In the days of old, the big lap around this great brown land, was something that not many people could undertake, with long reaching highways and the only vehicles capable of these distances these vehicles bear more resemblance to long distance freight haulers than a family vehicle, and typically sacrificed a lot of comfort in exchange for offroad performance!

These days comfort and offroad performance are almost synonymous, with brand new 4WD’s taking advantage of coil springs all round and comfortable interiors that almost make luxury cars blush – with smarter, computer-controlled engines and traction aiding systems, even people with minimal offroad driving experience can now tackle some of the most gnarly 4WDing terrain in Australia with an almost factory 4WD!

Budget

Your budget is absolutely a personal preference thing, if you enjoy roughing it, you can get away with a much cheaper trip, also is your 4WD already mostly equipped? do you have to purchase a 4WD? What level of upgrades do you want to do?

With all of these questions answered, you can start to get an idea of how expensive this trip may end up being – When budgeting for fuel and accommodation costs, $1 per KM is a good round figure that has been used for a while to get a rough idea just how much a trip on this scale will cost you, this obviously doesn’t factor in any break downs, registration/maintenance on your 4WD or other unforeseen costs that are hard to plan for, but will get you started.

For fuel alone, a trip up in the 22,000km range will cost you (at today’s inner city prices of $1.70/L) approximately $4,488.00.

Grabbing yourself a National Parks Pass will save a stack of cash on camping fee’s and by budgeting for $1 a km you will have change for a schooner, pot, pint, middy or just a beer at the local country pubs and still have wiggle room for a nice meal!

What kinds of upgrades will I need?

Whilst local 4WDers may choose to fit out their vehicle with monstrous lift kits, giant rubber and crawler gears for tackling unbelievable low range tracks, and driving through mud puddles whilst these pursuits are a lot of fun, there isn’t much that is more rewarding than hitting the road for weeks on end and tackling just about whatever terrain you encounter, completely self-sustained and equipped with everything you need to almost never stay in another town again!

When you choose to upgrade your 4WD for long distance travel, it pays to start with a sturdy foundation, by making sure you choose a 4WD that is not just sturdy, but is factory equipped with “low range” and designed with an off road driving pedigree, these days, that doesn’t narrow down your options too much, but will definitely take some contenders out of the picture.

A typical “big lap” touring rig usually consists of a dual cab 4WD Ute, offering the comfort and cab space of a larger wagon, whilst also offering the versatility of a custom tray mounted cab where 12v wiring systems and under tray winches, long range fuel tanks, additional water tanks, jerry can holders and many more touring specific additions which can make your offroad travels much more comfortable.

Starting with a solid foundation, you should upgrade from the ground up – starting with a set of durable and capable offroad All/Terrain Tyres, you’ll have plenty of grip when things get rough, coupled with the extended durability when you reduce your tyre pressure when compared to a typical highway terrain tyre. When you are choosing tyres, don’t be tempted to jump up 10 tyre sizes, not

To maintain your tyre pressures a Thumper MAX Air Compressor fitted with a 3-in1 Tyre Deflator will give you even more control and accurate pressure control than the dodgy air hoses at the servo, plus the thumper max is able to crank up the pressure in just a minute or two anywhere you hit the black top!

The next upgrade we definitely recommend adding to your 4WD is a quality lift kit, there are many reasons, but the primary motivation to fitting a new set of springs under your 4WD is to improve road handling and give you a slight advantage when the ground gets rough! When your 4WD is fitted with all of your accessories and fully loaded for the tracks, fitting a set of slightly heavier duty suspension to cope with your new bull bar and winch without sagging and upsetting your steering geometry.

A RAW Suspension Kit includes all the components you require to install your lift kit in the driveway and will give your 4WD an Additional 50mm of track height. The reason we recommend only adding 50mm and not upgrading your tyre size dramatically is the enhanced fuel economy and therefore touring range your 4WD will have when travelling extended distances between towns compared to much taller vehicles which present a larger surface area and therefore greater wind resistance when travelling!

Larger tyres will also greatly reduce your stopping ability and require more RPM and clutch slip to get rolling!

STORAGE

By installing a set of roof racks to your 4WD rig – you will have the ability to easily and quickly add all your bulky gear and even be able to mount accessories like an Awning, reverse/camping LED Lightbars and even be able to chuck gear like your Throne Camp Chairs and even the ability to mount up a Roof Top Tent, which is like sleeping in a penthouse unit wherever you setup with 360° views around campsite and excellent ventilation for the northern states!

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By adding a roof rack to your big lap machine, you instantly enhance it’s carrying capability and enable your cab to be less cluttered!

COMMUNICATION

When travelling long distances on the highways around Australia, you will have to set up your 4WD with clear communication systems that do not require the use of mobile phone towers, when comparing distances of remote areas around Australia with the rest of the world, there are areas that have no reception that are larger than some European countries.

This means that you will need to be able to communicate “off grid” with UHF being the primary form of short distance communications used in the bush. With clear and instant conversations with anyone using the same frequency. Which comes in handy for chatting to other 4WDers and truckies in the area, to get knowledge of the road conditions up ahead and much more!

And even if you aren’t an electrical wizard, fitting a UHF to your 4WD is easy done with an ORICOM 5W UHF380PK Kit which includes all the necessary wiring and a 6.5dBi antenna for the maximum amount of transmission without losing clarity, all requiring absolutely no soldering to install.

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If you were planning on spending a long time hanging out in the dry dusty parts of central Australia fitting a HF radio to your vehicle will allow you direct communication with the Royal Flying Doctor Service in an emergency and offers dozens of other “Free to air” services whilst also being able to communicate with 100W+ of power, with others on the frequency out to 3000km+ which is excellent.

BLACK BOX

When you are relying on yourself and no one else, fitting an OBDII decoding device to your 4WD is one of the MUST HAVES when you are hitting the tracks – OBDII is the second edition of “On Board Diagnostics”, the system that the Society for Automotive Engineers (SAE) developed in the late 80’s to standardize the way that all manufacturers computers talk to diagnostics computers.

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The Engine Data Scan Tool plugs in and is powered directly off the plug, allowing you to have realtime stats from your engine – The EDS is so smart it records engine fault codes and can even clear fault codes in an emergency, to get your 4WD back out of limp mode, enabling you to regain full functionality of your vehicles power!

When you experience a “Check engine” light in the middle of the desert, your heart will stop unless you have a way of simple diagnosis!

NAVIGATION

One of the final upgrades to your touring rig should be a reliable on and offroad navigator, like the VMS Touring 700HDX, this is one of the best value and most functional turn by turn navigators available in the country, preloaded with 3000+ topo maps of Oz and over 1000+ FREE campsite locations, and will give turn by turn directions to your destination.

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The backlit 7” touchscreen is easy to read even when you are driving on corrugations – and will get you out of the well beaten paths to explore some of the best that Australia has to offer!

Don’t wait any longer for that trip of a lifetime, get out and make it happen with the best value camping and 4WD gear in Australia from Adventure Kings and 4WD Supacentre!