The Simpson on a budget?

Thanks zook - Will definitely be getting the car checked out professionally, its always been well maintained, timing and other belts all replaced at correct intervals or prior, oils and filters like clockwork..but the potential for Murphy to strike means the old girl will get some serious inspection by an expert before we head off.
Cheers
Rich

Ditto to that.

Good advice andoland - I am really hoping the budget will stretch that far..plus I may be up for new tyres by then anyway - my ATs have 40K on them, by next May that will be more like 60K and the risk of puncture will be much higher..I'm not so much after a bigegr tyre for the trip, but if I was getting play tyres onto my spare set of rims, I figured a minute increase will be good for any other rough stuff I might be doing..

Thanks Frank - glad you had a good trip in your 120. Agree withyou re the tracks either side of the Simpson..the big plan is to drive on the bitumen to Uluru fiirst, then possibly a stopover in Alice to restock the fridge and get any last minute prep done before heading down the Finke to Mt Dare, then from Birdsville we have a few choices to get back home (Sydney).. the Finke has some horror stretches I hear?

Hi Rob - Rear dampers were replaced about 80k ago, otherwise its all original suspension..if I'm going to replace springs and front dampers, I might as well go for the 2inch lift while i'm at it..at the moment I think its in passable condition, but I know the trip would be way more comfortable with the new springs etc..I'm leaning towards going on the wagon (aaarrrgghhhhh!!!!) till then to help fund it!

This Prado is an auto so just going to keep the ATF nice and fresh, probably not much more I can do?

Hi Hamo - right with ya on the pressures and driving techniques..hoping to get a practice run on Fraser island this November and also a few Stockton beach trips, apart from that i've only had one small foray on the sand
An 80 or similar in standard form would have made light work of the trip compared to some of the first vehicles getting across in the 60s and 70s hey? Having read about Len Beadell's exploits in the outback in his ancient old 4 cylinder Landies makes me realise that even my humble Prado has got the potential to get me way further into the rough stuff than my own potential (driving experience/courage!) will let me..

Hi Phil - I'm really hoping I can stretch the budget for the new suspension, as thats exactly what I'm worried about..I want the wife and kids to be raving about the trip, not dreading any future trips I may want to throw at them..If the gods of overtime are kind, I'm sure we will get sorted before we leave..otherwise its gonna be the choppy ride!

Same goes for the tyres - my ATs will be half worn by the time we leave so new tyres probably going to go on regardless..looking at Hankook muddies as they seem to be getting good reviews and are a good price? or maybe I'll replace my ATs with fresh ones (currently on Bridgestone D697 LTs) if they work better on sand (but worried about boggy stretches on the tracks either side of the desert) - I seem to see most people use muddies in the desert?

Richie, I've done one Simpson Desert crossing on muddies and about another 10 over the years on A/Ts. Your 697's are the perfect tyre for your trip. Only the Victorians use muddies :-))

Hmmm - what about 697s with 60k on them? or should I buy 4 new ones and use 2 of the current ones as spares? If I can get away with these current tyres I'd be chuffed, as I'm really close to the bone $ wise and i won't get annual leave in the cooler months again until 2015..desperate to make this trip happen in 2013!

I'm guessing your 697's still have maybe 5mm tread. I had a set of 694's that still had 8mm tread on them at 70,000k. The problem that people have with low tread is that you increase the likelihood of tread punctures on SA's outback coarse gravel roads. These happen when sharp rocks penetrate the tread because of
too much speed,
too much weight, and
too much pressure.
If you address these, and carry an extra spare tyre casing then you are unlikely to have a serious problem. Put the best tyres on the rear - they are the most likely to puncture.
So when you travel the Birdsville, Oodnadatta or Pedirka tracks, keep your speed to no more than 70kph, lower your pressures to 24/28 and do your best not to overload the Prado. I tell people to have tyres with at least 50% tread, but I can understand your situation having been in it myself when the kids were growing up.

I know your Prado will be heavily laden. No need for extra jerry cans - 159L standard tanks will cover the crossing easily with the 1KZ-TE. I did a couple of crossings with an identical TD Prado and never used more than 110Litres Birdsville-Oodnadatta. If you're heavily loaded, you might get up to 125L. But with 4 of you in the vehicle, you'll need at least 60Litres water. Try not to put weight up on the roof - the roof of your Prado is only rated for 75kgs.

Springs and shocks are pretty cheap for that model Prado. Ideal solution is to replace the lot. But as an absolute minimum, you'll need heavy duty rear springs with all that weight you'll be carrying. The rear springs will cost about $200 and are easy to fit.

Just measured the tread - after 40K there is still 10mm remaining so they should still be good by next May.

I do plan to carry 2 spares.. yep the Prado gets loaded to the roof for a weekend camp so a 2-3 week trip into the centre will test us for packing lightly. We have a roof rack which usually takes the sleeping bags and mattresses, camp chairs, gas bottle, kids bikes (not this trip) etc. In the back we have a 40l engel, stove, tent, storage boxes for food, pots, pans etc and so by the time we throw in 60l water we will be struggling to fit clothes in! Might investigate one of the water tanks that sits between 2nd row of seats and the cargo barrier..

I absolutely destroyed one of the tyres when they were only about 10k old on the Wombeyan Caves rd - had dropped to 24psi as the road is a shocker..we clipped a bit of loose rock that somehow flicked into the sidewall and it was all over rover..

If the budget won't allow for the full lift, think I'll at least get the HD springs as suggested.
Cheers Phil!

Bingo The Landy - The 4wd media must generate millions of dollars spent by people modifying vehicles to then never get anywhere near the potential the mods provide?? As i replied to someone above, I think that the standard vehicle of today (or even 10-15 years ago) would make a mockery of some of the earliest vehicles doing the Simpson..I'm very keen to do the trip as is, I just have a few reservations..
I'm a stickler for servicing, do 90% of it myself and the Prado is running as good as the day we got it 10 years ago.
I know we can do the trip without too much trouble, I just don't want to get out in the middle of nowhere and realise I have a blown shock or two, the springs are bottoming out with the full load, the tyres are struggling if there has been a bit of rain..if i stay with what i've got, this will be a 12 yo vehicle with 300k+, still on original suspension and tyres that will be 60% worn..I don't want to be over cautious but I also don't want to jeopardise the success of the trip.. got 3 other people on board who will be a lot happier if they arent getting shaken to bits or made to get out and help dig the prado out of the mud on more than the odd occasion! I'm trying to reduce the risk of blown tyres too which is another reason why some new rubber is on the shopping list, budget allowing.

But hey, I love your philosophy to just get out there and do it!!

Thanks Phil - My rear shocks are Old Man Emus, but everything else is original Toyota..I realise I don't really need the lift to do this trip, but if i'm going to put new springs in I might as lift it now (mainly for other trips closer to home where a bit of extra clearance will be helpful) rather than replace the springs again down the track..

sometimes I think i'd like to do the trip on what I've currently got, and by the time I get back it will be REALLY clapped out and then I can do the lift and that way avoid having the Simpson destroy my shockies as soon as they are installed!!

Ahhh what to do..?

Yeah, fairly up on everything else needed for the trip.. still need to buy some goodies (maxtrax etc) and I might be putting my feelers out for anyone else wanting to join forces once I know if I'm definitely doing the trip.. not crazy about the idea of a single vehicle crossing..will rejoin my local club for starters..

A trip report on the forum described the trip as a bucket list item..I've been dying to do this trip for about 30 years! Hopefully this will be the first of many!

We had a bunch of people give us the "don't do it solo" eye when it was in planning mode. But we had some who said go for it. It all depends on you, your car and the desert. We got a satellite phone for emergencies and were prepared to pay the $2000 odd for a recovery if needed. We are both up to ift as far as skills are concerned and the car was definitely okay. So we went solo and when told that the WAA line was the roughest, we went that way.

And it was a breeze. We were in fact overly cautious in our planning and car setup so it was the ideal mode for us.

The flowers were fantastic and the waether couldn't have been better.

A laugh for you and any readers. One night in the wee small hours of the morning there was a strange shuffling noise which stopped quickly. We were both awake even though we didn't know it. Again there it was and again it stopped as if to listen. Then the noise again which seemed to stop right next to me. I am about 2 meters above the ground in our roof top tent. We couldn't see a thing outside as the canvas is very thick and the windows were closed to keep the warmth inside. But the heart rates was going at about a 300. Without saying anything I hit the canvas just to shoo off any camel or dingo. My wife went through the roof. She though it was a wack from the OUTSIDE and that we were under attack by some alien being. Soon we realised that both were awake and that it was I who had hit the canvas. We started to laugh and I am still sore. A story for the grandkids around the camp fire mate.

Phil

Sounds like an awesome trip - makes me want to do the WAA now..solo even!
Seriously funny story re the "alien attack"! Thanks for sharing!
Cheers mate

It makes me chuckle sometimes!

And mind you I have a Defender 130 that is modified for long-range touring and a Defender 110 that is stock standard out of the box.

The funny thing is we are constantly conditioned that you need modified vehicles to “do the trip” and often perpetuated in forums, perhaps as a justification for money that has been spent.

But here is the drill, often it is coming from people who in their younger days would have been bumping around in a clapped out Kombi, or Datsun 120Y, went everywhere and loved it.

Mind you, I’m not advocating a Datsun 120Y or Kombi for a Simpson trip, lest I be accused of saying they are capable of it.

Enjoy your trip with the family, that is what it is all about!

My friends say I am crazy...I think they're secretly jealous. Losing my job after 15 years has been the biggest blessing so far :) I'm teaching my children that us women can do it all, says me who will be broken down on the side of the road....but still with a smile on my face.

Ohh yes ,we must all spend $$$$$$$ [thousands] on modifications ,,
Wife had to regular drive from home to Boulia in her Kia Reo with all of 2inches ground clearance , 90klm of blacksoil dirt and gravel followed by the crap Asphalt from Winton to Boulia , she would always pull into the Middleton pub [1/2 way] , often you would hear the voice of partners asking hubby 'Tell me again why we needed to spend 10/15 thousand dollars to get our patrol /landcruiser/whatnot ready for a 2week drive ' ,,,,, as they sat outside looking at a little red car parking next to their $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ machine. lol.

I also am a bit of a motorcycling fan, have owned and ridden various bikes over various terrains..and while there are the specialty bikes (BMW, KTM etc) for big outback trips a la Ewan and Charley, a $3000 ebay special such as a Suzuki DR650 will get you around Australia or even the world and give you experiences to last a lifetime..It's not what you ride or drive, just get out there and see the country!

Thanks for these great links!
Re the modification debacle.., I originally wanted a set of mud tyres to go on my spare rims..but they are only available in 75 series as opposed to 70 series for the standard rubber, which means that i need a small lift..if i did the tyres and the lift, i am now in a vehicle that might get me further into the sh*t than in its standard form..so i better put a diff lock in the rear to help me keep moving forward in case retreating was out of the question..if forward progress was also a drama i better have a winch on my front bar (or at least a hand winch but what happens when the fatigue factor kicks in?) but i need a new bar as my standard Toyo bar has no winch provision..so now for the sake of putting some muddies on, i'm now looking at spending say $6-7K for everything..or i could just leave it standard and spend the $$ on trips to the bush!

Hmmm now I have discovered Hankook do a M/T in 70 series...so maybe I don't need the lift after all..maybe just the Hankooks and a Tirfor and some smarter driving is the answer??

I agree with other comments here about tyres - once in the desert sand any tyre will be okay as long as you let them down nice and low. Have a look at Oodnadatta Roadhouse's website with tyre pressure info. Your biggest risk with slightly older tyres is the rocky roads to get to the desert, that's where most people do the damage. Read the Oodnadatta info about lowering your pressures about 20% on rocky roads to reduce damage.

Thanks Luke - great food for thought. It's the age and condition of my suspension that makes me think I might have similar issues to the Prado family you mention. We will be loaded up as it looks like being a 3 week trip and carrying extra water, a second spare wheel and tyre, tools, recovery gear etc make me hope that the new suspension fairy will come and visit..as for travelliong alone, I see lots of videos of Simpson crossing and the sudden turns that a lot of the dunes have at the crest make me worry that if the worst happened and we ended up on our side, a 2nd vehicle to winch from would be very handy! But i guess not too many rollovers actually occur in the Simpson? Or am i very much mistaken?

Hi Richie, you do hear about roll-overs but I've never seen one in my 20 or so trips in various parts of the Simpson. If you weighed up the likelihood you'd have to say it was very unlikely and if the worst happened I'm sure you'd attract a couple of other willing vehicles to help in no time. And those sorts of things mostly seem to happen to the young blokes going too fast :-) And I guess if you do find yourself a bit sideways on a slope follow the golden rule of "steer into the fall-line" if this means driving straight down the hill to get it straight again that's okay, the bushes will recover...

Thanks again Luke!