Trevor R (QLD) posted:

Hi Mike,

Is it Trakmaster that have an owners club doing some very remote and very difficult tracks every year? I heard of one caravan mob doing an east to west crossing of the continent, don't know if it was Trackmaster or not.

Sounds like some good spots have been seen with your van in tow already, keep up the safe and happy travels.

Regards, Trevor.

Trevor R (QLD) posted:

RnR,

Thanks for the reply, I did not mean to put you off telling your travels due to the weight of the van but I was particularly interested in the 2500kg jobs so I can work out where mine could go as well as give others some ideas.

Do you know how the Trackmaster owners go in the desert country? I figure on the East West trip they traverse plenty of the Simpson as well as some of the sandy country through the West Aus border regions. Sounds like the later has been experienced by yourself on the Alice to Marble Bar trip?

I am curious as to the Trackmaster's path through the Simpson, is there a website I can ask these questions direct to those having done the trip before? and wonder if they would let a ringin Supreme Getaway owner join in the fun?

Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Regards, Trevor.

Trevor R (QLD) posted:

Mike B,

Thanks for the reply. Mine is only single axle but it is very overweight for it's length (16'6 long- 2250 on the axle loaded plus the 300 odd kg on the ball), it digs in hard in the soft sand which is the main reason for asking how others go in the desert country. The GU has crawler gears as well as good HP at the back wheels which sort of makes my confidence a little over inflated at times....another reason for me asking the question of where it can and can't go as my confidence blurrs things a little (Big Red seemed extra easy to me this year, so much so, I reckon the van would come up behind me if I wanted it to....which gets one thinking of a desert foray in comfort). I have no hesitation in taking it on corrogated dirt roads as the suspension of both van and vehicle are setup to cope with this, but I do hesitate with sand.

Best regards,
Trevor.

Trevor R (QLD) posted:

Thanks Mobi,

Just goes to show, there is no need to stop where the bitumen ends if you have the right setup. That is one seriously loaded B/tracker......if my maths are OK you put 900kg in the van? is this right? I thought I was the only one silly enough to load up like this LOL!! I have tare of 1670kg on my van but weighing it gives 2350kg on the axle (single axle) and ball weight of 300kg for all up 2650kg.....very loaded (read o/loaded).

I did the B/ville track earlier this year and it has just given me a taste of what I love...the great wide land with no limits. Just got to get the kids through 12yrs of schooling....payout the mortgage....convince the wife to go full time.....argghhh too hard, depressed just thinking about it LOL!! Short stints will have to apease me for the time being, but Innaminka and the simmo are high on my list but with the van in tow, the latter may be difficult (or impossible but don't tell me that or I will have to try it LOL!!).

Thanks for the response.
Happy trials, Trevor.

Mobi Condo posted:

Hello again Trevor,
Yes 900 + with - each kg weighed as it was loaded inside! Water was "weighed" by fact of 320L = 320Kg etc.
We did the hard yards exercise before we took on the Kimberly excursion for LSL in May, June, July this year. My wife and myself took great diligence to do so in order to make sure we are legal for all sorts of reasons.
I am glad we got the Toyota GVM looked at and approved to be re-rated to 3350Kg and the VIN plates fixed! We now HAVE to run Light truck tyres AND ALWAYS have trailer brakes in action. If we have a trailed load even less than 750 Kg we HAVE to ensure we are not over the standard Toyota GVM of 2960 as well! That is now worry of course as we have a heavy duty trailer with elcetric brakes as well! It is getting quite technical these days!

Our van is rated at 3500Kg BUT has 4000Kg heavy duty suspension and 12" brakes on all four wheels. So we are running with a 500 Kg safety margin when we are at our legal limit!

Never the less the whole rig just churns along very smoothly and efficiently. Since adding the Turbo we are at least 1.5 gears better off on hills (field tested along the same stretch of road between Kyancutta and Iron Knob) AND we obtained 9% better fuel economy over the trip of 11700 kilometers.

Cheers - Mobi