Touring in a 2WD

Hi Phantom,

We've done Bunyaroo & Brachina gorges in a Falcon Ute, Parachilna gorge in flood in a KJ Laser (just walked the river crossings in front of the car to ensure it was OK), East & West McDonnell ranges in several 2WD's, including the Laser. We also did Beltana - Sliding Rock in a Falcon SW.

Until the Eyre Hwy & Stuart Hwy were sealed, nearly everyone did the trip in 2WD's, including buses & those 2 roads were horrible compared to most modern gravel roads lol!

Some other roads I would have no hesitation of doing in a 2WD in dry weather are:

* Oodnadatta track.

* Mereenie Loop Road.

* Gibb River Road (as long as its late in the dry & the water crossings are low) We were up there when the NSW Variety Bash came through in 2011 - saw HEAPS of old 2WD's come through & never encountered anyone stuck anywhere! Even met 2 girls driving a Yank Tank at Adcock gorge. They must have gone through a fairly high water crossing on the way in & still had no issues.

* Painted Desert.

* Birdsville Track.

* Most of the roads in Channel/corner country.

In fact, its probably easier to list the roads a 2WD shouldn't go down, there are less of them lol!

Cheers! :=)

Hi Rob,
That's correct.... Drive to the conditions & all should be OK..... Enjoy!

Rob, Kim & Will

I would advise against.
Yes, absolutely and as many has replied, it can be done and has been done by a 2WD.
And yes as many implied you don't need 4 wheel drive to get by

The main reason for advising against the Passat is that it simply is not made to withstand the conditions that you will come across, at the frequency that you will come across it, and the relatively long time you will spend in these conditions.
4WD cars have the advantage of
1) ability to put reasonable tyres on
2) availability of those tyre size and construction in remote areas
3) it has clearance
4) it is more sturdy, has better (stronger more reliable) running gear
5) the suspension will better handle the weight that you have to carry
6) overall more reliable for all these reasons (important in remote areas)
7) and as a bonus, is a 4WD

To put it into perspective; on Exploroz and other forums, sometimes when debating different 4WD cars, the comment is made to stick with well known brands (say Toyota, Nissan, etc) as they are a tad more reliable but more importantly better supported in remote areas. Something as simple as a batch of bad fuel will stop any diesel, but parts and know-how will get the common brand 4WD back into action in remote areas. Not wanting to start a new topic but even the Amarok is proving to be stranded in some areas as VW support and parts are not available.
I would personally not do it in a Passat

Cheers, and I must say I am quite jealous of you being able to do a trip like this

Rob, as others have said, tyres would be the main concern.
Depends on what size you have on your Passat.
I have a Golf with 15 inch wheels and I think they would be OK , but I would be a bit doubtful if you have 17, and wouldn't try it with 18 inch.
The Menindee road to Wentworth via Pooncarie is dirt and varies a lot due to weather and the road is maintained by 2 different councils, so one half could be OK and the other half maybe rough. Sometimes it is good all the way.
Pooncarie to Wentworth is sealed.

cheers
Dave

G, day phantom,
Good to see a lot of negativity from some of the replies. I think you will not have many probs if you have good tyres and a second spare or carcass.
I was a ringer on a large station near Finke in the 60s. The station vehicles were a falcon gs Ute and a sedan of the same era. The roads were very basic at this time and I remember that some of the river xings had to be attempted at speed just get to the other side, my memory of the Stuart highway was bulldust holes and corrugations for miles and all of this in 2 wheel drives. I remember my parents doing an out back trip in a Pontiac Parisienne and having no problems other than it ingressing a lot of red dust. The other station vehicles were VW buggies that were used for bore runs as they were very capable in the dune country and very fast on the bore runs. I remember they purchased a couple of landover diesels and they were that slow that you had to use 4wdrive as momentum was a non issue
Good luck with your travels
John