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Post by agriculturalprep on Feb 4, 2015 19:20:29 GMT 10
I've just become aware of this thread, and I think I'm going to take the middle ground. I live in in Wollongong, a major coastal city in NSW. It is an excellent place to live. I also own, outright, 2 rural properties, 1250 acres on the NSW/Qld border (owned with my brother), and 40 riverfront acres in southern NSW. I have choices. I could make either of these properties fully self sufficient, but that would require living on them. In my opinion, that's a poor choice at the moment, because living where we do enables the mrs and myself to earn enough income to provide a good lifestyle. It also enables us to spend more on preps than if we were living on the retreat. For a gradual shtf, we have made the right decision. For a rapid shtf, then we would have been better off selling up and moving onto one of the retreats and making it self sufficient. So I try to do as much as I can at the retreat as time and distance allows. Those that live on their retreats may be better prepared in a sense, but we can afford to spend $2k every fortnight on preps if we want to, just by living in the city. We couldn't afford that if we gave up our jobs to live in the bush. I'm trying to have my cake and eat it too, though, by having an arrangement with the neighbour to raise lambs on part of my property. Hopefully that arrangement would continue if shtf and provide a renewable source of food for my family. As for vehicles, most primary producers I know all drive tray backs. Hilux's are for city boys. I drive a 4wd station wagon, because it best suits my needs. If shtf, I consider my vehicle expendable. I plan on being able to walk away from it if I have to. For example, my car doesn't have a cb radio. I only use hand held uhf radios, because if my only radio is in my car and I abandon the car, then I no longer have a radio. Well i don't know who you talk to about hilux's or if you have anything to do with real country people, but most would consider a turbo diesel hilux a working car thats not just for city people. Hence my name, I work here in SA as an agricultural consultant across SA and for my age I'm doing okay, just was a bit of a weird comment i thought from you mate. I don't know you from a bar of soap, but I can assure you down south Hilux isn't just city boys car. But thanks for your input into the the 4wd station wagon and radio mate. |
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Post by agriculturalprep on Feb 4, 2015 19:21:25 GMT 10
My BOV as of last Sunday   Mate, bloody sorry to see that. Hope you're all good and everything gets sorted nicely and quickly. |
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Post by Nighthawk on Feb 4, 2015 19:26:38 GMT 10
Yeah NH_jr and I walked away pretty much unscathed. Insurance assessor rang this arvo to advise it's a write off. On the plus side, we'll be carrying $24,000 less debt very shortly.  |
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Post by Peter on Feb 4, 2015 20:07:00 GMT 10
So glad to hear you're okay. It can still be one hell of a shake up.
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Post by graynomad on Feb 4, 2015 22:30:45 GMT 10
I know we always advise reducing debt in th eprepper world, but that's taking it a little too far.
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Post by graynomad on Feb 4, 2015 23:07:35 GMT 10
OK, I can't help myself, look at the bright side, now you can get a Landcruiser Yeah good that nobody was hurt though. |
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peter1942
Senior Member
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Likes: 267
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Post by peter1942 on Feb 5, 2015 14:25:20 GMT 10
I am now into my seventies and have had a close affiliation with the land for most of my formative years as well as the majority of my working life.
I appear to be living the life that many contributors to this forum have a yearn to lead and yet the practicality of some of those contributors seems to get discarded in favour of showmanship and modern advertising.
I have never owned a four wheel drive vehicle. I have never felt the need to own a four wheel drive vehicle.
I have driven many four wheel drive vehicles that have been supplied by the companies or individuals that I have worked for in the four eastern states.
We lived in a caravan for a number of years and once on the road between Sydney and Brisbane we were stopped at some road works. I watched as the driver of a four wheel drive vehicle who was also towing a caravan get out and engage his front hubs. As we were going to be held up for a while I got out and had a chat to him and when I asked him about engaging the hubs he said it was because the road was muddy. All the other vehicles on the road managed without four wheel drive.
I met a chap on the beach at Tincan Bay who told me that he had never struck trouble while driving on the sand as his four wheel drive vehicle had never been bogged. He had never engaged his front hubs as he believed that just by putting the gear shift into four wheel drive that it automatically engaged the hubs. And yes, I did tell him that he had to engage the hubs before it was in true four wheel drive.
While on the beach at Noosa we watched the four wheel drives flash past on the sand and amongst them was an older couple in a HR Holden who took a fair amount of abuse from the macho types who believed that the sand was only for them and their vehicles that were made for the task.
Over the years I have owned a number of utes and they have all had tray decks. My present ute has done in excess of 340,000 kilometres, has a crew cab which allows us to store items behind the seats and is regularly maintained to a high order. When we purchased the ute I chose to have an aluminium tray as it is 60 kilos lighter than the alternative steel one.
I choose the trays because they are far more versatile than utes with high sides (tubs). I have only to visit the hardware store to see people with utes with tubs struggling to put large gas bottles and other large items on board whereas I am able to load from either side or the back of the tray.
Many of the ute owners with tubs take a trailer with them to pickup the likes of many items that I put on my tray deck and for me there is no issue about which side I load or unload from. Also there is not as much paint on a tray deck to scratch as there is on a tub.
The latest fashion appears to be utes with tubs that have a solid lid on a hinge and I do not know how many times I have seen these with loads higher than the sides of the tubs and the lid is unable to be closed.
If you are serious about owning a block my advice is get a ute with a tray. Fencing and building materials, bales of hay, a cage for livestock, dogs, firewood are only a few of the items that can be easily transported on a ute that has a tray.
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