Returned from the canning stock route.

Submitted: Saturday, Nov 30, 2019 at 14:42
ThreadID: 139375 Views:13813 Replies:4 FollowUps:17
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Good morning to all the responders to our queries .

Back in March of this year I sent out a call on this forum for information on the Canning stock Route.Well we survived, but what an experience, thank you all for you very valuable input, we had the trip of a life time cut short mainly due to equipment failure.

let me start at the beginning, we left Perth on the 27th of April and went to halls creek, we went down to wolf creek for our camp for the night, and spent a few hours walking around the crater the next morning, and the world, was wonderful, we had our first taste of a billion flies, for breakfast. and that was not what anybody had warned us about. the trip was actually cut short .

We had eight days on the track itself, in that time we lost one fridge, one auxillary battery, two tyres, and the sat phone was to spasmodic and virtually useless, we lost half of our food supply due to the failed fridge.

We also learnt the hard way that even though we had extensive four wheel drive experience in several different types of 4x4 over the years we did not know all the capabilities of this new ford ranger. and I cant stress this enough if your going to do the Canning Stock route, go and do a four wheel drive course first , especially if you are in a newer 4x4 , as we had to learn as we went it was something that neither of us were aware of even though we had done a course there were things that we had either forgotten or did not have information about, but we soon taught our selves on how things actually worked.

We terminated the trip at Kuniwaritji, due to the loss of tyres and communications, better to be safe than sorry, and have people come out looking for us through our own stupidity, so we called it a day and came home early .

All in all we did enjoy what we saw for our eight days, and the corrugations were not as bad as we thought they were going to be, but tyre pressures and speed were the factors that made them bearable, as my mate said the slower the better and as we were not in a rush, who cared.

We only saw two other travellers in the whole eight days. Thank you every one that contributed for your knowledge.
Broodie H3
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Reply By: Kilcowera Station Stay - Saturday, Nov 30, 2019 at 17:18

Saturday, Nov 30, 2019 at 17:18
Oh you poor bugger! You made a sensible decision to pull out though. You will be able to do the rest of the trip another time. We did it earlier this year too and the flies were horrendous. The only trouble we had was one flat tyre. The countryside looked pretty awful too. So dry. But it was an interesting trip which we enjoyed, but I would never do it again. Once is enough! Cheers Toni
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Follow Up By: Member - Broodie H3 - Saturday, Nov 30, 2019 at 18:13

Saturday, Nov 30, 2019 at 18:13
No need to feel sorry for us, as this trip, was everything we thought it was going to be. What we did not expect to find was thousands of square Kilometers, burnt off so you only had dry sand and no wild life along the track at all from Billiluna down, to Kuniwarijita, the only wild life we saw in the whole trip was a group of Camels about 8 in number on the third day after that nothing. It really gave the whole area a feeling of desolation.
We are planning to do it again, when we can get the time
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Reply By: Member - 2208mate - Saturday, Nov 30, 2019 at 19:05

Saturday, Nov 30, 2019 at 19:05
Yeah, everyone can have an unlucky trip!

I hope for your next romp down the CSR you get everything coming up roses.

I'm a little intrigued re your statement....
"We also learnt the hard way that even though we had extensive four wheel drive experience in several different types of 4x4 over the years we did not know all the capabilities of this new ford ranger"

On my last voyage up the CSR(...after coming across to Wiluna via the Old Gunbarrel Highway) we saw plenty of scenic vegetation and wild life..

Here's a link to conditions much different to the ones as described by yourself..
CSR Wiluna to well 51
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Reply By: Member - McLaren3030 - Sunday, Dec 01, 2019 at 07:29

Sunday, Dec 01, 2019 at 07:29
Hi Broodie,

Could you please elaborate on your fridge & sat phone issues? What brand of fridge? What happened to it? What brand of Sat Phone? Which Sat System/Service Provider did you use? What were your issues you encountered with your vehicle? Very interested to know, as we are thinking of doing the CSR in a couple of years time.

Macca.
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Follow Up By: Member - Broodie H3 - Sunday, Dec 01, 2019 at 13:25

Sunday, Dec 01, 2019 at 13:25
Hi Macca,
we had no issues apart from the tyres being staked through the sidewalls, we were running bfg ko2, a good all round tyre, and yes I would use them again, they were good on the really boggy parts and if we started to get stuck it was just a matter of letting out more air or engaging the diff lock, at no time did we let the tyres spin because of the loss of traction mainly because i am allergic to digging ,lol,
the fridge we lost was my 25 year old weaco 40 litre, it worked pretty well until we hit the corrugations, three days of them and it decided that it was too old and didnt like the way I was treating it, so it decided that it was time to call it a day, at no time did it think of me and my food and drinks supply at all, that is how ungrateful a 25 year old Weaco fridge is. we now own a new 40ltr engel, we will see if we get 25 years of trouble free use out of it.
The sat phone was a hire phone and I had nothing to do with the hire and system that it was on so I cant comment on that all I know is that every time we tried to make calls it would not let us, so we made the call and pulled out early, to go into that country and not have reliable communications is asking for trouble , but that is only my opinion.
the auxillary battery that we lost was a thumper, that had served me well for a lot of years with no trouble it is not the type of battery system to take out there, and I cant say this strongly enough get a good reliable second battery system put in your vehicle amd make sure all connections work and are secure because you cant afford to have any movement in your connections to your fridges and lights, and that is my opinion. We thought that we had every thing down pat even after two shake down runs to make sure everything worked properly, and it did until we hit the corrugations. that when we learnt that we didn't know everything, I now know I know nothing.
I hope this is of some value to you and your expidition, we took two years of planning and still came up short
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Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Sunday, Dec 01, 2019 at 13:42

Sunday, Dec 01, 2019 at 13:42
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Hi Broodie,

Yes Bruce, we learn from our experiences.
We just have to come out alive so that we can put our new-found knowledge into practice. lol
Cheers
Allan

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Follow Up By: Member - McLaren3030 - Sunday, Dec 01, 2019 at 16:25

Sunday, Dec 01, 2019 at 16:25
Hi Broodie,

Thanks for the info. We have an Iridium Sat Phone that I purchase a pre paid SIM card for. It uses the Iridium network which has the best coverage in remote Australia.

Have completed a trip to Surveyor Generals Corner in 2017, including the GCR through to Uluru. Plenty of corrugations on the GCR, particularly around Giles & Docker River. Also went to Cape York last year, again plenty of corrugations. We have a 15 year old 60 Ltr. Engel that has performed very well, had to replace the thermostat about 12 years ago, other than that it works very well.

Appreciate your info. thanks.

Macca.
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Follow Up By: Member - Broodie H3 - Monday, Dec 02, 2019 at 11:51

Monday, Dec 02, 2019 at 11:51
Good morning Macca,
we have travelled down some of the tracks that you have mentioned, we did the GCR in 2016 and the corrugations were not as bad as the Canning stock route, now I have a theory on this , and it goes something like this it all depends who has been down the road before you ie grader or hoons or the inexperienced, that don't know about tyre pressures, and also the time of the year your travelling.
I say this because every one has a different opinion of the road conditions, one couple we met on the Canning thought the corrugations were horrendous, when we thought they weren't to bad. It all depends on the way you look at things I suppose.the N.T side of the border has always been the same, even when I worked up there in the 70's, and I dont expect that situation to change very soon.
What was cape York like as that is on my bucket list to do when some one decides to fully retire?.
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Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Monday, Dec 02, 2019 at 11:56

Monday, Dec 02, 2019 at 11:56
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Cape York?? .......... More corrugations, regular size........ And fast vehicles!!!!!
But it can be worth it. lol
Cheers
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Follow Up By: Member - McLaren3030 - Monday, Dec 02, 2019 at 18:01

Monday, Dec 02, 2019 at 18:01
Hi Broodie,

Yes corrugations are in the eye of the beholder. The corrugations on the Peninsula Development Road vary depending on when the grader has been over it. Some sections were worse than others, and some of the rocks are quite large as well.

There are more and more sections of the road being sealed, with all of it planned to be sealed by 2022.

You need to keep an eye out for the idiots that want to pass you at speed, sometimes on the wrong side, around blind turns, and in dust that they cannot see through.

We enjoyed the trip, and had no problems.

Macca.
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Follow Up By: David I1 - Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 08:23

Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 08:23
Most of the issues with Sat phones is that you are not properly instructed how to align them with the Satelite in the sky. I have an iridium and I use is for my overseas holidays as well as it is by far cheaper for people to call me (and for me to call them) as you dont incur roaming charges. Call cost for others to me is like a Aus phone call. Only issue is Iridium does not work in America. As for car damage most people drive at too fast a speed trying to minimize the vibrations of the corrugations, and do not lower tyre pressures enough. Also there is a lot of people who seem to think you need a certain type of vehicle or brands that can do it. My last car a Great Wall X240 (petrol) wagon did the Canning twice, with no mechanical issues. People kept taking pictures of my car as they just could not believe a base price$24K 4WD could do it. The secret to success, is to have a properly prepared car for the conditions. Unfortunately some people who have problems on the Canning seem to think their car, in little more than showroom prep, is good enough to drive it. Ads on TV seem to reinforce this notion and suddenly in the harsh conditions reality strikes and as a result the consequences. My Engel is a 1972 model, still going strong and flatening batteries overnight, so I would expect you will get good service from your new one. Good to see that you took the smart option and bailed out when you could safely.
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Reply By: Siringo - Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 10:31

Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 10:31
Sorry to hear the trip had to end prematurely, but I think you took the correct course of action.

One thing I tell everyone who drives the newer 4x4s; turn your traction control off. It's more a hinderance than a help in the sand, any surface that is not solid will see your 4x4 braking the spinning wheel which pretty much just stops you.

TC works OK on solid surfaces, but stuff like sand. snow anything you can dig up, it doesn't always help.

Maybe try it out and see.
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Follow Up By: OzzieCruiser - Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 13:34

Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 13:34
Re TC - maybe for your vehicle but in a proper modern 4wd with proper TC, there is no need to disable TC (and you cannot in my car) - afterall it only brakes the wheel that has no traction.

Many people get confused with TC and Stability Control (different makers call it different things) where Stability Control can brake wheels with traction and reduce engine power.

In my Landrover which does have about the best TC going, you cannot turn it off and does not have an issue in sand and snow etc. However if I leave DSC on the car will soon bog down as it will apply the brakes and cut power when the car senses lateral movement. Hence DSC is turned off when offroad but TC continues to do its thing - only braking a wheel that has no traction at all.

So dont confuse the actions of your Stability Control with that of Traction Control - they work very differently.
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Follow Up By: Siringo - Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 13:49

Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 13:49
Yep traction control, stability control, I wouldn't be surprised if I got the term wrong.

I do know that if I leave mine on, I'll have trouble in sand. Turn it off and do nothing else, the problem goes away.

I went out with a mate in a 2018 BT50. He couldn't get up any dunes, told him to turn of his TC and he was shooting over the top of every dune he came to.

Whether it be traction or stability control, if you can turn it off, why not try, just to see if it makes a difference, it may just be the thing that turns a difficult trip into an easier one.
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Follow Up By: OzzieCruiser - Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 15:28

Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 15:28
By the sound of it, it would seem you have no idea what the different functions are on your vehicle and how they they work. You may be totally correct for your vehicle, I dont know as I am not familiar with your vehicle but it would seem that as the vehicle owner, neither are you.

As I said TC and Stability control are completely different, if you can, definitely turn stability control off but TC is there to assist in these circumstances and you may find your vehicle goes even better with it on.

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Follow Up By: Siringo - Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 15:48

Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 15:48
@OzzieCruiser You should keep your personal opinion of others to yourself. You have no idea who I am or what I know.

You may have invented TC & SC but that does not give you the right to pass judgement on others.

Passing on an opinion tells others more about you than the person your passing opinions on, I now have an opinion of you.

That's all I'm going to say.
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Follow Up By: OzzieCruiser - Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 18:51

Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 18:51
Its a forum - opinions come forward and from your earlier comments you clearly do not know the basic functions of your vehicle.

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Follow Up By: Michael H9 - Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 19:33

Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 19:33
Mate, the majority of people call stability control traction control and they're all wrong. Let it go, I've found it more pleasant to not worry about people not knowing they're calling stability control traction control. I know it and that's all I worry about. Give it a go?
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Follow Up By: OzzieCruiser - Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 20:52

Thursday, Dec 19, 2019 at 20:52
Thats your view - fine - I have mine.
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Follow Up By: Member - Brayney - Saturday, Jan 18, 2020 at 13:59

Saturday, Jan 18, 2020 at 13:59
Have a 2017 Landcruiser 200 series and Traction Control is a must to turn off in sand, mud etc. And when off it disables stability control also. Pretty sure its a modern 4WD.
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Follow Up By: Michael H9 - Saturday, Jan 18, 2020 at 17:38

Saturday, Jan 18, 2020 at 17:38
Yes, it seems the Toyota and Land Rover systems are completely different. It's correct that you can't turn off traction control on a Land Rover, you can only turn off Stability control and you must in sand or you have problems. The cruiser on the other hand is different, a single press on the button turns off Active Trac, while an extended press turns everything off. I have to admit, the cruiser system seems strange because I've never found traction control to be a problem on any surface as it doesn't cut power, in a Land Rover anyway. Stability Control on the other hand messes with everything. So the logical order to me should be stabilty goes off first, and traction off last if you really have to.
It begs the question, what about other brands? I know that you can only turn off stability control via the dash button on my NX Pajero. There's no instructions in the owner manual on turning off traction control. Stability control goes off automatically when you put it in low range. The Pajero has pretty touchy stability control and will cut engine power with out much provocation in my opinion.
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