The Gibb River Road in a New Xtrail towing an off road camper

Good morning Margaret
You best read post 117701 , just back a few .

It would probably pay to put all terrain tyres on the X-trail if you haven't already. Normal road tyres can get eaten by roads such as that. Garages in the outback spend a lot of time repairing or replacing tyres as tyre failures are quite common. You should also spend some time reading up on whether to lower your tyre pressure when on the dirt. There are arguments for and against, personally I lower mine as I feel the car likes it better but everyone should make their own decision. If you do lower them, you will need an air compressor to pump them up when back on the tar. Make no mistake, you can do that road with the factory tyres, but your risks of a mishap are a good deal higher.

HI Margaret,
You won't have any problem in your Xtrail pulling a camper.
There are plenty of designated camp sites along the GRR.
They aren't free but the fees are reasonable.
Try to get some GRR info before you go as there are many things to see.
Take your time if you've got it and try to see it all.
The road is typical of any outback road, it can be heavily corrugated in sections.
My experience was that it was not too bad - except the kalumburu road which had the worst corrugations I've ever seen. We turned back as a result. I'll put Mitchell Falls on the list for a later date. I was happy with what we saw without going there...
You shouldn't need fuel as there are fuel stations along the way.
But it wouldn't hurt to take 5 or 10 litres as a backup.
Your Xtrail should handle the water crossings without any concern.
The Pentecost is quite rocky so you could have a few bumps underneath especially if the rear end of your car is sagging due to towball weight. So try to pick your line going across - watch others make the crossing first, to see if they hit any big rocks and then pick your line around them.
Otherwise you will be fine.
I would just take some drinking water with you, other than that there is an abundance of water available along the way.
Drive to the conditions, slow down and avoid rocks protruding from the road. If you strike one of them on the sidewall of your tyre you could tear a hole in it.
Don't be phased by other drivers. There are plenty of idiots that drive way too fast on dirt roads. If you see oncoming vehicles that are driving too fast, pull over and wait for them to pass. That way you won't be driving blindly through their dust or get sprayed with rocks. You'll find that they have no consideration for you what-so-ever.
The ones that are coming up behind you will try to pass you regardless of the conditions and again have no regard for you at all.
If you see them behind you through the dust slowly pull over and let them pass. Otherwise they will put you at risk by passing through the dust and also spray you with rocks.
Other than that, it is one of the best experiences I've ever done and I'm sure you and your friend will have a great time.
Cheeky

Hi Margaret, as I said on the thread yesterday, My Blogs for 2008 show what we saw and where we camped. We went to Kalumburu and Mitchell Falls, towing our off road caravan (but didn't take to caravan up to Mitchell Falls). It was the best of the best of all our trips.

Hi Margaret
I'm heading up to Gibb River Station to oversee the redevelopment of the cattle station.

The community at Ngallagunda, on Gibb River, are about to open their new store, so call in and check it out on your way through. It's only 2 k's off the main Rd.

Have a great trip!

Richard

P.. The Imintji store is closed so make sure you fuel up at Mt Barnett or Ngallagunda.

Further to the above posts on side trips. The short drive to Windjana Gorge was easy and should be fine for you. Even if corrugated, from memory, it is just a few Kms.

However when we were up there a few years back the road further on to Tunnel Creek was just as bad as Motherhen described the one to Kalumbaru and Mitchell Falls. Corrugations - bad!! It was probably because we were unlucky to get there after a long break and no maintenance/grading. If it is graded the Xtrail/trailer will be fine.