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Now obviously, if you’re reading this, you don’t own a Toyota, because clearly, they would never break down. I’m just kidding, don’t crucify me! The serious side to this discussion is that, whilst a breakdown on a major road is annoying, it is usually uneventful. However, a breakdown in the Outback can be fatal if you’re not adequately prepared for survival.
No matter what vehicle you drive, no matter how prepared you are, and no matter what time of year it is, there is always a chance something can go wrong on your 4×4. Don’t get me wrong, there are certainly things you can do to try to avoid a breakdown, but at the end of the day, there’s a certain degree of luck in it! I mean, let’s be honest, Formula 1 teams, Supercars race teams, and even the top drag cars in the world sometimes have unforeseen mechanical issues that force them out of the running, and they’re maintained by the world’s best!
In this Outback breakdown survival guide, we talk about how to prepare for an untimely breakdown and what to do when you’re stranded.
How to prepare for and avoid an Outback breakdown
Pre-trip maintenance
Whilst this might seem obvious to most, you’d be amazed at how many people I’ve seen tackling remote tracks and 4×4 obstacles with poorly maintained or prepared vehicles. Servicing a 4×4 doesn’t need to be an expensive exercise. If you can’t do it yourself, make sure to visit your local mechanic before your trip. Get them to give the vehicle not just a service, but a full nut-and-bolt.
Their professionally trained eye will glance over all the vital components of your vehicle from the underside right up through the engine and everything in between to ensure everything is shipshape. This is the perfect opportunity for the mechanic to spot things that need doing such as wheel-bearings, worn out shocks, flogged brake pads and any other annoying little mechanical niggle that needs seeing-to before you head out bush.
Obviously, prevention is better than cure when it comes to Outback breakdown survival!
Packing for Outback breakdown survival
Whilst this seems like a silly thing to go through, making sure you have a handful of essentials packed in your vehicle when travelling remotely can be the difference between getting out of your sticky situation and not getting out of it at all. Being prepared is key to survival in an Outback breakdown.
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Here’s what I recommend you pack if you’re travelling solo or remotely:
- A comprehensive first aid kit
- Manual navigation equipment (Map book, compass, etc.)
- Hiking food (Long shelf life food items that can be stored for emergencies)
- Tools (Basic tools to perform mechanical repairs, tools to change a tyre, etc.)
- Spare parts (Vehicle-specific parts such as belts, hoses, filters, spare fluids, etc.)
- Recovery gear
- Shovel (Perfect for digging out bogged vehicles, and countless other things)
- Toilet paper (Sometimes we just want a little luxury)
- Water (At least 20L onboard along with 4L per person per day)
- Portable chargers (Keep a charged power bank for phones, radios or GPS equipment)
- Fridge (Not essential, but cold water is a godsend in hot remote locations)
- Space blankets and tarps (Ideal for keeping warm or an emergency shelter)
- Personal Locator Beacon – We’ll touch on this a little further down
What to do if you find yourself stranded in the Outback
So, your car is packed, you did all the maintenance you could, and you’ve still found yourself sitting on the side of a remote 4×4 track in the middle of nowhere. To be honest, there really isn’t a huge amount you can do. Even though your first instinct will probably be to panic, you’ve got to keep it cool! We’ve got a handful of Outback breakdown survival tips that will help guide you through this rather scary experience.
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Tip one
Do not panic! Now, this might seem like an obvious thing that doesn’t need mentioning, but you’d be shocked at how quickly even the most cool, calm and collected person can get when a spicy situation arises. You won’t think clearly. You’ll consume food and water a lot more quickly because there’s a good chance you’ll stress eat. And you won’t think rationally about stuff like conserving battery life. Staying calm and making carefully thought-out decisions is the best way to ensure survival in an Outback breakdown.
Tip two
Your vehicle is your lifeline! Your 4×4, even if it’s just broken down on you, is your only safe place in the outback. It will protect you from animals, the sun, the wind, and pretty much all other elements that might wreak havoc on you in an Outback survival situation. You’ve also got to think about footprint, it’s going to be a whole lot easier for a passing vehicle or rescue team to spot a vehicle than it will be to spot an individual person walking through the bush.
Tip three
Raising the alarm! Hopefully, you’ve read the above Outback breakdown survival packing list, and you’ve got a couple of important items. For starters, if you think there’s a chance of a passer-by seeing your vehicle, put your hazard lights on so that they know you’re broken down. The next step, a space blanket is almost always a reflective aluminium material and is perfect for reflecting sunlight to try get attention of passing aircraft, people or vehicles.
Your most useful tool in the arsenal is your PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) or satellite phone. Calling for help if the situation is desperate is the one true drawcard you have to avoid fatality, and when the time comes, you should have no hesitation.
Tip four
Get your hands dirty! If you’ve packed all your tools and spare parts, then chances are you’re at least slightly mechanically minded. When you know what the issue is that’s caused the breakdown or have the knowledge to work out what’s happened, then it’s time to get your hands dirty! If it’s something simple or something you’ve packed for then there’s a good chance you can band-aid the problem well enough to get you back to civilisation.
Your secret Outbreak survival breakdown weapon: PLB
Now, it’s not every day I give away a secret weapon like this. Something that can make or break a nightmare Outback breakdown survival situation. Something that can save your life. Yet here we are. If you’re heading remote, and you break down, you need a personal locator beacon, or PLB for short. What exactly is a PLB? Well, it’s a global satellite system to send out an S.O.S alert on a frequency that’s specifically and explicitly reserved for distress calls, allowing you to get in touch with local rescue authorities even without phone service.
The one I love and wouldn’t leave home without is the GME MT610G Personal Locator Beacon. It’s compact and light, which means you can store it pretty much anywhere without sacrificing space in your 4×4. A distress signal transmitted by the MT610G will often be received by rescue authorities within 15 minutes and give your location to within a 150m radius. With a 7-year battery life, 1-hand operation and being IP68 rated, they’re simple, reliable, and will be your best friend when you need it the most. Plus, at under $400, they’re the ultimate Outback breakdown survival insurance policy for when heading out remote in your 4×4.
Will you break down in the near future? Maybe. Will you break down ever? Most certainly. Will you know what to do? Well, if you’ve taken these steps on board, then yes! It happens to everyone at least once in their lives, but with these tips, you’ll make it home in one piece to tell the tale.
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Satellite communicators like Zoleo are increasingly a better option than a PLB (because of 2 way messaging as well as SOS confirmation, tracking and check-ins) and satphones (cheaper, tracking, weather forecast with some).
A few tips I could offer as an outback resident
– tell someone where you are going and when you plan to get there. That way you have automatic backup if things go wrong and you haven’t checked in. Something as simple as “If you haven’t heard from me by X o’clock, send help”
– a bag of spare bolts/nuts for your vehicle (spare wheel nuts, bash plate bolts, few spare 10mm nuts – and a couple of 10mm sockets) for when something rattles off – takes up very little room and is cheap
– One way to carry water is in the 10L boxes from the supermarket that can be stored virtually anywhere, protects water in smaller doses, the box can be used as kindling, the bag can be used as reflective device or pillow as necessary.
To your toolkit add self-fusing tape and sealing goop for the cooling system.
Sealing a leak in a hose is sometimes much easier than replacing it.
ANY time your progress forward is halted, even for a simple tyre change, you should switch to survival mode. By that, I mean quarantine your water supply for drinking only, mark your position accurately with a GPS, make sure everyone knows where the car keys, first aid kits and emergency signaling devices are, and generally get your mind into survival mode. Things can go pear shaped in an awful hurry.