Great Central Road WA

Hi Trevor, did you do a search? There have been a number of recent threads; Great Central Road

It will always have good and bad patches, but an off roader with lowered tyre pressures and taking it easy will get you through unless there is rain. Then there can be slippery patches or the road can be closed.

We came through in the second week of June. There had been some rain in the week before that, and the NT side had been closed for a few days and then reopened "with caution". That tag should be permanent - the first part eastwards from Docker River is always loose corrugated red pindan over a firm base and the last part to the bitumen at the Olgas turnoff is as bad.

The WA side is just another unsealed road, no dramas at all unless rain has fallen. Before travelling it, check with Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku website (http://www.ngaanyatjarraku.wa.gov.au/index.php/tourist-information/road-reports) and the WA side roadhouses (Warakurna and Tjukayirla) for the current condition, also Laverton Police for their end. For the NT side, the NT govco have a site (start at http://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/roadreport/highway.jsp?name=Other%20Major%20Roads) which can give you more info.

As always, drive to conditions. [I'm not a fan of lowering tye pressures. While it may give a better ride for the vehicle and occupants, it increases sidewall flexing which causes additional heat buildup and exposes the sidewalls to damage. We have done this road each time without event on normal "street" tyres at normal street pressures.]

We did the Great Central Road 13 to 15 May. The NT side was in reasonable condition whereas the WA side was in excellent condition generally. For the most part the WA side is a properly formed road with a good gravel surface. The NT side is more your typical "U" shaped dug out road. The WA side would be capable of 100 km/h if you were so inclined, however doing a gravel road at such speed is unwise to say the least. Of course a few weeks after travelling the road they had 50 mm of rain at Giles so the condition of the road, especially on the NT side may have deteriorated.
With regards to tyre pressures my view is that if you have anything other than LT (light truck) tyres you do need to be careful because of the sidewalls. However, lowering your tyre pressures really does take the "bang" out and it really helps preserve your suspension. A hard, higher pressure tyre is much more likely to be damaged by rocks, however you do need to take care with non-LT tyres and their relatively soft sidewalls. Of course lower pressure means lower speed. I was running 25 front and 30 rear and limiting my speed to 80 km/h max. I was towing a Tvan.
The caravan parks at Warakurna and Tjukayirla are very good if you are a caravan park person. There are camping spots along the way but you need to be careful with your choice.
Don't forget to get your permits to travel. They are both available online for no cost.

Last week, Laverton to the border very good, border to Uluru rubbish (very corrugated). Worst I've seen in 4 trips over it.

cheers David

Can confirm that Laverton to Warburton, having driven it today, is generally in good nick, especially from Cosmo Newberry to Warburton where there's barely a bump. Some parts of it are just terrific. 20 km or so of road works on Laverton side of shire border and there's bitumen from the Heather Hwy turn off to within about 5 km of Warburton, which was a very pleasant surprise:)
More tomorrow when we drive the rest to Uluru.