FROM: "Mark Panos" <markpanos1@optushome.com.au>
SUBJECT: Re: Help understanding Prado 4x4
DATE: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 22:17:03 +1100
NEWSGROUPS: aus.cars.offroad

"Biggus" <fu_kew@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:9vhpht$cgc$1@bugstomper.ihug.com.au...
> Dude,
>
> join a club and learn the correct way.
>
> Listening to your questions here... you sound like your way out of your
> depth of knowledge.. no offence intended, but wouldnt want you to become a
> statistic..
>
> if in Sydney Try the Patrol club, Ian O is the driver trainer, and is
> FANTASTIC... trust me... Ask Dazza... He knows him well..

Yep,

For sure I will do a few courses and stuff, maybe a tag along tour etc.  I
grew up with Toyota FJ40's (could have been even earlier models) as a kid in
Papua New Guinea Jungles and learnt to drive in one when I was 16 up and
down mountains in NSW where the family company was clearing tracks for
transmission lines. Problem was I was more interested in learning clutch,
accelerator, gear shifts and having fun driving around than what made the
car have the traction it had.  I had tuition in not rolling the Jeeps (we
called it that despite it being a Toyota, probably from Dads war time
memories in New Guinea with the Yanks), going up and down steep mountains in
low range, feet of the brakes, pointing the "Jeep" downhill in an emergency,
getting out of the truck to pick a line up or down a hill, walking across
rivers, pegging out tracks across rivers, winch use, building yourself out
of a bog, we always carried short handled shovels, matic, axe and bush knife
at all times because you had no one to help you if you got stuck. So I do
have some idea of what I am doing.  But that was a long time ago and I will
definitely do some courses to refresh.

Actually that reminded me of a story :-).  Dad and I were traveling through
the highlands in New Guinea and we got two flats a little distance apart.
So we locked up the "Jeep" and walked back to the last village to get help.
By the time we got back to our depot and back to the Jeep a whole day had
gone by and the Jeep was stripped.  A favourite trick of the natives was to
put an orange or other fruit or vegetable in the road with a big nail in it
to make people abandon their vehicles which gave them time because of the
remoteness of the area to strip the vehicles and disappear back into the
Jungles.

The next time we took that route I remember the back of the truck carrying 4
spare wheels :-).  We used up 3 to get to our destination.  Wasn't much law
and order back in the 70's in Papua New Guinea !

Regards
Mark