Held together by rust and luck, Dave and Ern’s car crossed the finish line

They faced breakdowns, fuel shortages, storms and Australia’s dodgiest roads — all while travelling in a ‘shitbox’ car.

The Spring Shitbox Rally saw more than 500 people drive from Bendigo to Townsville on an epic seven-day trip of a lifetime.

Now back home and in one piece, Dave and Ern are reflecting on their journey.

“First day was easy to Pooncarie, we camped on beautiful green grass,” Ern said.

“Everything was sweet, and then after that, it heats up.”

The friends travelled alongside seven other cars in their group as they crossed state lines.

“We knew two of them, the rest were from all over Australia. And all had a cancer story,” Ern said.

Harsh weather brought many challenges for the duo, but luckily, they were prepared.

“We had about three days in a row of 40°C-plus, like mid-40°C, so it was good that we got the air conditioner fixed,” Ern said.

“We had breakdowns on day three in our buddy group.”

When one breaks down, the rest stop too. No car or rally participant is left behind.

“If you can’t solve the problem, then you wait for the trailer to come along and take the car,” Ern said.

“They try and fix it that night. If it’s not fixed, it gets left behind at the camp, wherever we are.

“We had two girls from WA and their Magna got a hole in the sump. They didn’t know, and it seized the motor.”

Another car broke down on the second last day of the rally and had to go on the trailer, delaying their arrival into camp.

“We got in at 9.30 that night and set up camp. That was the night we drove into a massive thunderstorm on a dirt road,” Ern said.

“We got into camp about 9.30pm, fuelled up, set up our swags and Dave and I sat down at dinner at 11 o’clock, and then up half past five in the morning to do it all again.

“So the camaraderie from the buddy group was amazing, all these people who don’t know each other; we’ve got this problem, and we all jump in and use whatever skills you have.

“Dave and I haven’t got mechanical skills, but you put out the shade, get a jack, undo a wheel and whatever you can do, you do it, and everyone just pulled together. It’s challenging, but really rewarding.”

“Yeah, we were lucky with the mechanical skills we had with our group,” Dave said.

“And you know, some of them are lying down in the heat, over 40°C, so we just pulled a tarp out, held it up over them to keep the sun off for 20 minutes.”

Their driving skills were constantly put to the test, driving along dirt roads through storms, sliding all over the road.

“It was a big, hard, tough day, the day we went from Isisford to the Belyando Crossing, and we got into Belyando at about 9.30 that night,” Ern said.

“But driving up this dirt road north of Jericho, there’d been rain. It was slippery and slidey, and we drove into this massive thunderstorm.

“It was challenging, but it was also a heap of fun, sliding up and down the road.”

As the rally came to an end in Townsville, fundraising goals were well and truly smashed.

Dave and Ern managed to squeeze their way into the top 10, raising over $24,000, with the Spring Shitbox Rally overall raising almost $2.4 million for the Cancer Council.

Their little shitbox made it all the way to the finish line in Townsville, where they were met by their wives.

“The car worked beautifully, no punctures,” Dave said.

“We were lucky that our little car didn’t have any real issues,” Ern said.

Their ute was in such good shape that after buying it back after the conclusion of the rally, the boys drove it all the way back to Shepparton, where it now sits proudly in Ern’s driveway.

“It’s been a big part of Dave and my life for the last six months,” Ern said.

“We’ll hang on to it and use it as a ute. It’s certainty proven its reliability.”