Road conditions deteriorated west of Bourketown – deeper corrugations and bulldust holes hiding rocks.

We were happily bouncing along when I heard a loud bang and saw the caravan leap all over the track. I pulled over to the side to find a brand new 10ply tyre had blown.

When I put the jack under the van I could see the 3 lower spring leaves had separated from the rest and shifted around, tearing the inside wall right out of the tyre. Closer inspection showed 2 spring washers had been left off the outside u-bolt.

The springs were reset and bearings repacked by a suspension specialist just before we left. What a shame – 20 cents worth of missing spring washers just cost us a $500 wheel and tyre. It also meant we could not risk the run up to Roper Bar with just one spare. I had no nice words to say about the guy that did our suspension work!