Anne Beadell Highway

Not having suspension troubles , might of had something to do with Landrovers,

Baz!...(.Just thought I would throw that in there!...LOL)


Cheers Axle

Hey Axle,

Very possibly correct, at least I never needed any sort of handbrake to slow me down in ‘The Landy’... ??

Our main problem was incorrectly supplied shocks and me accepting they were right instead of checking them. As for slowing down, there were sections that were so bad that even at idle in first gear the arse end of the ute was nearly leaving the ground they were that deep.

We did the AB from Coober Pedy to Laverton late June. Ivan is spot on.

The track is horrendous. The sign at Mabel Creek says 1300 kmis to Laverton. Of that i’d have to say 1000 is corrugated, of that 600 is diabolically corrugated, the other 400 severely corrugated.

Idling over the bumps is awful, like sitting in a very rough sea in a row boat, 20kmh doesn't work either.

We averaged about 30 - 40 kmh most days. I found it so bad I didnt get much time to look out the window the corrugations demanded my constant attention. Then there's the noise, it was hard to head each other.

It was a torture test for vehicle & body, one of the most unpleasant tracks I’ve ever driven on.

I tried going fast over the corrugations but couldn’t get up to speed as they were so bad, I found around 30-40 kmh was the best speed. Slowest was down to around 10kmh before Emu. Plus the track doesn't really support speed with lots of plants near to the side of the track.

The track did improve after Emu, but not for long enough when you’re travelling to Laverton.

We took 7 nights to get across, I’d have liked to have taken longer but our trip plans & the flies made it difficult to ease up.

We suffered no mechanical problems which was a miracle as everything got severely shaken. However our trusty Evakool fridge decided to konk out, which I fixed at Voakes Hill corner and I found a front wheel bearing loose while looking for a mysterious knock, which was easily fixed.

The folks at Ilkurlka said the SA Govt have classed the SA section of the AB as a recreational road, thereby negating the requirement for them to maintain it.

If that's the case and this road continues to decline I can't see it being passable in 10 years or so, but who knows.

Unless it gets repaired, I don’t think I’d do it again as the toll on the vehicle is just too great.

We left the trailer in Coober Pedy and headed home. Will recover it in the next week or so and repair and strengthen it. An incorrect shock caused the problem but a whole list of little things also contributed to the massive fail. Even though it was below it's max weight it was the heaviest it's ever gone out and the road condition didn't do us any favours. But lessons were learned and we shall be better prepared next time. These things are all part of the adventure and the things we'll be discussing and laughing about around future camp fires.

I'll also add that tyre pressure could have been part of the issue after we found out on returning to Coober Pedy that our tyre gauge was possibly reading incorrectly and we may have been running 10psi higher than normal. Will test that over the next few days

Thanks Ivan

That is such a pity, but as you say, it will be one learning curve and indeed a good campfire yarn


All the best



Stephen

Dmax and a home made trailer. Ute came out unscathed. We were solo

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It's a Troopy Candace....... it will be a rough ride. And you either get those tyres, tubed or otherwise, down to about 30 psi or you may not get it to the other side!

I'm surprised you even found a hire company that allows such a trip. Good to see things have changed in that regard.

As for 50psi(tubes or not) seems like a blast from the uninformed past.
Get it in print, start at 50psi hot and then adjust as required?

Visit the dentist before you go hehe... high frequency vibrations can do some amazing things and store up well for the slowest crossing in history.

We did AB last year, 18psi in fronts and camper trailer, 22psi in rears on DMAX. Checked them first thing before heading off in the morning when they were stone cold. No problems, but did run into an old bloke in a 15 tonne Isuzu 4x4 long chassis tray truck with a tandem axle Jayco road caravan without wheels bolted down on the truck tray. He was attempting to go e-w and hadn't made Emu when we saw him. Probably still out there somewhere as he wouldn't get around some of the tight bits near the border.

The worst corrugations I have seen so far bt a fair margin. We'll have another crack at it next year if the traffic drops. Currently way to busy but I put that down to everyone going to climb Ularu.