Our top 3 touring must haves for your next remote trip

Remote touring is one of the best parts of living in Australia. I’m a true believer that you could spend an entire lifetime travelling Australia, lap after lap, campsite after campsite, and still never see everything this country has to offer.

The liberating feeling of hitching up a caravan, packing the 4×4 or even just planning an upcoming trip is something that we’re all lucky to experience. The freedom, the relaxation, the ability to see parts of Australia that very few others get to see. There’s not really much needed to enjoy all the above either. Some good company, enough food and water, but most importantly, a reliable 4×4.

Whilst it can seem a little daunting, ensuring your 4×4 or tow car is reliable, prepared, and trip-ready is one of the most important parts of preparing for a remote trip. We’ve taken the guess work out of it for you. We’ve pulled together 3 of our ‘must have’ modifications to ensure your next adventure goes smoothly and safely. Let’s get straight into it.

Must Have No. 1

Ryco 4×4 Filtration Upgrade Kit

This might seem like an obvious one. But Ryco have recently made it easier than ever to provide your 4×4’s engine with the protection it needs, so it makes our list!

Your modern diesel engine is an extremely sensitive piece of machinery. We rely on them in some of the harshest conditions. And put them under some of the most extreme loads you can imagine. So we need to protect them as best we can, right? That’s where the Ryco 4×4 filtration upgrade kit comes into play. The Ryco 4×4 Filtration Kit combines Ryco’s fantastic water and fuel separator alongside their catch can in a simple to fit kit. Utilising their vehicle specific mounting bracket to give your 4×4 engine the ultimate in protection.

The water separator, as the name suggests, acts as a pre-filter for your diesel’s fuel system. And protects it from contaminants and water. The water separator has a unique 10-micron filter that is going to help filter out any foreign particles and water before it gets into your factory fuel system. If you didn’t have one of these fitted and water or dirt got into your vehicles fuel system, it could have catastrophic effects. This includes destroying injectors, rough running and even blowing up engines. The Ryco water separator has a built-in viewing bowl at the bottom so you can easily see if there is any contamination in the fuel. Simply drain it out and keep on trucking.

The Ryco catch can is another fantastic product that is an absolute no brainer. And with the ultimate kit, it’s never been easier to mount up in your engine bay. In its simplest form, a catch can is basically a filter and trap for oil and fuel vapours that are getting rebreathed by the motor from its PVC emissions system. Let me explain this a little more – stick with me.

All engines create blow-by gasses or positive crankcase gasses. These gasses need to escape from the top of the motor and are generally diverted through a positive crankcase ventilation valve back through the intake to be burnt. The blow-by gasses are a cocktail of oil vapour, fuel vapour and air. Which in theory sounds pretty harmless. But over time can lead to a build up of carbon deposits throughout your intake system. These act like cholesterol but for your 4×4’s engine. A Ryco catch can sits in between the PCV valve and the intake, and filters out the oily vapour leaving just clean air to be burnt by the engine. Avoiding this build up all together.

The best part about the Ryco Ultimate 4×4 upgrade kit is it comes with everything you need to fit in. Including a bracket that combines the catch can and water separator together for ease of install. Pretty bloody genius if you ask us.

Must Have No. 2

Survival ‘Vehicle’ First Aid Kit

It doesn’t take much for everything to go pear-shaped on a remote 4×4 trip. A family member could have a fall. Your mate could get bitten by a snake. Or you could have an old cut get infected. There are about one million scenarios where a first-aid kit is going to be pretty darn important. Mostly because these situations never happen in a convenient location. You’ll almost always be a long way from help and in a remote part of Australia. Being prepared can be the difference between calling off your trip early and heading back to a city. Or even worse, could be the difference between life and death.

A well thought-out and fully equipped first-aid kit is an absolute must to include in your trip planning and packing. Personally, we love the Survival range, particularly their ‘Vehicle’ kit. The Vehicle Kit keeps size and weight at the forefront of its design, which for 4×4 lovers, is an absolute must as space is always at a premium.

This kit is lightweight at just 1.2kgs, compact, labelled and easy to grab in an emergency situation. Things like bandages, adhesive dressings, space blankets, eye pads, pressure bandages, saline, non-adherent dressings, and just about everything else you can image are included. Which arms you with an array of tools if an emergency was to unfortunately happen.

Must Have No. 3

Kincrome OBD2 Scan Tool

Mechanical issues have the ability to spell absolute disaster for a remote touring trip. There’s no denying that. A lot of basic mechanical gremlins can be fixed easily. Especially on older and more simple vehicles like 80 Series Landcruisers, GU Patrols and old Pajeros just to name a few.

With technology rapidly advancing. Vehicles becoming increasingly complex. And more and more modern 4×4’s hitting the outback tracks of Australia, fixing them, or even just diagnosing a problem can be harder than ever. That’s where a Kincrome OBD2 scanner can really save your bacon.

With modern 4×4’s all being fitted with ECU’s, sensors all over and electronic controls for nearly every aspect of the vehicle, having an OBD2 scan tool is nearly a necessity for your next remote trip. If you get stuck with an engine light, error code or in limp-mode somewhere far away from help, you need to be able to identify exactly what is going on. And potentially clear the fault code just to get you limped back into town.

The Kincrome Semi-Pro OBD2 tool is the perfect size for your glovebox or centre console. It features a large colour screen, real time data readout and gives you the ability to clear codes, read codes and turn off ‘check engine’ lights. The real time data feature is extremely handy for those who want to keep an eye on their vehicle more closely. As it can give you engine RPM, speed, throttle input and even real-time fuel consumption. Plus, it’s ready to use straight out of the box, and you get free software updates for life. Pretty epic glovebox companion if you ask me.

These 3 must-haves will ensure your next remote trip away is not only safe for you and your vehicle, but fun. Australia has some of the most exciting and diverse landscapes. So it would be down-right rude not to get out there and explore every nook and cranny. Hopefully you take on our advice, and we’ll see you out on the tracks.