Nambour's roads and country
The highway went round in 1990
Nambour Connection Road carried the Bruce Highway from 1934 until the Nambour Bypass opened in 1990. It still links the highway at Woombye, through the middle of town, to Kulangoor, 13.3 km in all.
Up the range to Mapleton
Nambour-Mapleton Road rises from 21 metres to 370 metres over 12.2 km, and 490 metres of it is steeper than 15%. That's a long pull for the cooling system going up and a long job for the brakes coming down.
From cane to cattle and turf
Sugar carried Nambour until the Moreton Central Sugar Mill closed in 2003, and some old cane farms have since gone to cattle or turf. A ute or 4WD that does farm work may belong on the heavier schedule in its book: RACV lists dusty or unsealed roads and heavy loads among the reasons to service more often.
Plenty of rain
Nambour averages 1,694 mm of rain a year. Wipers, tyre tread and headlights earn their keep on a wet night on the range.
What brings Nambour cars to a mechanic?
Servicing, brakes and tyres, as everywhere, plus what the range adds. If the temperature gauge starts to climb on the way up to Mapleton, pull over somewhere safe and switch the engine off. NRMA says not to open the bonnet or take the radiator cap off while it cools, and that can take more than an hour.
Once it's cool and safe, have the cooling system checked before the next climb. Radiator and cooling repairs explains what the mechanic looks at, and 4WD service covers working vehicles.
Where we'd start
For a car that does the Mapleton climb or farm work, we'd ask which schedule in the book fits it and have the coolant and brakes looked at every service. If the gauge has ever crept up on the hill, we'd put that in the note so the mechanic starts there.