What do you get when you pack a Hilux with camera gear, camping equipment, recovery gear and everything needed for weeks on the road, then point it towards some of Australia's most iconic country pubs?
For Paddy O'Connor and Jesse Penfold, you get The Pub Crawl.
The idea was simple: get off the highways, take the interesting way there, and uncover the people and stories behind Australia's small-town pubs. But when the road to the next beer includes river crossings, muddy High Country tracks and remote camps, the journey becomes just as much a part of the story as the destination.
Four pubs and one very loaded Hilux.
The first leg kicked off in Jindabyne before Paddy and Jesse headed south through the Snowy Mountains and into Victoria's High Country.
From there, the route quickly became more than a casual drive between pubs. They crossed the Murray River at Tom Groggin, climbed steep and slippery mountain tracks, and made their way through some of the best-known 4WD country in the region.
At Blue Rag Range, the Hilux tackled rocky climbs with huge High Country views before dropping into Crooked River Track and its seemingly endless river crossings. From there, the trip wound out of the mountains, towards the NSW coast, then back inland for the final stop of the series.
All with the Hilux carrying far more than weekend bags.
"The Hilux quickly became more than just transport, it was our production vehicle, storage room and home away from home."
Paddy O'Connor
The Production Platform
They were carrying cameras, drones, recovery gear, tools, food and everything else needed to shoot a series while living out of the vehicle for weeks. The Hilux had to get them there and serve as a mobile production base the whole time.
So they went with the Utemaster Load-Lid.
Lockable and weatherproof, it gave them somewhere safe to leave camera gear while they were off filming or exploring. They added Destroyer Side Rails for lashing gear above and keeping the space underneath sorted.
Rather than the Load-Lid being something fitted purely for the cameras, it became part of how they operated out of the vehicle every day.
The Hilux setup
For the trip, Paddy and Jesse's touring setup included:
- Utemaster Load-Lid
- Utemaster Destroyer Side Rails
- iTechworld fridge and power setup
- Rival 4x4 roof platform and bar work
- Recovery gear
- Camera gear and drones
- Camping equipment
After weeks of using the Hilux as their transport, gear store, campsite and production base, Paddy's verdict was pretty simple:
"For a project like the Pub Crawl, where the vehicle needs to serve as transport, storage and a production vehicle all at once, the Utemaster setup quickly became something we'd struggle to do without."
Watch the full Pub Crawl series
Follow Paddy and Jesse as they travel through the Victorian High Country and regional NSW, meeting the people keeping Australia's country pub culture alive.
Episode 1: Benambra Hotel
Murray River crossings, muddy High Country tracks and the first pub of the trip.
Episode 2: Dargo Hotel
Blue Rag Range, 23 river crossings and one of Victoria's most iconic 4WD towns.
Episode 3: Dromedary Hotel
From the mountains to the Sapphire Coast, with a little unsuccessful fishing thrown in.
Episode 4: Majors Creek Hotel
Anzac Day, two-up, bushfire stories and a fitting end to the first Pub Crawl road trip.
Built for the way you travel
On a trip like this, how you set up the ute shapes everything. The Load-Lid gives you somewhere lockable for the gear that matters, room to stack more on top, and a setup that holds up after a week in the High Country.
Need a ute setup that can keep up with the way you travel?
Explore the Utemaster Load-Lid:
