4x4 and outback travel enthusiast Evan Box takes on 6000kms of outback Queensland, in two weeks.
Like many of us, Evan Box, a site manager for Pipemech Australia, is 4WD-obsessed.
To satisfy the unquenchable need for red dust and open country, Evan has equipped himself with a seriously tough bit of kit.
A 4x4 Up to the Task
His PX model Ford Ranger dual cab has been built for travel. Armoured with underbody protection and perched on DMS shocks, the engine has been gifted a full exhaust system. A Unichip engine management system from Northside 4x4 controls the big Ford’s grunt as it sips from a long range fuel tank.
With ARB bullbars and the requisite driving lights, the Ranger was prepared to take on whatever the outback had to throw at it.
Evan is old school and hands on, having built the car up himself.
“Everything you see on the Ranger I have fitted myself,” says Evan. “I don’t trust too many people out there, especially when I need a reliable vehicle to travel to remote areas.”
The cherry on a seriously tough off-road sundae, tyres were the final modification to the Ranger before taking the set-up to task.
Seeking out Toyo Tires Open Country A/T IIs (OPAT2) on the recommendation of a family member who has taken many trips across the red centre, Evan entrusted his long time go-to for wheel work, Daniel at Bosman Tyres, Archerfield to fit the tyres.
Outback, Outback, Outback
Setting out from Brisbane, the Box family headed west. Really west.
After running the H/T tyre with the same modifications to the car, Evan noted the comfort, road noise and fuel efficiency of the ranger remained the same after changing to the OPAT2, while giving the Ranger off-road credentials. He immediately set about testing them, thoroughly.
Toowoomba, then Dalby, then Miles, then Roma, then Injune. Evan set out to conquer the unmarked Forfar-Injune Road, taking him into the western side of Carnarvon National Park.
After two days of rain, the Forfar-Injune track gave the OPAT2’s the opportunity to test out the slipperiest conditions Evan has ever experienced.
“It turned to mush” Evan says. “We were sinking into the road about four inches, but the mud clearance of the tyres and the shoulder bite on the edge of the sidewall carried us through. It did take a little longer than if it was dry though!”
Escaping the track unharmed and heading back to Injune, the journey was on again.
Rolleston, Springsure, Emerald, Barcaldine, Longreach, Winton (with a visit to the Age of Dinosaurs Museum), McKinley (stopping for a cold one at the Walkabout Creek Hotel), Cloncurry then down the Burke Development Road to Burke and Wills Road House and then west on Wills Development Road to Gregory. Onwards to Lawn Hill National Park and back to Gregory.
With the destination list started to seem like the lyrics to Geoff Mack’s ‘I’ve been everywhere man’, the trip wasn’t over yet!
From Gregory the Box family forged ahead, going north to Burketown, then east to Leichardt Falls, on to Normanton, Karumba, Georgetown, Mount Pleasant and to the Lava Tubes of Undara volcanic national park.
Taking development roads to the upper reaches of the Burdekin River, they strode through Hervey’s Range and onwards to Townsville, then headed down to Cape Palmerston Holiday park for a hot shower and a couple of days fishing off the beach.
With the odometer starting to smoke, the family finally headed home to Brisbane.
The Tyres: A Happy Verdict
Over the 6000km journey, Evan and his Ranger encountered every type of terrain possible. Nothing stopped the Ford, and it completed the epic trip in a whirlwind two weeks.
“Mud, rocks, dirt tracks, black dirt, sand, wet tracks, bitumen, creeks, ruts; I don’t think there is any kind of outback surface or condition that could stop us; you wouldn’t believe the heat and dryness out there though.
“We didn’t get a single puncture, and even with the lower tyre pressure on rocky tracks and with the trailer on, the tyres didn’t chip or bruise at all. In some sections I was definitely expecting to tear chunks out, but nothing. I was surprised to tell you the truth, and I’m very happy.”
With the car given a hose off and a thorough checkover, the Box family are already planning their next big trip and are looking to head to the Kimberley and keep stacking k’s onto the family traveller.
