Range required to cross the nulla

[dapope]

Slowly and carefully

[Busman]

New front studs and nuts should be in Dubbo this morning, where the young mech comes from, unfortunately 10 mins before I found out they were on the way he booked a job in for today, tomorrow is family day and Monday is a holiday, so first thing on Tuesday morning and then we can get outta here, a week in Gilgandra is about enough I think.
Seems we are heading home via Cobar and Bourke to meet the buyer, I have an inkling it will be "Lightning Ridge is just over there, lets go look at some opals " !!
Only doing the steer at the moment I don't think we will ever break any on the rear but they will be made next week and ready to get swapped out when we get home.
I will be looking at every passing move a little bit differently from now on (as in passing, not overtaking)

[Dot]

Lets hope the trip home is uneventful and the sale goes through.

[Busman]

Did a timeline for our aborted trip to WA, if you can stay awake long enough to read it !! I calculate running over about 732 Chinese ,males ?

1. After 150 K’s, running perfectly, all of a sudden at the bottom of Cunninhmas Gap, no power, feels like brake locked on, get it to the top in 2nd and stop, get out, check out all wheels, only warm, WTF ?
2. Drive off, all perfect again, but only about 20 K’s and does it again
3. Talk to mobile mechanic, drive it to a truck stop, starts doing it again after 3 K’s.
4. Mechanic checks everything and can find nothing wrong, maybe Jakes are releasing a bit slow perhaps ?
5. Decide to continue, but tomorrow, too late tonight.
6. Check trailer lights before leaving in morning, not all working so fix where pulled out of plug.
7. Go to put slide in, blow fuse, WTF, this never happens ?
8. Switch 12 V converter on (rear cameras, stereo), nothing, fuse looks good but no continuity, replace all good.
9. Drive about 400 K’s and refuel, notice one front wheel stud has broken (no nut)
10. Called a young mobile mechanic to give me a hand to replace as I had a spare, as he was doing them back up, broke another couple, WTF, not driving any further on these.
11. Get Brisbane engineers to make some new ones (have supplied before), production manager off for 2 days so left to leading hand
12. Put on freight, will be there tomorrow but is long weekend, actually turned up Tuesday.
13. Wrong size, where they fit into hub is only about 2/3 rds what they should be WTF again. Wrong computer files used.
14. Make a new set, arrange with our produce company to drop them for us as they had a truck going to Melbourne, so got them over night
15. Engineer has overcompensated, these are too big !
16. Mechanic finds engineer in town who can spin them down to make them fit
17. Engineer takes them too far, on one side they are loose !
18. Start doing them up and some nuts refuse to do up, eventually worked out that the hex part was pulling into the nut body (probably because the captive washers were spinning with the nut when they should not have been )
19. Purchased 20 nuts to suit, without inner collars and use 5 locators to centre wheels, torque to 400 ft/lbs, and head out of there.
20. After a couple of hours drive, all going well, the accelerator goes flat to the floor, fortunately was space to pull over and kill engine, but could find nothing wrong, by the time I walked to the rear the cable accelerator had returned to right position, WTF again? So disconnect the cruise control just to be sure.
21. Drive another couple of hours, just thinking accelerator is fixed, does it again, think maybe is a swivel post for the accelerator that has not been greased at last service, so grease that.
22. All seems good until we get to the top of Cunninghams Gap, a steep descent that trucks and busses do in low gear, does it again, but returns almost immediately, committed now so down we go, fortunately did not need on the way down, you just idle down on Jakes.
23. Once on the flat got going again, no further incidenets till we got home
24. Interesting trip !

[Jon and Kay]

You need a good laugh.
There I was sitting at the bar staring at my drink when a large, trouble-making biker steps up next to me, grabs my drink and gulps it down in one swig.
"Well, what are you gonna do about it?" he says menacingly, as I burst into tears.
"Come on, man," the biker says, "I didn't think you'd CRY. I can't stand to see a man crying."
"This is the worst day of my life," I say. "I'm a complete failure. I was late to a meeting and my boss fired me.
When I went to the parking lot, I found my car had been stolen and I don't have any insurance. I left my wallet in the cab I took home. I found my wife with another man and then my dog bit me.
"So I came to this bar to work up the courage to put an end to it all, I buy a drink, I drop a capsule in and sit here watching the poison dissolve. Then you show up and drink the whole thing! But, enough about me. How are you doing?"

[BruceS]

Don't listen to him William .... he's just a drama queen!!
Yes!... I did laugh Jon!

[BernieQ2]

hehe.
Bernie .

[bagmaker]

Sounds like there is a problem with Cunninghams Gap, William.
Thanks for the headsup, I will plan to avoid it.

Happy travels for next time, fingers crossed.

[BruceS]

Let me know how you plan to avoid it? Dot tried the drop out of Toowoomba but wasn't impressed with that either!!
Someone suggested that there is a way that turns off BEFORE Toowoomba and cuts across to Warwick. Anne Marie knows it as does Shonky I believe?

EDIT: Gatton to Headington Hill ...?? Looks a bit windy (as in wind)(as in wiiiiind).OK as in twisty!.

[Peter]

If you are on the north side of Brisbane you can cut out Toowoomba range and Cunningham's gap by driving to Yarraman then heading through to either Jondaryan or Dalby or Oakey is a bit further but cuts out the range crossings also less traffic and its a pleasant drive. I always use this route when heading West out of Brisbane.

That Gatton road is very narrow , winding and a couple of steep hills.

Havn't seen Ann Maree post for a while.