I'd had my Ford Ranger Wildtrak 2018 since new, and I'd previously had a first generation Ford Ranger the "PXI", which was great. It was the vehicle I used to go to Woomera, to go along the Eyre Highway to Perth and back, I did the Western Explorer road in that Ranger. It was comfortable, easy to drive and predictable.

But it was also a little bit of a 'parts bin job', that first generation didn't have CarPlay, didn't have a digital speedo, the centre console area was from the Transit, while the dash was from a Focus.

So I decided to upgrade to in 2018 to upgrade to the 2.0 Bi-Turbo, thinking that more efficient, plus that 10-speed auto would make things better.

It...wasn't amazing.

I'd been on a road trip to Tasmania before the pandemic in 2019, and Canberra in 2021, and in 2022.

But there were some issues which manifested shortly after I bought it, the 10-speed auto was somewhat indecisive, it seemed like it didn't like you driving the vehicle in some circumstances. I got used to as soon as I was on a freeway or highway of putting it in cruise control, because letting it do its thing was much easier for me than having it hunt around for the gears if I was the one in control of the throttle.

I had become accustomed to this issue, the foibles of the gearbox, I'd learnt how and when it would do its weird gearshift.

But then on a recent trip up to Ikea, I was sitting in the middle lane on the Princes Highway and as I went from a standstill at the traffic lights and put my foot slowly on the accelerator pedal it just seemed to rev up through the rev range and then really, really hesitate and then it was a thump and it changed gear. Almost like it was ready to stall. It didn't, but it did worry me.

After stopping at Ikea, turning it off and waiting 10 minutes I restarted to see if there were any warning lights or any indications that there was anything wrong. There wasn't, so I went about my day's intent and bought some reasonably priced flat-pack furniture and returned home.

Turned out that reasonably priced piece of furniture which had poor reviews because it was hard to put together, was not an exaggeration, it was really hard to put together, nigh on impossible. So I was back up on the Princes Highway the following day to return it, and while on the way there I experienced no transmission shifting issues this time. However, I did not feel as comfortable as I had done so.

I went on to drive it a bit, did my failed trip and another trip to Canberra.

It went in for a service after that trip and I mentioned the gearbox problems to them, and they did a software update.

Which turned out to be one of the worst things they could have done. Yes, before the software update it was a little unpredictable at times, it was a little weird, but like an old car I'd worked out how to work with it, how to live with its problems.

But now, it was just worse.

Instead of changing gears smoothly, it would hold onto the gears for a moment or two too long then jerk and gear change. And the most annoying thing is that it was in the 40-60 kilometre speed range, the speed where you're most commonly going to be doing that around and about, or when you're driving off at the lights.

I went back to Ford and mentioned this, and asked if they could downgrade the software, at least I knew how it worked, even if it wasn't great. I didn't expect they would be able to do that, downgrading a computer's operating system or a phone's is a bit of an ordeal, doing it to software in a vehicle's subsystem like the gearbox control I suspected was something that they wouldn't be able to do. And no was the answer, but I had to ask.

They did take it under warranty for a day and checked it. When I got it back they said there was nothing wrong with it, that it was functioning as expected. They topped up the transmission oil though.

This...improved things? For a time, but it still wasn't pleasant. It was okay.

I had lost trust in the vehicle to be consistent and therefore safe. I didn't ever want to be in traffic and it be shifting unpredictably, and that was one of my concerns with its unpredictability.

There were other smaller, though no less irritating things that also contributed to this decision to change it for something else.

There was a rattle / buzzing noise around the start stop button, it was from one of the plastic panels not sitting perfectly fine, and only started to make this noise when the ute had been in the sun for a while. I narrowed it down that the temperature had to be at least 22ºC exterior temperature as indicated on the dash before it started to make this noise. I did mention this when it went in for a service, and they said they fixed it...however while it happened less, it would still happen, and thumping it with my leg (which had previously stopped it) no longer did anything.

There was also a noise, a buzz / rattle noise from...'somewhere on the passenger side' of the cabin, I thought it was somewhere near the A-pillar. But with passengers, who could hear it, but couldn't work out where it was coming from. It was much more of an intermittent fault, and therefore hard to explain.

There was also a buzzing from the centre of the dash, near the windscreen only when the windscreen de-mister was on heat and on a high temperature – so if in cold weather and de-misting the windscreen. Again I suspect that was just the plastics reacting to the heat.

I dealt with these by either having audio playing loud enough not to hear it, or to have the aircon on high on a hot day to cool the cabin down so these things plastic things didn't do their buzzing thing.

But as someone who wants a good road tripping vehicle, many of these things added up, and made me think that a Ranger wasn't the best vehicle for me...or so I'd thought.

Today (Thursday 3rd October 2013) I visited the Melbourne Leisurefest 2013 at Sandown Racecourse, it’s still on another few days until Sunday 6th October 2013.

Interesting point, getting there. I drove there by driving North up Springvale Road. You would usually turn right after the rail crossing in Springvale and drive down Sandown Road to get to the Racecourse of the same name. Except the council (or whoever) is doing road works so no right turn there. Instead you have to turn right at the next road up.

This is Virginia Street and it’s quite unsuited to taking any traffic for a big event; it’s normal width suburban street and it’s got cars on either side dropping the road down to one lane with areas where you have to pull over to let a vehicle going in the opposite direction pass. At the end of Virginia Street it becomes Bird Street, at the end of Bird Street there’s a gate to allow you onto Racecourse Drive for when something’s on.

However, there is a gap between Bird Street and Racecourse Road, that gap is dirt, and that’s probably fine for most of the year. Bird Street probably doesn’t get a lot of traffic because Sandown Road would take the traffic so no one would need to worry about the 800 millimetre gap of dirt between the two pieces of tarmac.

Except that’s it’s been a particularly wet few days in Melbourne and while Thursday wasn’t particularly wet it wasn’t sunny enough to have dried out anything.

So this section of what had once been dirt was now quite muddy.

But that’s fine, because I was driving a 4x4. But as I drove onto it in preparation to turn right I notice a bit of dip down, and I think anyone driving out of Bird Street in something like a regular car might not get out of that muddy section quite so easily.

Unlike some of my previous expo outings this one I didn’t just go out of curiosity, I’ve in fact been to this one like it before, so know what it looks like. I actually went with a purpose, or several actually.

Before finding out the things I had actually gone to the Leisurefest to find out I did have a bit of meander around the Melbourne Leisurefest. It’s “The Official Industry Show” proclaims the free show guide that you get when you hand over your $15 cash to get in (concession and seniors get in for $10 and children under 15 get in free with an adult).

There were lots of caravans on display and they’re something I have little interest in, I don’t want to ever tow a caravan, I have no interest in owning one and with some exceptions they’re all more or less the same.

Some of the really rugged ones are peripherally interesting to me in that they look like they’re built to survive an apocalypse.

I did walk past several camper trailers which are interesting, they’re kinda like several steps down from a caravan. They’ve got storage and cooking stuff build in, plus a sink and even water heating and things like that, but instead of a bed and all being enclosed and everything there’s a tent that folds out. The key advantage of a camper trailer is weight and manoeuvrability. You can tow a camper trailers and go off four wheel driving in a way you can’t with a caravan, even the rugged ones, because caravans are heavy. There’s a reason people towing caravans are in the left hand lane doing just under the speed limit, caravans are heavy things that don’t like to go around corners or go at speed.

I also saw one camper trailer variant which was actually a tool box sort of arrangement that sits on the back of a ute. I’ve seen these sorts of arrangements before, but on the back or built onto a ute tray. This one was built onto a ute with a tub, without any apparent modifications to the ute’s tub to take it.

This was made by M2O Toolbox & Canopy. I thought this was a great idea, this at least gets rid of the need for a camper trailer. If you’ve of course got a ute to add something like this to.

Weight would still be an issue for me. Though for M2O this appears to be their business; making toolboxes and canopies for utes so they would know how much weight is good okay and where the threshold lies.

I also had a look in the ARB tent and was rewarded with a showbag, which was one of those bags with the long handles that no one seemed know how to hold onto. Everyone seemingly bunching it up to carry it like a shopping bag. The way I carried it was swinging it round onto my back like a messenger bag.

I’ve only actually looked through the showbag now as I write this up. Within the bag is a copy of 4WD Touring Australia “Living the Dream” proclaims the under title, it’s “The Exploration Issue”. There’s the ARM 4X4 Accessories catalogue, notable for its shiny and slightly rough front cover with what is trying to be tactile sand on the front. 7 ARB stickers including; Safari Snorkel,ARB Sport, 2 kids ARB stickers, an ARB Dandenong Sticker, Old Emu 4X4 Suspension by ARB and Airlocker ARB. There’s also a pamphlet for ARB Dandenong and Issue 37 of ARB’s own magazine 4X4 Action, which is full of articles and adverts pretty much like any other magazine. Except this one’s produced by ARB.

Curious to know what ARB stands for? It’s on their website, it’s the initials of the company’s founder Anthony Ronald Brown.

Next I arrived in an area I was actually interested in; where all the four wheel drive clubs had decided to locate themselves.

I didn’t find a club I wanted specifically to join, but while talking with the Four Wheel Drive Victoria bloke he mentioned that vehicle specific clubs were taking members from non-related vehicles. So the Jeep club was accepting members who had vehicles that weren’t Jeeps.

That would be a kinda uncomfortable meeting to go to being the only person who didn’t have a Jeep. Jeep people are also a bit fanatical about their Jeeps. Wranglers especially.

I did grab a pamphlet about 4X4 Driving Training which looked interesting.

Only on closer inspection does it seem more interesting than just before I slipped it into my ARB showbag.

On one panel of the found out pamphlet it asked “Just purchased a four-wheel drive vehicle?” Then follows it up with “Are you aware of the responsibilities that come with owning a four-wheel drive vehicle”?”

Then it asks a bunch of questions like;

Do you know how to drive it?
How to make the best of you gears?
The different techniques needed to be able to drive competently in sand, mud, and other terrains while maintaining traction at all times?
How to drive it in the best interests of the environment and other bush users?
Are you thinking of putting some accessories on your vehicle? Driving lights, tyres, bull bar, winch, UHF radio, HF radio or suspension?
Will your choices be best for your vehicle?
Do you know where to go four-wheel driving?

It then says “If you answered NO to any of these questions then a Four-Wheel Drive Victoria Training Course is your best answer to getting into the four-wheel drive scene safely and responsibly.”

Now. Just think and look at the question it asks at the end in relation to the bullet pointed questions.

If you answer NO to the UHF radio question; NO I’m not thinking about putting accessories on my vehicle, then I should go for the training course. Uh...no, that’s not right.

The other questions do stand up against the final question, but the UHF accessories question doesn’t. Because you need to answer YES to that question in order for the final question to make sense, “YES I am thinking about putting accessories on my vehicle and I want help”.

If you answer NO to adding accessories then...well that’s it you don’t need to worry yourself about them.

Satellite phone have come down in price quite a ways.

I still wouldn’t call them cheap, but they’re certainly not stratospheric in price of what they once were. They were once things that sat in heavily protected Pelican cases that were chunky, robust and amazingly expensive pieces of technology.

They’re still that, sort of.

MGLSAT who were at the Leisurefest and even have a show room in Victoria, but mostly it seems operate from their website had two phones on offer. Provided by two different companies / satellite systems. Inmarsat and Iridium.

The latter many people will likely be familiar with. They’re the ones who were the first in portable civilian satellite phones. These phones have pole to pole coverage. Basically anywhere you can see sky these will work.

They’re also expensive, not gigantically expensive, but expensive compared to the alternative. The Iridium 9575 costs $1600. For what kinda looks like a 90s era Nokia. It’s dust and water resistant to IP65 works from -15 to + 65 ºC has a talk time of 4 hours (standby of 30 hours).

The other option is the inmarsat IsatPhone Pro. It costs $900.

Inmarsat doesn’t quite have the same coverage as Iridium does, but unless you’re a polar explorer it shouldn’t be a problem. The Inmarsat has global excluding the poles coverage. They achieve this by using 3 satellites compared to Iridium’s 66. Why these two companies and how they manage these two different amounts of satellites can be discovered from their Wikipedia pages.

Basically Inmarsat’s coverage misses out on most of Greenland, what appears to be most of Alaska and the aforementioned poles, although right up to the general area of the poles’ landmasses you might get coverage.

The relevant part of this is that Australia is in the middle of the I-4 Asia Pacific satellite coverage area, which means if you’re intending to use it whilst travelling around Australia it’s perfect.

The IsatPhone Pro does have a few different features than the Iridium 9575. The IsatPhone Pro is dust and water resistant at IP54, it’s got 8 hours talk time (100 hours standby), works from -20 to + 55 ºC and has Bluetooth. It looks like an early 2000s Nokia.

It’s got a bigger screen than the Iridium can manage faster data (up to 20kbps compared to Iridium’s up to 9.6 kbps) and it also cheaper.

There is the question of why anyone would get the Iridium? Well...it’s better for some things than Inmarsat’s offering. Mostly if you’re a miner or possibly a farmer or something like that. The Iridium is ‘always on’ and you can push an emergency button SOS button, you can also be contacted on it without extending the aerial. While the Inmarsat IsatPhone Pro you have to fold out the chunky aerial from the body and get a satellite lock before making a call.

I did actually go wanting to know about the price and features of these phones so did ask questions and found out this info. When I do eventually get a satellite phone (more because my family want me to have one) it’ll likely be the Inmarsat IsatPhone Pro. The price being the primary driver on that one, it’s cheaper than most smart phones and can do more when you need it than a smart phone.

Now of course there are other options for satellite phones, you can get cases that your smart phone clips into that, via an app gives the same options as the above two phones. These clip on cases contain all the satellite phone technology without the speaker, mic and other innards. They’re also not much cheaper than the IsatPhone Pro.

The other reason I was at the Melbourne Leisurefest was to investigate swags. I do mean in the plural and singular though not “swag” as in “swagger” which is how it’s been used of late.

Rather swag with the Australian definition a bedroll for camping, though it’s also evolved a bit from a bit of canvas that you crawl under to something with a few aluminium poles curved around to keep it off your face.

Why a swag?

Well I’m lazy, but also want to sleep outside in the bush and I find tents a little...meh.

If you look at a tent, even one of those round 3 second tents that’s not the end of the setting up, you have to fill your tent with something. Something to sleep on, and something to sleep in. Be it a foam pad or an inflatable sleeping mat and then a sleeping bag.

A swag has all of those things, it’s a thing to sleep within, it’s got a foam mattress and, well you can have a sleeping bag within it, or just a blanket.

It’s made out of canvass which is a little old world, but is practical, will keep you warm and has many flaps and mesh that you can open to keep you cool.

My question, that I put to the person at Southern Cross Canvas was a pretty simple one ‘why should I buy from you when there are cheaper swags out there, at this very fest?’.

The answer was pretty simple, they use Australian made materials (except the aluminium poles which are American) and it’s all Made in Australia. Made in Bayswater in fact.

The others which are much, much cheaper are made in China or India and are treated with various chemicals to make them waterproof or to try and make them mimic their ones.

They actually had me at Made in Australia, I’m a firm supporter of buying stuff that’s made in Australia and supporting local industries.

I did sit, and lie down in the swag they had on display and the person from Southern Cross Canvas observed that it was only just long enough for me (I’m 6ft 1” or 6ft 2” something like that) pretty much okay for it, but they said that they could custom make a longer one for me. For about $20 more than the special price for the show.

And yes, I did order one there and then. Though I did go to the show with the intent of finding out about one, and the offer of the custom made one did push me over the line that this would be something actually constructed for me, being a bit taller than the average.

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