Cracked weld on the mud guard

Getting the weld repaired

Canvas Repairs

When we were faced with huge winds in Tasmania, a rod in the camper trailer's window shade broke, requiring removal.  This required the careful unpicking of a line of thread, before removing the fibreglass rod.  It turned out not to have broken, but come apart at joints, so after glueing the joints back together, I put the rod back in and restitched the canvas, using a sail-makers sewing kit bought from a boat chandlery.

Sewing is not my strong point

Suspension

Before we set off, I installed a set of helper springs to provide a bit of extra support.  I thought they would be a good compromise of being able to adjust the setting or ride hight for the load, and costing under $200, the price was right.  Unfortunately they are not designed to be operated on corrugations - and the inevitable happened.  They failed.

The U-bolt failed on the helper springs

The solution was one that was expensive - but in retrospect what I should have done before we set off.  We installed a set of Dobbinsons springs all round, giving us a bit of extra clearance underneath, and far better handling.  The difference was notable on our first off road excursion.  The only drama we had was that our springs were on a train that de-railed on its way to Perth - delaying us about a week.

Tyres

We have destroyed a couple of tyres - through punctures mainly.  We have since started to migrate the tyres on the car from Bridgestone Dueller 697s to BFG All Terrains.  The BFG tyres have an extra ply on the tread and an extra ply on the sidewall - hopefully making them more resistant to errant sticks on stones.  I am also more careful about tyre pressures.  We got caught out in the Flinders Ranges by not letting our tyres for a 30km dirt road section.  The end result was a puncture just out of Blinman, and I provided entertainment for the patrons of the Blinman Pub whilst I changed the tyre in the main street!

Changing a tyre is never much fun!

Coleman Hot Water On Demand

We have a Coleman Hot Water On Demand (HWOD) system.  We use it to quickly heat a bucket of water for showers - and when it is working - it is brilliant.  One of its faults is that it runs off a 6 volt battery - however when you are recharging the battery, you cannot operate the unit.  Before we left, I modified the HWOD to run off the internal battery, or a 12 volt input, meaning I could run it at any time, regardless of the state of the battery.

The override switch!

This over-ride switch is brilliant (just ask me) - but when the pump seized, it complicated diagnosis of the true fault.  I replaced the battery, double checked all connections before finally suspecting the true cause.  After pulling the pump apart, I got the pump working again, but reinstalling the pump was a disaster as a brittle plastic fitting fell apart in my hands.  It wasn't the only brittle fitting to fail, nearly all the quick fit hose fittings have also broken.  Thank goodness for self amalging tape!

Coleman do not support parts for the HWOD box any more (a new model must be on its way) - so I ended up buying a 12 volt shower and swapped the pumps over.  It is working again - and again providing hot water for showers - but I nearly threw the whole thing away!

The pesky Coleman HWOD