Australia then and now

It has been a cold winter this year, nights at or below 0⁰C and not cracking 20⁰ during the day. Maybe it’s just me getting older and feeling the cold more, but less than 200 kilometres from here, had snow a couple of weeks ago.

In the dying throws of winter, the temperature stubbornly refuses to yield until the last minute. 13⁰C at 6:00 am this morning.

13c at 6am is our summer winter is the low single figures usually with a minus infront :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

You can have that on your own.

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That would be returning assets from exercise Taliban Sabre, a regular international multiservices war game.
The military have an SOP (unusual :wink:) that has to be followed, when securing their gear. For some strange reason, their vehicles have to be chained by the chassis, rather than the wheels or axles.

As all their vehicles appear to have rings attached to the chassis and use short chains with hooks, I suppose it makes sense really. Not as if the chains simply went over the chassis and could slide along a bit perhaps. :thinking:

@spardo I was always taught to chain sprung vehicles below the springs, cross chained where possible. That way, the chains cannot slacken under spring compression.

That makes perfect sense. And what if tyres deflate during transit?
On ferries in rough weather it is best to drop all air out of the suspension before chaining trucks and trailers down, but I’ve rarely seen that.

The chances of a rapid deflation, in transit, are so remote it’s not worth considering.
I personally, always keep an eye on chains as I drive and stop to physically check on all types of load binding every couple of hours.

UK side we can only do about 4hr30 without a stop, and I tend to do a coffee break every two-ish hours, so a quick check is always done then. On tautliners with machines or timber I attach straps on the chassis, so it is possible to check tension, and nip them up without opening the sides up. Very helpful when TIR cords and seals are involved too.

I’m not qualified to comment on this video but there might be someone here who can:

I learned from one commenter that the range-change is a synchromesh and thus needs the clutch to work properly.

I drove quite a few 13 speed Fullers which were 8 over 4 and the range change only operated in neutral which is pretty standard. The splitter which only worked in top box didn’t need the clutch just ease off the accelerator and back on again. Totally irrelevant to this 18 speed video but i’m guessing the same basics with an extra range for the 18 speed?

The 18 is in reality a 13 that has been plumbed so that both ranges can be split.
Technically, because of the syncroniser, the clutch should be used.
I have it on authority of a fellow who rebuilds them for a living, that the rest of the box will be totally knackered, well before the syncro gives up. The syncro is a cheap part that is replaced as a matter of course, whenever any work is done to the box. Ergo, there is no reason for the clutch to be used in practice.

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Totally harmless, green tree snake :snake:. Beautiful colour.