Recovery and Maintenance Gear

We carry a reasonable amount of Recovery and Maintenance Gear in/on our Oka, nearly all of which we have used at some stage, often to assist other travellers. However it is too easy to go overboard on recovery gear, most of which you hope you'll never need. Some weight/space compromises will inevitably need to be made, ie non-critical domestic items used everyday, vs rarely used but essential recovery gear and tools.

See this useful article on recovery gear from 4WD Overlander and this Survival Guide which includes vehicle recovery advice.

We also have a separate article on our Safety and Emergency Equipment.

Recovery Equipment we carry.

        •        These are the items we wouldn't leave home without and, apart from the fire extinguisher, we have used all of them at some time:

1) Jacks

        •        60 inch Hi-Lift Jack

        ◦        Plus a thick 300x300 mm plywood base plate. (You could buy a proper Hi Lift base plate for around $44, but a very thick piece of plywood is more useful and economic. To stop it sliding, drive in a few Tek Screws to match the holes in the foot, or screw some strips on the top and bottom).

        ◦        We have also fitted extra high lift jacking points (cut outs) to the outside of our bullbars.

        ◦        A Hi-Lift jack can also be used as a winch for short distances.

        ◦        An overhaul/repair kit for the Hi-Lift jack is worthwhile, in case you break something (like the shear pin). Note, in the event of wear on the heavily used section of the centre climbing bar, it can be reversed while renovating the jack.

Hi Lift Jack bolted across the front bull-bar for quick access. It has a centre support as well to reduce whipping on corrugations.

        •        3 tonne Double Acting Screw Jack

        ◦        Plus 4 inch hard wood timber block, to ensure adequate lift height can be achieved. Most hydraulic jacks (except double acting versions) have only a limited lift height.

        ◦        Many jacks only have a small round flat tip (saddle) which can be very dangerous under a curved, dirty surface. Ensure your jack has a broad cupped tip or saddle so that it can't slip off round axle cases. You could easily weld something up.

        ◦        If you can't get the jack under the vehicle, dig out hole for its base.

This can be a risky arrangement but the wheels are well chocked. The owners had no other options in this case and fixed their wheel problem safely. The tyre came off the wheel and went bush.

        •        Note: always use 2 means of support or jam a spare wheel (or similar robust object) under the vehicle (such as the diff) for protection before jacking or getting underneath. Hydraulic jacks can slowly lower themselves without notice.

2) Axle Stands,

        •        2 x 3 tonne stands for safety while undertaking suspension and axle repair and maintenance work,

        •        The Screw Jack and Axle Stands are mounted in a frame under the rear right hand bullbar. Accessibility is not that good but they are maintenance rather than critical recovery items.

3) Hub/Jack Adaptor

        •        This allows a wheel to be lifted directly using the Hi-Lift jack without the need to get under the vehicle. A wheel lift strap (eg a Hi-Lift Lift-Mate might) also be useful if you have spoked wheels.

 Hub Adaptor for raising wheels directly using a high lift jack. You'll probably need to dig out a flat area for the base plate.

        •        These can be used for lifting a buried or submerged wheel, or if hung up on rocks. After it's lifted, branches, sand mats or other supporting material can be packed beneath the wheel, or a jack/axle stand inserted under the axle to enable the wheel to be removed.

        •        Use with care on the front hubs since they are a smaller diameter and have thinner walls than the rear hubs. Make sure they fit snugly, with a ring adaptor, you don't want a broken hub as well. At a pinch, a strap could be used around the hub instead, but would not be as secure. Maybe a tree trunk protector would work.

4) Winch Extension Strap,

        •        Plus heavy duty Bow Shackles (4.75 Tonne SWL) and Equalising Strap,

        •        For use as a tow rope and for removing obstructions from tracks (even though we don't have a winch, straps are much lighter than chains).

        •        Also useful for strapping an axle to the chassis after suspension failures, we know.

        •        Tow points are fitted to the front and rear bullbars.

        •        Equalising strap allows both tow points to share the load.

5) Snatch Strap

        •        For recovering bogged vehicles, also useful for extending the winch strap although they do stretch of course.

        •        When joining 2 straps or ropes, always insert something solid (eg branch or hammer handle or rolled up magazine) between the loops so they can be undone more easily. Rope can cut through itself in a tight knot.

        •        Never allow anyone near a strap, rope or chain under tension in case something gives way, and put a towel or blanket over the strap so it can be seen.

        •        When pulling obstructions off tracks or towing other people out of boggings, we usually do it in reverse so we can watch what’s happening and/or signal to them (hand-held CB radios are useful here too). People have a habit of leaving their hand brakes on while you are trying to tow them out, but why, when they are bogged anyway?

6) Spades, long and short handled.

        •        Removing the build up of sand in front of wheels is sometimes all that's necessary to free a bogged vehicle. But when it's not...

Small plastic sand mats after a successful extraction in a sticky situation. They were bought for a smaller, earlier 4WD and really need to be larger for the Oka, but they still worked fine.

7) Sand Mats x 2.

        •        These can be any 300 mm x 1 m sheets of 12mm timber, tough plastic (shop bought) or expanded metal, preferably with a rough surface.

        •        Good locally made ones (around $250-300/pair) are available here and here and cheaper ones are also available here. But I think you could make some economically out of expanded metal sheeting (as used for security doors).

        •        I've also seen milk crates cut up and linked together to do the same thing. See here for some more ideas.

8) Air Compressor, air lines and gauge.

        •        We raise and lower our tyre pressures quite regularly on outback treks.

        •        Take a spare valve connection as they can fail.

        •        We can then also connect 2 tyres together to share air pressure if the compressor won't compress. Keep the pressure in a spare tyre higher than normal (60 to 80 psi) for this purpose.

9) Tyre Repair Kit (ARB)

        •        Plus 2 spare wheels which can be used as chocks, anchors or support blocks,

10) Jumper Leads,

        •        Not just for flat batteries but for bypassing a faulty solenoid, connector or battery strap, and to connect batteries in series to form a welder,

11) Warning Flag or Cone (or Strobe/Flare Flash Light after dark)

        •        To warn others of your predicament, to protect yourself and thus avoid making things worse.

        •        A sand flag and pole (or any tree branch) can be used for this purpose.

12) Fire Extinguisher

        •        Diesel is probably OK but gas can leak, and fire can remove "time" from your recovery options,

13) Wood Saw

        •        Some people carry an axe or even a small chain saw, but axes are heavy and dangerous in inexperienced hands, and not very efficient. A curved wood/pruning saw is very useful,

14) HF Radio

        •        This might seem a strange item in a list of recovery gear but communications can assist with information, advice or actual help, which might well be closer than you think.

        •        A Satphone might prove a useful alternative, a CB radio less so.

Maintenance Gear we carry:

This includes the essential tools and safety equipment (glasses, gloves) for use of the above recovery gear. We also carry the spare parts (usually only one of each type) and the tools necessary to repair or replace items which directly affect the three key areas of mobility, safety or reliability.

        1.        Mobility: wheels, wheel bearings (one of each type plus spindle lock washers), driveline (UJ and bolts, free wheeling hub components, gear linkage joint), suspension parts (U-bolt, suspension pins and bushes. We also have a spare half spring leaf to temporarily repair a broken spring eye), engine spares (fuel lift pump, belts) and cooling (hoses, thermostat and gasket, radiator repair gunk),

        2.        Safety: brakes (pads, calliper keys, key bolts and spring clips), steering (tie rod ends, LH and RH). We don't actually carry any tie rod ends yet but we probably should. A bush mechanic can probably fashion a temporary joint using wire or rope to a long bolt though the hole,

        3.        Reliability: electrical parts (starter and alternator brushes, lamps, fuses and wire), lubricants, filters, oil seals (rear hub mostly since they run in diff oil), belts, cable plus small u-bolt clamps (to repair clutch, throttle, park brake cables).

Tools used in the workshop to make repairs are pretty much the tools you'd need on the side of the road too, particularly any vehicle specific tools. Other travellers will usually have standard tool kits but few would have a 2 1/2 inch box spanner for hub spindle nuts, for example.

Emergency Repair Gear

(when all else fails, make use of these types of items):

        1.        Fencing wire, large plastic tie-wraps, rope,

        2.        Small u-bolts to clamp wire and cables, hose clips,

        3.        Tent pegs, aluminium, plastic and steel angle/sheet,

        4.        Old shocker bushes (steel and rubber)

        5.        Switches, electrical wire and terminals, small water pump (usable for diesel transfers),

        6.        Welding rod holder, rods, eye guard and leads (put 2, preferably 3, car batteries in series with jumper leads to make a rudimentary welder),

        7.        Gas blow torch,

        8.        Bits of metal or rubber found on the side of the road. (It's quite surprising what useful material can be found discarded, or more likely fallen off something, on the roadside).

Notes:

1) Higher Lift Jack

        •        For an Oka or other high clearance vehicle, a standard 48 inch high lift jack is inadequate as it can't lift wheels clear of the ground before running out of height (unless using a Hub Adaptor or Wheel Lift Strap). You'll need the 60 inch version to do any serious repairs to the springs or suspension pins. See here for a useful article.

        •        You can chain the axle to the chassis so as you lift the body, you also lift the axle/wheel at the same time. You get quicker wheel lift but at the expense of a much higher load on the jack. My preference is to lift the body a bit with the hi-lift jack, then lift the axle/wheel with a bottle/screw jack and then repeat the process until sufficient wheel height is gained. It’s easier and safer than relying on a single jack, especially if the vehicle is leaning with one wheel deep in a hole.

2) Exhaust Jack

        •        I wouldn't even consider an Exhaust Jack (the blow up balloon type jack). They may appear tempting, since they appear to be light and easy to use (but not cheap), but they are unstable, unsafe and require a flat surface on the bottom of the vehicle, which most don't have, especially an Oka. Plus they need smooth flat ground and isn't it always just like that when you need to jack up the vehicle?

        •        Air powered hydraulic jacks or those with a solid base and top (eg Selson airbag jacks, used to jack up trucks and busses) are probably OK.

A safe way to jack your vehicle?

3) Accessibility

        •        Ensure critical recovery gear is accessible from inside your vehicle as well as outside. In the event of a bogging or partial roll over, external access might be impossible, eg if a high lift jack or spade is carried under the rear or in a compartment blocked off or behind a stuck door. We've seen it done, we had to recover a ute that slid into a drain on the Bloomfield Track, his spade was trapped under the ute.

4) Does it work?

        •        It might seem blindingly obvious, but ensure that all your recovery gear actually works before leaving home. We've met people whose jacks aren't high enough (or low enough to get under a vehicle with a flat tyre), whose spare wheels don't fit, without adequate jacking or towing points, or who simply don't know how to use their (newly bought ARB/TJM) equipment.

5) Winching? We don't have a winch.

        •        They are heavy to carry around and on the few occasions we've been stuck there was no suitable anchor point available anyway. Winches also generally only pull in a horizontal plane, which is handy for pulling other people out, but often you'll need a vertical lift, hence our Hi Lift jack.

        •        If you do have a winch, you'll also need good batteries (unless it's a PTO model), a pulley block, tree trunk protector, a cable dampener and possibly a ground anchor and cable extender. These all take up more weight and space and have really only one function, which hopefully will seldom be used. See here for an interesting discussion on the pros and cons of fitting a winch.

6) Rules for avoiding trouble.

        •        Rule # 1, don't go anywhere or get into anything that you might not get out of.

        •        If Rule # 1 fails (which can and did happen to any of us), and you can't lift or dig yourself out safely (working in the hot sun, harassed by insect pests can be very uncomfortable),

        ⁃        first protect yourself from further risk using flags or similar,

        ⁃        take a break and wait, either

        ⁃        for inspiration (see Point 7 below), or

        ⁃        for help to arrive as it surely will, however embarrassing that might be and however long it takes.

        ⁃        Don't unnecessarily break your back, or worse. You're on vacation, there's no rush.

        ⁃        It may be a challenge but it's probably not a disaster.

7) Problem Solving

        •        Manuals (and/or files on your computer), and information on how to recover a vehicle, can provide a range of alternative ideas on solving a recovery problem. Don't forget the ideas of other members of your party or other well meaning travellers who will no doubt stop to assist but don't be pushed into something until you've considered all possibilities.

        •        In the 9 years we've been touring with our Oka (plus many years of 4WDriving before that), our learned response to a crisis is to do nothing, at least initially (unless there is an urgent medical/safety situation), until we have consider all the options (and yes, spouses are often a useful source of alternate ideas).

        •        In the meantime, we erect some warning devices (flags, milk crates, branches or similar placed 50m either side of the stranded vehicle) and get on the HF radio to get some advice or report the dilemma, it's free and anonymous.

        •        Rushing into something might make a bad situation worse, and the next morning things often don't seem quite so bad, tracks have dried out, or help has arrived or a brilliant solution has come to mind overnight. Even if they don't, you'll be rested (unless you're stuck at 45º) and better able to tackle the problem.

After a sudden downpour, too slippery to move...      ..... and the next morning, mostly dried up.

7) Membership of motoring organisations

        •        These might prove useful in urban environments or even on major highways, but on remote tracks it will prove ineffective. Even if you can contact them, it might take days to get a tow truck out your way (if at all) and towing is all they will do, they don't carry adequate spares to fix any vehicle and the extra costs might be prohibitive anyway.

        •        Last year we helped a stranded motorist near Eromanga on the Tibooburra track, a Commodore(!) with 2 shredded tyres, a soft spare and no compressor. We contacted the RACQ who eventually sent a tow truck 240 km from Thargominda but it took several days to arrange and even then they would only tow him back the way he came.

        •        In 2008, a Discovery was stuck on the CSR for 3 weeks with an engine management problem. Tow trucks sent from Halls Creek by the RAC WA tried, but couldn't reach them and eventually they were towed out very laboriously over hundreds of sand dunes by another very kind traveller who put his own vehicle at risk.

        •        Much better to be self-sufficient, and luckily you can be in an Oka.

Safety and Emergency Equipment on our Oka

Important Note:
If you have an HF Radio, first read this document regarding current (2011) changes to the RFDS emergency call procedure using an HF radio on the VKS-737 network.
If you have a Satphone read this document for accessing the RFDS.
If you don't have either an HF Radio or Satphone in your vehicle (or travel group) you are putting yourselves at unnecessary risk when away from major towns or highways.
Refer also to these outback safety documents:

• RFDS Safe Outback Travel (straight forward stuff from people who should know),
• WA Police Bushcraft and Survival Guide (120 pages of very useful stuff, download and read before travelling, and put a copy in your Emergency Rucksack).
• Suzi and Ruedi's insight into safe traveling in their Oka.

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Safety and Emergency Equipment in our Oka:
Apart from the usual recovery gear (jacks, towropes, hub adaptor, spade, sand mats etc, see our separate post on our Recovery and Maintenance Gear) we also carry the following range of safety gear and emergency equipment in our Oka.
Electronic/Electrical Equipment:
1) 406MHz EPIRB (this should preferably be one that includes a GPS (GME MT403G) for faster and more accurate positional location, (minutes, not hours, and to 100 m accuracy).

• The EPIRB should be tested regularly, but activated only in cases of grave and imminent danger. Also ensure that emergency contact (next of kin) details are registered with ASAR and up to date as they will be contacted before any SAR activities are mounted, to avoid false alarms. You can also upload your planned trip route to assist with verifying an emergency call. Both can be done via the Beacons page following registration.

2) Strobe/Flare Flashlight (orange) for attracting attention at night.

Strobe/Flare flashlight and EPIRB on quick-release mountings

The strobe/flare emits a powerful orange flash which can be seen for many km after dark. Test it regularly. [Eflare EF350 Safety Beacon, available from Exploroz].
3) HF Radio plus a range of antennas:

• Tapped whip for all VKS-737 and RFDS frequencies,
• Super Rod 9m whip for 8022 kHz, (see here) plus a 4.5 m extension cable to tune it to 5455 kHz (and most RFDS channels which are around 5 mHz),
• Long wire emergency antennas for 8022 and 5455 kHz, (for 8022kHz, length 8.88 metres/29.17 feet, for 5455kHz, length 13.06 metres/42.90 feet, thick insulated wire such as used for garden lighting).

[Important: Regarding the Red Emergency Button on your radio, from December 2010 (ie from NOW on), use of the Emergency Call Button facility has been phased out by the RFDS and will no longer be monitored, (see the press release here ).
So if you have a Selcall facility use that, but you'll need to know the numbers. Otherwise call a VKS base during sked times, or make a broadcast call, someone will likely be listening and can forward a message to the authorities. If you have a Satphone call the RDFS direct on these numbers. If that fails, in a real emergency, activate your EPIRB.]

Note: Call in (don't just listen) regularly at sked times for a radio check. This will provide confidence that your radio will transmit effectively when needed. It's also very important that all party members, especially your spouse and kids, know how to use the radio, including erecting and connecting the emergency antenna.

9m SuperRod antenna erected (beware of overhead power lines when erecting any antenna, sandflag pole etc)

4) Moving map computer based navigation system (Oziexplorer pc software with 250,000:1 scale maps of the whole country (Etopo series from Exploroz here). These plus a GPS will give you local positional and terrain information to a few metres resolution, depending on the age of the maps. (If you are a Mac person, Oziexplorer runs well on a MacBook under VirtualBox/XP),

• If you know the route you are taking, it's possible, but a bit awkward, to pre-record your track on Google Earth for later replay. It might be useful to actually see what is just beyond the next hill or sand dune, or if the track you are on actually leads anywhere useful, but bear in mind Google Earth images may be out of date (eg summer vs winter) or poor resolution.

5) GPS x 2, a USB module (Globalsat BU-353 Mouse GPS) for connecting to our moving map computer system and a hand-held one (Garmin Extex Venture) for use when walking (can also be connected to the computer). These days many mobile phones/tablets can also be used offline for this purpose but probably won't be able to access a network for communication in more remote areas.
[Note, a SPOT Personal Tracking device or similar might provide additional peace of mind, so your position can be tracked remotely].

6) Telstra NextG phone. T100, effective and cheap ($49 from Dick Smith or Telstra shops), so you can afford 2 of them, with modem facilities (T100 works well as a modem using Telstra's JoinMe application, but is fairly slow), plus 2 external antennas (a whip and a Yagi).
[Note, our phone modem now being replaced by a Telstra Elite Mobile WiFi module for internet access, no need for the 4G model in remote locations, but an external antenna is a must].

• The Telstra NextG network provides the widest coverage of all networks, but not all the country is covered.
• A NextG phone with the Telstra Blue Tick and provision for an external antenna connection is necessary for best coverage.
• Note: not classed as emergency equipment but surprisingly useful in many remote areas and with a longer range than a hand-held CB. (But see note below),

7) Hand-held CB radios (GME 610 x 2). Note: not classed as emergency equipment but useful for convoys or when walking in groups. Always take one with you if you wander off alone but ensure both are turned ON, obviously. I've modified ours to enable a full size, roof/bull bar mounted CB antenna to be connected, for longer range.

• Useless for long range emergency communications. (See note below).

Note: CB Radios and Mobile phones cannot be relied upon in all situations, especially away from major towns and highways. Always carry an HF radio or Satphone as well as CB/phone.
8) Emergency Engine Stop Button. If you (or quite possibly your passenger after an incident) need to stop the engine quickly, or if you break off the ignition key or can't access it, an Emergency Stop Button can be useful.

• We have a switch in the centre of the dashboard which simply cuts off the 12v supply to the fuel cut off solenoid on the injector pump. I sometime use it if the turbo time won't switch off. It can double as an immobiliser as well, as the engine can't start unless the solenoid is energised. It's also useful for spinning the engine without it starting, such as building up oil pressure after an oil change before applying a load to the bearings.

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Mechanical/Non Electrical Items:
1) Fire Extinguisher x 2, a larger 2 kg plus a 1 kg powder extinguisher. Two is safer than one in case one doesn't work when needed.

• They should be shaken up at least annually to avoid the powder packing down hard though vehicle vibration. We keep them just inside the door so they can be easily accessed from outside as well as inside. Ideally, one should really be nearer the cooker.

2) Fire Blanket. We have one located near the cooker.

• We had to use it once when a plastic mat got stuck unnoticed to the bottom of a saucepan which was then put back on the stove. Flames took hold and black acrid smoke filled the Oka surprisingly quickly. The blanket effectively stifled the flames but we had to evacuate while the vent fans removed the smoke. We had acesss to the fire extinguisher but luckily it wasn't needed, they can make an awful mess. The smoke alarm also went off adding to the drama.

3) Smoke Alarm. Ours has a light inside as well since it can be very dark at night when camped in remote locations.

• However, in the confines of a motorhome, false alarms while cooking can be a real but unavoidable nuisance, even with an extractor fan. I have fitted our alarm with an electronic inhibit function which times out after around 40 minutes, long enough to cook a meal, or it can be manually reset earlier. (See this electronics article, and scroll down to "Temporarily silencing a smoke alarm". As far as I know this is not available commercially, I built by own).
• The non-recomended alternatives are to cover it up (shower cap) or take the batteries out of the alarm, but both options are a serious safety risk until they are returned to normal operation. Chubb/Quell sell smoke alarms with a 10-15 minute "hush" function but that is not long enough and anyway they still activate if the smoke density subsequently increases.

4) Drinking Water Filter

Clean purified drinking water can prevent many of the annoying stomach upsets caused by drinking water from dubious sources. Even clear running water can harbour dangerous microbes.

• A 0.5 micron water filter will filter out most of the nasty chemicals and bacteria which can cause digestive tract infections.
• When bush walking we also carry water bottles fitted with small outlet filters. This allows us to refill them from any source if we really had to. But don't use cordial or similar in these bottles, it will clog up the filters immediately.
• We also carry water purification tablets available from camping and outback stores.

In an emergency, water can be purified using SODIS, a cheap Solar Water Disinfection method, pioneered by the Swiss. See this site for simple instructions. I was put on to this method from Suzi and Reudi's website but their link is dead.

• Fill one or several clear PET plastic  or clear glass bottles with contaminated water (filtered to remove as much cloudiness/turbidity as possible),
• Leave (lying down is best) in full sun for at least 6 hours, protected from wind and kept as hot as possible to aid the process.
• This will kill the bacteria in the water, see these FAQ's.
• Drink direct from the bottle to avoid re-contamination.
• Algae can grow during and afer this process but are apparently NOT harmful.
• Purified water can be kept for long periods in sealed bottles without re-contamination.

5) Snake Bite treatment. In remote locations, a serious snake bite can prove fatal.

• Taking supplies and instructions for snake bite treatment (using the vital Pressure Immobilisation Bandaging procedure) can be a life-saver (detailed instructions here).
• Refer to a separate Snake Bite Discussion Notes page here).

6) Lifebuoy. If you regularly swim, or camp with children near water, a Lifebuoy or similar would be essential.

• We don't have one but we would have floating items (eg foam cushions) we could throw in. A simple "throw bag" device with a rope attached would seem a good investment and are available here or here.

7) Comprehensive First Aid kit and manuals, (see here for outback First Aid Kit suggestions),
     7.1) These are the first aid/medical items in our kit, roughly in the order we most use them:

• Prescription medications
• Vitamin B1 to reduce the effect of mosquito bites
• Insect repellant
• Antiseptic Cream
• Lots of Band Aids (larger cloth types stick on better and last longer than the small thin plastic bandaids which don't stick to sweaty skin)
• Insect bite/sting cream/spray
• Antihistamine (Zyrtec) tablets to reduce the itchiness of sand fly bites
• Sunblock/sunburn cream
• Headache tablets
• Cold/Flu tablets
• Anti-fungal cream
• Indigestion tablets
• Deep Heat for muscular pain

     7.2) These are items we also carry but seldom use:

• Antibiotics (only for emergency infections like toothache and inflammation of small wounds, seek medical advice for more serious infections)
• Immodium for stomach upsets/diarrhoea (our water filter prevents most of these)
• Ural tablets for urinary tract infections
• Bonjela for sore gums
• Throat lozenges
• Eye wash
• Ear drops
• Bandages
• Wound closures
• Ankle/Wrist/Knee straps
• Water purification tablets

      7.3) We also now carry a defibrillator  (Philips/Laderal Heartstart HS1) in case of heart emergencies (most other people's but hopefully it would be used on ourselves if necessary).

8) Orange "V"-sheet for daytime visibility and also weather protection (available from marine suppliers, eg Whitworths, Bias Boating),
9) 4.5 M Fibreglass Sand Flag Pole. The base is permanently mounted on the front bullbar and the pole installed to provide a visual warning to oncoming vehicles when climbing steep sanddunes crests, or when it's essential for us to be seen such, as a breakdown at a dangerous location. Can also be used for hoisting radio aerials and emergency flags.
10) Emergency Rucksack, pre-packed, or which can be quickly packed with emergency supplies in case of fire, or major accident where we had to abandon or escape from the Oka quickly. We keep seldom used items in the rucksack all the time for a quicker getaway.
Contents:

• EPIRB, strobe/flare flashlight, hand-held GPS, hand-held CB radios, phone, spare (charged) batteries,
• Headlight/torch, reading glasses, compass, maps, whistle, mirror, "V"-sheet,
• First aid stuff, insect repellant, sterilisation tablets, emergency blanket/shade cover,
• Matches/lighter, collapsible plastic bucket, rope, Swiss Army knife,
• Water bottles (2 x 2 litres min., with filter elements), dry food (sweets/biscuits/dried fruit),
• Hats, jackets, ponchos, sneakers,
• Keys, money and cards (wallet/purse), paper and pen, survival checklist, sundry items.

Note: In any eventuality, stay close to the vehicle where you can more easily be found.
10) Lethal Flying Objects. Although not actual safety equipment, we do ensure that everything is securely fixed down and can't easily break loose in an accident to become lethal flying objects. This makes sense for travel over rough tracks anyway.

• There are bulkheads behind both seats to protect our heads and large items (eg fridge, cooker, water tanks (including the toilet), gas bottles, fire extinguishers, HF radio) are kept low down and have steel frames bolted to the vehicle sub-chassis and/or side frames, and they have never moved. Steel frames may be heavy but weight=strength=safety. [Note: Small bolts (anything under M6) and pop rivets can be points of failure, and also stainless steel should be avoided as it's much weaker than normal high tensile steel].

• Smaller items (bottles, cans, utensils, and tools-which can be very heavy) are kept in compartments that only open sideways, so they can't fly forwards. Our rear tailgate section contains heavy tools but has a fixed bulkhead fitted in front of it. In other types of vehicles a cargo barrier and/or tie down straps would be a must.

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Things we don't carry in our Oka:
Satphone (expensive, inflexible (can't broadcast widely), would duplicate the HF radio for some applications), but would be useful to call the RFDS,
Winch (heavy to carry around and would seldom be useful, except to pull other people out).

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Nice to Haves:
Programmable HF radio (our existing radio is old and reliable but only has 6 channels and no Selcall facilities). Yes, it does now. We have recently fitted a Jenal SC2 Selcall microphone to our radio, so we can now directly contact any RDFS base via selcalls through any VKS base.
I have also modified the radio so we can receive ABC and BBC shortwave broadcasts (amongst others).

SuperRod 9 Metre Whip Antenna for HF

We use the VKS737 HF radio network to keep in contact with the world while we are camped in remote locations.

We normally used a fairly short (2m) tapped whip antenna, which is quite convenient and works reasonably in most places, but we recently installed an alternative 9m fibreglass whip antenna. It take a little longer to erect but at a 1/4 wavelength, it's the optimum length for using Channel 2 on 8022 KHz and provides the best possible communications on this frequency.

Using this antenna we invariable receive a 5 by 5 report (the highest) from VKS bases when requesting a radio check. I've also determined that it can be used as quite an acceptable shortwave antenna for receiving ABC and BBC broadcasts (amongst many others) over a broad range of frequencies from 6 to 10 MHz, although with some loss of efficiency either side of 8 MHz.

The 9m SuperRod in operation on our Oka, somewhere in outback NSW

The antenna is based on a 9m, 9 section, telescopic fibreglass fishing pole, but with a wire inserted up the middle. They are called SuperRod Antennas and I got mine from The Electric Bug in Adelaide without any mounting hardware, but a cheaper alternative could be to make one using a fishing pole from angling shops. (See here where you can buy 9m bare poles for around $40 plus freight, and fit the wire yourself, see here for some assembly ideas. For use on 8022 KHz, none of the loading coils are necessary). If you are really keen you can import a much tougher pole from Spiderbeam in Germany. They are not that expensive at Euro 66 (AUD 100) plus freight for a 12m pole.

The wire doesn't have to run up inside the antenna, it will work just as well if the wire is wrapped around the pole, or if it is just attached to the tip and the pole used as means of getting it vertically into the air. It just looks neater inside. The pole doesn't even have to be 9m long either, only the wire has to be that long.

Whilst the antenna works well, there are a few of challenges to its installation and operation:

• Mounting: It needs a sturdy mounting point on the bull bar or similar because, although it's not heavy, as it moves around in the breeze it places a considerable strain on its mount. It should not be used on a moving vehicle while raised. In this mode the antenna is acting as one half of a vertical dipole with the vehicle and ground beneath it providing the other half.

• Antenna Wire: When collapsed, the 9m of wire needs to be coiled or wound up to keep it straight and tidy. A kinked wire won't run up or down the antenna smoothly.

• Erecting: (Important: first read the Power Line warning at point 7 below. Note this sobering story from the ABC). The sections must be extended tightly and "screwed" into each other as the antenna is being erected, or they can slide down inside each other, either during operation as the wind blows or as you are lowering the antenna, trapping the wire and loosing their telescopic sequence.

• Lowering: The wire must be pulled gently and continuously out of the bottom of the antenna as each section is separated, or it will get trapped and kinked in the bottom section which is frustrating to unravel and the wire can break.

• Connecting: The antenna needs connections made to the radio lead. It doesn't just plug on.

• Frequencies: It primarily intended for Channel 2 (8022 KHz) and needs some mods to work on Channel 1 (5455 KHz) or RFDS frequencies.

• Power Lines and Lightning: It's so tall it's a power-line and/or lightning risk.

I have experienced all of the above problems and modified the antenna and mounting arrangements to minimise them.

1) Mounting the Antenna

To mount the antenna, I fitted a length of 50mm PVC pipe (which holds the lower section of the antenna), to an aluminium frame which then slides into a holder, made from aluminium rope track, mounted on the bullbar using 50mm U-bolts. I could have mounted it higher where it might work better but I couldn't then raise it, since the top would be beyond my reach. The PVC pipe has a cap on the bottom to hold the antenna but with a hole in it for the wire to slide through. The whole assembly can be removed, with the wire wound up on an attached reel, for storage inside the Oka.

The mounting using aluminium rope track on the bullbar.

The SuperRod stored safely in the Oka.

2) Keeping the Wire Tidy

After lowering the antenna and extracting the wire, you are left with a 9m tangle of wire on the ground (actually only 8m since 1m is always inside the antenna).

To tidy this up I fitted a cheap hand fishing reel to an aluminium plate with a simple handle to wind up the wire as it is being pulled out, which is a lot easier with 2 people. A notch/slot in the reel holds the connector in place as the wire is wound up.

The SuperRod mounted on the bullbar, with a hand fishing reel for winding up the wire.

The SuperRod lowered and the wire neatly wound up on the hand reel.

You could also wind it around any other kind of former, such as those designed to tidy up extension cables, but it is essential that the wire is not bent too sharply or kinked in the process, or erection and lowering of the antenna will be made more difficult.

3) Telescoping Sections

The smaller sections can drop down inside the larger ones and get jammed, also trapping the wire inside.

This will require a complete disassembly of the antenna to disentangle. A simple solution is to fit a nylon string to the tip of the smallest section and to tie a ping-pong ball or similar sized plastic object (I use the top off a deodorant can) about 50cm from the tip. Then, none of the smaller sections can disappear very far inside the larger ones, and you can pull them out using the nylon string.

A bead to hold the nylon string in place.

4) Preventing the Wire from Breaking or Pulling Out

The wire jammed and broke (actually it pulled out of the top section) while I was experimenting with erecting the antenna. 9m of antenna is a bit of a handful to hold and I must have pulled too hard on the wire, and you certainly don't want this to happen in a remote location.

So I disassembled all 9 sections to get at the top section. The red insulated wire as supplied is joined to a fairly thin solid copper wire part way up the thinnest section, since the red wire is too thick to go through the centre hole in the fibreglass. The solid wire is pushed through the tip of the section and presumably glued or crimped in place, but not very securely. This is what failed so I discarded the thin copper wire.

To improve this aspect I drilled a 1mm hole down the tip of the section, just deeper than the crimping band, and securely soldered a 50cm piece of thicker copper wire to the red insulated wire. Then I inserted it through the top section until it protruded from the tip. I soldered a round terminal to the wire sticking out of the end, to prevent it ever slipping inside the rod again. Bending a 6mm loop in the wire would work as well and either method will also provide a means of attaching a nylon string to the top section. A small bead was used to secure the string to the terminal so it all still nests together neatly. A bigger object was then attached to the string as mentioned above, to prevent any of the sections from sliding too far in.

A terminal soldered to a thicker copper centre wire after drilling a 1mm hole in the tip.

In retrospect, I found disassembly of the antenna and replacing the wire to be a very useful exercise because I now know how to replace the wire if it ever breaks again while travelling.

5) Connection the Antenna to the Radio

A PL259 socket (or whatever connector you need to match the one on your antenna lead) needs to be mounted near the bottom of the antenna for connecting the coax cable from the radio. You might need to extend the radio antenna lead if it no longer reaches the new bullbar mount. The centre connection of the socket can be fitted with a short wire with a male bullet connector crimped on, to connect to female bullet connector on the antenna wire. The ground (outer) section of the connector needs to be connected to the chassis of the vehicle using a ground cable which is as short as possible. The bull bar frame might be OK as long as that itself is well grounded to the vehicle chassis. Fit a ground cable from the socket to the vehicle chassis just in case.

You can tell how effective the grounding is buy turning on the radio, with the antenna erected and connected, and listening to the level of background noise received. It will change in volume as the grounding is improved or made worse. Maximum noise volume (ie best match with the radio) indicates the improved grounding. This doesn't take the place of proper antenna tuning and matching tests but unlike tapped whip antenna bases, the SuperRod has no matching components, only a centre wire, so some experimenting is necessary.

With a tapped whip antenna mounted as well as the SuperRod, I was able to switch the radio lead from one to the other and confirmed that the SuperRod certainly had better reception (higher signal strength) on 8022 KHz than the tapped whip. As to be expected, it also received background noise better as well.

[Note: This improvement in performance over the tapped whip antenna was confirmed during a recent 3 month trek up to the tip of Cape York. Invariably, when using the SuperRod, the base operator commented on the excellent signal strength. However, I didn't use the SuperRod antenna every day because it takes time to erect or it was too windy. It was used when signal conditions were otherwise poor, or when more time was available before a sked finished to erect it.]

In high noise environments, such as at home in a more dense housing area I’ve found the antenna works well with much less electrical noise pick up when still connected but mounted horizontally from the bullbar and supported on something non-conductive, eg a dry tree branch but I usually rest it on a wheelie bin. It will sag a bit and is more directional this way but it certainly increases the signal to noise ratio. In this mode the antenna is now acting as one half of a horizontal dipole but with the vehicle simulating the other half.

6) Using the SuperRod on Channel 1 (5455 KHz) or other VKS frequencies

The 9m SuperRod can also be used directly on VKS737 Channel 1 on 5455 KHz, with some loss of performance since it's not matched to the transmission frequency. It really should be 13.75m long to be a 1/4 wavelength at that frequency.

Channel 1 performance can be improved by fitting a loading coil so it looks to the radio as if it were a 13.75m antenna, but they cost around $40-50 commercially, but one could be wound much more economically. I found that a simpler solution was to attach about 4.5m of additional wire between the radio antenna lead centre wire and the SuperRod wire connection and to droop this loosely over a nearby bush/tree branch. It will work better there than just lying on the ground, but keep people away from the wire when transmitting to avoid radiation burns. This is not as good as a tuned loading coil but is adequate as a fallback.

The wire I use is the type sold in hardware stores for use with low voltage garden lighting systems. I has a 10 amp current carrying capacity and nice thick insulation since it's intended for outdoor applications, so it's ideal for laying on the ground or throwing up trees. It's usually twin conductor but is easily split into single conductors.

A better but more tricky alternative is to connect the extra wire to the top of the antenna, using the solder terminal fitted at the tip, and to extend that wire out sideways and/or upwards as far as possible, using a piece of nylon string attached to the end and fixed to a tree/bush etc. It will now be the correct length and nice and high, although the antenna will bend a fair bit and its radiation pattern won't be optimum.

Note that similar bent antennae, called Near Vertical Incidence Skywave (NVIS) systems, are available from Codan, Barrett etc, as in the sketch on page 2 of the Codan brochure here. This system optimises the skywave signal path for short range communications (inside the normal skip distance) by directing some of the transmitted energy upwards at an angle, rather than horizontally, which reflects off the ionosphere to closer destinations.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) uses frequencies in the 5 MHz range (5145, 5110, 5300, 5360, 5410 KHz depending on location of their bases) which are similar enough to the VKS737 Channel 1 frequency of 5455 KHz that the SuperRod with the additional 4.5m of wire should be capable of using them effectively. Some tuning of the exact length could be done as required using the formula (300/Frq MHz)/4. For Frq=5.3 MHz (5300 KHz), for example, an additional wire length of 4.8m would required.

See the RFDS frequency and VKS737 SelCall usage on this VKS737 document.

Note that Selcall access to the RFDS via an HF Radio (with VKS737 Selcall capabilities) is now the preferred and most reliable method of contacting the RFDS. Their radio frequencies may not be continuously monitored.

The SuperRod could readily be used on frequencies higher than 8mHz (ie a shorter antenna for 10, 12, or 15 mHz) by cutting the wire inside to the appropriate length and only raising the antenna sufficiently to elevate that length of wire. Of course, to use it for several frequencies would mean having small connectors part way along the wire sufficiently small to fit inside the telescopic section (or abandon the inside wire in favour of a spiral wound external wire).

Approximate wire lengths would be:
Channel 3       11612 kHz                 6.45m
Channel 4       14977 kHz                 5m
Channel 7       10180 kHz          7.36m

7) Power-Line and Lightning Warning

Be very aware of overhead power lines, see this recent sobering story.

Before raising a SuperRod, first look upwards to ensure there are no power-lines within range (which maybe only 6 m above ground level and well within the reach of a 9 m antenna), especially in populated areas such as caravan parks, national park camping areas, roadside rest areas or boat ramps. It's too easy to just raise the antenna, section by section from bullbar level, without first checking upwards. You could get a very nasty (and fatal) surprise, and in any case, your radio won't work very well in the proximity (~100m) of power lines due to the noise induced from the power transmission. Transmitting probably won't be affected but reception certainly will.

A tall antenna such as the 9m SuperRod will also be very attractive to lightning, so be very careful about using it when there are thunderstorms about. In particular, don't rely on lightning protection devices and don't leave it up at night if there is the slightest chance of strong winds or thunderstorms springing up unannounced.

Remember, in a thunderstorm you don't want to be the tallest thing around.

References:

The WANSARC radio club has a useful review of the SuperRod on page 5 of this issue.