Australian Hilux

I bought my ute brand new in 1998. It got snowed on the next day, which is probably ordinary for the Yanks amongst us, but quite the novelty here. Since then, it's done almost 600,000 km. mostly with me driving. Most of that was commuting into Melbourne, but also two years of courier driving (70,000 per year) and an estimated 100,000 towing the race car (very modified early Corolla). It was actually towing the car up a local hill when the head gasket let go. Eight years later, I've got it going again (registered only two days ago!).
The bull bar is important, in sixteen years of driving I've hit six kangaroos, a wombat, a deer and a Mitsubishi with it. Only the deer did the radiator.
Until I've recently been getting it going again, I haven't had to get into the mechanics of the thing - new oil and filter every 10,000, the occasional air and fuel filter. So your website here has been useful for the occasional hint.
It did score new shocks and bushes a while ago, and the head has needed work occasionally. Running LPG tends to wear the valve seats, but the firm that did the installation has done most of the work on that. Apart from that, it's been almost faultless.

 

Casually mentions hitting 6 kangaroos

Better question is, are the spiders down under as large as the internet makes em out to be??


(Of the truck. Not spiders. But if you have pics of large spiders, tag @chris4x4 )

Welcome!

 

Huntsman spiders are big but harmless. The smaller spiders are the ones to watch for - redbacks, Sydney funnel webs, and white tails. None of them are big but extremely bad news (I live too far south for the funnel webs).
The first kangaroo was a big Eastern Grey, slowed the ute fast enough for the oil light to flash on.

 

You could have stated those species in a different language and it would make just as much sense as the English terminology

You are talking to mostly Americans on here. Plus a few Canucks. They talk funny.

 

Gotta see some photos, making us all jealous

 

Sorry about the lack of pictures. I've been trying to write stuff here during coffee breaks (Sunday afternoon) between playing with the cars. Here's an old one. The ute orginally came with "light truck tyres", which are designed to last a long time probably because they don't stick to the road very well. I got rid of those early and ever since its run on car tyres on Ford Falcon 15" wheels. I'd use Camry wheels (simply to get rid of the Ford stuff), but they don't have the right offset.
I realise you're mostly Americans and Canadians (I have cousins in Vancouver, and yes, you all talk funny). I'm trying to write slowly so you get it first time.

 

Someone interested in big spiders before. This is a typical female Huntsman (males are smaller). They don't eat much. There was one living in my previous house I called Dolores (the latin name is Cancerides Dallaries), she was a little bigger than this one.