Hill Climb Recoveries: When The Track Wins
There’s a moment on a steep climb when the bonnet fills the windscreen, the tyres start scrabbling and the top suddenly feels a lot further away. You’ve stopped going up,…
Share
Posts by author
Dan Everett
276 posts
Good news for three closed High Country tracks
If Cobberas, Macfarlane Flat, and Ingeegoodbee tracks have been sitting on your High Country wish list for the past few years, there’s finally some movement. A statement from Parks Victoria…
Share
Eldee Station withdraws camping after 40 years
Eldee Station has announced it’ll stop offering caravan and camping sites after 40 years of welcoming travellers, with the owners saying increasingly abusive interactions have taken much of the enjoyment…
Share
Should outback highways have higher speed limits?
There’s a particular kind of frustration that comes from sitting at 100km/h on an empty, straight outback highway with nothing but red dirt and heat shimmer ahead. The Northern Territory…
Share
From South Australia to the World: REDARC Buys Samlex America
For plenty of Australian 4X4ers, REDARC is a name associated with the gear tucked under a bonnet or behind a canopy drawer. Battery chargers, power management systems and the electronics…
Share
Up Close and Personal With Pat’s New Super Duty
There’s a coffee machine in the canopy, nearly 400 litres of potential fuel capacity underneath and a beer tap out the side. Pat’s new Ranger Super Duty certainly hasn’t arrived…
Share
Ford Everest Wolftrak brings towing kit and a splash of green
Ford’s Everest range is getting a fresh special edition for 2027, with the new Wolftrak taking over from the outgoing Wildtrak. There’s plenty of green involved, from the paintwork to…
Share
The gates are opening: Victoria’s 4WD season is back
There’s a particular kind of excitement that comes with the end of October. The camping gear comes out, the map gets another look and the tracks that have spent winter…
Share
How To Recover Your 4X4 From Sand
Beach weather is coming, which means more loaded 4X4s heading through soft access tracks in search of a spot beside the water. It also means a few of those vehicles…
Share
From HiLux to Super Duty: Was the Switch Worth It?
Changing vehicles is one thing. Walking away from a HiLux that’s taken you halfway across the continent and brought you home again takes a bit more convincing. Familiarity counts, especially…
Share
Three new national parks: what happens to 4WD access?
Victoria has officially created three new national parks, and for anyone who spends their weekends exploring forest tracks, the important detail is what happens beyond the new signs. Protecting bushland…
Share
One Last Trip to Big Red: The Bash Announces Its Final Hurrah
There are plenty of reasons to point the bonnet towards Birdsville, but one of its biggest drawcards now has an expiry date. The Big Red Bash will return from 6–8…
Share
Ford goes all in on reliability with new warranty
Reliability is easy to promise in a brochure. It means a lot more when a manufacturer agrees to pay for a factory defect years after the vehicle leaves the showroom,…
Share
How to make a tank last longer when diesel costs a fortune
Diesel is getting painfully expensive, and there’s even been serious rumours around Australian prices pushing beyond $4 a litre. For anyone driving a big, heavy 4X4 around the country, that…
Share
How to master river crossings
River crossings are one of those classic 4X4 challenges that can turn a straightforward trip into a genuine adventure. They can also turn serious very quickly. Water hides holes, rocks…
Share
Another caravan manufacturer collapses – what buyers need to know
Another established Australian caravan manufacturer has hit the wall, with Queensland-based Australian Off Road entering voluntary administration after 26 years in business. AOR’s collapse came quickly from the outside. Phones…
Share
REDARC launches REDLAB Icon Slim lithium batteries
As touring builds become more complicated, finding somewhere to put everything is becoming almost as difficult as choosing the gear itself. Fridges, inverters, compressors, chargers, solar equipment and communications gear…
Share
Ford Bronco Basecamp Brings a New Take on Touring
Let’s get the obvious bit out of the way. When Australian 4X4ers hear that a Bronco is finally coming here, this probably isn’t the vehicle they picture. The Bronco name…
Share
The Outback Way One Step Closer To Blacktop
There aren’t many long-distance outback routes left where the journey itself is still part of the adventure, but the Outback Way is one of them. Stretching 2,719 kilometres from Laverton…
Share
The Super Duty Just Went 6×6
Ford has spent years proving the Ranger platform can be pushed well beyond the limits of a conventional dual-cab ute. Ranger Raptor showed what happens when you chase performance, Ranger…
Share
How To Size Your Solar
Solar power really shouldn’t be this confusing. You use electricity while camping, your solar panels replace it, and your battery stores enough to get you through the night. Simple. Then…
Share
Ford Ranger PHEV Sells Out As Aussies Look For Relief At The Bowser
For years, the idea of an electrified 4X4 ute has divided Australian buyers. But if the latest Ford Ranger PHEV sales are anything to go by, plenty of Aussies are…
Share
Clearview Turns 20: Built for the Long Haul
Last weekend, Pat joined the team at Clearview Accessories to celebrate a pretty significant milestone: 20 years in the Australian 4X4 industry. The birthday bash brought together plenty of familiar…
Share
Father’s Day 4X4 Gifts: 16 Ideas Dad Will Actually Want
Another Father’s Day, another opportunity to avoid buying Dad a mug that says World’s Best Dad. If the old boy spends his weekends tinkering with the fourby, planning the next camping…
Share
Meet the Ranger Super Duty Fire Truck
There are plenty of ways to prove a 4X4 is capable. Tow a big van. Load it with touring gear. Point it at a tough track and see what happens.…
Share
New Engine Lineup For 2027 Ranger
Ford hasn’t officially announced its 2027 Ranger and Everest line-ups yet, but preliminary details have started appearing online, and there are some interesting changes potentially heading our way. Information based…
Share
Cooper Creek Floods The Birdsville Track… Again
Just when it looked like the Birdsville Track might finally be settling down after a huge year of flooding, Cooper Creek has gone over the track again. Floodwater from the…
Share
How To Recover Yourself When You’re Solo
Getting bogged when you’re travelling with mates is usually an inconvenience. Getting bogged when you’re on your own can become a serious problem very quickly. There’s no second vehicle to…
Share
Before you buy a new Ford F-150, here’s what you need to know
The updated Ford F-150 has arrived with a fresh face, more technology and three distinct specification levels, but the real question is whether one of these enormous American pickups actually…
Share
The Five Worst Campsite Crimes (and Their Punishments)
Camping has an unwritten code. Nobody hands you a rulebook when you buy your first swag or rooftop tent, but before long you learn there are certain things you just…
Share
Is Hill End The Next Big Touring Destination?
Hill End has always felt much bigger than its current population suggests. Hidden away in the NSW Central Tablelands, north of Bathurst, the former gold-mining town is filled with old…
Share
Thousands of utes are heading for Deni again in 2026
There aren’t many events in Australia where the journey there is almost as recognisable as the event itself. Every October long weekend, highways and backroads leading towards Deniliquin begin filling…
Share
Pat’s heading to the Melbourne 4×4 Show
If there’s one weekend guaranteed to add a dangerously large number of new items to your 4X4 wish list, this might be it. The National 4×4 Outdoors Show is returning…
Share
What Actually Makes Touring Gear Survive?
There is a particular kind of confidence that comes with bolting new gear to a 4X4 before a big trip. Everything is clean, every switch works and every component looks…
Share
Wait, There’s A Ferry On The Birdsville Track?
If you’ve spent any time travelling Australia’s outback, you’ll know the Birdsville Track by reputation. Stretching more than 500 kilometres between Marree in South Australia and Birdsville in Queensland, it’s…
Share
The Secret To Conquering Steep Terrain
Few obstacles get the heart rate up quite like a steep hill climb. Whether it’s a loose shale ascent in the High Country, a rocky climb through the Flinders Ranges…
Share
Is This Australia’s Cheapest Proper 4K Dash Cam Setup?
There was a time when dash cams were mostly the domain of taxi drivers and YouTube crash compilations. Most of us didn’t see much need for one. If something happened…
Share
Your Dream 4X4 Build Could Be One Entry Away
If your dream touring build has been sitting on the “one day” list, you might want to make some time before July 6th. Club 4X4’s Mods Grant competition is entering…
Share
Shifting Sands: ARB’s 50th Anniversary Tour Heads For The Arabian Desert
There are plenty of companies that sell adventure. Far fewer actually live it. That’s what has made ARB’s 50th anniversary series such a strong reminder of why the brand has…
Share
Why More 4X4s Are Getting Defected (And How To Avoid Being Next)
For years, modified 4X4s have flown largely under the radar. A touring setup with a lift kit, bigger tyres, a bar work package and an aftermarket exhaust barely raised an…
Share
What A $320 Million Kimberley Investment Means For 4X4ers
There’s a tendency to think of the Kimberley as one of the last untouched corners of Australia. Spend enough time exploring the region and it’s easy to understand why. The…
Share
The Unwritten Rules Of The Bush
One of the biggest mistakes new 4X4ers make is assuming that because they’re out in the bush, they have the place to themselves. The reality is that every track is…
Share
Why Ford Believes Australia’s Best Engineering Days Are Ahead
For a lot of Aussie’s, the end of local car manufacturing felt like the end of an era. When the last Falcon rolled off the line in 2016, it was…
Share
Why Corrugations Are Destroying Your Rig (And How To Drive Them)
When most people think about vehicle damage in the bush, they picture dramatic moments. A tyre sidewall gets sliced open on a sharp rock. A water crossing goes deeper than…
Share
Cold Snap Closes Alpine Routes
An early dumping of snow has seen the authorities shut down several iconic High Country tracks ahead of schedule. Severe weather and safety concerns mean the winter lockout is officially…
Share
Aus J Hot Water System Faces The Ultimate Outback Torture Test
We talk a lot about reliability when we’re prepping our rigs. Usually, that means making sure our winches work or our tyres can handle sharp stakes. For most weekenders though,…
Share
REDARC Drops New Analog-Style 12V Battery Gauge
We all know the routine. You pitch camp after a long drive, open the canopy, and immediately pull out your phone to check how the auxiliary battery is tracking. It…
Share
Rock Crawling for Beginners: How to pick a line without spotting help.
We’ve all been there. You’re out on a solo mission or maybe you’ve just pulled ahead of the convoy, and you’re staring down a section of track that looks more…
Share
The Big Wet is Coming: What the First NW Cloudband Means for Your Next Trip
Well, it looks like Mother Nature has decided to roll a six just when we thought the outback was heading for a dusty winter. After a dry April and plenty…
Share
Lock it in: ARB Kicks Off 2026 Open Day This Weekend
It’s time to clear the calendar and check the tyre pressures. The crew at ARB have locked in the date for their nationwide Open Day, and it is shaping up…
Share