Fraser

There is a barge from Hervey Bay to Fraser, it costs a little more than the Manta Ray which runs from Rainbow Beach (south end of Fraser but if youre coming from the North, you could go that way. We drove from Hervey via Rainbow to Cathedral Beach and did it easy.

You could have trouble with a pop top across the inland roads, they are prone to having a nigh centre. We followed a 80 series Cruiser with the spare under and mervelled at its effort at grading the centre hump off the road. The Toy will tow it fine but will chew the fuel on sand so fill up before you leave Hervey, but theres fuel at several places on teh Island. Curiously enough we found the cheapest fuel at the furthest place from the mainland, up north past champagne pools

GREAT NEWS!!!!!!! The BIT*H aint at Cathedral no more so stay and have a ball.

And lastly ERPS are a great unit, but cost a lot more than a couple of spreay cans of fishoilene and a good wash after you get off the island, theres underbody washes at Rainbow and Hervey Bay.

Have great time I am hanging out to go back to Fraser.

IMHO Towing anything on Fraser is a problem if you meet a bus coming the other way. They will not back up 1 inch. You will have to get out of their way. I hope you are good at backing because they make you back on and off the barge as well. As everyone will tell you let the old tyres down to 18 - 20 psi. The road to Central is only bad as far as a centre sand hump for the last K. I would camp at Central with a trailer and then you would be OK to travel the rest of the Island. I would not attempt to tow a pop top past Central on the island but then I am super cautious. When we were there there were heaps of fisherpeople leaving the island after a big competition. They were towing every thing from campers to 20ft fishing boats. Winches were on the go all the while. Get a tide timetable before you go so you can plan your trips on beaches to start a hour after high tide. Let us know if you see a dingo. We didn't.

Rust Prevention - I have seen the ERPS information but is anyone aware of any independent tests of its effectiveness for vehicles on land?

There is ongoing research of corrosion in Australia yet ERPS is not cited and you have to ask why not.

Was at fraser about 2 weeks ago,Norma has sold cathedral beach new people there now all good.By the time you get there you should have the option of powered camp sites,they were laying the cables when we were there recently and we had power "no charge"
The camping area at central station has been totally transformed since last year,it is now in a magical setting a short distance from central station and you can now park your vehicle close enough to your tent to use vehicle electrics,light,fridge etc,BUT only a few of these new sites are big enough to accomodate van and vehicle.
there may be some places where you might meet a bus but there are also more one way roads everytime i go there.
The condition of the road will be more chopped up when you go as tourist season more traffic but you wont have any real difficulties.
Remember take any prescribed medicines you need and good first aid supplies as there is no chemist and it may take you a couple of hours to locate doctor on island,take bushmans repellant or similar in case you strike march flies,have seen the buggers in feb dont know about january.
Should have no trouble with van we towed corrimal 420 magnum van weighs 1100kg empty no worries,also take 20litre drum to refill water tank on van, someonehas cut off the screw threads off the water taps around the park to stop people attaching hoses to taps to wash vehicles fill vans etc plus you will be lucky to set up the van close enough to reach from a tap.
The park is great,facilities great and is centrally located cutting fuel bill,fuel was approx $1.40/litre two weeks ago,beer $56 / 30 can case.
Have a great time it should be fantastic.

Re clearance,your van probably has more clearance than the underbelly of the toyota,the answer is that you dont HAVE to raise the van but it would be an advantage it will follow the toyota ok but if it is an old type van with crude beam axle many of these can be lifted easily by turning the axle 180 degrees gives approx 2 inch lift for one/two hours work,simple/effective,we did this with an old suncamper van,but if you have a canvas annex it may then be too short to reach the ground as you have raised the roof by 2 inches as well,Have you considered fitting a treg coupling or similar as you run a small risk of smashing a standard ball coupling due to bigger angles you will experience going through washerways,creek crossings etc???

Dont know about generators ring and ask,most sites are deserted during the day everyone out sightseeing maybe use it then, ring cathedral and ask,as for barge price we paid $100 for truck and van from rainbow on manta ray,You will not trash or damage your van in any way driving it up the beach at near to low tide,in fact apart from getting off the barge you would mostly use 2wd near low tide along eastern beach,have a great trip,make sure you see the lighthouse at the tip of the island,kids can use sand sleds there.
We have 3litre manual patrol that weighs approx 3 tons with water tank,accessories etc,Goodyear mtr fantastic in sand

certainly generators were not allowed under previous management and if they are installing powered sites I can't see them being allowed in the future.

As far as towing goes, if you can't tow a trailer across from Wangoolba Creek to Eurong then you simply shouldn't own one.

Central is the pic of the EPA campsites as has been mentioned and there are many (like around 30) campsites big enough for you and your camper, (actually size is not the issue, all of the campsites are huge, but some are terraced to provide flat camping areas.)

If you are planning to head south after Fraser then maybe the trip to use the Inskip barges is worth it, but if you are heading back north, then there is no real saving in going all the way to Inskip and back, consider the extra 250kms of travel on the mainland, plus the extra driving on the southern end of the island (where there is really very little to see) and the fact that the worst bit of beach is quite often that at the barge landings at Inskip, I have seen more cars bogged at Inskip and Hook Points than anywhere else on the island, and Jan school holidays are usually the worst time as the beach gets well chewed up.

Your $110 buys you return travel for your car, driver and 3 passengers, you can even orgainse to go over and return by different barges, ie Wangoolba Creek, Kingfisher Bay or Moon Point, or, for that matter, Hook point.

I understand the sentiment of using the Manta Ray, but in your situation I think that you are doing a lot of needless travelling.

My understanding on ERPS is that there is yet to be exhaustive testing done on it! (personally I do not see how it can work unless your vehicle is immersed in a conductive liquid or atmosphere) For my money get a good bitumenous rust proofing done and have it topped up yearly.

And if you are wondering, I live in Hervey Bay, have had 10 trips to Fraser so far this year (with 3 more to come) but will not break my record of 14 visits set in 2003.

What is the condition of Eli creek like?, I have heard it changed drastically earlier this year after a storm, When is the best time to cross it ?