Caravan comes off in outback Queensland | National Park Camping Queensland

Caravan comes off in outback Queensland. Scared the crap out of us as we didn't know what had happened, just heard a loud bang! Anyway, join us on our adventure and see what we get up to.
Off grid camping in our Caravan & roof top tent. Doing our travel vlog + drone footage of our holiday destinations.
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[@tonygersbach375]

Those with any kind of life experience know that shit happens every once in a while. Keep safe and enjoy your travels 👍

[@madgibbo44]

Thank you! 👍😎👍

[@madaussieadventures]

Exactly - Cheers Anya

[@peterkingsley2863]

@tonygersbach375 yes thats true but loose nuts on hitches,etc on tow vehicles are a daily check I thought and I do that maybe I'm alone but thankfully no one hit or hurt

[@Lifeat90]

Hey guys awesome trip i just spent 6 years doing a lap.i towed a trailer i always put thread sealent on my tow ball and paslock my tow hitch... outback roads anywhere in Australia can be hard on any setup ✌️ safe travels

[@madgibbo44]

Great advice, cheers, mate! 👍😎👍

[@madaussieadventures]

Well done 6 years! Thanks for the advice. Gibbo always checked on the nut - until this dirt road - sometimes it's the simple things that get you unhitched - pun intended LOL

[@davidmilledge221]

Ive herd storys about them DO35 things vibrating apart on ruff roads , i recon the best is the 80mm tow ball system an upgrade to the 50mm ball lest parts and strong as , just my thing tho

[@madaussieadventures]

We'll definitely be keeping a close eye on it.

[@dennisfromoz6436]

G'day fella.....where your safety chains crossed ? And set correctly, If yes, then should have caught the van section of hitch before it hit the ground, but by heck you were so fortunate to been able to link with Titan Industries. Happy your mobile again....Cheers 👍

[@madgibbo44]

Yeah, crossed but obviously too loose. We still have a lot to learn..

[@ab7406]

Best to check bolts on towbar to chassis as well

[@madgibbo44]

Cheers, will do. 👍😎👍

[@Lumberhacksteve]

Holy Shit Gibbo, firstly glad you are both ok, could have been a very different situation had it happened at high speed. Glad you are up and running again, as per previous comments check your chain lenght as it looked to long and should have been resting on chains. Not sure of the way you are going to Airlie, very different to most but thats the best thing about travelling in a van. Anyway, travel safe, check all your nuts and bolts constantly and enjoy, hopefully you are away for a decent amount of time.

[@madgibbo44]

Yes mate we were very lucky! I thought I had my chains tight enough but wrong, I'll fix that. I carry a large shift in the back for tightening but got complacent and it's never come loose, my bad I'll check more often in the future. Thanx for your concern! 👍😎👍

[@neilab3614]

Gvm upgrade still 2.3 ltr?,same trans,brakes,diffs,cooling system,maybee axle rating.all working overtime.

[@PHancock11]

Mate, you're kidding... what a thing to happen, glad you're ok. Titan Industries actually helped us out with the caravan breaks at Rockhampton.. Bloody excellent service.

[@madgibbo44]

Cheers, mate. Yeah, they were great.

[@frankguernier2280]

Re the tow hitch. It would pay to have the nut tightened to the specified tension by using a truck rated tension wrench. Not just a shifting spanner.

[@madaussieadventures]

It was installed by so called professionals.

[@neilab3614]

Had a 16ft van about 1.8t ..manual tritan,wouldn't want to stop on a hill,no turbo untill about 2k revs 😢 had to put in low range to get moving or madly ride the clutch useless for a tow vehicle .

[@fisher6747]

No ones fault but your own, sorry. When I got my DO-35 I actually READ the instruction manual, and the torque it said was required on the locking nut was way more than my torque wrench was capable of, so got a length of waterpipe from my neighbour over my brace bar. So much, I thought it would strip the threads. Years later, it is still there. So sorry this happened to you.

[@madgibbo44]

When we bought the caravan from new, we got them to put the do35 hitch system on, so we just assumed that it was done professionally. And we still checked it regularly. Thanx for your comment. 👍😎👍

[@lattitudestonylittle9420]

How does a towball nut come loose? I check mine witha turque wrench, weekly.

[@madgibbo44]

Lol, it wasn't hard! 👍😎👍

[@jorobson1]

I checked the bolt on our d035 hitch after travelling from Perth to Broome. The nut was rather loose. I have been keeping a eye on it for the last few months. So far so good. It specs are frigging 440 nm which is huge and needs a frigging big torque wrench bar!

[@madgibbo44]

@@jorobson1 😲 cheers for that.

[@frankguernier2280]

It pays to carry a "Tang brand" truck rated tension wrench and a truck breaker bar.

[@kymsomerville9024]

Great to see platypus in the wild, enjoy.

[@madgibbo44]

Yeah, it was beautiful to see. Cheers.

[@kymsomerville9024]

@@madgibbo44 have a good trip and safe return.

[@madaussieadventures]

Took a while to spot them, but it was very cool.

[@MickBurns-ev1nn]

I had a van where the door opened the wrong way like that. I fitted one of those little hook and eye latches just in case. 😊

[@madgibbo44]

Great idea, cheers! 👍😎👍

[@MickBurns-ev1nn]

@@madgibbo44 all good 👍

[@DiHandley]

Happy travel guys. Ignore the smart arse naysayers.

[@madgibbo44]

Cheers, mate! ❤

[@madaussieadventures]

Thanks, most of us stuff up now and then.

[@julieannesimms981]

Happened to me in January my 24ft retro van jumped off the towball broke the chain and landed in a paddock and hit a tree scary as thankgoodness for insurance it was classed as a repairable right off should have van back at the end of next week 😳 yikes

[@madgibbo44]

😮😮😮 so sorry to hear this! Good luck with your future trips. 👍😎👍

[@madaussieadventures]

Sorry to hear that. We were very lucky.

[@julieannesimms981]

@madgibbo44 thankyou sensational rv in wagga have brought her back to life the pics will be on their Facebook pages it,s amazing

[@LISP-dc9uj]

Glad you guys are safe , Have you ever weighed your combination Looks over weight

[@madgibbo44]

Yes, well under. Rooftop is only 60kgs, and caravan is 2600kgs. The car has had a GVM upgrade.

[@Travelinoztake2]

@@madgibbo44what’s the tare weight on that van? Would love to maybe look at these if they are that light loaded.

[@madgibbo44]

@@Travelinoztake2 about 2280

[@MAD-HATTER-1996]

scary to say the least

[@madgibbo44]

Absolutely!!

[@madaussieadventures]

It needs to be added to our checklist because as often as we hitch up, every now and then there's something we forget.

[@nickislade5533]

The modern vans do not need a jockey wheel really, the plate is a better idea

[@madgibbo44]

I 100% agree!

[@GregSharkey]

Until you need to move the van. I use x a plate but also carry a wheel and have had to use the wheel twice.

[@madgibbo44]

@GregSharkey It had a jocky wheel attachment, but I opted out as it's extra weight and room, and so far, we haven't needed it. Hopefully, we never regret it.

[@erkful]

Go get some training…

[@weejimmyhannah]

Look at the size and weight of the van pulled by a Triton and a chap that can’t tighten a tow ball nut, luckily no one was injured. It’s time the government brought a stop to this madness.

[@MickBurns-ev1nn]

Yeah. Those chains aren’t right and those nuts can work loose if not part of your daily check

[@madgibbo44]

Thanx for your comment, but I can tighten a nut, and the van only weighs 2600kgs. Our weights are all fully compliant, and the triton has had a GVM upgrade.

[@madgibbo44]

​@MickBurns-ev1nn. unfortunately, the road was that bad it vibrated loose. In retrospect I should've checked every 50km while travelling on dirt. We all can't be perfect.

[@DiHandley]

Getting the government involved won’t fix anything. Except cost money. We all make mistakes regardless of the amount of training we’ve had. No harm done and no one hurt. Life’s a journey not a destination, so enjoy your travels.

[@madgibbo44]

@@DiHandley exactly 💯