Plan the a trip of a lifetime with 4xploring Rentals

Our time off work is super precious.

This is why you need to make sure that, when you’re planning an off-road escape with yourself and the family, you minimise the stress and worry that planning and undertaking these big adventures can cause.

So, what if we told you there’s a mob in WA that is, effectively, the only place you need to go – and we mean the only place – to make those touring good times come true?

Well, yeah, there are plenty of vehicle-hire companies across Oz that seem to offer that ‘dream trip come true’ scenario. However, the team at 4xploring Rentals goes beyond and delivers what is definitely the ‘complete package’ for anyone looking to simplify their trip planning and prep – to the point where you can just turn up, turn the key and head out on that long-wished-for adventure.

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JUMP AHEAD

• How it began
• Turn-key vehicles
• Ready to help
• Essential info

How all good things should begin: Around a campfire with a few beers

There’s no better place than sitting around a campfire, coming up with life’s solutions and dreaming big? And that’s exactly what happened with 4xploring Rentals Directors, Jerrad Jeffery and Glen Mackay, along with Business Operations Manager, Stefan Cole.

The Kiwi trio had years of off-road touring experience in WA, and the light-bulb moment came when Jerrad and Glen were up in Kununurra having just finished a trip along the Gibb River Road and, after years in the mining sector, thought there had to be a better way to enjoy this lifestyle.

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Cue that few beers around the campfire with Stefan, and the idea of an operation that offered hire vehicles and also provided a complete bespoke service – or package – where travellers can book the fully equipped vehicles (a choice of HiLux, Prado or LC300) and essentially jump off the plane and straight into a vehicle, ready to roll, with food packed and the itinerary sorted, so you can just focus on the fun. It was that difference the team thought was lacking in the market, as Stefan explains.

“We asked ourselves, ‘what can be our point of difference?’” Stefan says. “And we’re like, ‘what if you just want to turn up, turn the key, hit the open road, not have to do a bit of mundane life admin when you land, but you have to go to an unknown city where you don’t know where the nearest Woolies or Dan Murphy’s is, or Kmart or whatever.’

“So, we’re trying to take that onerous exercise off the holiday maker. We want to sort of take the laborious exercise out of planning a holiday where it’s more of a one-stop shop,” Stefan explains.

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To this end, 4xploring Rentals’ comprehensive and easy-to-navigate website has oodles of info for potential customers to assist in pre-planning their trip. Not only about the vehicles you can hire (hires can be a minimum of three days and up to six months or more), but also links to online shopping at nearby supermarkets and a route planner.

This is a huge asset for those coming from interstate or overseas; being able to pre-order all of your food and then have it delivered to 4xploring HQ to pack in the vehicles. The team can also assist with itineraries, or you can use the many handy links on the website to plan it out yourself.

Again, this may sound like just a small thing, but it is of huge assistance and a massive time-saver – again, so you can just land and know that once you’ve jumped behind the wheel of your hire vehicle, it’s time for some fun.

There and back again in the ultimate touring rigs

Go on the 4xploring Rentals website and click on ‘Vehicles’ and you’ll have the choice of a raft of vehicles including a fully kitted HiLux (set up for two people; a four-person option is scheduled to be available by Christmas), a 150 Series Prado, a LandCruiser 300 Series and a camper trailer.

As you’d expect, none of these options miss out on anything, with the hugely impressive HiLux a full custom setup from Core Off-Road in Rockingham, WA (all the vehicles are prepped there).

“It’s a turn-key product from Core,” Stefan explains. “The vehicle comes from Toyota, is delivered pre-rego, then gets fitted with the canopy and a GVM upgrade.”

Ironically, like the rest of Australia, the team had to wait a while to get their HiLux order sorted due to the vehicle’s high demand. The wait has been well worth it, as the finished product – in 4xploring’s distinctive gunmetal grey livery – is impressive and represents a lot of the experienced touring feedback from Jerrad, Glen and Stefan, as well as the very high workmanship from the Core Offroad team.

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The HiLux is packed with accessories, starting at the front with the Offroad Animal bar, Runva 11,000lb winch, Stedi lights, Safari snorkel for clean air, and plenty more. Up top is a Rhino Rack platform set-up, with the ubiquitous set of MaxTrax and a shovel holder. A UHF radio is for comms and there’s a GME PLB for safety.

The canopy is a Core Offroad GTX model, with the driver’s side containing a rooftop basket for storage of camp gear that lifts up into the canopy roof and locks out of the way to optimise storage underneath. The battery and compressor are housed at the front.

The bottom rear has a gas bottle and bayonet (all certified). At the back is an access ladder, rubbish/storage bags, and a ladder to access the roof. There's also a slide-out drawer with aluminium tabletop for cooking/food prep. The passenger side of the canopy has a 110-litre upright fridge/freezer and a Travel Buddy pie oven.

A four-drawer storage system sits beneath that, with storage space up top and tie-down points, and there’s an Enerdrive E-Pro battery management system and light switches. A Bushwakka 270-degree awning is mounted up top, alongside the all-electric Bundaking rooftop tent. Add in 430W of fixed solar panels, and yep, it’s all there for that big trip.

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To take care of all this extra heft, the HiLux uses a ToughDog GVM kit to bring GVM to 3510kg. The team has plans to use a Pedders GVM upgrade for their next HiLux builds (they have six of the popular dual-cab utes on order), that will give them a 3600kg GVM.

Even though Stefan and the team expect the HiLux option to be the most popular they have by no means skimped on the rest of the 4xploring Rentals fleet, with the other vehicle (and camper trailer) options being of similar high specs.

The Prado features a similar set of mods in terms of the frontal protection, suspension upgrades, safety (PLB), along with a Motop rooftop tent, rear drawer system, a 65L fridge-freezer, long-range fuel tank, awning, compressor, recovery setup, and more.

The LC300 replicates this but with a larger fridge/freezer, slide-out barbecue gas cooker/kitchen and 40L Ontap shower. The MDC six-person camper trailer is another great option for larger groups, and is, as you’d expect, fully equipped.

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More time is your own

Most experienced off-road tourers will nod their heads in agreement when we talk about the importance of thorough trip planning and preparation and how time-consuming it is.

For those with limited annual leave and who want to optimise their time to experience the best of the outdoors, 4xploring Rentals’ ethos – and its intuitive, comprehensive website – resonates highly. It removes a lot of that hassle to the point where, as mentioned earlier, you just have to turn up, jump in the vehicle, turn the key and get out there.

The team itself, being avid campers and tourers, are also always keen to help out (the FAQ section of the website is a ripper) as they, too, know exactly what it’s like to optimise time for the fun things in life. And, really, that’s what it is all about.