Outback Travel

I can only speak from a caravannners point of view. A full off road van would certainly handle most of your proposed trips. The GRR, Tanami, GCR etc. Not sure of the Annie Beadell...I've never done it but have heard its tough and rough. The usual provisos apply, your gear is only as good as your preparation and and driving skills with the appropriate speeds and tyre pressures etc. Just ruminating...what is a full off road van theese days....once there were only 3 or 4 recognised off road vans...now every manufacturer seems to have one...or are they on road vans with a 4" lift checkerplate and lots of bling?

Hi Nuts

Of the four roads mentioned above, the first three are major, wide outback roads, while the Anne Beadell on the other hand is just a two wheel , with the exception from Ilkurla Roadhouse to around Neale Junction.

If you value your full size caravan, then you would want to steer well clear of the Anne Beadell, or else you would come home with major damage to the exterior of the van and possible panel damage. It is quit tight in there for many sections for a car, and the full size van would get very damaged.

I am doing this reply from my iPad, so I will find some of examples of the Anne Beadell and post them soon from my computer .


Cheers



Stephen

I believe that a full sized off road van will easily do most of the roads you have mentioned. The only problem is that many of the attractions in the outback are off these main roads and so if you have a full van the only option is to camp and leave your van there to visit some of these.
A 12 ft hybrid is better suited if you wish to camp in some of the more remote areas.
Many will tell you that they have taken vans to all sorts of places, but I wonder about the condition when they get back.
We have a small hybrid (Vista Crossover XL) and find it plenty large enough for extended trips (we normally go away for 8-9 weeks at a time), yet small enough to take anywhere we want.
A large van will handle most road conditions, but will not handle tight cornering or ramp angles.

There is unfortunately no such thing as the perfect caravan/camper trailer . Everything is a compromise. Nevertheless I have seen a Falcon pulling a caravan on the Gibb and a Holden Commodore on the Tanami. The GCR is very good in WA but can be quite variable in NT. With respect to the Anne Beadell friends towed Tvans across a few years ago with no real drama. However, slow and steady was the key.
To be absolutely confident you would probably be best with a specifically off road designed camper trailer. These you can take most places without putting too much strain on the vehicle.
We have a Tvan which we have taken to many outback locations with minimal drama. Of course being a camper trailer you don't get the internal toilet and shower nor the internal kitchen. However, what you get is accommodation you can take almost anywhere. P.S., The Mitchell Plateau road is not for the feint hearted, nor any caravan.

"Off road" covers a multitude of design possibilities and you're going to have to drill down to a list of specific ones, and then do your research on the build quality of brands of interest.

This in other words is a warning about marketing BS.

Eg one very large manufacturer has a range called 'Outback'. When you read all their guff you find it's OK for graded dirt roads.

Depends a bit of what you want in a Off Road Van. Shower, separate toilet, inside cooking for inclement weather and nothing else to do but open the door. we have a 20.6 Lotus trooper Off road van and have taken it over most of those roads with the exception of the Anne Beadell, Connie Sue and Gary Highway, which we traveled in vehicle only.

We spend up to 6 - 7 months away at a time, and glad we have a full size van, with 300lts of water, plenty of solar and battery power so remote camping for up to 3-4 weeks at a time is no problems.

I just saw that they had lots of rain on Eyres Rock. In about 2 to 3 weeks the deserts will be alive. What about booking into the camp ground at Eyres Rock for a few days and then spend some days camping around the West Macdonald Ranges and/or motel/cabins in Alice Springs with day trips to the ranges.

Re tyres. Once at Eyres Rock let all tyres down to about 25 and leave them at that pressure until you leave to come home and then put the at the right highway pressures. While not ideal it's a good compromise between easy dirt roads and tracks and the bitumen. But keep speed down on the bitumen. Stop regulary to feel the tyres to see if they are not overheating.

If you are going to do this then book asap.

Phil

If you are considering a van down to only 12 foot then a pop top camper on a single cab ute might suit you. I am thinking about one that bolts permanently onto the chassis, not a slide on. Slideons are usually too heavy when you load them and you are carrying the weight of the ute tray as well to make the situation even worse.

You could have it custom made as light as possible with only the things you need in it. The commercially available ones cater for everyone so they have every conceivable thing crammed into them along with all the weight that comes with these things.

To cater for things like heavy camp ovens, water, jerrys full of fuel, tools etc, you could tow a small custom built trailer designed for carrying only. This should make it easy to keep the car well under maximum carrying capacity and a very long way under its towing capacity. This will ensure maximum reliability.

You could now drive over the Anne Beadell with ease as well as just about anywhere else you want to go and never have to double back to pick up your van.

We have a exodus 11 from complete campsite and am looking to upgrade to the 14 or 16. These have internal shower and toilet and are still only as wide as the car for all off-road travel and on road. Built to go any where and we have taken ours to Mitchell falls and all south west Queensland and only 1800 to 2200kg fully loaded. The AOR eclipse and quantum are also worth looking at.

Our solution has been to buy one of each!
We have swagged for 30 years, towed a Tvan for 7 years and had an offroad single axle caravan for 2 years. We have all 3 options available to us depending on the trip.
If you wantt an internal shower, toilet, kitchen and all the bells and whistles, then I recommend our caravan. But it is 2.5m wide and 3.2m high so i'd never use it for the Anne Beadell Highway or many other Beadell roads because it would get trashed by the overgrown tracks. Also a lot of the extras need 240v which is not readily available when offroading in the Kimberley. And we refuse to carry a noisy generator. It also weighs 2.5T laden so fuel consumption increases by about 50%.

If you want something that can do the Anne beadell Highway, the Tvan is ideal. Great suspension, and the perfect bed on wheels with a fibreglass shell over your head for when it gets windy or wet. Might use 25% more fuel and weigh 1.3T laden.

If you want a hybrid, it will cost you $30k more that either of the above options but you will get a poptop van which might be 2.1m wide and 2.2m high so it can do some of the overgrown tracks. Weight saving might be only say 10-15% less than an offroad caravan. Usually a combo shower or external shower with internal toilet.

My suggestion is that if you want a bed on wheels that can truly go remote, get the Tvan or Ultimate.
If you want to do the well graded dirt roads like the tanami or Gibb then buy a well constructed offroad caravan and enjoy the luxuries.
As for the hybrids .... yes everything is a compromise but if their resale value is good, then you can't go far wrong.

Nuts
have you seen a off road van called "Rhino"friends from Qld have one to go fossicking in the north of that state for extended periods they are built in Brisbane area there probably is a waiting time and probably cost heaps the web site is "rhinocaravans.com.." hope this may be of assistance
Grant