This may seem a bit simplistic for most, but it may not occur to some of you that could be worrying a little, so here it is: Someone has jokingly put mention of a Cyclone coming to put their
Bushtracker really in the
BOG…. Turns out they were not joking???
Now in all fairness, this brought this TIP to mind. While I have the next few tips already written, I have been out Bush for the last few days and not up with the news, and if there is a cyclone approaching in W.A. or N.T. then this may be a prudent addition for some that might be stuck in the path.. I have spent many years in the hurricane belt in the northern hemisphere. Most caravans are so poorly constructed, they just blow apart in the high winds, literally… While that is not a concern for the
Bushtracker, and we have never lost one in a Cyclone, if winds get up over 150 kph it could possibly mean possibly toppling one over if the wind happens to be on the broad side of the van…
Having been in the worst, I will tell you what I would do, and that is OUT RUN IT! You do not want to stay put in the face of it, fragility of windows and such? I would hook up my van as it approached, and head away from the path of it… If it has a southern curl to it, run to the north, that sort of thing. The beauty is that they only move about 15 km per hour, and of course it is easy to outrun them. I would not stay in the path of one coming, unless of course my tow vehicle was broke or some other extreme reason like closed dirt tracks in the mud of the wet season or something similar. And then we are back to the “tie downs” as per below…
The S.O.P. (IF YOU HAVE TO WEATHER IT FOR SOME REASON) is to hammer down a fence picket into the dirt as far as you can go, and then put chain and a turnbuckle on all four corners... Crank her down a little. In the extremes of winds over 150 km per hour, it will keep her buckled down for the worst... There are some smooth angle iron stakes on the market, but in my view they are inadequate being too small. It really takes a big bite into the ground to hold down the van from rocking them loose. You put down commercially available fence pickets with a borrowed pounder, use the turnbuckle to tighten the chain, (you will not likely be able to retrieve the pickets). But the you have problems trying to reinforce the windows and such in winds over 100-150, again I would not hang around.. Panna Trackers, please note, if it is a serious one pick up and run...
In our case it would be fixed at the tow eyes in the back, and around the a-frame at the front corners of the van... Don't know how serious of a cyclone it is ? Check the forecast wind speeds… But for all readers this is the preparations for a serious one, if you are stuck for what to do. BUT NOTE, THIS IS NOT WHAT I WOULD DO…!!! I would simply outrun it. Trains are interesting to look at, but don’t hang around too long directly in the path of one, OK? In the force of a big one, Prudence (fleeing) is the better part of Valour, OK?
Kind Concerns from the Ranger...
