GoRV - Digital Magazine Issue #89 | Page 41

RV FEATURE
The other day , my wife and I were driving along Milleria Road in Melbourne ’ s inner west when we pulled up alongside a dual-cab ute . I can ’ t recall the make and model but it looked relatively new , except it didn ’ t look right . When we stopped alongside it , we both looked and immediately recognised the issue . It had a bent chassis .
The first time I ’ d heard about this issue was when friends of ours were travelling in the Simpson Desert in their Mazda ute , towing a reasonably heavy camper trailer . Unfortunately , the weather had not been kind to them . Heavy rain across the area had turned the tracks into slop and mud . They had to push their vehicles pretty hard to get through . As it turned out , they pushed their Mazda a bit too hard and pulled up to find the chassis had bent .
Since then , we have noticed a steady stream of reports describing the very same thing , with a few photos going viral . Theories of the cause abounded and many arguments ensued . Today , the problem continues to manifest . In the last six years of travelling full time , we have seen at least six bent dual-cab utes driving on Australia ’ s roads .
It ’ s time we looked at this issue again .
Another image of a bent dual cab ute that went viral on social media .
I saw this setup in Wilson ’ s Prom , Vic , a few years ago . I wonder if his Hilux is still straight .
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