Melbourne - Adelaide - Alice Springs - Perth - Melbourne

Submitted: Monday, Dec 02, 2013 at 12:55

ThreadID: 105347 Views:2811 Replies:7 FollowUps:7

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maiolica

Hi there! Nice to meet you :)

My name is Simon and 3 months ago I bought my first 4x4 .. a 92 Land Cruiser 80 series 4.2 Diesel. :)
I spent the past 3 months to set it up for long range trips and now I'm thinking it's ready :).. or at least I hope so! :)
I'm planning to leave for 3/4 weeks over Christmas time and I joined this forum looking for some wise advice :)
I'd like to go from Melbourne to Perth and come back . On the way to Perth take the route Adelaide - Alice Springs - Perth. On the way back, drive along the "coast".
I'll be the only car with 3/4 people on board.

This is my car set up:

- maxtrax (recovery board)
- recovery kit (1 x 9M Long Snatch Strap, 1 x 3M Long Tree Trunk Protector, 1 x 20M
Long Winch Extension Strap , Snatch Block, Bow Snackles)
- ARB bull bar with 12000 pounds Warn winch
- turbo conversion kit with oil radiator
- turbo timer
- 2.5" complete exhaust system
- new timing belt and AC / alternator belts
- sponge air filter
- UHF
- 2 battery system - 1000 A CAT for engine start and winch - Exide Extreme N70EX for
all the other loads
- shovel
- axe
- saw
- tool box
- compass
- rear wheel carrier
- 1 x 33" spare wheel
- tire repair kit
- 45" high lift jack
- air Compressor on boar
- ARB front diff lock
- bow shackle tow bar
- Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ 33" x 12.5" on 15" rims with offset
- long range fuel tank (120 lt) - 215 lt total fuel capacity
- 2" front /2.5" rear lift with Koni shocks
- offset correction bushes
- front manual lock hubs/ 2 wheel drive conversion kit
- snorkel
- air hose with tires inflator
- diffs/gear box/transfer case breathers
- 120W LED bar and 2 Narva Ultima 175 blue broad/pencil beam lights on the roof rack
- 3 IPF 900 broad beam lights on the bull bar
- ARB standard low/high beams wiring kit
- custom made storage system
- custom made cargo barrier
- 60 lt Engel fridge
- 100 lt stainless steel custom made water tank with pump and tap for drinking water
- 2 x 25 lt plastic tank for washing water
- solar shower
- solar panel 120w
- 2kg gas bottle
- 2 burner stove/ cooking gear/2 tables / chairs
- alloy roof top rack
- ARB Simpson III rooftop tend with wired LED strip
- big awning with wired LED strips
- rear camera
- rear working light
- fishing rods holder/ fishing rods
- ultrasonic whistles

I'll use my phone as GPS. I'm looking to download some Australian map . Any suggestion on what to get?
Any advice on the car setup?Another spare tire?
Are 3 weeks enough for the trip?

Thanks in advance for any feedback :)
Simon

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Reply By: jacent - Monday, Dec 02, 2013 at 13:20

Monday, Dec 02, 2013 at 13:20

be careful with the foam filters as the place I got my turbo done said alot of turbo rebuilds that came in they found pieces of foam from foam air filters and not to use them??
sounds like you have the lot good luck!

AnswerID: 522469

Follow Up By: Ron N - Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 at 13:27

Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 at 13:27

I'll go with jacent. Foam filters are over-rated and dangerous. The foam degrades rapidly, and unless it is used in conjunction with a paper element (on the outside of the paper), you stand a very good chance of endangering the engine, rather than protecting it.

Foam blocks up very rapidly with the very fine red dust, and can quickly reduce air flow.

Many years ago I destroyed a near-new truck engine by utilising a foam filter in the W.A. Goldfields.
The foam blocked up very quickly with red dust, which caused the mesh supporting the foam to buckle - the foam pulled away at the edges when the mesh buckled - producing a gap through which a large amount of dust entered the engine, destroying it, and resulting in a very costly engine rebuild.

FollowupID: 803594

Follow Up By: maiolica - Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 at 14:24

Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 at 14:24

Thanks for that suggestion .. I'll buy the paper filter and replace it. Should I bring a second one with me to replace it along the way?

cheers

Simon

FollowupID: 803597

Follow Up By: Ron N - Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 at 15:59

Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 at 15:59

Simon - It's always a good idea to carry a spare set of filters, belts and hoses on any long-distance trip.
Take along a length of heater hose and hoseclips to suit - doing this has saved me a number of times, as heater hoses usually fail before the radiator hoses.

Cheers, Ron.

FollowupID: 803600

Reply By: Member - Oldbaz. NSW. - Monday, Dec 02, 2013 at 14:12

Monday, Dec 02, 2013 at 14:12

G'day Simon, & welcome to EO. I'm impressed with your set up..looks good. The only
question I have is re the high temps in the centre around Christmas. If the heat doesn't worry you..fine. I'd think 3 weeks & including Alice wont give you much time to smell the roses. I think your time frame, & date, would better suit a trip around the SW of WA with Perth at the beginning or end. Be aware that this is peak holiday time & you may need to camp independently as many areas will be booked solid. I wouldn't
be carrying 215L of ballast..fuel..except to escape the high Nullabor prices. Your weight will be quite high anyway, & nothing gained when fuel is freely available & cheaper..enjoy...cheers....oldbaz.

AnswerID: 522472

Reply By: Echucan Bob - Monday, Dec 02, 2013 at 14:46

Monday, Dec 02, 2013 at 14:46

Simon

Your rig sounds like the ducks guts. Far more capable than needed for the trip you propose, but it will serve as a good shake down for more serious trips later.

Be careful with your 3 IPFs. In some states coppers may take exception to the non symmetrical setup up and ask you for some money.

I'd suggest the Hema App for your smart phone.

Bob

AnswerID: 522475

Reply By: get outmore - Monday, Dec 02, 2013 at 16:51

Monday, Dec 02, 2013 at 16:51

you havnt said what soer of phone your using

as youve mentioned your using it for GPS im assuming a bigger screened andriod phone as you would need very good eyes to see any detail on the tiny Iphone screens.

anyway the cheapest option is to download offline google maps of australia particulary the routes you will be taking and more specifically the areas with no reception

if you do have an android phone you can download the ozi explorer app from there site and coupled with the natmap topo 250k which is available on this site for $50 will do all of australia. you can also build on the maps if you so desire as there is alot of off the shelf comercial products for ozi including hema maps as well as maps not available comercially from people that have made there own (map collecting is highly addictive and never ending)

all maps you get can be used accross every ozi platfrom ozi ce, ozi for android and ozi CE. Updates are always free and are always backwards compatible with older formats so your maps will never be obselete (as users of the hema app have discovered)

AnswerID: 522483

Follow Up By: maiolica - Monday, Dec 02, 2013 at 17:00

Monday, Dec 02, 2013 at 17:00

Hi there , sorry I forgot to mention it! :)
I have an samsung galaxy note I . The screen is quite big and it works very well as gps with google maps.
I thought about downloading google maps for the area without reception but I was wondering if there are around better map especially for off-road routes.
Thanks for the suggestion !

FollowupID: 803557

Follow Up By: Echucan Bob - Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 at 10:16

Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 at 10:16

The other big advantage of some of the android phones is you don't need a phone booth - you just go behind the phone.

FollowupID: 803632

Reply By: maiolica - Monday, Dec 02, 2013 at 16:53

Monday, Dec 02, 2013 at 16:53

G'day Jacent, oldbaz and bob
Thanks for your replies I really appreciate it.
I already been on a one week trip from Alice Springs to Adelaide in December few years ago. It was an organized tour and it was hot but at the end the temp wasn't a problem.
since I already saw that part .. I was thinking to drive to Alice Springs stopping just for resting and then "start" the trip from there. It should take 2/3 days. Correct? In this way I'll have let's say 3 weeks to come back to Melbourne via Perth and the SW of WA. I'm not planning to organize another trip in WA soon (I want to see also the top of NT and QLD) so I'd like to see as much as possible of the WA on this trip

I was already to camp interdependently.Any advice with that ? A lot of friend are telling me to watch Wolf Creek !!!! lol

You right oldbaz, probably I'l fill the sub tank with only 50 lt ...... just in case.
I'll already carry 100 lt of water behind the rear seat so thanks for the suggestion.
I was thinking to install poly bags because I already noticed the rear sagging with both fuel tanks filled up , the roof top tend and the storage system with the fridge .. I didn't try to fill up the water tank yet together with the other tanks... but for this trip it should be fine.

Thanks Bob , I'll download it today and try. About the lights I surfed internet a lot and I read few forums and also the act that mention that the spot lights should be installed in pair and not above 1.40 mt from the ground.
If we look the total number of spot lights that I have they are 6 so 3 pairs :) the ones on the roof are wired to an aviator plug that normally is disconnected and is on the roof rack so normally not connected. I wired all spot lights in a way that they works only when high beam are on . I know that I'm on the edge of legality depending the interpretation of the street code that leave open some interpretation ... finger cross they won't stop me and if they will, hopefully I'll fix it with a cold beer :)

I'm happy that the car sound properly set up . I got it with already some accessory on the list but I invested also a lot of time in building and setting up all the other accessory .
:) :)

AnswerID: 522484

Follow Up By: Ron N - Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 at 13:46

Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 at 13:46

Maiolica - Your basic trip (Melbourne-Alice Springs- Perth-Melbourne is going to be 9000 kms just in direct distance alone. This does not include any "side trips" to look at scenic sites or other sites of interest along the way. These could easily take up another 1000 or 1500 kms.

This means you will be covering at least 10,000kms in 3 weeks - an average of 476kms a day - every day.
That's a racing holiday, you won't get much time to stop anywhere, except overnight.

I have done 9000kms in 4 weeks holidaying, travelling light, in a Landcruiser, and staying in accommodation every night. Thus, we had no need to pack or unpack every day.

It was a rushed trip, we averaged over 320 kms a day, and there was an awful lot we missed, because we had to "push on" every day.
I don't think you will see as much as you should see, with a 3 week trip covering all those places.
A lot of your travel photos will be of interesting places, as you speed by, without time to stop.

Nowadays, I prefer to take it slower, and "stop and smell the roses". I guess I must be getting old. [;-)

Cheers, Ron.

FollowupID: 803595

Reply By: peter s62 - Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 at 13:50

Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 at 13:50

Simon, I'd be taking a step back. Buy a map book,add up the distances you are talking about then talk to your passengers and see if they really want to travel over 400 kms every day for 3 weeks with no days off to see anything or time to absorb your trip. It sounds like a nightmare to me.
How about exploring some areas like the Eyre Peninsula, drive Googs Track (where some of your accessories might even be used!). Visit Lake Gairdiner and the Gawler Ranges area, swim at Streaky Bay.If you really want a drive then go on to the Head Of The Bight or even Eucla and return via Wudinna.
But in my opinion the best way of not enjoying the Nullabor is to do it quickly - all it is then is a marathon drive. Regards Peter.

AnswerID: 522515

Follow Up By: Ron N - Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 at 15:56

Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 at 15:56

And a marathon drive it is, across the Nullarbor. It's surprising how few people realise the what a huge distance it is between between Perth and Adelaide.
It's 2700kms, and 28hrs actual driving time - without stops for meals or to stretch your legs. That's 3 full days, without even stopping to look at sights.
It's surprising the number of interesting places across the Nullarbor that 99.999% of the Nullarbor travellers miss, because they're fully focussed on the destination and nothing else.

Cheers, Ron.

FollowupID: 803599

Reply By: maiolica - Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 at 13:42

Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 at 13:42

Thanks everyone for your suggestion , I really appreciate it. Yeasterday I got the original air filter.
In effect, they are too many km for 3 weeks .... probably I should ask my manager more leaves!!!! :) :)

I'll follow your suggestion and drive along SA and WA coast and eventually arrive to Perth. sure I'll have more time for fishing! :)

AnswerID: 522595