Researching an expedition to Australia

[Vince]

Hi,

I live in Wales, the old one, on the west side of England. My wife and I have done a few international expeditions in Europe and USA in the last ten years but now I'm seriously thinking about an expedition in Australia before my Jeep gets too old for the task.

My wife has rellies in Townsville, Queensland and we have been thinking about flying over for a visit for a while. I would really like to ship my RHD XJ over first so it's waiting for us when we arrive. Hopefully we could join a local club's expedition (or two) somewhere as well as doing some touring ourselves.

I don't know what year we would do this trip. It takes a lot of planning and longer to get the cash together but I would probably try and find some other Brit to join us to lower the per vehicle freight costs. Sometimes local laws and insurance screws up the best international expedition plans and it just doesn't happen. Anyway, I'm in the feasibility phase at the moment and in need of lots of local advice.

My first question:

Is Australia still bound to The 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic or the 1968 Convention (amended in 2011)? The reason I ask is because my heavily modified XJ is still road legal in the UK, but probably not so in Australia. The treaty doesn't care about mods, the vehicle just has to be road legal in the country of registration to permit travel in the foreign countries.

I did have a few problems with law enforcement in some states in the USA that weren't aware of the treaty. In Philadelphia, the Jeep almost got impounded for multiple violations of local vehicle codes. Having a copy of the treaty with me and a statement from my US insurance company that the vehicle was covered in all states helped keep me on my way to Moab.

My Cherokee is a RHD 2001 60th Anniversary with 8" lift, rear coils and 35" tyres.

Some pics still on NAXJA...
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=970709
Silver XJ with 'GB' sticker 'N4 XJA' registration.

[Tyvokka]

Not too sure about the treaty, but I'd say you're too tall for our nanny states/colonies

In New Wales,
2" without engineering approval
6" total lift with.

The laws here are confusing enough for locals..

[Vince]

I guess 'engineering approval' is like our Basic Individual Vehicle Assessment (BIVA). Thankfully my Jeep is still 1 point below the threshold for having a BIVA test.

When I was in Utah and Colorado I had detachable truck mud flaps on the rear to keep the local police happy. I could put shorter springs in but probably would have to do shocks bump stops and limit straps too.

So if an Australian Jeep looks like it's over 6" lift what's likely to happen? Pulled over by Police and ticketed or just trouble at annual inspection or after a traffic accident?

Does the 6" lift include the ride height gain from increased tyre size?
My Jeep stands 12" taller than stock height.
((35"-27")/2)+8"=12"

Ever seen any foreign registered vehicles on your roads before? Foreign vehicle insurance is the next headache but I suspect the 'Carnet de Passage' for Australia will probably be the project killer.

[Vince]

Is an XJ a car or a light truck in Australia?
It's a car in the UK and a light truck in the USA.

Australia demands an additional £8,000 supplemental bond for temporary import of cars but not for other vehicle types.
http://www.rac.co.uk/pdfs/driving-ab...et-prices.aspx

[Tyvokka]

It really is quite confusing and you have to contact each state's transport authority to ensure you're fully covered.

Just googled " australian modified vehicle regulation " and there is a whole bunch of stuff to read up on.

In New Wales ( South),

150mm ~ 6" is TOTAL lift, ( Body+Tyres+Lift), you're wayyyyyy over and cannot get engineered as it's beyond the regs.

With your 35s, you'd have to bring the lift down to 2". Also the top of your headlights must not be more than 1200mm and top of the number plate not more than 1300mm. Wheel track increase not more than 50mm etc....

Engineering test will look at your overall build, welding, etc. Look at VSB 14 checklist for example.

You will require a double lane change test (moose test), which in turn requires the hire of a runway, race track etc where the test can be carried out.

Brake test can be done electronically. This has reduced testing cost by a huge margin.

This is for locals, not sure what the regs are for international visitors.

In short, it is a humongous pain in the 4rse.....

[Tyvokka]

Originally Posted by Vince

Is an XJ a car or a light truck in Australia?
It's a car in the UK and a light truck in the USA.

Australia demands an additional £8,000 supplemental bond for temporary import of cars but not for other vehicle types.
http://www.rac.co.uk/pdfs/driving-ab...et-prices.aspx

Neither.

It is a LIGHT VEHICLE here mate.

Some docs for your perusal

http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roa.../vsb_ncop.aspx

Read them all but especially these:
NCOP11 Section LS Suspension and Steering V2 01Jan2011 PDF: 1319 KB
NCOP12 Section LT Test Procedures V2 01Jan2011 PDF: 991 KB ReadSpeaker

The requirements for bull bars and number plates is somewhere else...nicely hidden away..

However, once you comply with one state, you're good to travel the country.

[WHHEMI]

How long would you be here for, it would work out a lot cheaper to buy something here and sell when your finished.