Canning Stock Route

You must have been just behind us.

If you din't see a burnt out Prado about 140 km south of Lake Stretch then, yes, we were behind you!! (it was actually early May by the time we got onto the Canning).

We were the group just behind you Ivan, 3 vehicles with campers.

We left Bililuna on 12th April.
Cheers
Peter

How did you guys fair?

We got about 50km south of Georgia Bore and were cut off by water, had a bit of a scout around to the left but the water looked to go a long way. We were a little time compromised so we decided to head back to Georgia Bore and the next day we took the Talawana track out to Newman.

Always next year.

Cheers

We were force to pull out at Kunnawatiji because of time. The north section took a little longer than we anticipated.

Ahh yes, that's what the woman in the shop at Billiluna told us you were planning to do.

I am guessing by the detours you took you had done that part of the Canning before, or you had very good instinct on which way to go around some of those tricky sections.

First time. Had to feel our way around and the missus and kids did a lot of walking to find a path but we still came unstuck in a couple of spots.

We got stuck on all three big ones

Corrugations on sand dunes - answer to this wrong tyre pressure !

Always a tough one enough momentum vs comfort vs tyre run off rim vs walking up everything

Dean totally agree but another big issue with the Canning dunes is that often the track takes a sharp turn immediately prior to the climb up the dune face meaning you lose momentum. If you're not on the ball to get the gearing and rev's right, even the most suitable of tyre pressures won't help you. I've had my party balloons down as low as 10 psi all round and walked up with the lockers on but on some dunes where there was extremely loose, fluid sand, and runnelling caused by those hitting the dunes hard and digging in continuously, even that wasn't a guarantee of success.

I think the OP's biggest problem will be the extra weight of the Nautilus which is a pretty heavy beast (1550 kgs dry weight with an unladen ball weight of 120 kgs). No dramas on 70% of the Canning but that last 30% may be a heartbreaker.

Cheers

Mick

Reality is towing anything in sandy conditions places alot of extra strain on mechanical of tug being used not to mention the issue of structural integrity of towed unit.

In short my simple motto/answer is never tow on some tracks/roads CSR is one of them.

Thanks for this reply,
We are still considering our future touring options, however was interested in your Nautilus difficulties.
We had a near miss with a circlip coming off the bar where the door attaches to the roof. fortunately the bar stayed in place so there was no damage.
Where did the pop rivets on the door pull through, this area does concern us? Did you have damage from this.
Also, dust on the pod? We have had some difficulties pulling in and the last stage of pushing out of the pod, better some times than others. Do you think this is due to dust? Did the dust entry at the pod happen as you were travelling?
Our aircon has also failed, not noticed until after warranty expired, I wonder if this unit is suitable for offroad purposes. We are looking for someone who can sevice it, local companies seem somewhat lacking in knowledge, as we are rarely in powered sites it also is not a problem.
Also, TV currently not working, also wonder if it is not suitable for off road. Any ideas?
Inverter also packed in recently, smoke alarm going off at 1.30 am in a very quiet camping spot, insurance company not happy to pay. We wonder if the unit produces too much heat for the cupboard it is in.
Sounds like a lot a complaints, however, we really are very happy with our Nautilus, it takes us places that are amazing and we rest in comfort when we arrive.

I have asked my mate to comment on your issues Scout.