Welcome to 4WDing Australia. We are here to help you travel Australia by 4WD.
You’ll find information on 4WD tracks, modifying your 4WD, using your 4WD safely and correctly, product reviews, trip reports, destination reviews and stacks of photos to inspire you to get out there and explore. Subscribe to the email list, check us out on Facebook and we will see you out there!
Recent Posts
Little Roper Stock Camp; a brilliant place to camp in Mataranka
Wikicamps and Facebook provide some epic information when it comes to finding fantastic camp sites, and Little Roper Stock Camp just out of Mataranka was one of those golden nuggets that we stumbled across, that family after family raves about.
5 Amazing camp sites near Perth you’ve probably never heard of
I mentioned a few posts ago that we are on a mission to find the best camping near Perth, and over the last couple of years we’ve stayed at a heap of great places. There’s something nice about getting home on a Friday afternoon, jumping in the 4WD and driving under an hour away to a nice camp site for the weekend.
Of course, if you are prepared to drive a bit further there are considerably more options, but we aren’t exactly lacking places close to Perth to camp.
Why we moved from a soft floor to a Hybrid Camper Trailer
We love camping. Even when it was just Sarah and I, the thought of jumping in the 4WD and heading off to some pristine beach camp site, or remote track would have us both itching with excitement for days prior to leaving.
Now, with two young boys (3 and 1), things have changed a lot, but we still head out camping as often as possible, and we still count the days down until we leave for each trip. Sure, its not nearly as relaxing and adventurous as it used to be, but we still have a great time.
Breezy Shade; the ultimate beach shelter
The beaches in Australia are world class, and nothing quite compares to a day spent on a pristine beach, unless you end up cooked by the sun. Being light skinned, I know how easy it is to go home looking like a crayfish, and its something we should all avoid.
With that in mind, we’ve been looking for a beach shelter for some time, but had some pretty specific requirements as a lot of what is out there is just too big, too heavy, too awkward to set up, blows away easily or is just impossible to pack away.
AFN Bull Bar Review on our Isuzu Dmax
A bull bar is a pretty important part of setting a 4WD up for touring Australia. Not only does it provide the protection required when you hit a kangaroo, bird or cattle, it allows for a place to mount your winch, UHF aerial and even lights.
Bull bars have changed a lot over the years, and they have had to in order to keep airbag compatibility, crumple zones and safety.Contrary to popular belief, vehicles without bull bars are usually safer in an accident.
Willowbrook Farm; the ultimate campground for kids near Perth
With two young kids in tow, we are always on the lookout for the best camping near Perth, and I reckon we might have found it; Willowbrook Farm! If you are after something unique, family friendly and cheap, this is a great place to visit.
How to take your boat when travelling Australia
Australia is incredible. There are more hidden bays and pristine beaches to explore than a lot of countries combined, and if you are lucky enough to have a boat with you when you travel the level of adventure is bumped up considerably. I personally know this, having done a lot of fishing and spearfishing in Western Australia over the years.
32 ways to make your 4WD illegal
There are hundreds of thousands of 4WD’s in Australia, and a significant portion of them are not legal in one way or another. Sometimes the reasons are minor and relatively harmless, and other times the risk passed onto the driver when on the road is substantial. A 4WD that isn’t legal can result in some hefty fines, liability and other truly nasty consequences if something goes wrong.
Unique camping in the NT; Zebra Rock Mine
There’s a few great spots in between Kununurra and Katherine to stop and spend a few nights, but we were a bit pushed for time and skipped many of them, choosing only to stay at Zebra Rock Mine. This is about 10km down Duncan Road, on the Northern Territory side of the border and very close to the check point itself.
This has an amazing array of reviews on Wikicamps, and we were very much looking forward to our stay.
Fonty’s Pool; spectacular camping in the south west
For years I’ve been seeing photos of Fonty’s Pool in Manjimup pop up, and some of them almost seemed too good to be true. A few weeks back, we decided to check it out for ourselves, and see if it really lived up to the hype.
Spoiler alert; its pretty amazing!
What changes when camping with young kids?
Camping with young kids is hard. Seriously hard. I won’t sugarcoat it in any way, shape of form. The difference between camping as a couple (or solo), and camping with a young kid or more than one is chalk and cheese.
There are a lot of changes that take place, and I can personally guarantee its a bit of a shock. That said, you can take young kids camping, and you can have fun with the right attitude, expectations and gear!
OBD2; a review of the Ultra Gauge
Modern 4WD’s have a lot of electronics in them, and knowing exactly what is going on in a modern car cannot be done with just your eyes and ears. It requires specialised tools to do so, like an OBD2 Scanner.
I reckon anyone heading bush with a modern 4WD without a way of reading error codes and clearing them in a 4WD is absolutely mad. Every modern 4WD has a little OB2 port, usually under the steering column, which is used for fault finding and clearing problems that the vehicle has.
Installing a baby bunk cot into our camper
Like lots of other families out there, we enjoy camping with our two boys. Up until recently, we used two porta cots on the ground of our soft floor camper trailer. However, since buying a Hybrid Camper we have two bunks, and that’s not great for young kids!
One is 3, and sleeps on top of a bunk with a pool noodle and towel to stop him rolling off, and the other is not quite 1, so needed a safe way to be contained and comfortable. Obviously there is no way to fit a porta cot into the camper, and with a perfectly good bed for Cooper to sleep on all we had to do was come up with a way to keep him safe and contained. Easy, right?
Provent vs HPD Catch Cans; a real world comparison
If you’ve been following along, you’ll know my new Dmax was fitted with a HPD catch can not long after getting it as a catch can is a sensible idea, and they were the most highly recommended by a huge number of workshops and individuals.
A few months later, I received a report from Curtin University showing how poorly the HPD catch can performed in a laboratory test when compared against other catch cans. Of course, given the study was funded by Mann and Hummel a lot of people said the results were flawed and the testing was done to make the Provent and Flashlube Catch cans look better (as they outperformed everything else).
Continue reading here – Provent vs HPD Catch Cans.
GVM Upgrades; how much is too much?
Weights have become a major topic in the 4WD, Caravanning and Camping world today, and for good reason. It’s almost impossible to set a 4WD up for exploring this great country without it being over weight, and illegal. Do you know what your 4WD weighs?
Continue reading here; GVM Upgrades; how much is too much?
Private Camping Near Perth and our new Camper walk around
To break our ‘A Quarter North’ series up, here’s a recent amazing camp only 40 minutes from Perth on private property, with a walk around of our new Lifestyle Reconn R2 camper trailer!
A Quarter North, Episode 2
Episode 2 of our 3 month trip up north with our Dmax, soft floor camper trailer and 18 month old boy. This episode takes us to Cable Beach and the rest of Broome, through to Larrawa Station and onto the incredible Kununurra region.
Why I’d never buy another Treg Hitch
Going back a couple of decades ago, you’d rarely see different towing hitches. Today, there are more options for towing a trailer than you can poke a stick at. Traditionally, Treg and the normal ball hitches were all you’d see, and while the Treg was a great option when it first came out, I would never, ever get one again.
Continue reading here; Why I’d never buy another Treg Hitch
A quarter north, Episode 1
We’ve finally released Episode 1 of our 3 month trip north, heading from Perth through the Pilbara, Kimberley, Northern Territory and back down the Coral Coast. In this episode, we cover Kalgan’s Pool, Cape Keraudren and our setup for the trip:
Why you should turn your headlights on when driving on gravel roads
There are a lot of things that you should be doing to make driving on a gravel road comfortable, safe and least damaging to your 4WD. One of the major points though, is that when driving on gravel roads you should always have your headlights on, whether its day or night.
Continue reading here; Turn your headlights on when driving on gravel
Unbelievable camping at Henry White Oval, Yanchep
In terms of Camping near Perth, there’s been a huge increase of fantastic places to stay pop up over the last couple of years that are not at Caravan Parks. In the next couple of weeks, I’ll have a post out covering 5 of the lesser known camp sites near Perth.
Today though, this post is all about a brilliant camp ground in Yanchep, known as Henry White Oval. This is one of the closest places you can camp near Perth, and its seriously well set up too. This camp site is run by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA, previously known as DPAW) and has volunteer caretakers who look after the site on a day to day basis.
Continue reading here; Henry White Oval Camping
Robinvale Orchard; private bush camping minutes from Perth
We’ve been lucky enough to explore a huge portion of WA, and there are some truly remarkable places to take your 4WD to, or to camp at. However, lately we’ve been on a mission to explore our backyard; we’ve been finding the best camp sites close to Perth!
Continue reading here; Robinvale Orchard.
A leaking transfer case on our Dmax
Not long after returning from our 3 month trip up north, I noticed a bit of oil under the Dmax, near the back of the transfer case. Asides from the turbo replacement, its the first thing that’s actually gone wrong with our new 4WD. Granted it had only done about 27,000km and to have an oil leak so early is pretty poor.
A quick look made it pretty obvious that it was leaking out of the rear transfer case seal, where the tail shaft bolts on. I checked the oil level, and monitored it for a few weeks, noticing that it was leaking extremely slowly – under 50ml in 1000km. Continue reading here; A leaking transfer case on our Dmax.
How to launch a boat off the beach with your 4WD
Australia has some truly epic boating locations, right around the country. The problem is, often boat ramps are few and far between once you get off the beaten track. Launching a boat on the beach has been common practice in many areas of Australia for a long time, and there’s a few ways in which it can be done.
The smaller the boat the easier the job is as there is less chance of getting bogged and you don’t have to go so far back to launch it, but even bigger boats are launched on some beaches in WA. Continue reading here – How to launch a boat off the beach with your 4WD.
What does it cost to travel Australia?
There are thousands of reasons why people travel Australia. Whether its just for a break, to see our amazing country, or to have the adventure of a lifetime it’s something very few people regret doing. Unfortunately, everything costs money and this is the primary limitation from stopping more people travelling this great country. So, what does it cost, and how can you keep the budget down?
The price of travelling Australia varies hugely depending on lots of different variables. How fast you travel, what you travel in, where you stay, your day to day habits and the list goes on and on. It can range from luxury house hopping through to the backpackers in their bunky old vans and 4WD’s, and there’s no right or wrong way to do it (unless you are breaking the law, or being a tosser!). Continue reading here; What does it cost to travel Australia?
Where does the Isuzu Dmax fall short?
I’ve been a Toyota fan for a long time. They make great vehicles, and I’d happily own most of their range. That said, our replacement 4WD from the 80 Series Land Cruiser was an Isuzu Dmax; a step in a very different direction.
I’ve had the Dmax now two years now, and clocked up nearly 40,000km in it. They are a great vehicle, with a solid foundation, great engine and reputable gearbox (if you get the auto) and good quality gear used overall.
However, I’m not brand biased, or so attached to it that I fail to mention its shortcomings, and every single 4WD out there has at least a couple. Sometimes their owners will acknowledge it, but more often than not they don’t! Continue reading here; Where does the Isuzu Dmax fall short?
