A travel out in the sticks

[Lawrie]

We have been way out western Queensland in my 28ccpu and 28 pheaton returning from the national rally in Maryborough.
Thought some unusual pics would be nice
Some on the back roads,
Both cars going great 4500 klms and used no oil or water ,best fuel economy todate ,10.7 Ltr/100 kl
My a has developed squealing brakes ,took the drums off and looked thinking a rivet may be wearing on the drum but no.
Maybe all the dust in them.
Also ,a big plus for the Mitchell OD, what a good thing.don’t know why I waited so long to fit one.
We are at the gold mining town of Charters Towers for a day or so.
Most of the semi trailers out here have at least 4 trailers and some even 5.
Only problem so far is a blown fuse on my A that fed the fridge in the back, the fuse under the seat got shorted out as I had been buying too much stuff and throwing it under the seat and the jack handle got it.
Lawrie

[oldspert]

And we think 18 wheelers in Texas are bad!!

[Bill Cilker]

Thanks for posting the pictures.

[updraught]

We were on the main road from Coober Pedy, South Australia, this morning on a 4wd club trip. We had four trailer road trains coming towards us. I thought there was a 50 metre limit?
It is hard enough passing a three trailer when you have a turbo.

[Bruce of MN]

Are those cattle haulers? How fast do they travel?

Your 10.7 l/100 km seems to be 22 miles per US gallon!

[nkaminar]

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I am pretty sure Synchro went to that rally.

10.7 liters per 100 Km is 22 mpg.

[Fullraceflathead]

What an adventure!!!

[David in San Antonio]

@Lawrie - You have a fridge? What kind? In the back where?
There are videos of Australian Road Trains kicking up dust trails that are visible (or obscure visibility) seemingly for miles. Also when they stop in a town for fuel etc. the town’s road layout is structured to accommodate their gigantic turning circles.

[Synchro909]

Lawrie, We can relate to everything you have said and shown.
We ae not long home from the same rally. Lawrie is heading basically north to get home but he is taking "the scenic route". We headed south in company with 2 other cars. One was driven by a woman in her roadster every inch of the way. The hood only went up when a downpour threatened. That lasted 10 minutes and it was over so the hood came down again. Nearly 4,000 miles! Well done, Brenda.
Lawrie is seeing different country from the green crops stretching to the horizon that we saw and Canola crops nearly as far. Trucks were not quite as big but we decided that it was still a good idea to get out of their way. Average fuel consumption was 20.3 mp(US)gallon and the best, 23.2 (about 9 litres per 100km) on the flat, open country between St George and Cunnamulla.
My wife and I just love being out there away from all of the ratbags in the city and enjoying our Model A.
The next National Rally is in Albany, Western Australia. That is about 2,100 miles from home for us by the shortest route, but who takes the shortest route? The last time it was held in WA, we drove 12,000 miles to get there and another 2,000 to get home. An adventure we just might repeat in 2026. BRING IT ON!

[updraught]

>>Are those cattle haulers? How fast do they travel?

They can be. They also can carry fuel. We past a four trailer tanker. We had car parts delivered by a three tanker fuel road train last year. During the Birdsville races (middle of OZ) the population goes from 40 to 9000 on one weekend. The local servo brings in a road train with three tanks and it continually fills the underground tanks over the weekend. At the end you will catch up with the road train on the way home on a gravel road with a giant cloud of dust. Depending on the wind direction he may pull to the right side of the road to allow you to pass on the left out of the dust.
Depending on the state they may do 90 or 100 kph (63mph).

[Lawrie]

Some more pics,
We did 150klms on dirt today,only 307,for the day but in some places we were only in 2nd gear.
No bits fell off , lucky both cars have air filters fitted
Not even a rest area out here so the running boards get a workout.
Had a learning experience with the drone today after it got buzzed by a couple of eagles, but I got away from them,
Also ,don’t use the back of the Ute as a take off pad as when returning to home it crashed into the mudguard( fender) no drama.
Lawrie

[nkaminar]

To build a self driving car there, you would just need to clamp the steering wheel straight ahead.

[Keith True]

I used to belong to OOIDA,Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association.Their monthly magazine always featured full page ads for Shell Rotella oil,and the ads were huge pictures of the road trains over there.Very impressive,and the message was if it's good enough for these guys,it ought to be good enough for you.There was a paragraph listing the conditions they were run in.Heat,miles,time under load,weights,etc.

[Synchro909]

Some of those trucks have 1,000 HP available to them. Here is one driver's description of his truck:
"A 600 hp (450 kW) 19 L (1,200 cu in) Cummins engine powers the prime mover, whilst a 400 hp (300 kW) Cummins engine is installed in the rear trailer of the B-double, driving through an automatic transmission, giving a total of 1,000 hp (750 kW)."
The average is 1 kilometre to 1 litre of diesel. A road train can carry 2,000 litres of diesel when fully fuelled. Road trains can be as long as 60m (197 feet) and can carry loads of up to 200 tonnes (220 US tons), making them an excellent solution for transporting heavy goods.

[Smokedtires]

Excellent pictures and great MPG! Thanks for sharing.

[Synchro909]

Originally Posted by Keith True

I used to belong to OOIDA, Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association. Their monthly magazine always featured full page ads for Shell Rotella oil, and the ads were huge pictures of the road trains over there. Very impressive, and the message was if it's good enough for these guys, it ought to be good enough for you. There was a paragraph listing the conditions they were run in. Heat, miles, time under load, weights, etc.

A neighbour of ours once worked in a regulatory position in the road transport industry. One day, a team of engineers from Volvo visited. They were testing a new truck. Cold weather testing had been done in Scandinavia and they wanted to do hot weather testing here in Australia. They had an expert on cooling systems, brakes, clutch etc etc and they all wanted to know how their trucks stood up to the use.
The clutch guy asked about how the clutches managed taking off from a standing start in a truck like that weighing up to 200 tonnes. He was told that to go north, first you go south - in reverse. Once the trailers were suitably jack-knifed, select first gear and away you go. By the time all of the trailers are in line (and the load at its maximum), you are in 2nd or 3rd gear.
The brakes guy asked about stopping such a load. No worries. We hardly need to stop anyway. 2,000 km (1250 miles) between fuel stops means we don't use the brakes very often and even then, we use the exhaust brakes. A worn out truck has been known to have its brakes still in good condition.
And so the questions kept coming and each time, the answer was totally unexpected by the engineers.
I never did find out if they found they had to change any aspect of their trucks!!!

[Synchro909]

Keep 'em coming, Lawrie but you're making us want to be back out there.

[Lawrie]

One thing you need out on the dirt roads is a good air cleaner, funny thing, my A has the engine pans fitted and Cheryl’s does not, nine was way dustier in the engine bay than hers, But I was following so maybe that’s it.
Some pics from the last few days travel.
Cars got a check over this morning, no oil needed , no coolant needed,.but air cleaners will get a service today.
I should be home in a couple of days ,so my A will get a service then and a clean.
David , the fridge is a Weaco, runs off the car battery, ( 12 optima) you need it for cold water,milk and food, oh and chocolates.��
A couple of things I will change in the A , relocate the oil press and water temp gauges to a more easily seen position.make and take a service kit with me,like an oil filter, engine oil for a change, small grease gun.
Also change back to timken wheel bearing grease, as I had used a name brand wheel bearing grease, it seems OK, but I like the timken grease,
I’m off to the New Zealand A rally in feb so my A will get a rest ,other than it’s usual every day use at home.
No comments on my home made inlet manifold, my sons don’t like it for sure, but it seems to work great,
Lawrie

[headonz]

Henry would be proud . What are the air temps out there ?? I have traveled across the NT a few times .The heat coming off the black top was unbelievable !!


Surprised the A handle it .

[Lawrie]

Mate ,those old rockets are unbelievable,if fixed up right with a quality radiator and water pump, clean block,etc.
We are only just starting to warm up ,and temp during the day were only around 30-35 C.no drama.
In summer it would be a different thing with temps in the high 40,s.
You would have to really be prepared with lots of cool water in the fridge and only do small miles per day, I have been there in my A and 33 ,you have to be careful
I would not do it by choice.
And yes Henry and Edsel would be amazed that nearly 100 yrs old they are still a very reliable and useable car.