Hi All, heading up to Cape York next winter. Have a 100 series wagon which will be loaded upincluding Tinnie on roof and 15hp Yamaha. Not wanting to tow a trailer, Where to store motor??
Able to remove single rear seat for extra space as only 1 brat coming along. Space will be tight with alll equipment and spares looking at custom roof rack for extra stowage. But where do i put outboard?? Your thoughts and ideas for solutions.. Thanks
Ideally it would be in the back of the wagon, but they stink, drip salt water, make a mess and generally drive you nuts.
A twin rear wheel carrier with one side converted to an outboard carrier would do, but you'll need a real good engine cover, and the better they get the more the motor sweats inside which is obviously unpreferred. 4wd systems do these rear bars with outboard mounts.
A tinny and 15 h.p. motor on the roofrack will kill your gutters and overload the roof.
Last edited by GBC; 05-07-2011 at 05:57 AM. Reason: speeeling
I know you are in a wagon but I did a practise run with a mate who was doing planning for his round aussie adventure with a tinny on the ute racks , loading and loading on the front lawn and seeing if him and the wife would be able to do it. No way. Even after changing to a smaller size and lighter borrowed tiny it was hard work. So much so that with the sort of short term stops they were considering he thought they might not bother using it.. The life jakets , tinny wheels , oars, safety and tank all were taking up huge amounts of storage space. He considered loading racks ( complicated but less effort) and even a porta bote or inflatable. Wind resistance was massive at higher speeds. His rack failed after 6 months on the road - in hindsight it was never tough enough for the speeds he travels at and the flex in the chassis.
Some good things he discovered that you could buy a adaptor ( sort of made up) to go on a jerry can so you could store fuel outside the cruiser and use the jerry as the boat tank. I hate teh though of fuel tanks inside and on racks is not good. He downsized the motor after testing a lighter shallower v tinny and getting it so it would still plane 2 up with a bit of gear. Easier to lift and store- put those blow up pontoons on it's sides so it had the stability of a bigger boat. Had a deeper under tray drawer built that fitted the motor in on foam in a waterproof sealed bag. He used a light weight ply base (pretty dustproof box) under the upturned tinny that all the lightweight safety stuff fitted in and had some decent tie down points welded on tinny rather than having straps flog along with a thicker alloy along keel for all the dragging it copped. Motor could have gone on they ply and easy to lift up and down once strapped in.
Still needed a several day stop to justify pull off and pack up but that said he wouldn't do a trip without a boat but wanted a bigger one once on the water and a smaller one when dragging it up the banks. When the crocs they saw were 1 and a half times the size of the tinny he had 2nd thoughts at times.
I won't comment about the weight of the whole cruiser rig in the end but it explains why he had to replace stuff and keep the maintainance up and was probably illegal all the time with full tanks. Do a add up of weight with jerry cans and extra diesel tanks with bullbars , extra battery and so on - it adds up fast .
He though the perfect solution for next time was to travel with 2 vehicles and boat on a propper off road trailer with storage for rods , fuel storage and spares, extra tyres as they could have a decent size boat with a long range so they could travel faster and safer to river mouths and even offshore. Share the weight with recovery gear out a bit and not have to modify the vehicle as much and recovery is much easier if needed. Trailers are still a pain when it gets serious but a overloaded vehicle is a nightmare..
Hate to say it but they had stuff knocked off when at different places so the old days of leaving stuff set up or not chained down even in remote places really sucks so keep it simple and easy to pack up. Stupid things like fire tripod, straps ,life jacket , jack , jerrycan and spare tyre . Bunch of mongrels
Have seen one with a bullbar mounted further forward and motor mounted horizontally at the front in full bag but that has it's own issues ( especually airbag) but keeps weight low and off the back axels but the fronts don't have huge extra capacity.
Realistically smaller motor on roofrack at reasonable speed and awareness of top heavyness keeps it out of the cabin and away from the back doors so it only comes down when needed. 150kg up high is a big dynamic load on a rack at 80k/h on corregtions. Rear footwell will fit a smaller motor behind drivers seat but with need stuff above it moved to get it in and out. inconvenient but cheap and simple and a bit of ply over the top may mean not too much to remove.
Everything is a compromise be it money, time away and what you already own.
Good to see some photos when you decide and get it sorted as I don't think there is a single answer. A lot of off the shelf brackets , racks n stuff doesn't survive serious treks but most people never do enough to find out and others have failures when they do. Get a local experienced manufacturer who sees the broken stuff to build yours if you are doing more than a single short journey or keep a eye out for someone who has returned and selling their well made stuff and you might get a well made bargain.
hi reel therapy have been up the cape twice have never done the telegraph track, but both times have towed a boat, once a sixteen footer and the other time a 12 footer. Both times no dramas, and both times have been up with people who had boats on roofs and trailers. The biggest problem with putting the boat on the roof is it becomes such a hassle putting it up and down, you dont really use it. The only problem anyone else has had with a boat on the trips I've been on is using 4 leaf springs which are almost guaranteed to break - new or old. So long as you're not doing the Telegraph Track, almost any trailer in reasonable condition with 5 leaf springs will do the job. also to save alot of fuel make sure the trailer wheels are at the same width as the car.
Hi Ryan,
I am heading up the Cape with my missus and a 4mt tinny . Fitting the trailer with different springs and towing hitch failry old rig but just got a canopy and motor cover made up.Not sure if I need to do the telegraph track
Any info on this area would be a help.
cheers Jimmy
Last time I went it was with a 10ft tinnie with the motor in the back of the cruiser. Next time it will be with at least a 12 ft tinnie on a trailer. You see the grey nomads up there with fancy loaders for getting their 12 ftr's on the roof and a rear carrier for the ob. You can do the telegraph with the right trailer. You could ask at Archer river first about conditions.
You also see the grey's with fancy trolleys for their motors that fold up. they have a lot of time to think of ways to make things easier.
Doing the Telegraph track the whole way is an adventure on its own, with out towing a boat. The development road can be very corrigated, depending on were the grader has been.Originally Posted by capt
If you are going for the fishing, I would stick to the main road (development road). Take a spare spring, hub with wheel bearing fitted and greased in a good plastic bag. Run your tyres as low as you can on the corrigates and don't be in a hurry.
Oh and take enough beer to last at least twice as long as you plan on being away for...you can always bring it home. But you may have trouble getting it..
Scott
I agree with wamjam I went to cape york last year, I most certainly would not take a boat on the Telegraph track and on the development road if you had good suspension and took spare trailer parts. The only advice I can really give you is pack as light as possible and don't over load your car.
All good advice , thanks guys .
I will be headed up the east coast and then to the Weipa area. Not sure whether to hit the top ..........
no fixed plans other than check with the locals
Can't wait
Jimmy
Jimmy
Here is a rig set up with a piggyback trailer.
http://www.caravancampingsales.com.a...d=13162194E280
Hi Jimmy
swiveling hitch is a good idea we bent the hell out of mine after trying to stradel a wash out
Attachment 69745
both times i have been up we have had a slow poke in the group and both times there cars have had the dash come loose one even snaped there uhf arial i have found it best to keep the speed around 80 or 90 but if you see a DIP sign slow down. take atleast 3 spare ratchet straps you can hold almost anything together with a ratchet strap and timber. spare bearings and u bolts make sure you have nice thick plates for the u bolts as they will bend if they are to thin. mmmm beer there is a good chance of bottles blowing there tops cans are the go and they pack well to. If i do it again i will prob only go as far as weipa there is not much point in going all the way to the tip other than to say you have been there the fishing isnt that great up further the locals rape the hell out of it and it costs alot aswell.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote