33 out to Boulia

[Lawrie]

Dave.
I have two solar panels on the roof,plus the alternator, feeding two 120 amp hr lithium batteries,
Controlled via Redarc stuff and a 1000 w inverter.
This will power the e/blanket all night on high and only drop the batts to 78%
No drama.
Yesterday most of the way from Longreach to Winton on the cruise control.
Tomorrow I head to Boulia ,(378kays)
So today will do a check over on the 33 and Make sure my grocery’s are up to speed,
Fill two jerrycans and water cans.
As there is nothing in between
Lawrie

 

[petehoovie]

Dave.
I have two solar panels on the roof,plus the alternator, feeding two 120 amp hr lithium batteries,
Controlled via Redarc stuff and a 1000 w inverter.
This will power the e/blanket all night on high and only drop the batts to 78%
No drama.
Yesterday most of the way from Longreach to Winton on the cruise control.
Tomorrow I head to Boulia ,(378kays)
So today will do a check over on the 33 and Make sure my grocery’s are up to speed,
Fill two jerrycans and water cans.
As there is nothing in between
Lawrie

 

[AZMerc39]

Well, dinner last night at the pub was great,3 corse meal with lamb shank soup,roast beef and veggies followed by ice cream ans apple crumble,$25.the place was packed.
They tell me the population of town is 96, but a lot of travellers in the bar
I stopped out the back of the pub,still need the electric blanket though.
TScot,the mirrors are just clipped on, with a couple of small right angle bends at the top that go down between the window glass and the door body,on the bottom a U shape bracket clips under the bottom edge of the door, and they are held tight with the strap via a little wind up thingy.
A couple of vehicles in the area behind the pub.
The Toyota is the vehicle of choice for workers out here,I don’t know about the old Jeep though.
And a pic of my breakfast area in the caravan.
Easy day today, a walk around town and may head off around lunch time.
Lawrie

Epic trip! I really cant wait to get the 39 road worthy so I can take it on trips.
BTW, That's not a Jeep, its a Willy's. Though it is the predecessor, its objectively better than any Jeep. Those things will go places that some people would refuse to take a fully built Jeep.

 

[Lawrie]

Rest day today,so after doing a check over on the 33,I put 1/2 litre engine oil in and maybe 1ltr coolant.
Then a walk around town and had a cold beer in the historic Gregory hotel
These guys in the trailer were keeping an eye on me
I will fill my jerrycans and the car later when the sun goes down so as they are cool, and ready to head off in the morning,
I talked to a guy on a dirt bike who had just come from where I’m heading and he gave me a couple of really nice camp spots on the way.in amongst amazing rock formations,so will stop there tomorrow night.
Lawrie

 

[petehoovie]

Rest day today,so after doing a check over on the 33,I put 1/2 litre engine oil in and maybe 1ltr coolant.
Then a walk around town and had a cold beer in the historic Gregory hotel
These guys in the trailer were keeping an eye on me
I will fill my jerrycans and the car later when the sun goes down so as they are cool, and ready to head off in the morning,
I talked to a guy on a dirt bike who had just come from where I’m heading and he gave me a couple of really nice camp spots on the way.in amongst amazing rock formations,so will stop there tomorrow night.
Lawrie

 

[38 coupe]

Thanks again for posting pictures and keeping us updated on your travels.

 

[Zax40]

Well, dinner last night at the pub was great,3 corse meal with lamb shank soup,roast beef and veggies followed by ice cream ans apple crumble,$25.the place was packed.
They tell me the population of town is 96, but a lot of travellers in the bar
I stopped out the back of the pub,still need the electric blanket though.
TScot,the mirrors are just clipped on, with a couple of small right angle bends at the top that go down between the window glass and the door body,on the bottom a U shape bracket clips under the bottom edge of the door, and they are held tight with the strap via a little wind up thingy.
A couple of vehicles in the area behind the pub.
The Toyota is the vehicle of choice for workers out here,I don’t know about the old Jeep though.
And a pic of my breakfast area in the caravan.
Easy day today, a walk around town and may head off around lunch time.
Lawrie

That model Jeep was called a CJ-6 here in the states. It was an extended wheelbase CJ-5. If you look close you can see the added panels just past the door opening used by the factory to extend the body. They are pretty rare in the SouthEast US where I live

 

[Lawrie]

Finally got e/net service again.
Well,I was too busy when filling the tank at Wintonthe other night,thinking about getting an ice cream and don’t think I filled the tank right up.(this played out later the next day)
Next day,I headed off from Winton around 8-30.
The distance to the next stop is 370klms,so for sure needed the Jerry cans.
So I’m humming along qawking at the scenery and noticed the fuel gauge was NOT were I thought it should be,and promptly run out of gas at only 125miles,(203ks) of the 370.
So stopped and put 30 lots from the Jerry cans in and head off, this time taking note of the miles .
I decided to stop for the night out in the bush so around 2-30 I head into the bus for the night,
The rock formations here were amazing and I got some great shots from the drone.
The stars were so bright with no light pollution.
I walked up one of the hills and got d]some nice pics.
The view out my door in the morning was great.
Next day I head off and watch as the fuel gauge slowly heads to empty as there is a head wing ,and I run out again after 147 miles,man I was a bit concerned ,but still had a 20lts jerrycan full and then only 40 is to Boulia so was home and hosed , but the head wind made a difference,( 20.50 ltr per 100 klm)
As soon as I hit town I filled all my jerrycans and the tank,80.48 litres and @181.00, I didn’t want to be filling up after the races as there are 3000people here in caravans and campers so thought if the one and only servo runs out I’m stuck.
But the 33 did good, and is a pleasure to drive,
I’m here until Monday when I will head back to Winton.
Lawrie

 

[mercman from oz]

 

[Lawrie]

Second day at the camel races,
The 33 will be in the local paper as they and the camel race mob took some pics and an interview.
I thought you may like the firewood delivery truck yesterday, there were two truck loads ,campers then swarmed it as soon as it hit th ground.
Watched a few camel races this morning, and my mate put a $10 bet on, his camel came in first and he won the huge amount of $12 ,
My 33 and caravan are covered in dust.
There are a large diverse range of caravans and two vehicles,
Next to me is a new F250, sure looks nice,cost I think around$130K.
I was going to do an oil change on the 33 here,but the oil still looks nice and has done about 1200 miles,but I may do it some where along the way when stopped for the night.
Lawrie

 

[petehoovie]

Second day at the camel races,
The 33 will be in the local paper as they and the camel race mob took some pics and an interview.
I thought you may like the firewood delivery truck yesterday, there were two truck loads ,campers then swarmed it as soon as it hit th ground.
Watched a few camel races this morning, and my mate put a $10 bet on, his camel came in first and he won the huge amount of $12 ,
My 33 and caravan are covered in dust.
There are a large diverse range of caravans and two vehicles,
Next to me is a new F250, sure looks nice,cost I think around$130K.
I was going to do an oil change on the 33 here,but the oil still looks nice and has done about 1200 miles,but I may do it some where along the way when stopped for the night.
Lawrie

 

[cas3]

Welp...I'd take the 33 over the new f250. Thanks Lawrie, and ...Pete

 

[Randy in ca]

Interesting thread.
That's expensive gas!! I get it converts to more than U$ 5.50/gal

 

[glennpm]

Enjoying the adventure Lawrie!

 

[RKS.PA]

Outstanding photos and outstanding dialogue, Lawrie!! You are a master of the outback and offroad!!! As Mart said a few posts back, sitting here in very hot southern Arizona and following along...doesn't get much better than this for me!!!

 

[danliveshere]

Lawrie the 33 is performing well yet again. I must admit I’m more than a little envious of your travels!
Someone mentioned earlier of a lady trucker here in Australia. More than likely it would have been “Toots” Holzeimer who was recognised as the First Lady trucker to clock a million miles driving a big rig. She was well known here in the North of Australia on Cape York . I met her in 1986 when she delivered items for us up in Weipa. She was tragically killed there sometime in the 90s when she got crushed beside her truck whilst the load was getting unloaded.
Her truck is on permanent display in the national truck museum in Alice Springs.

 

[Lawrie]

Danny, the 33 is looking a bit worse for wear as it’s covered in red dust after sitting for three days in the camping ground.
Tomorrow I will start my journey back home, I will leave here after the rush at about 10 or 11 am and stop along the way to Winton
From home 1945 ks todate.
I will give the 33 a once over this arvo,
But it looks good, I have been using the dipstick to lube the generator and distributor every couple days ,but maybe need to ease up a bit.as there is oil coming out of the front generator plate,at least it’s getting lubed.
Lawrie

 

[petehoovie]

Danny, the 33 is looking a bit worse for wear as it’s covered in red dust after sitting for three days in the camping ground.
Tomorrow I will start my journey back home, I will leave here after the rush at about 10 or 11 am and stop along the way to Winton
From home 1945 ks todate.
I will give the 33 a once over this arvo,
But it looks good, I have been using the dipstick to lube the generator and distributor every couple days ,but maybe need to ease up a bit.as there is oil coming out of the front generator plate,at least it’s getting lubed.
Lawrie

 

[GB SISSON]

Lawrie, you never cease to amaze me. The same can be said for your 33 and it's caravan. Absolutely incredible adventures. Thanks for taking us along for the ride.

 

[Lawrie]

Funny thing. We used to think it’s just our old ford,I still do, but maybe it is something if not special, but different.
As it certainly attracts attention.
For me, it’s just a really nice way to travel out and around,rather than a modern vehicle,(which I have) with a/c etc,etc.no one would talk to me if I was in a non descript vehicle.
You smell all the dead things on the road, fresh grass,as most times the windows are down.
I just spent 1/2 getting the bugs and moths etc out of the radiator,I have a little wooden pic thing I made from an ice cream stick a while back.
Also wanted to check the tyre pressures,so get my 12v pump out from under the bed and it’s got a fair amount of water there, a little fitting on the water filters had snapped, so an easy fix,
Lawrie