Shezza posted:

Hi Nav,
Yes ~ we have been along all of the Gib River road before and wouldn't even entertain the thought of doing some of it with a van. We did do the Derby end (up to Bell's) just after it was graded and it wasn't too bad. We only had our tent then though ~ left the old van back at Derby. That was 8 years ago though and I was just interested to see if any one had done that stretch with a van. Our new one has just been ordered (Millard Endeavour)...a 'soft off roader'. Maybe better to just tent that part again hey! Anyway, thanks for your reply.
Shezza

Shezza posted:

Thanks PeterD
Is your van an 'off roader'? We did that stretch back in 1998 and they had just graded the Derby end and we found it rather good. We didn't have our van with us .... just our tent. Just interested as to how it is now. We have just placed our order for a Millard Endeavor (soft off roader) and tend to take off in about 6 ~ 8 months. Can't wait...very itchy feet!!!!
Thanks for your reply
Shezza

disco1942 posted:

Shezza

The van is not an "off road" model. It is built on a Preston chassis that is a little stronger than the average - the drawbar continues down as a double height chassis member as far as the front spring support. It now has a straight 2 tonne axle replacing the original 1600kg overlay one. The gravel stretch on the GRR was a high speed road. The road down to Tunnel Ck was variable, some stretches were badly cut up after the week long rain period they had in June. My solo traveling speed varied from 90km/H down to 35km/H, with a van I would have traveled around 10km/H less.

PeterD