81 Unsolicited Touring Tips You Didn’t Ask For

1. Don't plan every minute of every day. Some of the best parts of a trip happen when the plan falls apart.
2. The bakery in a town will tell you more about it than the visitor information centre ever will.
3. Make a mental note of the last location your phone had reception. You might need to find that location again.
4. If you're towing, stop regularly and physically put a hand on your wheel hubs, tyres and hitch.
5. Keep a dedicated set of camp clothes. Climbing into clean clothes after a dusty day feels like cheating.
6. Every vehicle has a comfortable cruising speed. Find yours and stop trying to keep up with someone else's.
7. Label your electrical switches, relays and wiring. Future-you will appreciate it more than you know.
8. Install a battery isolator. It could absolutely save your bacon one day.
9. Trust your gut.
10. Don't trust a weather forecast but don’t dismiss one either.
11. A head torch is more useful than a handheld torch 99% of the time.
12. Store the gear you use every day where you can reach it without unpacking half the vehicle.
13. Have your tools, fridge and other gear on the passenger side of the vehicle so you don’t have your back to traffic on pit stops.
14. Prep food and clean up properly. No one wants gastro, especially there’s no toilets in sight.
15. Carry spare charging cables for everything. The cable is usually the weak link.
16. If you're setting up camp after dark, you've probably driven too long.
17. Don’t rush recoveries. Have a cup of tea and come back if you need to.
18. Write the dimensions of your vehicle and whatever you’re towing and stick it to the top right corner of your windscreen. You’ll be amazed how often you quickly refer to it as you steer your way around the country and under low bridges.
19. Do your daily vehicle checks.
20. If there’s gear you’re not entirely sure on how to operate, download the user manuals in PDF form to your phone. That way they’re available offline, in the palm of your hand and aren’t taking up space in the rig.
21. Shade is a resource. Treat it like one.
22. Don't spend all your time looking through a camera lens. Some things are worth seeing without trying to capture them.
23. A clean windscreen makes a bigger difference to night driving than most people realise.
24. Always know where your first aid kit is. Not where it should be. Where it actually is.
25. If a road looks boring on a map, don't write it off. Some of Australia's best country is hidden between the famous places.
26. Touring is easier when everyone in the vehicle knows what's happening and where you're heading.
27. Before leaving camp, do one final walk-around. It saves leaving chairs, rubbish and expensive gear behind.
28. Get the strongest bin bags you possibly can.
29. Dingoes don’t want to be your friend.
30. Respect all people and places.
31. Carry some cash.
32. Be inquisitive.
33. Fill up your water tanks whenever you can, not when you need to.
34. Download offline maps from at least two different apps.
35. Know the basics: winching, tyre changes, vehicle checks etc.
36. Keep a notepad and pen in the vehicle. You'll be surprised how often you want to write down a campsite, phone number or recommendation.
37. If you're travelling with others, agree on a UHF channel before anyone leaves the driveway.
38. Fit a bullbar.
39. Say yes to things.
40. People have VERY different opinions on what makes a road rough or not worth it. Don’t skip a section just because the bloke at the servo said it sucks.
41. Support local businesses when you can. Those small towns are part of what makes touring Australia special.
42. While you’re on a trip keep note of what you did and didn’t need, it’ll streamline your packing next time.
43. Look after your gear.
44. Get a container and fill it with over the counter medications like: pain relief, diarrhea relief, nausea tablets, oral rehydration sachets, antihistamines and anything else you decide personally applicable.
45. In soft sand or mud when using recovery boards, mark their locations with a thing or a stick. You’d be amazed how quickly they disappear and how long it can take to find them.
46. Before entering your vehicle after a pitstop walk the entire perimeter around your vehicle every and give it visual once over. Especially if you’re towing.
47. Know your vehicles weak points and prepare for their failure by carrying spares.
48. Keep your fuel receipts. They're a surprisingly good trip diary.
49. Don’t walk past rubbish in the bush, pick it up.
50. Tell people where you’re going.
51. Don't judge a town by its size.
52. Take the detour whenever time allows.
53. Stay up to date with the happenings back home and schedule routine video or voice calls, the support network is important.
54. Never reverse further than you have to or faster than you’d like to crash into something.
55. If you're unsure whether to stop and have a look, stop and have a look.
56. Remember why you left in the first place. The kilometres, fuel stops and logistics are just the price of admission.
57. If you wear glasses, carry a spare set.
58. Some of the best campsites in Australia don't have a name.
59. Learn to navigate (even basically) using the sun and the stars.
60. I’ve never regretted carrying too much fuel. I’ve regretted the times I didn’t.
61. If everybody else's camp looks better than yours, stop looking at everybody else's camp.
62. Monopoly Deal is the ultimate touring card game.
63. Australia gets bigger the slower you travel.
64. The goal isn’t to conquer a track, or Australia for that matter. The goal is to experience it properly.
65. Forget about making noise. Keep your 4X4 in its torque band. Experienced drivers know just how much capability comes from good footwork.
66. Be mechanically sympathetic.
67. Your common-rail diesel doesn't want to sit at camp idling for ten minutes every morning. Glow it, start it, give the oil 30 seconds to circulate and then drive gently until everything reaches operating temperature.
68. Flies disappear at sunset.
69. The way back home is still part of the trip.
70. Carry a tarp. Seriously. Even if you can’t imagine ever needing one, pack it.
71. Carry spare air and fuel filters.
72. If you’re travelling with a pet, check the temperature of the ground before you put them on it. Outback surface temps can routinely reach well above 60 degrees celsius.
73. Don’t park under trees if you can avoid it. Especially gum trees.
74. Speaking of trees… Paperbark trees only grow near significant water. Remember that.
75. Walk water crossings before driving them.
76. If your tyres are chipping badly, you’re probably running too much pressure.
77. Identify your recovery options before you drive the difficult obstacle.
78. On tight tracks with blind corners give the horn a quick blip, the more time everyone has to slow down and move, the better.
79. On the tracks whichever rig is bigger has the right of way.
80. Carry a tyre valve tool.
81. After you fill a jerry can with fuel add a fuel stabiliser to it. The fuel can then be stored for a lot longer, more safely.

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