Taking our AWD SUV to Central Australia

Submitted: Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 13:31
ThreadID: 142730 Views:5891 Replies:9 FollowUps:15
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Hi,

We're looking to do a central Australia trip in the next couple of years (will likely have to do the promised Disneyland trip for the kids first...) and currently have a diesel AWD Captiva 7. I have always owned 4WDs before this one and will be buying another in a few years time but will likely head out before then. We tow a light Cameron Camper with us.

My question is, where will I be limited to in the West Macs etc having an AWD vs a 4WD? I know the main roads are now sealed but I'm keen to see as much as I can and am panning to head back east via the Oodnadatta track. Will the AWD be up to it?

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Reply By: Frank P (NSW) - Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 13:57

Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 13:57
I think it will. AFAIR from 2018 the access tracks/roads to all the things a family might want to visit are all 2WD.
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Follow Up By: Frank P (NSW) - Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 20:48

Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 20:48
And the Oodnadatta Tk is 2wd unless it is wet. Could be rough in places when dry, but still 2wd.

Your AWD will eat it if it's not wet.
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Reply By: Peter_n_Margaret - Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 15:26

Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 15:26
No dramas.
It is about how fast you drive.
We explored the West Macs in 1967 and the Oodnadatta Track in 1970 in Minis and the roads are somewhat better now. :)
Needed to keep the tyres on the tops because the under body clearance was too low to stay in the wheel tracks.

Cheers,
Peter
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Follow Up By: ExplorOz Team - Michelle - Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 16:15

Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 16:15
Honestly Peter - I love your photos of your past trips and all the different vehicles. This one in particular is gold.
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Follow Up By: Peter_n_Margaret - Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 19:15

Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 19:15
Thanks Michelle.
We maybe didn't always have the ideal vehicles for what we did, but we have always been "explorers" and went everywhere we possibly could (and some places we probably shouldn't have) with what we had.
Margaret remarked just yesterday that she was not allowed to take a camp chair of any sort until she was pregnant.
Very spoilt now. :)
Cheers,
Peter
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Follow Up By: RMD - Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 19:32

Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 19:32
Peter.
Nice vehicle, same colour as my sister's mini. Didn't do rough roads in it though. Not much good when muddy, but you can hand winch them anywhere. I like the 10 ply tyres! Just look at the rocks.
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Follow Up By: Peter_n_Margaret - Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 19:51

Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 19:51
It was actually our first trip running radial tyres. They were rag ply Pirellis.
People told us we were mad.
They performed brilliantly.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome
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Follow Up By: Member - Kia1 - Saturday, Oct 23, 2021 at 12:25

Saturday, Oct 23, 2021 at 12:25
Great shot, we did much the same trip back in 1996 driving a commodore and camper trailer.
East Mac's and Oonadatta track, we have been on the track since and now is 100 times better condition.
Cheers, Baz
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Reply By: Member - Core420 - Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 16:20

Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 16:20
The Oodnadatta track is easily done in 2wd. But you MUST have good tyres or lots of spares. A good quality AT, preferably with LT rating is the way to go. Lower tyre pressures to minimise damage from the corrugations.
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Follow Up By: Briste - Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 00:24

Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 00:24
Can you legally fit AT LT tyres to a Captiva 7? Isn't it categorised as MA?
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Follow Up By: a-frame81 - Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 12:36

Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 12:36
I'm trying to find ATs, but will have to replace the wheels with earlier model 17" rims as there are none for the 19" ones it came with.

Pretty sure there are no LT ones available in the sizing.

Also, as per Briste's post, pretty sure I can't fit them as it's an MA category vehicle.
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Follow Up By: Frank P (NSW) - Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 13:01

Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 13:01
Will 17s fit over the brakes?
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Follow Up By: a-frame81 - Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 13:03

Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 13:03
Yep, the steel spare is still a 17, they just kept upsizing the rims so it appeals to soccer mums more.

We just needed an affordable 7 seat wagon to replace my old Jeep at the time, otherwise I wouldn't have looked at it.
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Reply By: RMD - Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 18:27

Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 18:27
a-f
Is your vehicle really AWD as are many Subaru vehicles, or is it AWD "on demand"? Seeing you are asking about ability, perhaps it may be a good idea to Test the ability for recovery traction while dragging the camper. If not true AWD, then the front wheels slip a little until it detects rotation speed differences and activates drive to all 4. That way you will have an idea of what it, can and cannot do, if in difficult situations. Most travel will be normal as mentioned. A bit of rain changes things out there, even in carparks.
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Follow Up By: a-frame81 - Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 12:35

Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 12:35
It is an on-demand system unfortunately. If it rains we can always cancel the Oodnadatta track and head back via the main highway so it will work out ok I think.

I have taken it on graded dirt in the wet before with no issues, but never gotten it bogged. I am planning on brining traction board (Maxtrax etc) for the dirt sections just in case. Like you mention it may be worth a test run to see how it goes.
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Follow Up By: RMD - Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 12:51

Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 12:51
A frame
I thought it would be. I had a HJ61 cruiser which in 4wd low just sat in one spot with one rear wheel turning and 1 front wheel turning trying to tow a trailer on flat greasy ground. I actually walked around it while it sat there and spun wheels. Traction control with ON demand AWD will simply flick the wheels in similar situations. and may not go forward if towing dead weight load. I was on the Oodna track a couple of years and after rain waited until it was "open". Used true 4wd most of the time to get along it while towing a Tvan. If you stopped in such circumstances there you would remain until dried out. So yes, wise to know the weather. We were already out at stations.
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Follow Up By: a-frame81 - Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 12:57

Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 12:57
Thanks for the advice RMD,

When we go, I'll be checking the weather before we head back via the Oodnadatta. If there's a chance of rain, I'll probably play it safe rather than risk getting stuck out there.

I've tested the traction control and AWD deliberately before on ruts and it cleared with no issues, but wet, slippery clay is a completely different story, especially with a trailer attached.

If we have to skip the dirt, it just leaves us with more reason to head back out there......
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Reply By: Tim Owen - Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 14:52

Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 14:52
I've been in the West MacDonnell ranges, Palm Valley, Merenie Loop (now Red Centre Way), and Kings Canyon, Uluru last month. The Merenie loop has been recently graded and in pretty good nic - some mild corrugations only. I'd suggest you could get to the Palm Valley campground in the Captiva, but you'll need to walk the last 5kms into Palm Valley itself. Otherwise, I think the Captiva will go to all the main destinations.
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Reply By: Gbc.. - Thursday, Oct 21, 2021 at 07:55

Thursday, Oct 21, 2021 at 07:55
Half the tourists who fly to Alice hire a rav4 and ‘do’ the Mereenie loop. They don’t have LT tyres.
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Follow Up By: Rangiephil - Saturday, Oct 23, 2021 at 14:48

Saturday, Oct 23, 2021 at 14:48
Ha! Many years ago I hired a Rav4 to drive from Cairns to Cooktown along the Daintree track. On the return journey while on the bitumen highway between Cooktown and Cairns a tyre blew out at 100Kmh.

I returned the vehicle and the hire place insisted that I had blown the tyre by "misuse" by spiking on the Daintree and had to pay full retail for a new tyre. It was about $350 way back then

I was pretty angered by this as the tyre had blown on the highway and any damage could have been existing when I got the car. I also knew that I had driven carefully and had definitely not done anything to damage a tyre.
Luckily I had my wife take photos of the location where the tyre had failed and the tyre itself.
It was evident that I had not "spiked" the tyre as it did not immediately fail.

The rental car company manager was quite aggressive when I said I would elevate it to the franchiser level.
Anyway for a quiet life we agreed 50/50 .

The message here is that the renter is responsible for tyre damage on a hired car if it can be proven to be from misuse which would include failure on a dirt road such as the Mareenie Loop. So the rental company does not care as the renter has to pay!


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Follow Up By: Gbc.. - Saturday, Oct 23, 2021 at 16:20

Saturday, Oct 23, 2021 at 16:20
No argument. In a past life I was a professional traveller, flying into any city, picking up a hire car and then heading to whatever lighthouse or Navaid required attention. Some of the things we asked completely standard cars to do was borderline mental. Our govt fleet 4wds were all on standard grandtreks as well. I wouldn’t put LT tyres on small SUV for a touring trip.
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Reply By: Briste - Thursday, Oct 21, 2021 at 09:15

Thursday, Oct 21, 2021 at 09:15
We recently sold a European diesel (full-time) AWD and bought a Prado. You can do a surprising amount with a vehicle like that (the AWD) if you're prepared to push it, although it depends on the vehicle, and diesel helps. But they have their limitations, and the challenge is knowing just where those limitations are. We had the odd lucky escape. The problem can be what do you do when you reach the point of no return on a trip and encounter those limitations. The advantage of a 4WD is you're not forever worrying about when you might hit them.
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Reply By: Rangiephil - Saturday, Oct 23, 2021 at 16:24

Saturday, Oct 23, 2021 at 16:24
As they say
"you only need 4WD about 5% of the time, but when you need it you really need it."
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Reply By: Member - Jim S1 - Saturday, Oct 23, 2021 at 18:31

Saturday, Oct 23, 2021 at 18:31
In my experience, the better your 4WD is, the deeper the doo doo you end up in.
Driving slowly always helps, and always be prepared to back off and go a different way. My general motto is when in doubt, don't.
This wasn't always my motto ...... and I have spent many hours up to my eyeballs in mud.

Cheers
Jim
"Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits." A fisherman.

"No road is long with good company." Traditional

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