At Last! the 1/2 lap is in my sights 2017

Good luck with your trip, you will love it
You didn't say what was already included in your 2600 kg but I hope it includes yourself, your 100 litres of water, food, cooking gear etc.
A small freezer and a third fridge will add at least 40 kg plus contents.
I think it will be very difficult , if not impossible, under your loading to stay under GVM but you wouldn't the only one on the road
Ross Nielsen

Cruiser,

May see you somewhere along the route.
We are traveling from Adelaide across the Nullarbor to Kalgoorlie, then up the Great Northern Highway through the Pilbara, to Broome, Derby, the GRR and on to Kununurra. Then heading through Katherine and a right turn towards Adelaide, diverting to Kings Canyon, Yalara (Ayers Rock & Olgas) along the road.

Our plan is for an 8 week trip, starting 20th April and timed to hit the Gibb mid May, just after it opens following the wet season (hopefully) and just before the scheduled annual bike ride from Broome to Kununurra. (21st-25th May)
Have been along the Gibb before but this time from "south to north", staying a few nights in the Manning Gorge and Home Valley Station campgrounds.

You don't need to carry a "truckload" of food as it is available in towns along the way. In fact you need to check quarantine requirements heading into WA, especially fruit and vegetables. The only longish trip you will need to plan for fuel is the Tanami Track. Mount Barnett will have fuel half way along the Gibb River Road. Just be aware, a long range tank may seem a good idea, but you are adding a lot of weight to your vehicle when full.
Meat we take with us is vacuum sealed and will last a couple of weeks just kept cool before needing replenishment. No freezer required and butchers in towns along the route will happily vac-seal your purchases for longer term stability.
I usually plan as many 2+ day camps as possible, but this trip we will have several one day stops, especially across the Nullarbor and up to Karijini.
With 3 vehicles in our convoy, one night stops will be pull up, leaving the vans connected to tow vehicle and visiting the local town pub for an evening meal. No cooking or washing up to delay early departure the next day and its a great way of meeting locals too.
This may be a bit harder for you though and it is one of the reasons I have never considered a RTT, but each to their own hey!

Good luck on your venture and I'm sure you will enjoy it.
My best advise of all is to look at good quality maps when planning your route, taking into consideration distances between fuel stops and prepare for a "Plan B" if necessary. (e.g. if the GRR opening is delayed by late wet weather, you may have to take the bitumen up to Kununurra).
I use a spreadsheet to plan our intended stops and distances between them, but this is only a guide and not a strict "bible" of where we need to be on a given day.
If we really like a spot we may stay longer and if we don't, we may continue on to another "unplanned stop" further along our route.
All part of a relaxing trip through the outback:-)

Depending on how you look at it a second fridge/freezer would be a good backup if either one fails but you may need a 2nd battery to run both. Or for the amount of money you would pay for another fridge/freezer, battery you could probably buy a dual zone fridge/freezer with separate compartments which are versatile in their use and cover maybe cover your needs.
Fitting a long range tank is a good idea I have a similar size tank in my patrol. Don't forget a food grade hose to fill the water tank. Have a good trip.

HF Radio.

Hi
I did the Tanami solo this year and fuelled up in Halls Creek and took an extra 30 litres on board. I arrived in Alice on 180 litres of diesel driving a V8 troopy. On the Tanami you can get fuel at Billiluna, Yuendumu and Tilmouth Well. Check opening hours. No great scenery except Wolfe Creek Crater.
Safe travels.
T

The Tanami is the only route you will have a long distance between fuel. At the very least, if you go into Balgo (permit needed), you need to cover 561 kilometres. You would be right on the limit at your maximum estimated usage.

Check My Blogs from 2008 (Kimberley and Tanami) and 2009 (Darwin, Kakadu). Questions are welcomed.

I agree with those who have said there is plenty of food, fuel etc available in the areas you intend going.

You are right about not overloading the car. That is a good way of breaking things as countless travelers in remote areas have found out. All of these volume selling 4x4 cars and utes are built to a price. Their maximum towing and carrying capacities are for good sealed roads only and should be reduced off road according to the conditions.

You should not have any weight problems seeing you are travelling solo. If I was in your position I would forget about roof top tents and sleep in the car. A roof top tent is only going to increase the weight, raise the centre of gravity and increase fuel consumption.

I would also take all the seats out except the driver's of course. They are heavy in Cruisers and if nobody is sitting in them then why carry them?

I started driving in the Outback in the western Old area in 1967 and have been out there regularly ever since. I did not have a bull bar and still don't. They add far too much weight for my liking. I did hit a roo on the Nullarbor in 1972 but that is the only thing I have ever hit in all those years. It is easy enough to just about eliminate the risk of hitting something if you really want to.

A close friend of mine once fitted a bull bar to his Holden after getting a new job that took him through a roo infested area each night. He thought he was safe until he hit one. It went over the top of the bar then through the windscreen and ended up in the back seat. I think they can easily lull you into a false sense of security.

My wife and I have driven over roads like the Gunbarrell Hwy and many others with a just a 40 liter fridge. I could easily get by with a smaller one on my own. I could not imagine us ever filling a 60 like you have.

There is a lot of ways you can reduce the weight of your car then load it up and still be well under the maximum.

The roads you are going on should not cause any problems providing it is not raining or you are not driving like a bat out of hell. City based people seem to think their car needs a modified everything plus every accessory in the book in order to get through. To the local people they are just the road from their town to the next. They just jump into their standard cars and go.

I did see a modified 4x4 Navara ute that looked like it was locally owned just out of Bourke a couple of years ago. It had a home made bull bar with a canvas water bag on it, a couple of big driving lights,a huge HF radio aerial and what looked like Hilux split rims with 7.00 x 16 cross ply tyres. You don't see any like that in the 4x4 magazines.

You may find your fuel consumption is lower than you think. It is with my non turbo diesel Hilux. We always travel with the car a couple of hundred kilos under GVM. On a long freeway or highway trip, it uses around 10.2 liters per 100 ks. It drops to low 9s around town at home. On a hard surface outback road like the Oodnadatta Track, it is around 9.3 per 100 because the speed we drive at is much lower than on a sealed highway. On a trip down the Sandy Blight Junction Road three years ago it did 8.9 per 100 between Kintore at the northern end and Giles weather station. The road was very sandy in places with many small sand hills but our average speed was only around 20 ks per hour.

Most 4wds have the aerodynamics of a brick and speed really knocks the fuel consumption around. .

Just a few comments. I think the advice above to remove the seats and sleep in the vehicle is good. Have a look at our blogs to see how we set up our Troopy so that we could sleep in it quite comfortably. Re food, suggest dont bother going to the extra cost (in both $ and weight) of a second fridge. As others have said, use vacuum packed meat, preferably pre-frozen. But make sure that you place the meat in the bottom of the fridge in rigid containers, otherwise on a corrugated track like the Tanami you can risk popping the packs with unpleasant consequences. Fresh fruit and vege travel well if wrapped in newspaper and kept as cool as possible - a foam box is good for this. You can learn to be very frugal with water and on our early travels we only carried about 60l, but we made it a rule to top up at every opportunity. It may be harder now to top up. Likewise with fuel, top up whenever you can. Carry some reliable means of communication and a decent moveable map facility plus paper maps of the wider areas through which you will be travelling and you will be set. John and I have always travelled together, sharing the driving. A family member has recently taken the plunge and has done a few solo trips which he has really enjoyed - except for the lack of company.
Hope you have a great trip,
Cheers,
Val.

Many thanks for everyones input so far.
I have done short remote trips previously, no longer than a week though.
I dont think sleep inside my vehicle will be an option due to the setup I already have but thanks for the idea anyway.
I have always been interested in landscape photography and in the early stages doing homework on which camera, lenses, tripod etc set up to purchase. Having said that, is why my concern with fuel going off tracks and not worrying about fuel hence a long range tank.
Trying to reduce weight is proving difficult even with aftermarket suspension 2" OME 300kg constant load at rear, she handles better when loaded.
Front steel ARB bull bar has saved the front end a few times already at lower speeds: emu's & hoppers. So I'm a bit reluctant to remove it.
Draws in the back have proven valuable for organised storage.
100 amh amg is dedicated to the fridge and now thinking a small third battery maybe be handy with a small 800w inverter to charge laptop, photography equipment and to operate a vacuum seal machine unless there are 12v's available.
I'm comfortable that a second small fridge won't be needed from responses.
As far as camping equipment goes(BEST filter, cooking, chair, small table, 12v shower, even have the port a loo for my bad back, etc) 90% of things are either fold away or collapsable. I am also comfortable with using the aerosol type gas cans for cooking to keep space and weight down from a 4.5 or 9kg bottle and a 2 burner gas stove. The baby Q will need to stay behind for this trip.
Recovery gear from max tracks to straps including 12000lb winch should be more than enough, just need to familiarize myself with a tyre repair kit.
My biggest indecisiveness is the sleep arrangement ie: RTT. Still weighing up the pros and cons of my prefered sleeping arrangement, a small CUB, Pioneer or Kimberly for a more comfort but I'm still tossing up if comfort out ways the extra $$$$ in a camper, extra fuel cost and accessibility to difficult tracks without having to dump the camper and then back track to collect it.
I have never needed more than the UHF and phone in remote areas though I think these beacons may be a life insurance necessity.
Clothes: a few days worth and I have a 15L barrel as a washing machine.
Also have a good quality rubbish bag on the spare wheel carrier.

I think a windscreen protector would also be a good investment......seen and heard of lots of windscreen damage out that way.
Thanks again for all the input so far.................keep them coming....
Cheers,
Steve

Hi guys and you will love it. We did the same trip a few years ago. I remember when we took off there were many questions about what I should take. If you choose to get a dedicated freezer then consider your solar panel option. There is plenty of sun but the hotter days will drain your battery. Not sure if you have solar panels or not, if not, they are a must in preference to another battery. Remember, other than the Tanami, there are shops along your track. Yes long range tank is an option, just depends on how much money you want to spend. Remember when you eventually sell your car, so the long range tank also goes. Just consider a couple of Jerry Cans. You will only need extra fuel on the Tanami if you don't want to stop or save on extra fuel in Jerries at a cheaper price in the bigger towns. The Gibb River is a breeze for fuel, with at least 2 stops along the way. If you need to kit your rig out with some 4wd stuff, let me know, in fact just look up 4WD Supacentre on the net. (www.4wdsupacentre.com.au) great stuff and unbelievable prices. I use it a lot. If you go to Kakadu, try to get to Cahills Crossing 35ks from Jabiru at high tide. You can watch crocs jumping and catching Barramundi. Last time we were there, there were 17 crocs that we counted. When things quieten down there you can fish for Barra as well. It is not a set up by tourist agents it's live and real. If you are into swimming, the Gibb River Road has at least 6 swimming holes, they are a must along with Tunnel Creek. In Kakadu Magook and Gunlom are a must, but make sure you climb to the top. Unbloodybelievable. It is the highlight. Enjoy, and also planning that trip in 2017 again

Gday, I have recently returned from a solo trip from Bunbury to Broome (where the family flew in).
I slept in a single all sandfly mesh dome and swag, which took all of 1 minute to set up....
I don't understand the fascination with RTT's. They talked longer to set up, and in my mind, don't offer any additional benefit - but a number of drawbacks - but they seem very popular for some reason???...
When the family arrived we had a canvas tent, but travelling alone the swag in an insect / snake etc proof dome is the best!!!!