- 7 months ago
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00:01Let's get this baby on the road.
00:05In Australia's vast outback.
00:07On the dirt, things can go wrong.
00:10Our toughest truckers face another season in the brutal wilderness.
00:15It could be a walk in the park, or it could be a bloody nightmare.
00:19Welcome to hell, ladies and gentlemen.
00:24Out here, a split second can be the difference between life and death.
00:30Nearly eat a car then, Paul, because some knucklehead wants to be on the wrong side of the road.
00:35We're getting a lot of wah-wah, arrogant, ignorant mongrels.
00:40This year, a new generation will take up the challenge.
00:45My dad's always taught us pretty much everything we know.
00:50You got magic fingers, boy.
00:53But the value of experience.
00:55It's expensive.
00:57Stuff breaks.
00:58Never gets old.
01:01Feel the diesel on me eyelids.
01:03We just deal with it and keep going along with business.
01:06Oh!
01:07That's hot!
01:08Holy shit!
01:10You sure you want to be a truck driver, mate?
01:11I won't.
01:12I won't.
01:18This time on Outback Truckers.
01:21Ow!
01:22Shit!
01:23Oh, my broken fingers.
01:24Bugger!
01:26This is our turn off.
01:27This is our turn off.
01:28Then the track goes to shit.
01:30We're in four-wheel drive country.
01:32I don't want to be breaking my trailer and I've got a huge amount of weight on it.
01:36Are you driving trucks how many years?
01:38And you've got to go and do a driving test.
01:40Yeah, now I've got to do a driving test.
01:41We'll just head down and we'll turn right.
01:46Yeah.
01:47It's a big thing for me to get my truck license back.
01:49We've basically used all the money we've got to survive.
01:52If he doesn't get his license, I'll be devastated.
01:56And he will be devastated.
02:01We've got debts coming out of our ears.
02:03You know, you just keep paying, paying, paying.
02:06We're going to take a road train into the Tanamore Desert.
02:11We've got problems.
02:12Engine light red.
02:14Let's go. You ready?
02:15He's right there.
02:16Dude, that's not even on.
02:17We're losing so much water.
02:22Well, I've got to go, kids.
02:26Bye-bye, brother.
02:27Bye-bye, granddad.
02:28See you later.
02:29See you, love.
02:30Thanks, love.
02:31Bye, dada.
02:32Hey? Oh, you're going to miss granddad now, are you?
02:34Mm-hmm.
02:35In case.
02:38Bye, granddad.
02:39Bye, dad.
02:40See ya.
02:47There you go, Belle.
02:48We're on the road, kids.
02:53Life's good, but it's also sad.
02:58It's always sad to leave the family.
03:00I was lucky my granddaughter got up for a brief visit.
03:04I think at one stage there, Amelia, my granddaughter,
03:06she was thinking of coming on this trip with me.
03:09It would have been lovely if she could have come, but she didn't.
03:14Legendary Outback trucker Steve Graham takes on Australia's toughest trucking challenges.
03:21He's even willing to drive long distances with his grandchildren.
03:25These kids better hurry up.
03:26They want to come on trips to the granddad.
03:28Retirement, you know, the R word is looming on my radar.
03:31I'm no spring chicken now.
03:33I'll be 73 this year.
03:34I've been in this business for over 50 years, so if the kids want to learn a bit off me,
03:39they better start thinking about getting in the truck and learning it.
03:44And this is where my trip actually starts from here.
03:48I've got to take this excavator up to the mine.
03:53Two years ago, Steve took part in a world record-breaking event.
03:58All right.
03:59Try it, mate.
04:00I think I've got everything engaged.
04:01We'll give it a go, mate.
04:03Hauling a 21-tonne amethyst crystal cluster out of an outback mine
04:08for crystal hunter Patrick Gunderson.
04:11I've actually found a buyer for my amethyst cluster,
04:14and it's going to be travelling by sea over to the United States.
04:18In the meantime, I have gone and spent a lot of money on new gear.
04:22Patrick has invested $75,000 on an excavator.
04:26I really need this gear for this season's prospecting adventures.
04:31This bloke can't do what he wants to do in his mine without this excavator.
04:35That's my job to deliver it.
04:40The last bit of the track into the mine,
04:44last time I went in there,
04:47my memory of it is really, really rough.
04:50From Perth, Steve will head north,
04:52following Western Australia's rugged coastline
04:55for over 1,000 kilometres,
04:58before hitting a rough four-wheel-drive dirt track
05:01into the unforgiving deserts of the Pilbara.
05:04A punishing test for 72-year-old Steve
05:07and his 30-year-old Kenworth.
05:10I put a new motor in this truck last year.
05:13It was all up $172,000.
05:16After pouring almost $200,000 into his ageing truck,
05:22Steve needs to stay on schedule.
05:25Delays cost him family time and money.
05:28The business is tight enough as it is.
05:31It's cutthroat that's tight.
05:32The margins are getting smaller every year.
05:34Well, what's happening here?
05:42He's turning off.
05:44See if I can find out what's happening.
05:47Can I keep going north?
05:48And now we have a road closure.
05:51And there's been an accident.
05:53Roger.
05:54So, if I go left here,
05:55how do I get back onto this road past Kadavy?
05:57Figure out some other way to get around,
05:59but you just can't go down the same highway.
06:02Well, I've been wait, mate.
06:03I'll look at the map itself.
06:12We're just doing the final checks before we head off.
06:16God, it's warm, man.
06:17I know.
06:18You know, every day now,
06:19it's going to be hitting 40, 45, 46.
06:22This is the wrong time of the year to be out here.
06:25We've had a request to take these out to a remote community.
06:29Mike Elliott and his 17-year-old son, Vinnie,
06:33are preparing to journey
06:34to one of the most isolated towns in Australia
06:38with a vital load.
06:40A couple of brand-new fire suppression trailers over here.
06:43Water pressure in any of these communities over here
06:45is not really enough to put a fire out.
06:49The life-saving portable water tanks
06:50have a pump attached
06:52to fight fires in even the most remote locations.
06:56These will be an absolute godsend down in the communities.
06:59And the JLG boom lift.
07:01They will use this for changing lights on the street poles
07:04and that sort of thing.
07:06All good?
07:07Yeah.
07:08All right.
07:15We're going to take a road train into the Tanamai Desert.
07:18We're going to deliver this stock that we've got on the back.
07:20From Derby, they'll follow the highway for 530 kilometres
07:27before taking on the notoriously rough and brutally rutted Tanamai Road
07:32for over 200 kilometres.
07:34Finally unloading at their destination,
07:37the tiny community of Balgo.
07:38The shitty thing about the Tanamai is it is completely rock.
07:42There's quite a bit of corrugations in that road.
07:45I don't want to damage any of the trailers I'm renting.
07:48I don't want to damage anyone's equipment that I'm transporting.
07:51To get them safely into the unforgiving depths of the outback,
07:55they're relying on their 2015 Freightliner Coronado,
07:58nicknamed Dirty Girl.
08:03Dirty Girl's been the best investment ever, I'll tell you what.
08:07This thing, it doesn't matter if she's got 140 tonnes on her,
08:11she hauls, she pulls like the freight train.
08:14The recent purchase of the truck cost Mike $100,000,
08:18a gamble he believes will help build their business.
08:22We're wreckers by heart, really, that's what we do.
08:24We buy cars for wrecking.
08:25Don't really do much transport.
08:28I do this as a bit of a favour.
08:30What I'm looking to do here
08:32is drop some gear off to some Indigenous communities
08:35and in return they give me the opportunity to walk their land
08:38and buy their vehicles.
08:40We buy like 100, 120 cars,
08:43Vinnie and I will chop them all up,
08:45engine gearbox, sniff out.
08:47But recycling the car wrecks for parts to sell overseas
08:51costs Mike money up front.
08:53We've got debts coming out our ears, you know,
08:54you just keep paying, paying, paying.
08:57$6,900 worth of registration just to keep the truck going.
09:02One set of tyres, $4,000.
09:04You know, in two weeks I'm going to spend $40,000,
09:07cutting cars in 40, 45 degree temperatures,
09:10100% humidity, fighting the snakes,
09:13and hope I'm going to make $80,000.
09:14I'm going to make $80,000.
09:15Well, who knows?
09:17We've been renting trailers all year.
09:19Best case scenario is we go out there and chop 100,
09:22120 cars and they're good cars.
09:24You know, we could make the profit that goes home and buys a trailer
09:27instead of renting trailers.
09:28My whole business, it's like a professional gamble.
09:32You can get there and you can have 100 shit cars, you know,
09:35that are worth nothing.
09:39Coming up to the last five kilometres of bitumen right now,
09:42we know the corrugations out here are absolutely shocking.
09:44So we dropped all the tyre pressures to around 60 psi.
09:49Normally we'd run around 100 psi.
09:57This is now the Tannemite.
10:01We're doing about 40km an hour, so it's about as good as it gets.
10:04This is one of the good sections.
10:05Now we're going through a bit of a rough section.
10:15We're sort of sitting on around 10km an hour now.
10:19Uh-oh.
10:21We've got problems.
10:24Engine light red.
10:26Come on, let's pop it.
10:32Look here, water coming out.
10:36Got a water leak in the engine.
10:39Can't keep pushing it like this.
10:41It'll just blow up a $60,000 engine.
10:48How are you feeling?
10:49Tired.
10:51How are you feeling about today, though?
10:54Tired.
10:56You've been driving trucks how many years?
10:58I don't know.
10:59And you've got to go and do a drone test.
11:01Yeah, now I've got to do a drone test.
11:03Long-haul trucking veteran Sludge is about to face one of the toughest challenges of his career.
11:09See you, team.
11:10Good luck.
11:11See you, boys.
11:12Bye.
11:13Today I've got a guy coming out.
11:14We're going to go for a drive and sit for tests.
11:16So hopefully I can get my truck license back again.
11:20I've had 19 months now where I haven't worked.
11:27I had an accident.
11:28Just going in town one night to get a pizza.
11:30And woke up three weeks later.
11:33The head injury that I took, I had three bleeds on the brain.
11:37We thought he was going to die.
11:40Sludge's brain injuries from the horrific accident left him with severe fatigue and vertigo.
11:47And unable to work.
11:49Financially it took a real toll.
11:50We've had to pay all our bills and insurance and regos.
11:55We've sold his motorbikes and we've just been able to sort of get through.
12:00It's been hard going from driving your whole life to having to learn to walk again.
12:07Prior to the accident he was a very full on, high speeds, full of life.
12:19Sludge made his living hauling massive loads on extreme roads with his beloved partner, the Phantom.
12:27A 2007 Peterbilt prime mover.
12:31I love the truck.
12:33Just one of those things I've always wanted a Peterbilt.
12:37He was once this truck driver that drove full time and was on the road and then all of a sudden he's home 24-7.
12:48And he was struggling and to see him like that is really hard to comprehend seeing someone that you love.
12:56One in pain and two, not the same person that you knew.
13:01Right on.
13:02How are you mate?
13:05Good mate, how are you?
13:06Good, good, nice to see you.
13:07Good to see you again.
13:08Yeah.
13:09Absolutely.
13:10Bit nervous.
13:11Bit nervous, okay.
13:12Yeah.
13:13Try not to be nervous.
13:14No.
13:15You know, I'm looking for a couple of people's medical conditions and really seeing if they impact on him returning to drive with a commercial heavy vehicle licence.
13:23So, if I can just get you to couple up the trailer and just do all your pre-checks.
13:29I haven't been out on the road in the truck since the accident, so it'll be a big thing.
13:39That's the first bit.
13:42Hook her all up.
13:44Check it over.
13:45We'll have a look at like the coupling side of things.
13:48All good.
13:49Yep.
13:51Then we'll also go for an on-road assessment as well, where we'll have a look at just making sure that he's driving safe and legal behind the vehicle.
13:58So, I will give you directions.
14:00We'll just head down and out of your property and we'll turn right from there.
14:04Yep.
14:05Yeah.
14:06It's a big thing for me to get my truck licence back because we've basically used all the money we've got to survive.
14:29And we're going to follow this all the way down to Hall Road.
14:32Yep.
14:33Turn right.
14:34Turn right onto Hall, yeah.
14:39It's probably, you know, years of bad habits and you do your licence when you're young and you never think about it again.
14:46I suppose that's why I haven't sort of slept that well because I'm thinking, shit, I've got to pass this thing.
14:52And we'll come down to the end of this road and we'll turn right for me.
14:56The first time I sat for my licence, I was 18.
15:01I'm probably more nervous now than I was then.
15:07So, now we pretty much follow this back to your road, mate.
15:10OK.
15:11And then, yeah, pretty much done.
15:15He is back.
15:16I was a bit worried because he took a long time.
15:18I didn't think it would take that long and I sort of thought, oh, hope nothing's happened.
15:27Where do we go from here?
15:29I'll write my report.
15:30That'll have all the results from today.
15:32That report will then be sent to Department of Transport and then Department of Transport will make the final outcome from there.
15:38I know I'm stupid, like, stupid being teary, but it's just been such a shit time.
15:47Thank you for coming.
15:48All the best, mate.
15:49Yeah.
15:50All the best.
15:51If he doesn't get his licence, I'll be devastated.
15:55Absolutely devastated.
15:56And he will be devastated.
16:03Well, what's happening here?
16:04Can I keep going to north?
16:05No, we have a road closure.
16:06Roger.
16:07So, if I go left here, how do I get back onto this road past Catterby?
16:11You can go outside the other way to get around, but you just can't go down the road highway.
16:18OK?
16:19Well, I'm a f***ing wait, mate.
16:21All I've got to match is self.
16:23Let's go.
16:28Veteran trucker Steve Graham is facing frustrating, costly delays on his mission to supply a remote crystal mine with a 22-tonne excavator.
16:39The road's closed because of an accident, I understand that, but when I ask for direction as to how to get back onto the brand highway,
16:46apart from the fact that you're getting a lot of wah-wah, arrogant, ignorant mongrels going over the top of our conversation,
16:53I wasn't able to get from her how we get back on the brand highway.
16:59This is definitely going to put a day on the trip.
17:02Steve was hoping to be 500 kilometres further up the highway, but a major accident has forced him to find another route.
17:11I'm ducking into this farm.
17:13These people are kind enough to let me come in here and turn around.
17:20Thanks, mate.
17:21There's an alternative way I can go to get back onto the brand highway.
17:32I'm losing a day here.
17:33I've lost a day with these issues.
17:36I might have lost a day.
17:37What's a day?
17:38These people have lost their lives.
17:40It's terrible.
17:43When you hear about fatalities on the road, you can't help but think about your own mortality.
17:52When you get on these little roads, it all gets a bit squeezy.
18:00It's a narrow road.
18:01We've got big loads.
18:02It increases the danger level.
18:03I'll be in there with no inflow as a digger.
18:17Yeah, got you, mate.
18:18Oh, I see it.
18:19Bloody toolbox, eh?
18:21Yeah, mate.
18:22Right.
18:23Wait there, Bill.
18:26I'll have to rope that toolbox shut.
18:28For now, I'll do a temporary on it.
18:32This is a cheat's way to cut wire.
18:37Done.
18:39Ow!
18:40Shit!
18:41Oh, my broken fingers.
18:42Bugger it!
18:43Oh!
18:48Broke these fingers a few months ago and haven't given nothing but shit since.
18:55Oh!
18:57That hurt.
18:58This particular component that's leaking, we're going to take it off and then we're going to try and do a metal repair on the outside of it to try and hold the water inside it for long enough for us to finish our job.
19:15In the brutal Tanamai Desert, more than 200 kilometres from the highway, Mike and son Vinnie have been forced to pull over because of a water leak in their overheating engine.
19:28Probably the worst spot to break down and the dust and no shade.
19:33It's probably only 39, 40 degrees today.
19:37Feels like 50.
19:39Sweat.
19:41Running from my brow to my gooch.
19:44Oh!
19:48Water's coming out like a lot.
19:51The whole radiator's about to lose all of its juice.
19:54We do not have water to replace it with.
19:56What can we do? What can we do? What can we do?
19:57What can we do?
19:59Okay, so we're going to put like a rubber hose.
20:04And what that's going to do is it's going to block the water from coming out.
20:09So it has got a hose clamp which will just tie it to the metal hose.
20:13This little genius has worked out how we're going to keep the water in there while we repair the broken component.
20:18I need to make two of these. Just need to get another hose clamp, another hose, couple of zip ties.
20:26There's no hose clamps in here.
20:27Hey, hey, why don't we try a rubber hose clamp off that wreck over there?
20:34I suppose, yeah.
20:36Yeah, I don't see no usable hose clamps in here.
20:39The metal ones don't burn.
20:41Nothing on the AC compressor.
20:45What about that?
20:47What about that?
20:49That is a clamp. Here's another one.
20:51You want to try or what?
20:53I've got three of them.
20:55I feel as if that could work.
20:57Okay, let's go with that then.
20:58Let's try with these.
20:59Let's go, let's go, let's go, Vinny.
21:02Let's go, you ready?
21:03Yeah, first one's right there.
21:04I'm getting the second one right now.
21:06Okay.
21:07This is hot.
21:10Okay, let's go, let's go, let's go.
21:12There you go.
21:14Ow!
21:15Hot, yo.
21:16Hot, shit.
21:18Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it.
21:19Dude, that's not even on.
21:21That's not even on.
21:22Quickly, quickly, quickly.
21:23Ah, that's hot.
21:24Yeah, I know.
21:25Where'd the hose clamp, this one?
21:27It disappeared.
21:28Somewhere here, quickly.
21:29No, it didn't.
21:30I gave it to you with it on.
21:31No, no, it dropped.
21:33Dude, we're losing so much water.
21:40Patrick.
21:41A bit of bad news.
21:42I've lost half a day here.
21:44We've been stuck.
21:45There's a fatality.
21:47It's just terribly unfortunate.
21:49Yep, right on, mate.
21:50No worries.
21:51If there's any more hold-ups, I'll let you know.
21:52See ya.
21:54It's the second day of Steve's three-day mission.
21:58Delivering an urgently required excavator to a crystal mine.
22:02And he's already behind schedule.
22:05We've been working on from start to getting there on the morning of the third day.
22:10Well, that's not gonna happen now.
22:17The setback means Steve will have to delay starting his next job.
22:21He's losing future revenue, but also irreplaceable time.
22:26I always swore I'd spend the time with my grandkids that I didn't spend with my own children.
22:31And that time's getting robbed from me.
22:32And when you're looking at how long you're gonna be here when you're my age, extinction is very close.
22:41So, I need to get on with catching up with it.
22:42It's time to get going.
22:43It's time to get going.
22:45Oh, there's sharp rocks out there. I hate them.
22:46I don't want any more drama.
22:47I don't want any more drama.
22:48I don't want to have to buy tyres and things on there.
22:49I don't want any more drama.
22:50I don't want to have to buy tyres and things on there.
22:51It's time to get going.
22:52It's time to get going.
22:53Oh, there's sharp rocks out there. I hate them.
22:54I don't want any more drama. I don't want to have to buy tyres and things unnecessarily.
23:00Oh, there's sharp rocks out there. I hate them.
23:13I don't want any more drama. I don't want to have to buy tyres and things unnecessarily on there.
23:24Well, I reckon I'm getting close.
23:27And this is our turn off.
23:33Initially, the road's good, but my memory is that then the track goes to shit.
23:43This is the bit I was worried about.
23:46Without crops like this, I don't want to be breaking my trailer, and I've got a huge amount of weight on it.
23:52Bugger!
23:53I'm going straight into a water hole.
23:56This is a depression. Right in the middle of all these hills, there's been rain around, and you'll get little pockets in between the rocks that are like little soup bowls.
24:08It's just red dirt sitting basically on top of a bowl of water, which could be metres across.
24:14It feels like she's cracking.
24:20Oh, she just started to go down there.
24:26Come on.
24:27Come on.
24:28Come on.
24:29If I get my licence today, I've got a job ready to go.
24:34I really need to get it today, because I need to do this job. I promised him I'd do it.
24:38Desperate to start clawing back some money after incurring huge debts from a debilitating injury, Sludge is sweating on the result of his driving test.
24:48Hello?
24:49Guess what?
24:50What?
24:51It's here.
24:52It's from the Department of Transport.
24:54You've got your licence back.
24:56That means you can go to work.
24:58You can go to work and earn some money.
25:00I know, right?
25:01I know.
25:02Congratulations.
25:05On the road again.
25:07Here we go for the first time.
25:09So, onward and at it.
25:20First trip back on the highway again.
25:22One of my friends has got me the job.
25:24It's a train platform for Meriden Railway Station.
25:27The train station in the small farming town of Meriden doesn't have a raised boarding platform on both sides of the tracks.
25:36Sludge's friend and client, Ty Bartell, has been contracted to build one.
25:41Currently, they're just using the steps, just on rollers.
25:45So, we're placing this steel structure, bolting it down, and then obviously pour concrete with hand railing on top.
25:52Just strap it with the carrot strap.
25:54Sludge will be transporting it.
25:56We rely on him because we know how good he is, but there's always something that may go wrong.
26:01They dropped a bombshell on me yesterday and said it's...
26:05They've only got a 72-hour window, and we've got to be up there at 7 o'clock tomorrow morning.
26:11We had a rail shutdown this week, so we've got 72 hours to actually have the steel structure installed.
26:17Shutting the only rail line between Perth and the eastern states will cause expensive disruptions to the Trans-Australia passenger and freight services.
26:26A rail shutdown is actually booked a year in advance.
26:30You have to have everything in store on that slot.
26:33A little bit more pressure than I wanted for a first job back.
26:37We're here to pick up the first load of the day.
26:42Yippee!
26:45Rightio.
26:46Let's load this thing.
26:48Yeah, let's go for it.
26:49We got back probably about 10, 11 years.
26:52We worked together back in the day.
26:54Basically, we've just had that relationship where I've always used him because I know how passionate it is for this trucking.
26:59Just going.
27:00All right.
27:01Thanks, mate.
27:02See you after.
27:03I'm certainly tired after loading all this stuff.
27:16It's taken the edge off me.
27:18I'm hoping I've got the stamina, but today's the trial.
27:22I'd like to be going to Meriden tonight, but Northern's as far as we're going to get, I reckon.
27:27From the factory in Henderson, Sludge will push to get to Northern before nightfall and sleep there overnight.
27:34He'll then need to make an early start the following morning to make the final 163 kilometres and arrive at Meriden at 7.30am.
27:47Transport's not an easy game.
27:49My life has been trucks, you know, and I love trucks.
27:54But I've missed out on all our kids growing up.
27:57I'm not ready to give up totally, but I need to start thinking of my family probably more than anything and having a life with them too.
28:07Well, this is Northern.
28:08We're, uh, just getting into town now.
28:09Find somewhere to park for the North, I suppose.
28:10Look at that.
28:11Right there.
28:12How good would that be?
28:14I reckon that would be a bloody spot on parking bay.
28:15I'm gonna leave.
28:16Voila.
28:17This is it.
28:18Thank God for that.
28:19We'll park up for the night and get into it in the morning, I suppose.
28:23Oh, I haven't been in here for a long, long time.
28:24Oh, I haven't been in here for a long, long time.
28:25Look at that.
28:26Look at that.
28:27It's right there.
28:28How good would that be?
28:29I reckon that would be a bloody spot on parking bay.
28:32I'm gonna leave.
28:33Voila.
28:34This is it.
28:35Thank God for that.
28:36We'll park up for the night and get into it in the morning, I suppose.
28:49Oh, I haven't been in here for a long, long time.
28:54I've probably slept in here about 320 nights a year.
28:59Got everything.
29:00Got the tally, microwave.
29:02Got a fridge down there on the floor.
29:04Another fridge here.
29:06Got everything I want.
29:07Ah, like that.
29:09Here we go.
29:10And it's a super king single.
29:17Oh, my God.
29:19Listen to that train.
29:21Oh, I think I picked a shit place to sleep tonight.
29:34Dude, we're losing so much water where the hose clamp dropped.
29:39Start looking, start looking, start looking.
29:42Use the other hose clamp then.
29:43Get the other one.
29:44Yeah, there you go.
29:45Righto.
29:47Dude, these are intensely hot.
29:51In crippling desert heat, a faulty component has Mike and Vinny battling to stop their trucks near boiling radiator water from disappearing into the red sand.
30:04Oh, that's hot.
30:07Holy shit.
30:08Dude, that's so hot.
30:10Righto, let's get two clamps on.
30:13If this doesn't work, could really put a full stop in the trip.
30:17You know, the problems of being stuck somewhere means that no one's making money.
30:21And, ah, to be able to replace half that water will be all of our drinking water.
30:25And, ah, out here with no drinking water, ah, you do not live.
30:29Wait a second.
30:30Nineteen.
30:31Nineteen to tighten them up.
30:32Are they working?
30:33The pipes?
30:34They're working.
30:35We've got the, ah, hoses blocked off.
30:38He's just unbolting it now.
30:40I don't know.
30:41She's out.
30:42Here we go.
30:43We've got a water leak in here somewhere.
30:45It looks like a split in the joint here.
30:47And one, there's a definite crack here.
30:49To fix it, we're going to use a two-part epoxy metal putty.
30:53And we mix two, two components together that's set hard like, like welding.
30:58It's only a temporary fix, but it might be just enough to get us out of strife today.
31:03Righto, mix the putty.
31:07Let's go.
31:12It's tight. It's on there, man.
31:13And your meneers.
31:14Your meneering, yo.
31:16I'm just going to turn the fingers.
31:24Looks good.
31:27It's not leaking anymore, so a repair like this can either take you all the way to Perth,
31:30or can make it like 200 metres up the road.
31:33So we're about to find out.
31:35It feels like she's cracking it in a few spores.
31:45She just started to go down there on that side.
31:48There'll be water lying just under the ground here.
31:50Steve's fighting to get his 42-ton fully loaded rig through an isolated and boggy outback track.
31:59We're in four-wheel drive country.
32:01It's hard on my truck and my trailer and my gear.
32:08Now it looks worse.
32:09It's bloody sharp and it rocks there.
32:12You know, this is no superhighway.
32:15This is more the goat track end of things.
32:18Actually, I don't see any goats. They don't like it.
32:20This is more just down at that track end of things.
32:24Getting awfully close.
32:27There it is there.
32:32Hey, Steve.
32:33Hey, mate. How are you, Patrick?
32:35Good to see you again.
32:37Couple of years, eh?
32:38Welcome back.
32:39No worries. Hey, Paul.
32:40Steve's client, crystal miner Patrick Gunderson and his excavator operator Paul Davey have been anxiously waiting for the digger.
32:50It's been 12 months since we've had a machine here.
32:54And this is actually my own machine.
32:56This track is creeping over this side a bit.
33:01Normally I'd be hiring machinery, so, yeah, exciting to have my own equipment and hopefully it doesn't break down.
33:06Once this machine arrives, it's just game on for us and it's non-stop.
33:13Yeah, that's good. It's on the ground, Patrick.
33:16It's all yours, mate.
33:17Thanks, mate.
33:19There's no stopping a good digger driver when he's in the mood, mate. He's off.
33:23He's off.
33:25We've got a few hours of sunlight left, so we'll start emptying out the pit.
33:29Couple of days of just on that machine, just emptying dirt out and then we're on.
33:37Some things never change with me.
33:40My little eyes just can't help looking at things.
33:43Amelia will like that one.
33:45After souveniring a crystal for his granddaughter Amelia, part-time rockhound Steve has just enough time to return down the rough outback track to the highway before sunset.
33:57You've got to go a long way to beat this.
34:04Find you, this is when it would be nice with Amelia.
34:07For me, it's always important to share what I do with my grandkids.
34:12But it hasn't worked this time.
34:14It'll work out next time or the time after. These things always do.
34:17But they've got to get it done soon because granddad's not going to be doing this forever.
34:30All right.
34:31I slept beside a railway line that's obviously shutting down so all the trains are moving flat out.
34:39And I'm not used to my truck a bit.
34:43It's been a long time since I've slept in here so I had a rough night.
34:49The plan today is just going to shoot up here to the roadhouse and camp truck with Vinnie with the other load.
35:02Back in the driver's seat for the first time since suffering severe head injuries in an accident,
35:08Sludge now has to meet Vinnie, who's taking another vital part of the train station platform and get both loads to Meriden by 7.30am.
35:20There's the other load.
35:25He's back in the head.
35:27How are you?
35:29Good, mate. Look at you, buddy.
35:31This is the other half of the load.
35:32This is the top platform and everything.
35:34So the load I've got bolted onto this one here.
35:39And that's the ramp up.
35:40And then this is the platform.
35:42Well, let's head.
35:47The only train line connecting Eastern and Western Australia will be shut down for just 72 hours.
35:55If the job isn't completed within that time, Sludge's client Ty will be responsible.
36:01If we were to be delayed and go past Friday, you're probably looking at six months till it's installed.
36:09A lot of pressure on Sludge's shoulders, yes.
36:11So hopefully he's on site on time.
36:14We're running a little bit behind time, but hopefully we'll pick it up.
36:19It's open for 7.30, but it's looking like bloody 10 to 8.
36:31We're doing not bad. We're bloody 20 minutes late.
36:40I reckon, Vinny, we can just sneak over here, eh?
36:44Roger.
36:45Vinny's going to go up there first.
36:51Time's sort of starting to run a bit short now, because they've got concrete trucks coming soon.
36:56We're just getting the last bit of Vinny's truck, and he'll get out of the road and we'll bring the Phantom in and unload that.
37:02Well, everything's off the truck, and that's Sludge's job done.
37:09Yee-haw! First load done of a new me, I suppose.
37:13He's an old man now, but he's still got it. He's still got it.
37:17We're out of here.
37:24Now that the job's done and I'm homeward bound, I feel good that I've actually got it done.
37:29And we'll put a bit of money in the bank.
37:32But I've got one little stop on the way home.
37:36I'm looking forward to it, so we'll have to wait and see what it is when we get there.
37:40Hello! Sludge!
37:46We're out at White Gum Farms.
37:49One of me mates has got a gyrocopter out here.
37:52And said come out today and have a spin.
37:55So here we go.
37:57Get your legs in and I'll undo the lanyard.
37:59Nick's been giving me lessons before my accident.
38:02Here we go.
38:05Well, Indy doesn't approve of it, but, you know, what the wife doesn't know sometimes doesn't hurt.
38:10As long as I don't crash and die, she'll be happy.
38:18Release the back pressure on the stick, get 55 knots.
38:21And away you go.
38:25Oh, stunning, isn't it?
38:28I should have thought I'll probably never fly again.
38:32Just the way my health is.
38:34Great to see you back in the pilot seat.
38:37Yes, it's been a long, hard road.
38:41Same old sludge, never want to give up.
38:44Always want to try something new.
38:46Better push the boundaries just a little bit.
38:50Holy shit!
38:51We fixed that leak in the actuator and we haven't got any water coming out anymore.
39:04This is a bit of a cross fingers moment.
39:05You know, you're just going to hope like hell that a bit of a bush repair is going to get us through.
39:09Mike and Vinny are risking their truck's $60,000 engine on a bush fix, desperate to unload at the tiny community of Valgo and make enough money salvaging scrap cars on the return trip to replace their rental trailers.
39:25Best case scenario, 100 cars means that we'll probably be able to buy our own trailers.
39:30We're just trying to go nice and easy on the rig.
39:34At least we're still travelling.
39:38We made it.
39:39We're about to pull into Valgo.
39:51We're going to be dropping off all of Valgo's machinery that we've got on the back here.
39:55We've got two fire suppression trailers which is super important because the water pressure out here is not high.
39:59So these fire suppression trailers will help them put that fire out straight away.
40:22So we're not just delivering, we're also going to buy all their scrap cars and we clean everything up.
40:30Vinny!
40:32Oh!
40:33Money, money!
40:36What do you reckon?
40:37Six litre, SS.
40:38Manual?
40:39Auto.
40:41There you go.
40:42That's what pays the bills.
40:43Oh, wow.
40:44Beautiful, eh?
40:45Cool car, man.
40:46You know, when that was new that would have been a 70, 80 grand car.
40:50McDonald.
40:51Can you come see ya?
40:52No.
40:53Same car.
40:54Same colour, same everything.
40:55How much?
40:56400.
40:57I've got to go.
40:58My boys said come over here for this one.
41:03Yeah, nah, I said if you want to buy it, you can take it if you want.
41:07You got pay ID?
41:08Yeah.
41:09Got you, bro.
41:10Oh, that's all good.
41:11Sounds good, my brother.
41:12Catch you soon.
41:13No worries.
41:14Catch you soon.
41:15You too, bro.
41:16No worries.
41:17Absolutely insane.
41:18I mean, in one day I got two six litres, not one six litre.
41:20Like, that's why I love this job.
41:22I can wake up on a Monday morning and I just love the chase.
41:25It's crazy.
41:26You never get sick of that.
41:27And this one's manual.
41:31Yeah.
41:32Let's get up on it.
41:33Let's go.
41:34There is a pile of cars we haven't been to see yet.
41:38About another 100km from Balgo and the community's called Bilaluna.
41:45We want to be filling our triple full of Toyotas, full of trucks, full of Nissans for exporting.
41:54But you know what it's like.
41:55They say 100 cars, there's probably 20.
41:58Yeah, I can see some cars.
42:01Let's go.
42:04You know, all I'm seeing is burnt out shells.
42:09Rain clouds are coming over.
42:12Hopefully the rain stays away.
42:15Oh, wow.
42:18Is that Prado?
42:20Oh, it is.
42:21It's 1GR Prado.
42:22Look.
42:23That's 1GR Prado.
42:24Dude, that's nuts.
42:25Okay, so that's 3.5 right there.
42:27Wow.
42:28Are you kidding?
42:29Right next to a 1GR Hilux.
42:31Holy shit.
42:32Okay, so you're talking 3.5, 3.5.
42:34So that's 7 right there.
42:35Right there.
42:36Dude, this is a juicy pile.
42:38Yo, 1HZ, brother.
42:41Let's go.
42:44This motor right here.
42:46All over the world, this is considered probably the most reliable motor.
42:49It's a diesel 6.
42:51We've struck absolute gold with this pile.
42:54This is crazy.
42:56We're actually very, very lucky.
42:59With what we've got here, we're definitely going to be able to buy a set of trailers.
43:02But the biggest problem that we've got right now is that the storm clouds are coming everywhere.
43:07You look around you.
43:09The problem is the storm clouds bring the lightning.
43:12The lightning hits this bone dry grass and then all of a sudden bushfire comes through.
43:17There's no cars left.
43:18Get a bit of a run on.
43:19Will you get them breaking?
43:20Yes, I am.
43:21Stop saying that.
43:22Will you get them breaking?
43:23It's making me nervous.
43:24We have very limited time.
43:25The pressure's on.
43:26Let's get these car bodies off.
43:28Wait!
43:29Stop!
43:30Stop!
43:31Stop!
43:32Big rain's coming pretty quickly and there are people evacuating from the community.
43:49Stop!
43:50Stop!
43:51We're f***ing now.
43:58We're almost there.
44:03Ooh!
44:04I wish I would cave at it.
44:06Oh, wait!
44:09Google a turtle?
44:10No, heaping!
44:12We were careful.
44:13There ain't nothing here.
44:14You won't have no nar獣 Sold during the nursery, but before you get back on it.
44:18Ob mmm, mm.
44:20Wow, that's, yeah, yeah!
44:22The mayo on festival!
44:24Super cool, believe it!
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