Simpson desert

[Andrew Veale]

Just completed our five week trip from Melbourne to flinders ranges,Oodnadatta track,across the Simpson to Birdsville then on to Fraser Island and home via the coast Pajero and t van didn't miss e beat got across the Simpson with no drama run 14psi on car and t van was a slow trip as in 2nd low for most of the dunes but very doable if you take your time even went up big red with the t van to the shock of people who won't let down their tyres, got stuck in Birdsville due to the rain but they run the races on Sunday then had to wait for the roads to open lucky the pub had plenty of beer in stock lol

[Patrol Dude]

Nice work mate
Would loved to have seen you pulling the Tvan up big red very cool.

Some pics now for this thread hey


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[lew]

Sounds great.
Considering doing a similar trip next year.
Very interested in the amount of fuel you carried and the amount you used crossing the Simpson.
Love the open spaces!!!

[Andrew Veale]

I used 120 litres from Oodnadatta to Birdsville did no go to mount dare went thru Hamilton station then Dalhousie (great drive)   as I have a longranger tank in the Pajero giving me 110 lts I did take 60lt on the t van but only put 20 lts in to be safe went went down the rig road,waa line down to the lone gum back up the rig road knowells track then out via the waa line I would not do the waa line it was a hard slog as dunes are close together and hard on your tug if towing stick to the rig road and leave plenty of time as in between the dunes is slow going with 1meter size humps every 10 meters so can only do around 20 km hour. I had a new set of all BFG all terrains that I run at 14-18 psi and never got a puncture, you can get your desert pass at Oodnadatta cash only.

[Young Nomads]

Just completed our five week trip from Melbourne to flinders ranges,Oodnadatta track,across the Simpson to Birdsville then on to Fraser Island and home via the coast Pajero and t van didn't miss e beat got across the Simpson with no drama run 14psi on car and t van was a slow trip as in 2nd low for most of the dunes but very doable if you take your time even went up big red with the t van to the shock of people who won't let down their tyres, got stuck in Birdsville due to the rain but they run the races on Sunday then had to wait for the roads to open lucky the pub had plenty of beer in stock lol

Well done..towed up Big Red too..Its IS all about tyre pressures.

Have had our front tyres down to as low as 8 lb once..to get back up quite a long,steep rise in deep boggy sand next to Leichart River/ Falls...but the spot we poked the TVan  into, was well worth the effort!!!!



To get there, John backed us down 2 levels of track and jack knife the TVan around so we could squeeeeze around a tree...

..slow and steady.




Just down the road( when we left)...The council workers who got their grader bogged to the chassis, did comment on how low they were..lol..
After a very short drive down the track...The ARB twin compressor certainly made quick work of re-inflating the tyres   

[SeanC]

Good to read this, i am leaving in two weeks to tow our Tvan across the Simpson desert too, but going from east to west. Quite happy to hear that you managed to tow up big red too, i am definitely going to give that a go!!

[Eelezy]

We also loved the Rig road, though not towing at the time. Much better and more remote with less people than the French line.
Loved the salt plains too!
Chris and Sue

[Cuppa]

Pajero and t van didn't miss e beat got across the Simpson with no drama run 14psi on car and t van was a slow trip as in 2nd low for most of the dunes but very doable if you take your time

Hi Andrew, did you travel solo or with other vehicles. Did you have much previous sand/dune driving expeience? Did you need to reverse down any dunes or winch the Tvan up ?  What sort of weight did you have in the Pajero?  I'm asking these questions from a position of ignorance, others have told me that it would be unwise to take the Tvan across the Simpson solo.

[Monester]

Hi Cuppa,

I can't help myself from responding. The reason you own a Tvan is to do these sort of trips. Solo is not an issue particularly when there are so many people crossing the Simpson. If you get stuck, people on these trips always help. Besides you would be blocking the track so they have no choice.

Reversing in deep sand is not fun, as the Tvan or anything for that matter, just wants to go the path of least resistance which usually is not where you want it to go.

My advice for what its worth is to maintain low tyre pressures on all wheels(14 to 18 depending on load, humidity and temp and 12 - 14 in the tvan/ don't speed or they will overheat) i.e. have the Tvan tyres on slightly lower pressure than the tug. This way the Tvan will float and go wherever the tug goes. Stick to a gear uphill second or third low and you will usually just drive up the dunes. Don't let off power until the tug has crested. Hesitating at this point sees many people stuck just before the crest. Also, use the sand flag and radio to avoid unwanted greetings at the crest from oncoming vehicles.

The Simpson is an outstanding trip made even better with the Tvan. I'm jealous.

Have fun.
MM

[merk02]

Sounds a great trip!

[Jacko]

Mate broke his Triton in half towing his Tvan across the Simpson , yeah I know it was a Triton .

[AllanK]

Was it the TVAN or the load he was carrying in the camper or his tray?

[Jacko]

I guess a combination of both but with a fair bit of load in the back then the load on the ball dose the rest . Tvans for the size of them are heavy on the ball . We have a weigh bridge he was under MAX GCM .
The Mate is not a DH he wouldn't of been doing anything stupid .
All Dual Cabs can break chassis but Tritons are very good at it .

[AllanK]

The Mate is not a DH he wouldn't of been doing anything stupid .

Nah, not what I was saying Jacko. 
Just querying the reason.

Even with my cruiser dual cab I keep conscious how much I have hanging over past the rear wheels

[weonatvan]

All Dual Cabs can break chassis but Tritons are very good at it .

How true you are as it's all to do with the cantilever effect with way to much weight behind the rear axle pivot point and a tow bar up to 1,500 mm also behind said point.

To date, I have not heard of an Amarok chassises breaking any where in the world "yet", but according to some skeptics I am a prime candidate for the prize as I am running triple bellow airbags in the rear.


"You don't know what you don't know"

Cheers dave