Sir Frederick Range safe turnaround points?

Hi Ray

The information that you have rear elsewhere sounds pretty well on what the conditions are like. The actual turnoff is very easy to find and you will not miss it.

The track will start off on flat level ground and then it will go just straight up. Before even starting the climb it is 100% low range first, as even here the ground is very rocky, with the rocks the size of a football and smaller.

The safe turn around point is at the top of the first incline, with an extra area where those that have had enough can leave their vehicle there and then mountain goat climb the rest of the way on foot.

The track is extremely rocky and the last 10 metres or so from the top then seems to go just straight uo and you are looking at nothing but sky, and when we did it, it was extremely cut up from wheel spin, and the rocks here quite larger, and we were glad that we had under vehicle protection, as the sounds of the rocks under the car was a distressing sound for my non lifted Prado. The very first thing that I did, before even getting out the camera was to make sure that there was no damage under the Prado.

The area at the top is very small, and two vehicles was tight, and three would be very cosy indeed.

I was travelling in a small group of 4 vehicles, a Navara, Mazda , Old Troopy and my Prado. Because of the noise of the rocks under the vehicle, both the Mazda and the Nissan were left at the turn around point and they jumped into the Troopy and then hung on for grim death. The images that show one vehicle ahead of the 2 at the turn around point, was the Mazda, and he feared that he was going to badly damage his vehicle, so he very slowly reversed back down the the turn around point.

These images will get you a better idea if what the terrain is like.



Cheers



Stephen

Okay - thanks again, Stephen.

A few more photos.









Stephen’s description is accurate. The sounds of the rocks under the car are distressing.

When you reach the top spare a thought for Len Beadell. He drove up by a different route and thought he might have difficulty descending. He was relieved to find there was an easy way down. Len’s easy way down is the route we drive up.

Also spare a thought for Doug Stoneham. He drove a bulldozer to the top to grade the track and to create the turning points.

Cheers, John

Ray, she's a bit tight along the length of the track. You can turn around between the first and second big climb (base of the second) but after that, it's easier to continue on and turn around up on the summit. If any of you are towing, leave your trailer down at the fork of the track on the Sandy Blight.

I know Ron has popped up a link to a video of mine on Youtube but here it is in Vimeo. The quality is a bit better (pretty crappy video camera back then).

Cheers

Ray, probably dependent on the size of the furrows in the track at this stage and the suspension lift (if any) you have on your vehicle. My Nissan at that stage had a 2" lift with an additional 20mm or so from an upsize in tyres to 285R75's. With the current 6" lift on the Toyota and 31575R16's, I wouldn't expect a rock to get within cooee of the chassis rails.,

It's a technical piece of travel but rocks are rocks, take it easy with tyre pressures down and rear diff lock on (if you have it) and you should be fine. Scott had to put the foot in because he was running MRF's on splits. He was also running them at to high in pressure hence he had to stick the boot in on the second face. I'd be more worried about the corrugations on the northern end of the SBJT than the climb up the Sir Frederick

Enjoy what was Len Beadells favourite road....and you'll see why. It is a magnificent stretch.

Cheers

Mick





We had a little disaster on the SBJT due to the corrugations. We laugh now!

My wife and I drove to the top exactly six years ago. We were both 68 and on our own. The man running the shop at Kintore told us three days earlier that he could not get is Landcruiser Troop Carrier up the last hill so we did not know what to expect.

I looked at each one and thought they were nowhere near as steep as many hills we had driven up in the VHC and other parts of the Great Dividing Range so I walked up each one first.. The first one had a couple of deep looking holes so I filled them with rocks. The next two looked ok.

The car was a 2003 Hilux diesel manual with standard suspension and stock size 205 x 16 tyres running on the same handbook pressures that we left Sydney on. Tyres were Goodyear Wrangler TG. It was 200 kg under GVM. Its only mechanical modification was an automatic locking front diff.

I drove up the first one in first gear low range. I soon realised it was too low but I stayed in it until the top. I used second low for the next two hills.

On the way down a rock lightly touched the back axle but that was our only contact with the ground.

If you are fit enough then walk the hills first and see what you think. The first rule when four wheel driving is to make sure you can get through, not hope you can.

What is the total distance from the turnoff to the summit?