Zig Zag 2 - D-Max 0

Well, this weekend's adventure went far from according to plan. A fun-filled Sunday adventure as it was meant to be didn't end all in smiles and laughter but I guess it still did for everyone else.

Ending up on a Car Trailer isn't
how you plan to finish the day.

We decided to head up to the Newnes State Forrest just outside of Lithgow for a day filled with wheel lifts and tough lines and we definitely got all of that. We had three rigs for today's trip, a 2018 y62 Nissan Patrol with a 2-inch lift, 33-inch tyres, factory rear locker, winch and snorkel, a 2012 MN Mitsubishi Triton with a 2-inch lift and a snorkel and of course my Dmax. As usual, we met at the Zig Zag Railway to drop our tyre pressures, which we all went down to about 25/26psi. 

We started the day navigating through a few wombat holes. The sandy surface was difficult to gain traction in, so having the front locker made this a lot easier. The Patrol got through just as easily with the factory rear locker. With a few wheel lifts, we both were able to get through, pick some good lines and climb out without an issue. Unfortunately, the Triton didn't get very far in before we had to winch him back out. There wasn't enough traction for him to continue pushing forward being unlocked. But this was the first time the Patrol's winch got to be used at least.

The Dmax trying to winch out
with a broken CV

We continued to push on to another section of the powerlines track. This rutted out section of the track is pretty easy until you reach the middle where there is a couple of sharp bends to navigate through or go over a giant rock step. This is where the day of the Dmax came to an end. At only the second real obstacle of the day. I don't think I had enough clearance to get over the rock step, however, I struggled to find traction without the locker engaged. This is the point where I should have conceded defeat and reversed out, but I didn't and the next defeat cost a lot more. I made the rookie error of trying to turn with a front locker on which put large amounts of strain on my CVs. This lead to the passenger cv snapping on the wheel side. We tried to winch me out and over the line that I was initially intending on driving, but the sandy surface made it hard for the Triton to stay put as I used it for a winching anchor. He kept sliding closer and closer towards the ruts I was trying to get out of. If we anchored him as well, maybe we would have been ok but still didn't fix the issue of the broken CV. A fellow four-wheel driver in a Jeep Wrangler came up and towed me out from behind so that I could get back on to level ground. What a small world though, this Jeep was the same guy that helped me out last time I was at Zig Zag and broke the front diff in the Dmax.

After trying to remove the CV on the tracks, we realised that we couldn't pull it out without replacing it or we would have lost all my front diff oil and expose it to contaminants. If I had a spare CV, this would have been about a half-hour to an hour job on the side of the tracks. Big tip for IFS owners and something that I will do for now on is to carry a spare CV, but I'll discuss this more in a later blog when I am changing the CV over. This was the end of the day for the Dmax. The CV was getting caught as we drove so we had to organise a car trailer for my Dad to come out and get me. We parked the Dmax out of the way and jumped into the other cars in our group to continue the day until Dad could arrive. 

Lifting Wheels and Crawling
all-day

We tackled a range of tracks for the rest of day from deep ruts to bog holes. We headed up to Moonrock but decided to leave that for another day and took the steep trail around it. There were plenty more wombat holes for the Triton and Patrol to tackle. Once again, being unlocked, the Triton struggled to find traction but the old reliable right boot was able to get him over everything we looked at. The Patrol did these tracks with ease, between the power of the V8 engine and being rear locked, it could continue to crawl through anything that it was faced with. 

It could only have gotten worse 
if we pushed foward

We reached a point of one of the many sidetracks where had to detour around a few fallen trees. Because one tree was across the main point of this section of track, we had to enter from a different angle. This did not go the way we were planning. The Triton dropped in but had a large amount of rear-wheel lift (as seen in the photo), and any further we risked him rolling over. We attached the winch up to the hitch shackle in his tow bar to pull him back out and onto all four wheels. At this stage of the day, it was getting too late afternoon so we began heading back out of the state Forrest towards the Great Western Highway where we could meet Dad to head in and pick up the Dmax.

Once again, nothing worked the way it was meant to. We had nearly reached where we parked the Dmax when we were waved down by other drivers saying something had fallen off the back of the trailer while we were heading in. This lead to us turning around on a narrow road with a car trailer to head back 4 or 5 ks to pick up the steel ramps, but they hadn't fallen off together. Once we found one we had to keep going back towards the start to find the other ramp then try and turn around once again. Tying the Dmax down to the trailer was another issue we faced. Being such a heavy vehicle we had to use every strap we had to tie it down wherever we could. The ute was overhanging the trailer front and rear, with only just fitting on the trailer width wise. It was a slow and steady trip home, with a few stops to retighten all the straps but eventually, we got home and could drop the Dmax back under the carport to be worked on again.

I feel like it's more me than my vehicles when yet again my rigs are in need of repair under the carport. This sadly is becoming a common occurrence for me and this expensive hobby.

The Dmax struggles aside, everyone else had a great day. The Triton yet again impressed with only his third time driving off-road, considering how standard everything is, it was able to overcome the majority of the obstacles it faced. The Patrol, well that is an animal, nothing fazed it. Everything it looked at it crawled through with ease. 

Yet again the Dmax lost to Zig Zag. I've been to this track many times whether on the Trail Bike or in my Patrol, but the two occasions when the Dmax has come here hasn't ended well. One day the Isuzu will get the win, hopefully, one day soon. 

In my next blog, I'll go through replacing the CV, how to do it on the Dmax and what you need to do it. Be sure to check that out once the replacement CV arrives. 

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