Outback road trip? What do you need in an emergency.

[@Solar-42]

Personal EPIRB is essential for outback travel. Small inexpensive and light weight. Transmits your exact location and details stored to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA)

[@AUSY8]

If you don't have any other option e.g. portable satellite, or one of the newer phones with emergency SOS via satellite, then something like that is advised.

[@MsLw6621]

.......... 👍no matter where your car goes, it always looks super clean .............

[@AUSY8]

I wish. I think in this case the camera does lie :). However I do give it a spray every month or so in one of those self-service car wash bays.

[@AutosNGizmos]

Great video as always!

[@AUSY8]

Thanks ANG!

[@MyAdelaide]

Great video. I was recently driving from BNE to ADL via the inland roads and I had my ham radio with me. A good companion when phone coverage isn’t available. It’s interesting to see how much we rely on comms infrastructure. Will get my new M3LR in two weeks time. Can’t wait. Cheers Kev

[@AUSY8]

Glad you liked it. Ham radio is a good idea. Another option I forgot to mention in the video, is that iPhones sold in the last 2 years, and some recent Android phones, offer SOS text connectivity over satellite. That may be more accessible for some. Enjoy the new toy.

[@theinterviewcoach8121]

Ham radio is a genius idea 💡! Thanks for the great tip.

[@SydneyEV]

we bought a full size spare tyre and it took up about 1/2 the boot space on our crossing of OZ. a 25 ltr water bottle took up a lot also. we also had the usual tyre goo repair kits and tyre plug kits, and of starlink, starlink being a very good security blanket as you will never be out of contact with it if anything goes wrong, and allowing wifi phone calls. of course, taking all the gear means you will never need to use it. Those little lights are cool!

[@AUSY8]

Murphy says: "Don't bring it and I'll make you regret it". Those lights are cool. Another mode they have is that they can act as power banks to charge another device.

[@brianmwebb777]

Many thanks for making our trips easier

[@AUSY8]

No worries. Glad I can help.

[@evfusion4094]

Another informative and useful video. Thank you.

[@AUSY8]

Glad it was helpful!

[@brianmwebb777]

Not from direct experience but be aware of the Tesla Flat Tire small print - good service if you are metropolitan but a remote call out might be quite different - "Flat Tires Tesla will provide Roadside Assistance to owners who experience a flat tire within 50 miles (80 km) of a Tesla Service Center. If a tow is necessary, Tesla covers the transportation costs for the first 50 miles (80 km) provided the vehicle is towed to a Tesla Service Center and you complete the tire repair and/or replacement through Tesla directly. In all other situations, including if Tesla cannot complete the tire repair and/or replacement because you have aftermarket wheels and/or tires, Tesla may still be able to assist you with towing the vehicle at your full cost, due at time of tow. In all cases, you are responsible for the cost of the tire repair and/or replacement. In the event of a tow, see “Towing” above for instructions. "

[@AUSY8]

Good callout there. I added NRMA to the mix, because they have a version of their service that covers a greater towing distance.

[@shaunbrookman1049]

Great you had Starlink.. another option for Satellite service is the iPhone 14\15 Emergency SOS via Satellite. Extreme outback is exactly the use case for this tech, and (1 year?) comes free with the handset. Believe it uses GlobalStar's constellation. Optus (supposedly later this year) will have Direct to Cell Starlink LTE connectivity, initially just SMS messaging but better than nothing too.

[@AUSY8]

Good call out. And I read that some Android phones may the satellite service too eg the new Pixel 9

[@theinterviewcoach8121]

Great video and practical tips! It’s not too late to take that first aid class 😉

[@Guvament_bs]

I remember a time when you were legally required to carry a spare tyre with legal tread or you could be fined. When and why did they change that law. No matter what the law now requires I still carry a spare in good condition and if going to remote places, two spares. It is just good sensible prudent risk management.

[@AUSY8]

I'm assuming it's now legal for cars to be sold without any spare, because Tesla is not the only manufacturer that does this. I'm guessing Tesla, and others, consider their included roadside assistance as sufficient for covering people needing help fixing or replacing a tyre. However as I said in the video, it only covers you in reasonably populated areas. As for carrying 2 spares, are you are talking about remote areas that are off-road or away from the major highways? My definition of remote, as a city boy, is a major highway with only a roadhouse every few hundred k's

[@oldchev2850]

@@AUSY8 I imported a car into Queensland just over 15 years ago and the ruling for registering back then was….you didn’t have to have a spare tyre at all but if you did have the spare in the car, it had to be roadworthy. Seems strange but that’s how it was and it might still be that way. My daughter but a Suzuki swift and instead of a spare, it had a bag that included one of those spray kits that can seal a tyre. Not a lot of good if the tread separates from the sidewall. I’ve only had to use a space saver spare tyre once and these can only be on a rear axle and max speed is 80klm/hr. I was a couple of hundred k’s from any place that sold tyres so that was a bit of a drive but it was a sealed road at least. I wonder how these space savers handle unsealed roads? Good video by the way. Handy tips👍 Cheers, Peter

[@AUSY8]

Thx @oldchev2850, glad you liked it. The space saver I had, went on any axle so that was good. As for unsealed roads, I'm not sure. In a pinch, at low speed I'm guessing it would be better than nothing.

[@oldchev2850]

​@@AUSY8yeah if it's all you have then better than nothing for sure. Well that's good if you can put it any position. The one I had was like a motorbike wheel like 4" wide rim. Gets you to the tyre shop though

[@brianmwebb777]

Do you have a link to the night lights

[@AUSY8]

Here is a green version of them: www.amazon.com.au/WUBEN-Rechargeable-Waterproof-Hurricane-Emergency/dp/B0C13G8LN4/

[@AquaMarine1000]

Diesel 2,000klm range.

[@AUSY8]

Where’s the fun in that? Maybe you could post a slow TV video about those 2000 K’s

[@antontsau]

I fear of people who try to travel in outback (even without extreme like Nullarbor crossing, just highway trip like Sydney-Adelaide via Hay) without any redundancy. Without fuel cans (ooops, EV... not possible), water (50L min... oops, no space, no weight allowance), heavy first aid kit including oxygen and AED (oops, no space), communications (mobile is not enough), way to powernap even under full sun at +45 (oops, car becomes an oven in 5 min) or at night at 0... long long list of equipment and features providing survival for at least couple of days in harshest outback condition. Oh, yes, did I mention something like light but full scale motorbike onboard, able to autonomously travel several hundreds km to nearest civilisation after kangaroo hit or breakdown? No? Of course no, this is not for car drivers. Yes, all this together calls "expedition van/truck". Everybody else deemed to be test rabbits, and to find them (their corpses) takes couple of month.

[@AUSY8]

Thats probably a bit extreme. There's a middle road when some planning for emergencies is needed. I can't but help think of how aboriginals have traversed this continent for tens of thousands of years without access to a AED :)

[@antontsau]

@@AUSY8 Nothing extreme. I got kangaroo strike last year which disabled my Hiace (auxilliary radiator was literally bent in half, so most coolant out), lucky it was old school toyota, it was diesel, it was winter and it could make last 10 km to Balranald without coolant, where it was patched and next day continued to Adelaide. But it was extremely unpleasant experience. Remark about "month to search" was also based on real story, 5 or 6 years ago some bogan from Melbourne went fishing to Darwin on his ute, just a small trip on free week... after month of search he was found somewhere in SA outback near Coober Pedy. Kangaroos traverse even now. Not all of them succede, the whole highway Broken Hill-Dubbo covered with their corpses every morning, but who cares if 10% perished on the way? Do you want to travel with the same survival rate?

[@AUSY8]

@@antontsau I don't doubt what you are saying and there are dangers out there. We saw them. I met a guy stuck at the Mundrabilla Roadhouse with a radiator taken out by a kangaroo. He was stuck there for days, while a part was shipped from Adelaide. My view is that if you a) accept there are good people out there willing to help you, and b) stick to the major paved roads e.g. Route 1 and the Stuart, then we are at a lower risk of being stranded without any help. Also reduces the need for the laundry list of just-in-case stuff you suggest.

[@antontsau]

@@AUSY8 Stuck in roadhouse its good case scenario. Much worse is when there are 100 km to this roadhouse, +45 with scorching sun and your car cant move at all. No people there. Nobody. Its outback. On highway you can rely on someone else (btw - you rely on them, but can they rely on you? What you can do for them in case they need if you do not have this looooong and weighty list?), 20 km on side road and no one there for days. And even if someone can give you a lift to civilisation 90% you loss your car, with no insurance covers it.