Towing in the High Country

[Winnie]

Amen to that.

I disagree. 90% of the tracks in the high country are fine for towing.
Know you and your vehicles limits and know what you are driving into.

[GQtdauto]

I disagree. 90% of the tracks in the high country are fine for towing.
Know you and your vehicles limits and know what you are driving into.

Couldn't have put it better , find out if the track you want to use has impossible switch backs for a camper to negotiate or to steep an incline with to soft a base the rest is up to driver ,weather and setup .

[BillsGU]

All well and good - but the people we have come across over the years with towing problems fall into three categories:
1. They broke something on the car or the trailer (due to over stressing everything by towing), and need someone to recover them.
2. They got into an area by going downhill and could not get back up, and need someone to recover them. or
3. They got into an area when it was dry, had some rain overnight, can't get out, and need someone to recover them.

Usually they are on their own and have to rely on a stranger to assist them, sometimes ruining the good samaritan's trip and often requiring them to stress their vehicle during the recovery.

Unfortunately when you come across people in trouble (whether it is their making or not) you are obliged to help.

With all the mucking about recovering this couple (from Queensland, so they had no idea of what towing in the high country was all about), and issues with another broken vehicle - it meant some of us got home after midnight rather than the planned 5:00 PM. Plus the fact that one of our group risked damage to his own car by towing their trailer out. They had asked a number of other drivers to tow the trailer out before we came along, and they all declined.

I know things break in the bush and we all help each other, but when you overextend your and your vehicle's capability and go into a tough area without support, it's not fair to use the kind heartedness of others to pull you out of the shyte.

[GQtdauto]

I do hear what your Saying BillsGU , this guy was obviously out of his depth and should have done a bit of trip prep no argument .
But it can be done with the right vehicle the right camper and a bit of commonsense.
Would love to know what he was towing and if any pics were taken for interests sake .
Some places I go to I know if it rains your stuck until it drys up , I always keep this in mind and therefore prepare , this guy must have been going way too fast to do that damage .
For me getting there is half the fun , slow down and enjoy the scenery it's why your going there isn't it .

[billyj]

i think the biggest problem is alot of the people in question dont have enough expierence towing on the blacktop let alone offroad

[GQtdauto]

And you would be right , some of the grey nomads have never even towed a 6x4 and go out and buy a 20 plus foot van up to 3 tonne and wonder why they end up on their side in ditch beside the road .
When we were coming into pine creek , maybe 2 Ks out we were passed by some idiot in a Toyota pulling a 24 footer , the cross wind was horrendous and I knew as soon as his van got out of me the wind break he was going to do tank slappeys so I slightly braked at the right moment then really braked hard as he fishtailed and nearly lost it .

[Sir Roofy]

We were just whippersnappers with the old man but does anyone out there remember the old old Zeka Creek Track ?

They used old landrovers back then carried spare axles and winched in and out 2 / 3 days to get in same getting out
short sweet grasses cattle roaming from paddock to paddock deer in amongst the cattle
where the old track comes out of the swamp most of it is washed away where it leaves zeka up where Bill says it goes is fully over grown and goes no where now

[MB]

We knew we could count on you Roofy old mate ;-) ! Capstan winches and rope, most powerful physics in our game :-)

[threedogs]

It rings a bell but if I did it,,it was back in '92.
Highly medicated on that trip but made it, remember
we invented butt plugs to sell in 4x4 shops

As for towing I dont see the point , you may block
a track for hours, and nobody wants that to happen eh
no matter how good you think you are,,,Shite happens!!!

[Sir Roofy]

It rings a bell but if I did it,,it was back in '92.
Highly medicated on that trip but made it, remember
we invented butt plugs to sell in 4x4 shops

As for towing I dont see the point , you may block
a track for hours, and nobody wants that to happen eh
no matter how good you think you are,,,Shite happens!!!

Starting to see a few trailers campers slowly getting into the Gatta
the only sure way is from West Buffalo and Abby yard
Friends of Wonnangatta take trailers in full of information around Easter
with lawn mowers to clean up around the homestead grave site and Mrs Bryces walking track across to visit her daughter
in the cemetery on a daily walk

The switch backs coming down zeka are a tad wider than they use to be
from the gate to about half way down is as rough as it gets on your vehicle
and your self but I wouldn't take a trailer that way
said to a mate once not to bring the camper didn't get passed the switch
backs we chained it all up and went back up after a freezing night spent on zeka