Tag Archives: 4WD

Cooper Tires ATRs — 25,000 km performance update

My Cooper Tires ATRs have performed faultlessly on my Toyota Prado during the last 25,000 km of driving in the city, bush, beaches and camping. There was one thing that I remember from my university marketing 101 subject 20+ years ago. That was, if you want to increase sales, you can do one of three things: improve your product reduce your price increase your promotion (advertising/marketing). Using elasticity of demand curves, somehow, you … more »

Four wheel driving on Stradbroke Island — Main Beach, Flinders Beach and Tripod Track

Stradbroke Island is an iconic destination that permits beach driving. When we stayed at Straddie we drove on Flinders Beach and Main Beach, as well as driving the sandy Tripod Track. You will need a beach access permit from Redland City Council to drive on the beaches. The beach access permit is valid for 12 months and can be purchased from the Big Red Cat, Stradbroke Ferries, any of the Straddie Holiday Parks, … more »

Holidaying on Stradbroke Island

We recently had a rather adventurous weekend on Stradbroke Island — or Straddie as the locals call it. In many people’s eyes, Stradbroke Island is a stunning and beautiful holiday destination. Some of the Straddie holiday attractions are: beaches sea life — whales, dolphins, turtles, manta rays sand four wheel driving beach camping beach fishing. And all this only an hour from Brisbane by vehicular ferry. We took my Toyota Prado to Stradbroke Island … more »

How to fit your family’s camping gear in your car — storage drawers, plastic crates or bags?

You are taking your family camping, but you just can not fit all your gear in the car. How can you maximise the gear that you can take? First off be realistic with what you need to take — after all, camping is about living outdoors for a while, not living it up in a 5-star hotel. See my my camping gear checklist for my view on the essentials for car-based camping. Next, when … more »

CouplerTec electronic rust prevention system installed on Toyota Prado

I recently had a heavy duty (four capacitive coupler pad model) CouplerTec electronic rust prevention system installed in my Toyota Prado by TJM at Coopers Plains. I specifically purchased a second hand four wheel drive to go beach camping — I did not want to drive a $60,000 brand new car down the beach! Even though my Toyota Prado is second hand, I still wanted to install an electronic rust protection system in the vehicle. I … more »

Waeco PerfectPower can size inverter review

The Waeco PerfectPower 150 watt can size inverter does the job of providing 240 volts to power small consumer devices, but it does have some design limitations. On my last road trip to Tasmania, I found that the 12V DC charger adaptors for my phone and laptop were not powerful enough to recharge the batteries in a suitable length of time. I would spend all day driving with the 12V chargers connected, but … more »

Easy set-up sun and rain awning for your 4WD — gear & photos

A quick-erect sun and rain awning is a very handy addition to any four wheel drive vehicle. Rather than purchasing an of-the-shelf awning, I have developed my own from some surplus gear in my camping kit. There are numerous different awnings available on the market that bolt semi-permanently to roof racks — examples include those available from ARB, TJM, Bushranger, and OZtrail. While I could have easily purchased an off-the-shelf awning, I have … more »