CORETorque Autumn 2011

8/7/2019 CORETorque Autumn 2011

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Getting to know you ...

Q: What 4WD do you own?

A: 1991 Toyota 80 series turbo diesel. Started with a 60 series.

Q: How long have you been wheeling?

A: About 20 years

Q: Whats the best place you have been?

A: Vic high country, Flinders Ranges. (We

wont mention Lower Light)

Q: What mods are on your wish list?

A: Rear locker would be nice. Pipe dream-

portal axles.

Q: What is it that attracted you to CORE 4x4?

A:Not being forced to do anything, but encouraged to try.

Q: What has been your scariest moment when wheeling?

A: I chicken out before then.

Q: If you could have any 4WD what would it be?

A: Unimog

Q: What do you love about 4WDriving.

A: Doing things that you dont think you can

and the feeling after youve done it.

Q: What other things are you interested in?

A: Anything with an engine. Love the sound

of a Merlin piston engine from a Spitfire

plane.

Q: If you could be anyone in the world who

would you be?A: Anybody who doesnt own a Patrol.

Ian Mi les


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Sunday we decided to explore the Hungry Ranges however we had to wait for

another 4WD group so we spent some time on the test track. I made a point of

avoiding the bottomless puddle which apparently had claimed two other vehicles

from different 4Wd groups over the weekend.

We followed the Ridge Track over the Hungry Ranges which had many of the ve-

hicles lifting wheels whilst coming down a particularly steep section. Then we

followed an easy track around the base of the mountain before heading up the

Billy Goat Track. This was the hardest track in the area and succeed in raising the

heart beat of many drivers in the group. Approximately halfway up on a very

steep part of the track, a rock step and loose gravel made for a challenging obsta-

cle.

Been there ...

GRAMPIANS

The Grampians trip, well where do we start? What a trip this was. We had a great turnout with a total of six 4wds all up, with the BIGGEST group of children we've had on one

of our trips, and everything went fantastic!

Upon arrival everyone set up camp however, The 'Moonraker' clan were about 8 hours

behind due to a sick wife, well once the handbrake came good and gave me the all clear

we were off and we arrived at about dinner time. Well we're still not sure if it was us or

ust a coincidence that the days to follow was something unexplainable when like clock-

work one person after the next, including most of the children, fell crook with the 24hrbug that Rachel had, and only a few survived the trip without needing to spend a day in

bed with there head in a bucket! At least everyone got over it very quickly.

After arranging to meet the local ranger down

at the info centre we were able to find out

which tracks were closed and which ones

were still open and that crossed a lot of tracks

off our list (most of the good ones of course)but that didn't stop us, there were still plenty

of tracks around, so off we went!!

Words can't describe the amount of fun we

had with some very long and some quite deep

water crossings, deep enough that 'Black

Baron' in his Jeep took a nice gulp of water big enough that his air filter got a nice wash,

uckily no serious damage. Just

goes to show that we should

always remember the basics!!


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... DONE THAT

Followed by some nice wet muddy tracks were a few more trucks managed to create

some havoc and get stuck needing the

snatch strap, Max Trax and even the

winch was used.

One incident that happened and again

highlights the need for safety was

when Bubbles was stuck in the mud

and after a few goes with the snatch

strap led to his factory rated recovery

hook at the front of his rig to break off

and set a new air speed record flyingstraight over the top of my car and the

snatch itself leaving a nice dent in my back door! Thankfully no one was in the way.

Obviously God isnt finished with us yet!

Well what else happened ... Oh Yeah 'Blue Thunder' staked a tyre leading to a rather

expensive upgrade with some nice new MTZ's, bugger

hey!!

The Halls Gap caravan park had some nice

fire pits, an there was plenty of fire wood

around, this provided us with a great fire

every night for the kids to melt there marsh

mellows in before bed, and for the rest of us

to sit around till all hours and tell some good

stories, and some not so good ones, with

plenty of laughs, a few coldies and even a few

reds while we get to know each other a

whole lot better. There really was some great

fellowship and great fun.

If you want to know some more well just have a look at the photos or catch up with one

of us who went.

See you on the tracks,

Moonraker out.


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What's Coming Up

DECEMBER '10 JANUARY '11: 27/7/10 7/01/11

Grampians

FEBRUARY: 19/2/11

Kadina Quarry

MARCH: 12/3 - 14/3/11

LOVEDAY 4WD PARK

APRIL: 2/4/11

Spalding

MAY: 14/5/11

Pt Hughes

JUNE: 10/6 13/6/11

Langkoop


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What's Coming Up

JULY: 23/7/11

Spear Creek

AUGUST: 13/8/11

Quiz Night

SEPTEMBER: 10/9/11

Training Day and Articu-

lation Ramp Flex Test

OCTOBER: 1/10 15/10/11

Alice Springs

NOVEMBER: 19/11/10

Gawler

DECEMBER: 10/12

Morgan & Christmas Break-up


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TECHREPORT

RECOVERY POINTSWhat is a recovery point ?

A recovery point is a convenient attachment point on a vehicle for connecting recovery

equipment such as snatch straps, winch ropes, chains , cables, etc for purpose of removing a

stuck vehicle. This recovery point must be sufficiently strong to handle the high loads

encountered during a recovery without failure.

Every vehicle should have at least one recovery point at the front & one at the rear before

venturing off-road. If you dont have a recovery point on your vehicle & you need recovering you

may find that no one wants to connect their vehicle to recover you as the risk is extremely high.

There have been quite a few fatalities , not to mention near misses & vehicle damage, caused by

nappropriate recovery points being used so its of the highest importance that you ensure your

vehicle has recovery points up to the job.

If you find yourself in the position of

recovering somebody else, make sure the

recovery point is up to standard before

continuing because you ,your vehicle &

bystanders that are in the firing line

should something fail.

Rated recover pointsIf you hang around off-roaders enough

sooner or later you will hear talk about

rated recovery points. When we talk

about rated recovery equipment ,we

mean that it has been tested to Australian

tandards & can be ensured to handle the load stamped on it under conditions set out in those

tandards.

The problem with rated recovery

points is that only the actual

hook or eye is rated & even then

only in a straight line situation.

Unfortunately recoveries arent

always in a straight line , recovery

points are only as strong as the

mounting system & what they aremounted to.


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This being the case the only way a recovery point could be rated is if an engineer (or com-

pany) was to be willing to rate the entire assembly, as a whole, for each particular model of

vehicle & assume responsibility if it failed. For this reason none of the major vehicle or after-

market parts manufactures are prepared to rate their recovery points once fitted.

Recovery points vs tie down or tow points

Adding further confusion to the whole situation is that vehicle manufacturers have to fit tie

down points to comply with Australian design rules & may also choose to fit tow points. Tie

down points usually are light weight pressed sheet steel or steel loops and are there to se-

cure the vehicle during transport (on truck ,ship ,rail, etc). They are not strong enough to per-

form a recovery with.

The other, even more dangerous, device is the tow point. These are designed by the manufac-

turer for flat towing (towing vehicle with all wheels on the ground) for break down situa-

tions ,etc. Many people mistakenly think these are factory recovery points as they are often

fairly strong looking but they are not up to the extremely high (many times vehicles own

weight) forces involved in some recoveries.

TECHREPORT


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TECHREPORTHow strong?

One off the favourite recovery tools to the offroader is the snatch strap. This device is similar in

operation to an elastic band , it allows the momentum (speed x weight) of a tow vehicle to be

ransferred into pulling power at the stuck vehicle. Consider a 2.5 ton Landcruiser going 30km/h

before the strap goes tight, that means the force exerted on the recovery point is equivalent tohat same Landcruiser hitting a brick wall at 30km/h. This is why snatch straps are often rated at

8 tons or 12 tons for a heavy duty strap.

f the snatch strap breaks during a recovery it will spring back just like an elastic band ,

fortunately straps are fairly light & this limits the

potential damage should it hit something.

If ,however ,the recovery point breaks , youve now

got a heavy metal bracket ( & maybe) a shackle

springing back with tremendous energy.

So the answer to how strong is ,stronger than any

recovery straps ,chains ,shackles, etc that you may

attached to it. In most cases this will be 8 tons. Note

that a shackle rated at 4.5 t will have a breaking

strength greater than 18.0 t.

Some common recovery pointsMany offroaders will utilise a strong towbar as a rearecovery point either by attaching the strap with the

ongue receiver mounting pin directly through the

oop or with an aftermarket recovery point that goes

nto the receiver. Both off these methods are generally

onsidered good practice since heavy duty towbars are

well made & mounted. Do not ever use the towball as

a recovery point as they can (& do) fail & you have

essentially a cannonball flying through the air. If thevehicle hasnt got a removable hitch type of towbar, its acceptable to remove the towball & use a

ated bow shackle (3.25t minimum) to attach the recovery strap.

For the front recovery points be careful using eyes provided

by bull bars, often these will be adequate, but only when

mounted suitably & using high tensile (grade 8 or better )

mounting bolts. Its always better when doing a heavy

recovery to use two recovery points to equalize the strain on

both sides of the chassis & reduce the strain on just one

point.


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This is achieved using a bridal or equalizing strap, dont attach

snatch strap to it with shackle, but rather feed loop of snatch strap

through bridal strap.

Recovery point hooks vs eyesBoth are acceptable with pros & cons. Eyes will require a shackle

for attachment which means an additional missile should it fail but it

has the advantage of nothing can slip. They are usually fabricated

from mild steel which means they will bend & stretch a long way

before failure. Hooks are much quicker to connect & no additional missiles in a failure, but

straps can slip off. Also, they thin toward the end so if the pull is in this direction they are con-

siderably weaker than their rating. They are usually made from hot forged steel so they will

tend to be more brittle & will break suddenly with little deformation. An equally important

point is the angle or orientation that a recovery point is mounted on, this could make the dif-

ference between a good recovery point & a poor one.

So how do I make sure my recovery point is safe?As mentioned above its very hard to categorically state if a recovery point is safe or not, but

there are things we can do. You can consult your owners manual to find out what points are

fitted so you know what not to use ,talk to aftermarket parts suppliers, your trusted 4wd me-

chanic,4wd clubs ,model specific forums & websites.

TECHREPORT


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CLUB Photos


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CoolPics


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We have some changes as a committee to announce that may upset a few and make

others breath with a sigh of relief. As a committee we have discussed the safety issue

when we are out and about on our CORE trips and have decided to make mandatorythe following changes which need to be followed on our trips.

1. Seatbelts must be worn by ALL occupants of your vehicle both on and off-road

as required by the Australian road rules at all times whilst vehicle is in motion

or on route to destination. This includes both children and adults.

2. No children are allowed to sit on the laps of parents whilst on CORE trips

whilst four wheel driving or on route to destination.

3. Only licensed drivers to drive the four wheel drives on trips and if you hold a

learner's permit then a fully licensed passenger must be present in the vehicle.

4. During a recovery only the designated people (usually trip leader) must coordi-

nate the recover and ensure safety is maintained prior and during the recov-

ery and his instructions must be followed as the third person of the recovery

(being the recoverer, the recoveree and the recovery coordinator)

5. As per our constitution and the excellent write up within by Marty (AKA Knight

Rider) you must have a recovery point on your vehicle, ideally two at the frontand one in the rear. Otherwise you risk no-one snatching you from your situa-

tion which I will enforce should you not have a recovery point.

6. Only the people who need to be in a vehicle should be within the vehicle dur-

ing a recovery, should there be an unfortunate accident where a recovery

point breaks (as it did at the Grampians) we will be minimising the risk of un-

necessary injury to persons.

I hope you all understand the reasons why we must put this into practice and be proac-tive in what we do regarding this as your safety is of our concern and the last thing we

want is to have to call your next of kin explaining what happened. You may think this is

unlikely and wont happen and you may very well be right but there have been many

examples of deaths by people not doing the right thing like in the above points.

If you have any concerns in the above matter please feel free to speak to me ( Ben) or

any of the committee and we will be happy to answer your questions.

Thanks in advance for your understanding in this matter

Ben

Top Dog


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Documents

CORETorque Autumn 2011