Track Trailer Forum

Hi all. Someone disputed the fact that we were the first to cross from the Colson to Geosurveyor Hill and south to The Geocentre Of the Simpson, with our TVan..They said Hema had?
Has anyone ever found anything about it?
I know they did some of the Track to the Geo's, but there isn't anything I can find.
Cheers
Robyn

Well..we did it too!
Vehicles:
Us:       '06 100 series TDA Toyota Landcruiser
      Our follower was our 2012 Track Trailer Tvan
My brother:    2015 200 series TDA Landcruiser
Our route:
Coober Pedy..
Kulgera...
Old Andado Station...
Mac Clarke Reserve
Madigan Camps 1, 1a and 2
Colson Track
..cross country to:
Geosurveyor's Hill
Cross country again to:
The Geographical Centre of the Simpson Desert
Then:
Cross country again (a defined track now!)
French Line
Knolls Track
Rig Road
Warburton Track
Birdsville Track
For all the detail geeks out there, I've put down some facts and figures for you.
Day 1
After John rested from a serious bout of "man flue", we left Coober Pedy and headed to Kulgera
Distance: 410kms.. Fuel: 134 Litres... Price: $1.50/l   17 L/100
Tyres: F. 30lb   B. 35  Tvan. 24
Our first camp was just out of Kulgera by a dry creek bed.
Bogan fleas (nasty prickles) everywhere, but good, plentiful wood.
Day 2
From Kulgera to west of Mac Clarke reserve, Via Old Andado Station.
Distance: 280km from Kulgera
Camped off the road between Old Andado and Mac Clarke Reserve
Day 3
To Mac Clarke Reserve, Madigan Camps 1, 1a &2, to The Colson Track.
40kms from the Madigan/ Colson track intersection, to our turn off to Geosurveyor's Hill.
We photographed and passed all the obligatory abandoned fuel / oil drums shot line pegs and "points of interest"
Distance: 400km From Kulgera
There were some serious dunes which required a wide range of tyre pressures throughout the day.
We rocked, rolled, landscaped dunes, inflated and deflated our tyres all day
Tyre pressures were ranging from:  F 25lb ...  B 32 lb ...Tvan: 18
TO F 12 lb ... B 17 lb ... Tvan 12 lb
We only managed 60 kms that day...
Day 4  460 kms from Kulgera
We put 40 litres of fuel in the car..from our total of 60 l we were carrying in the Tvan. (keeping 20 portable litres as a reserve supply) We were following some very vague tyre impressions once we left the Colson, which disappeared on a few occasions. Overall, the 1 month old route we followed was visible enough.With some crazy dune approaches, sharp twists and turns of the faded track, we sometimes decided there was a better route up the dunes.There wasn't any flat ground on this section of the track, so when we climbed a difficult dune, we decided it was the best spot to stay for the night!!!!We only did 32kms that day. Once again, looking at and photographing all the obligatory fuel dumps and drums...and the odd action shot of our "duning"
Not once did we get bogged, or lose traction. We picked up shovels..filled in some holes and tyre abuse on the track we were to climb, dropped our tyre pressures and got up without any trouble.
Day 5   492 kms from Kulgera
Started our tyre pressures that day at:  F. 16  ...B. 22...Tvan 12
Some really big dunes and a fair bit of landscaping today.We only managed 40kms that day, averaging 4km/hour.Some of the tracks we were following began to really wobble around and over the dunes, so a few better selections were taken that day again.
We sighted the pimple in the distance from atop of a large dune and headed for the prize.Enjoying a beverage on top of Geosurveyor's Hill and taking the obligatory photoshoot, we sighed and headed south!
Our camp was south of Geo SH
Day 6
531kms From Kulgera

Tyres:  F 13 lb...R 19 lb...Tvan 12 lb

Heading south To the Geocentre today..lots of dune crossings , some W-E..a few switching back E-W. We only managed 68kms today.We thought it would be easier now that we were heading south..not really. The faint tracks were off in a different direction once we had left GSH, so we followed a bit more used track.
Once again, a few routes previous travellers had taken, were a little "unusual" and not the easiest route they could have taken..so we made a couple of small side tracks. We reached the Geocentre, signed the book, looked at the tower and it's ornaments and took the obligatory pictures......And sighed again!....
We followed a now well-defined track, which ran along and top of the edge of the dunes. We made camp, where there was a flat spot AND some wood!

Day 7   599kms from Kulgera

We put in a big day today.One particularly obscure dune approach needed a serious reconsideration.With no room to position ourselves to cross this dune and no inclinations to re position the whole dune, we cleared and smoothed out another approach, which we climbed easily.This dune was more obnoxious though. It had yet another level to scale.So John did a loop on the lower level of the dune and once again, took a straighter route up the final distance.

Tyres down to:  F 12...B 18...Tvan 12

Over this dune was a grove of gidgee trees, where John re- inflated the tyres a little.
By now, we were on the home run to the French Line.
My brother had headed south east (just left of the track we were following), to see if he could find a better way.At one point, we got a little "lost", but discovered a fuel drum lying along a shot line on top of another dune.
Of course..photographed it!
Eventually we both met up aga
in, had some lunch and continued on....We managed quite good travelling that day, once we picked up a more travelled track...Suddenly, an open camping area around another grove of gidgee trees and resident dingo's greeted us at the intersection of the French Line!...My brother had to be home in 2 days, so we parted ways here....
673kms from Kulgera now.
Camp 8 was between intersection of the French Line and Knolls track....

A more healthy looking dingo visited our camp after tea, licking the plate rinse water off the leaves of the nearby grass. This one was actually a "real dingo", with white points on each of it's toes and tip of it's tail. Well that's what the dingo "handler" at Alice Springs Wildlife Park told us anyway.That night, with the rear tank low and indicator light on, we switched to the middle tank. Under normal travelling conditions, the rear tank would have enough in it for a further 50km.
We had travelled 807km from Kulgera at this stage

Day 9 ..(2162km from home)

Tyres: F 20  B 27 Tvan 20. Which remain unchanged until we met the Birdsville Track.
We passed through a lot of country side that day.
We turned south down Knolls Track which had a mix of sand and rock. The track was in quite good condition, but tight corners in some places reduced visibility of any oncoming traffic.
The Rig road was rutted in places, but generally like a sealed road! (hence it is called a road..not a track)...the dunes were no where near as high or challenging as what we had been through in the last week.
There were a lot of camel prints again, but still no sign of them! There were quite a few salt lakes and salt pans all along the Rig road. Some gypsum was a common site along the edges of the roads. You could never take yours off the road, however, as there were washouts across the road, at the base of the hills on mostly the eastern side. From the top of each hill/ dune, we could see  a lot of large lakes, which were of course, were dry.
If the lakes had been full, it would be an amazing site!
The largest lake we came to was Lake Perra Pererra Peranna. An amazing sight, with huge sand dunes coming right to the edge of the western side of the lake. The track skirted the edge of the lake, where we found some wood and camped up, just the other side of a small dune.Magnificent sunsets and weather was amazing for the whole period of our trip, that night being no exception, with the moon getting brighter and bigger every night.

Day 10 ...1080 km from Kulgera.

Once again the rest of the tracks were in very good condition and once again, we photographed all the appropriate points of interest on our way to the Warburton Crossing....which was bone dry of course. Travelling between the crossing at Clifton Hills and the Birdsville track, we could see why this track would be closed for a long time after rain...we drove along dark clay sand, which was surrounded by thick "dead" lignum bushes. We reached the Birdsville track in the early afternoon and aired up again: F 28   B 38 and Tvan 28.
Still with no-one in sight,we headed south down the track and stopped off at Mungaranie Mc Donalds for a beverage. Deciding there were too many people about, we decided to head further down the track for our overnight camp.

Day 11. 1518 km from Kulgera

From our camp south of Mungaranie, we stopped for a look at Old Mulka Homestead.It really makes you wonder how hard life would have been all those years ago. With a grave on the hill behind the homestead, it was quite a poignant place. After a cuppa at Clayton Bore, we continued to Maree for lunchBetween Maree and Lyndhurst,, we stopped in to visit Farina. It had been many years since we visited here, with a lot of restoration and new construction of an info centre being done! Unfortunately, we had missed the bakery being open, but there's always another day! We made it to the Birdsville track and headed south for our final fuel up at Leigh Creek.

From Kulgera to Leigh Creek our average L/100km was 19.6L..we had used 271 litres of fuel

Day 11.... Our last camp. 20kms north of Hawker

From Kulgera, to Leigh Creek, our average L/100 was a very respectable 19litres/ 100kms

We'd used 271 litres of diesel from Kulgera to Leigh Creek.

Finally....The Geo's were a great trip...With them ticked off our bucket list, we don't feel the need to do again!

 Saw this last night...spent a little too much time looking at the demo clips and new features:

https://www.tracktrailer.com.au/tvan/

LOVE IT! 

The detail and innovation is huge!

Would have taken a LONG time to innovate and trial their new features.

It will make a huge difference to the older generation, who do not have quite the physical strength and flexibility, they use to. But are still capable of real offroad flexibility in their lifestyle. I reckon it's a game changer!

Especially when you consider a far less capable, off road caravan, is far more than twice that price

Around $75-$80,000 For the top spec Murranji.

Just thought I'd put a  topic to see if we can find out... "who was in the TVan behind us ...or coming my way"
sssooooo..

Here's my question!

This morning (Friday 12th of May)..we were coming down Willunga Hill, south of Adelaide...carefully being stalked by a white,?Prado and TVan.
We were in our other car, so no- one would have looked at us!

Who were you??..were you coming from Victor Harbor???

Just got this in my email today..wow

Upgrades to Limited Edition Firetail

http://ytl.mj.am/nl/ytl/l4vl5.html?a=pBwLGS&b=73ce1957&c=ytl&d=1c77ef6c&e=46bfcbd8

May entice some

Got this email from our local dealer in Adelaide today!

Wow..the new Topaz has some serious ..very attractive..new features.

check out the website on this link

http://ytl.mj.am/nl/ytl/lli73.html?a=ojXxHe&b=f2cc5b08&c=ytl&d=e5d6cdfd&e=22522dd

I reckon we would trade up for the new shower tent option!!!   

Hi sellers...
We are looking for a Remis roof hatch, or lid.
The pic shows the Remis hatch lid.
Also our Fire drum, mounted to the spare tyre position on the front box.. using a board and the spare tyre harness.
It may be a long shot...but hoping there is one or more out there.
I have contacted TT, and are hoping to pick up a couple of parts, but complete hatches would be great!

Cheers
Robyn

Just gotta put some pics up of John's handiwork:
In the last week, John has done a lot of "stuff" to our Canning.
Fitted and wired a 65 watt solar panel to the roof of the TVan.
Fitted solar regulator.
Replaced all(3) of the metal circuit breakers in the wiring box to new Narva plastic cased ones. original metal one had caused one of the metal cased ones to short and blow a fuse...A nut which is used to tighten a terminal to the circuit breaker had been over tightened. ..twisting the plate inside the metal circuit breaker housing..when John released the nut there was a little spark and a blown fuse.
see pic..the part number shown on the plastic bag is the plastic replacement circuit breaker.

John also ran an extra wire to the front of the TVan, where he fitted 1x dual cigarette lighter outlets and 1 x cigarette plug and merit plug units, to the front ends of our bed.

Also:

Fitted a Narva, LED, flexible reading lamp to each side of the bed..John wired the power for these from the 2 existing LED lamps.

Hard wired our inside hatch light to continuous power (no plugs and wiring now)

Hi there.
We have some damage caused by ?wear and tear...it's in the locking mechanism at the very end of the slide..
It can be repaired, but it would make it easier if we could actually take the front section of the slide right out.
We can unbolt the whole thing, but if there is an easy out for that, it would be good to know.
John is going to TIG weld the steel tab which forms part of the locking mechanism. It is worn down..the TVan has only done 15000 fairly hard kms..but we would have expected it to last a lot longer than it has!
Have spoken to TT..Unfortunately the manufacturer of the slides, don't have spare parts available.
At $150 each for the fridge slide...a spot of weld should sort it!
Any help would be great!
Cheers
Robyn

Hi guys.
We are going to do the Cape trip with our TVan probably next year, and are wondering if you have to camp in designated areas.
We do need permits for travel, but if there is nowhere we can book/ find a spot at the designated areas at the specific day we plan to need to stop..where can we stop for the night?
Surely others have encountered this problem.
Cheers
Robyn

Hi folks.
I have read other posts about the Kimberly's.. but they were posted a while ago.
Is there anywhere in the Kimberly's you wouldn't/ couldn't go if you are a confident and capable TVanner.
Also...where do you wish you went.
We have 6 weeks, starting in the far NE of SA..then returning south of Adelaide.
Just thinking whether we sell our roof top tent. Then find out that there are great places a TVan cannot go....
Cheers
Robyn

$8,000..or reasonable offer.

This Toyota Landcruiser model is well recognized as a great, reliable work horse.

This vehicle comes with the basics; Everything the new or experienced 4x4 enthusiast would want.
Durable Vinyl Seats
Good, Clean Interior.
Non smoker.

420,340 kms

Registered until May 2016

Extras Include:

Heavy Duty OME Suspension.
Tow Bar.
Electric Brake Controller Fitted
UHF Radio
Kenwood CD/ USB Capable,Radio
Steel bull bar
Extra Springs and shockers (used)
Air Conditioner Works Very Well!
Dual Battery Capable ( only one battery fitted)..see pics
Battery Isolator Switch

Service History/ Maintenance:

New Clutch
New Timing Belt
Rear Right Axle Seals
Regularly Serviced.
Injector Pump Rebuilt
New Injectors.

Due to limited download space..I can email other photos if requested 
Located in Victor Harbor SA
This vehicle is advertised elsewhere, however, each interested comment will be handled in line of enquiry.

This is a strong, full length roof rack!.
2400mm long..
1400mm wide.
Custom made with 32x3mm aluminium ally tube.
Side tie down rails..25mm ally tube
Wind deflector to front of rack
6 wide gutter mounting points made from heavy plate Aluminium.
Height of rack, from bottom of the gutter mounts, to the top rail of the roof rack: 300mm[/li]

Aluminium annex track fitted to both sides and back of the roof rack
Suited to a Landcruiser 80 series.
Comes with bracket mounts.

$800.00

Pick up: Victor Harbor

Just in case people are wondering why some Lat/ longs aren't available on the latest track mapping on Hema Cloud or the latest Hema mapping apps...

I just spoke to Dan, from Hema, who was able to find out some info on some gps waypoints I was hoping to find on the most recent mapping.
I had rung him today, to see if he knew why I couldn't locate some waypoints.

The gps points are for the Geo centre of the Simpson and the shot lines leading to it from Poeppel Corner, and those to Geosurveyor's Hill as well.
I was asking because I had seen that Hema Map Patrol did a section of this last year(DVD of Madigan from 4x4 Action).

I was hoping to use their lat longs/ waypoints they recorded on their trip.

I have also loaded other's tracks from Hema Cloud for the same trip, but there are a couple I am unable to get; as there isn't any track mapping for a portion of the trip from Geo hill directly back across country to The Colson track.

This would have make for more accurate locations for me to load onto my Hema 7 after I also uploaded the 150k upgrade.

The 150 upgrade will be better for us with visual locating the "tracks" and shotlines

Dan told me, that due to some "legal requirements", they are unable to load them onto their Explorer tracks.

It has something to do with them obtaining permissions from land owners to upload them to publically available mapping.

I have now though, manually plotted some waypoints to my Hema7, for our trip this year.

I have also downloaded offline mapping onto my Hema Explorer app on my Android tablet, which will give me satellite imaging when we need more visual detail.

I thought I'd put this info out there for any others who may have been looking for the same info.

Cheers
Robyn

I received an email yesterday as a preview of the new at Callinan's 4x4 Mag & DVD..featuring their trip across the Madigan Line


https://www.mr4x4.com.au/tv-show/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Breaking+news%3A+New+Lightforce+HTX+Driving+Lights&utm_campaign=Breaking+News%3A+New+Lightforce+HTX+Driving+Light


When we did the Madigan in July..we did see a log entry of this group, at one of the Madigan Campsites.

As you will see in the DVD clip..their retrieval method for the TVan which they had managed to jack knife a dune, was something to be amazed at.

They were towing a Mark 4 Canning with the new front box etc...what they did was incredulous.

But..

Just goes to show..the situation they got themselves into, was not the TVan's fault..it was driver and crew error...

Before the anti trailer Nazis get ready to line us all up for the firing squad..just take note...the situation arose through a series of driver and retrieval crew errors...

Towing the Tvan's  was easy for us and our fellow TVanners, on our trip..but I do understand, not everyone is necessarily up to speed with experience in desert travel.

Anyway..you be the judge.. not the executioner 

Well...we did it in style.
Dick and Prue ..aka choppadick and John and I left Mt Dare on Thursday July 13th for Birdsville via the Madigan line..camps 1 to Camp 25
Towing our Tvans..

Left from Coober Pedy Monday 13 July...Camped south of Oodnadatta Before eventually getting to Mt Dare on Thursday 16th. Coober Pedy to Mt Dare. ..Fuel consumption 14.6l/100kms with fully stocked cars and Tvans
Friday 17 th camped between camp 1 and 1A...Found our own way through the maze of tracks from Mac Clark Reserve
Saturday 18 th did camps 2 to 5..Missing camps 3 &4 then up the Colson
Sunday 19 th.Camps 6,camping between 6&7 ..(308 kms from Mt Dare to camp 6)
Monday 20th..tyres down to 12 on the front, ..20 on the back and 12 on the Tvan now
Did camps 7 and 8.
Tuesday 21st...only 44 ks today ..camps 8 to 11..Big day over badly chopped up dunes.
Wednesday 22nd. Camps 12 nd 13..398kms from Mt Dare now . ..
Thursday 23rd.Left camp 13  and travelled to Camp 14, 15 and 16...505 kms from Mt Dare
at Camp 16 at the intersection of the Hay River track, we located our dropper and plaque at the blaze tree, along with plenty of previous travelers
Friday 24th...Huge day...STILL REPAIRING PREVIOUS DAYS TRAVELLERS SAND DUNES...
Took us 4 and 1/2 hours to travel 30 kms.
Only managed 51 ks this day
We were..and still are disgusted with the large group that travelled before us. As I found out at Birdsville. .one of the group said they had 2 goes at nearly every dune and the "Truck" that went with them tried 7 times to get over one..before going off the track to establish an easier route!!!!...After that they actually  let their tyres down..which apparently  made the rest of the trip so much better. ... daaahhh
It took  us 10 to 15 minutes to repair the track gouges made by this group... on quite a few dunes, then we just slowly crawled up. No loss of traction, no bogging and no damage to the dunes at all left by us
Saturday Did camps 18 to Camp 25..missing camps 23 and 24 on Adria downs (as requested by the station owners)
We made the big push that day, as clouds were coming over and the ground would have become very sticky if it did rain.
It was a great trip, with no bogging or breakdowns.


758 kms From Mt Dare to Birdsville
22.5 litres/100kms for our Toyota 100 series (diesel auto)
Prue and Dick in their manual 4.2, diesel Nissan ute and canopy were around the same
I will upload our route on hema explorer/ explore Oz later

The Madigan  line is now a well defined track....very bumpy over spinifex moguls and the dunes are soft and mostly steep in gradient.Switch backs on the tops and steep dune descents are common
Highly recommend you take the chance to do this track. It is a definite once only trip...a place not for the unprepared or inexperienced travellers. Take your time..lower your tyre pressures and you will have an enjoyable time
as most say...we forgot we had the Tvan on, as it did not interfere with our momentum or vehicle performance
Lots of pics and uploads to come when we eventually get home
As an average over the Madigan ..our 235/65/R16 Light truck Bridgestones tyre pressures were
Tojo front...12lb
         Rear...20lb
TVan ...      12lb
Every tyre type and the load you are carrying will determine how low you need to go
cheers
Robyn

Hi all..just a couple of pics from the weekends modifications.
Whilst we wouldn't be without the convenience of a sink, the tap placement didn't work for us.
So with a rubber bung, drill and some shortening of pipes..here's the result..
We can fill our kettle and have a removable bowl in the sink, to carry the dirty dishes to the camp kitchen. Or toss out the used water near a convenient tree.
I reckon john did a great job! 

Has anyone  seen the latest  4x4 adventures test on snatch straps.
Scary  results
Im glad we bought the ones we did!
Hopefully we never  will have  the need  to use one...but still...an eye opener

http://www.unsealed4x4.com.au/issue012/?utm_source=Pat+Callinan%27s+4X4+Adventures+Newsletter&utm_campaign=541259a1f3-Issue_012_Send_001_UNSEALED_6_01_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9f4ce577b0-541259a1f3-131576713#23

Hi there.

Over the years, I have found great ways to store and stack stuff. Not just food.

But water, tools, spare parts and vehicle lubricants and oils.

Something to de-clutter/ make better use of your under kitchen bench storage area.

Get a shallow/ large clip lock container and use it to put 2 coffee cups, 1 x small container each, for coffee, tea bags, sugar, teaspoons and a small tin of powdered milk. (that's what we use instead of fresh milk any way).

Its a quick grab to make coffee for a smoko stop, without having to scrounge through everything. 
You only get it when you need it.
Slip it into the back/ seat of the car.

I love plastic storage containers...also use a shallow, square(Tupperware for eg) container for herbs & spices. Stores easily under the kitchen bench too.

My most recent change..I've put my alfoil in one of those plastic wrap dispenser boxes....Can't slice my hand anymore, when I dive my hand in to grab something else.

Plastic zip lock bags are good to put left overs in

When packing aluminium drink cans and small drink bottles. Slip each of them in a stubby holder to prevent rubbing and breakage.
Who hasn't got a pile of those promotion drink coolers!

Any square/ rectangular plastic container is great to stop "stuff" sliding around your pantry/ drawers.

Use disposable water caskets for you drinking water...burn them/ bin them when you have used them.

Vacuum seal your meat, casseroles, sliced meats, pre prepared veggies for fresh storage in your fridge.

Get some free sturdy small cardboard boxes from your local hardware store.

They work really well to keep your non food/ clothing items from sliding around the back of your car..Pack them tightly with cardboard, between the bits you have in there...throw them away when they get a bit shabby.

Try to pack "like items" together.

Keep metric & imperial nuts and bolts for spares in those small plastic, fishing tackle containers

Lets see what everyone else does. !

Cheers
Robyn

I love the inventiveness of people with their forum name.
We have friends who have an unusual forum name.
His forum name is Choppadick for example..his name is Richard and flies a helicopter..well done Dick
Now..Chinookflyer..do you fly a chinook helicopter?
We are young still, drive a grey car and love travelling...not as inventive as others.
It'd be good to know how others have come up with their "tag"
Cheers
Robyn