My favorite truck of the trip was this Toyota Land Cruiser 79-Series Workmate, and it is one tough machine. It's the latest truck from Toyota for the rest of the world and I think it would outsell the new Tundra in the U.S. It has solid axles front and rear with massive rear leaves to support a lot of weight and front coils to give a moderately smooth ride. Plus with a pair of ARB Air Lockers it was nearly unstoppable. Don't be fooled into thinking this is a lavish 4x4, because this is the Australian version of 1-ton work truck, with a full-floating rear axle, plastic and vinyl interior, five-speed manual transmission, a burly fully-boxed frame, and an awesome 4.5L V-8 intercooled turbodiesel. This new diesel passes the European diesel emissions testing and I think it would be great in the U.S. in a Tacoma or FJ Cruiser. Hopefully someone at Toyota is reading this.
Of course there were a few U.S. trucks like this Ford F-250 that had been converted to righthand drive for the Australian market. This was Andy Brown's personal truck and something rarely seen on that continent. I was driving when I finally found some rocks and thought it my duty to show the other journos what the U.S. rockcrawling craze is all about. I didn't plan on putting a nice dent in Andy's rear bumper, but maybe it will convince him that ARB needs to bring a fullsize truck rear bumper to the aftermarket. At least I didn't fill the cab with muddy brown water like when one of the Australian journalists tried to show everyone how to do a proper river crossing Aussie-style. An ARB winch bumper, snorkel, diff cover, Air Lockers, and IPF lights fill out the package.
After the factory tour, we boarded a small plane and flew to Mildura, where we met up with all the exciting trucks we would be taking off road for the next two weeks. These trucks included some great vehicles that either the market, our government, or both keep outside the U.S. borders. If you're a 4x4 fanatic like me, then going and checking out all the cool Aussie trucks with their small diesel engines and rugged solid front axles is totally worth the 14-hour flight. Though many of the trucks on our trip were modified, most were not extremely tall nor ran huge tires due to the modification laws in Australia. Having massive tires and carrying a massive spare isn't really logical due to extra fuel costs and valuable storage space. | 
Since we were doing a lot of camping on the trip, there were two trucks with ARB's new rooftop tent. The trucks were a diesel Land Rover LR3 and a diesel 100-Series Toyota Land Cruiser. The Rover turbodiesel is a 2.7L V-6, while the Cruiser has the tried-and-true 4.2L straight-six turbodiesel. Both vehicles are true luxury sport-utes on the inside, but when outfitted for the outback they could haul a small family comfortably across thousands of miles of corrugated gravel roads. |
Toyotas definitely dominate the off-road scene in Australia, and those lucky Aussies get some really cool models. This dual-cab diesel HiLux would sell like crazy here in the states, but with current diesel regulations it may be a while before we see it. Most of the trucks on our trip were fitted with an ARB bull bar, Safari Snorkel, IPF lights, and Old Man Emu suspension systems. The HiLux also had long-range fuel tanks, rear drawer systems full of tools, and one of the ARB camper shells. Plus the little 3L four-cylinder Toyota turbodiesel really is fun to drive, easily getting the 'Lux up and moving in a hurry. | |
We explored the outback countryside and small townships that are scattered across this massive land. The thing that really amazed me was how similar the landscape was to the USA, but at the same time different. Often I felt I was being transported to many U.S. states, whether the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the large open areas of Nevada, or the unique deserts similar to Texas and New Mexico. It was amazing how quickly the terrain changed from one setting to the next, and the fact that we rarely saw billboards out in the bush reminded me that we were in Australia.
Due to the drought, many farmers and ranchers have sought out new means of income besides the normal sheep and cattle herding. Wild goats have become one such means of income, while another is the growing tourism market. Many of these ranches have boarding houses on their multihundred-thousand-acre plots for the once-a-year sheep sheering or cattle roundup workers, and the rest of the year these bunkhouses are left sitting empty. Many owners began renting them out to travelers, whether private or on corporate or scheduled tour groups. We found every station (that's Aussie for ranch) run by some of the best people ever. The owners were happy to talk to us and explain how their farms work, and many included meals with our stay and the grub was awesome! | 
Of course there is more to Australia than just cool trucks. Once you get outside the major metropolitan areas there are miles of gravel roads. So owning a 4x4 is way more important than in the states, since so much of the U.S. is connected by asphalt superhighways. These gravel roads can become subjected to serious corrugation and super-fine bull dust that can rattle a truck apart and seep in through even the best door seals. Since these dirt highways connect all the small communities, they must be protected when it rains. Australia had been in the midst of a 10-year drought when I visited, then all of a sudden it started raining every few days and we often had to change plans to not get caught on roads that were getting extremely soggy. In fact, if you are caught on a road that has been closed due to rain and mud, you can be fined up to $500 per tire since rutting these roads can screw up major supply chains and could require extensive grading to smooth out again. |
Speaking of great grub, ARB had coordinated with Tri State Safaris to tour with us and bring their chuck wagon along. Every morning, mid morning, lunchtime, and mid afternoon we would stop and have a bite to eat or a cup of tea. We spent many evenings sitting around a campfire out in the desert eating more excellent food and discussing all the worldly topics about trucks, four-wheeling, and motorsports in general with an extremely well-rounded group of off-road enthusiasts. It wasn't all serious talk either. One night we even introduced the Australians to tequila which is very rare down there for some reason, and by the end of the night we had a full-blown plan for importing the agave juice. Funny how the next morning our plan wasn't so clear anymore. |  |
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Even though we spent most of the time exploring, we did get to play off road as well. There were the big red sand dunes in the Simpson Desert, as well as a deep river crossing. Plus some rocky riverbeds to explore on one of the stations we stayed at and with all the rain we encountered we even found some mud to wallow in.