The Simpson & Fuel Usage & Trailers

Michael,

"Roachie" is your man. He's done it in his 4.2 GU and Ultimate Camper Trailer.
(He's currently on holiday though)

Unacceptable?......says who?

The only "negative" is that should you break down somewhere out there, the cost of retrieval would be considerable, but as you mention above, appropriate tire pressures and appropriate preparation, (as you are doing) equals appropriate experience.

Oh, and by the way, 1.1 tonne is nothing mate, compared to "Roachie's Rig".

We did it in 2004 with a Petrol LC100 and Trak Shak no problems. From Mt Dare to Birdsville we did 691 km and used 162.51 litres. There would be shorter tracks as we zig zagged a little between the Rig road and the French lines. I agree with your notes about trailers, correct setups and preparation.

I had an 80 series petrol (4500) with a Southern Cross camper. From Mt Dare to Birdsville via the French Line and used 160 litres of fuel. Wouldn't take it again but it was great to pull up and have a beer after 5 mins setting up and was very hard on the trailer.

We did it 2005 V6 paj(3500)Petrol 140 litres, DiD Paj (3.2)Diesel 69 litres all towing C/T. Mt Dare to Birdville.Had no probs, we were lucky the sand was damp and the going was pretty easy.Seen a couple of trailers that didn't make it along the way and shouldn't of been taken on a trip like that.Both looked like your garden type trailer not a offroad camper trailer.
Cheers Scoof

Michael,
Lots of people do tow campers across the Simpson. I my self would not recommend it, but if you do take one, never travel alone. I have never heard of any vehicle towing a camper to get over every dune without having to be snatched over some of the larger dunes. Make sure you drop your car tyre pressure lower than normal and you trailer ever lower again. The Simpson is VERY DRY this season and there will be some good stories to tell in the months to come.
We are leaving for a double crossing in 10 days time. When are you planning on going? If you contact me at the end of May when we are back, I will let you know just how soft the desert is, and how much extra fuel we used. Most people that do tow across the Simpson would have aroung 200 lites in total of fuel.

For me the ultimate is laying back in the swag and gazing up at that unreal night sky.

Enjoy you Simpson trip, the bug will bite and you will want to get back again and again.

Regards

Stephen

We made it over EVERY dune and also made it up the chicken track on big red with the C/T's.
Their was 3 @ 4X4 all towing C/T 2 @ Pajero's and 1 Prado None of us got stuck.
But there was people getting stuck ?????? we had our tyre pressure down and we are farmers that have driven on sand all our lives.

Like I said we were lucky the sand was damp down about 150mm.
Kind Regards Scoof.

Thanks for posting that question Michael....we have Kimberley Kamper and a V8 petrol Landcriuser and it has been in the back of my mind...that same question.

We can carry 200 litres of fuel between the 2 tanks in the cruiser and 3 jerry cans on the front of the KK and have often wondered if it would be enough for an East-West Simpson crossing...also Birsdville to Poeppel Corner and down the K1 to the birdsville track and on to Mungerannie.

We're leaving Brisbane on Wednesday next week for 2 months in Central OZ....Our travelling mates have had to pull out at the last minute unfortunately...Ahh well, we'll probably meet up with some other travellers along the way.

Enjoy your travels
Rick & Julie

In 2004 we travelled Mt Dare to Innaminka via the rig road. 80 Series 1hz with turbo and camper. 13.5l per 100k. Didn't touch a jerry and had fuel left in the sub tank when we filled at Innaminka.

It is the driest for my 10 years here in the Simpson Desert - I do not wish to enter into any discussions/arguments about the moral implications of any of it but I will tell you that people travelling the Simspon this year are having problems. Three days is not enough (this year), the dunes are very difficult (this year), trailers are making a mess (this year - information supplied by people following. Remember also that not everyone listens to the people who know about what tyre pressures to have and that the trailers should be lower than the towing vehicle) and I can report by those who have towed trailers over this year (west to east) that the knowledable ones have been as low as 14 in vehicles and 10 in trailers and still had difficulty (this year). It is much harder travelling east to west (this year).
Why - because of the driest summer and winter and howling southerly winds for months during the summer and blistering temperatures for 13 weeks.
There has already been one rollover (night driving) and one very expensive retrieval.

Thank you all for your comments and advice, it is greatly appreciated.

There are three of us heading across from West to East in September. We all have pretty well set up rigs with suspension lifts (3”), large tires (305/70/R16) which we are happy to run at low pressures, winches and all the usual accessories.

If it was just adults going we would probably just use the swags and have that “sleeping under the stars” experience but each vehicle will have a couple of kids and we plan to spend a couple of weeks in and around Alice before heading over to Birdsville and then back to Melbourne. We plan on taking at least 5 days to cross so that we will have plenty of time to appreciate the surroundings and if necessary winch up some of the larger dunes.

Thanks once again for you assistance

Michael