Towing a trailer across the simpson

This has been discussed ad nauseam over the last few weeks - try the archives.

I don't know if a V8 Cruiser would be able to handle the tough going.

Baz.

G'day Steve & Marg,

There is a fair bit available here using the search function (already mentioned above) and also have a look at,

Our trip last year

Be mindful that taking a trailer is not advocated by all and it will be expensive to get assistance out there if things don't work out. Also the tracks change all the time and from current information available the tracks are very soft this year.

Kind regards

Somewhere on this site there is also a list of trip reports/notes that people have recorded about how much fuel they used for various trips and includes the type of vehicle they were driving. Stuffed if I can find it now though (didn't look too hard, I must say).

This year there is a lot more sand on the dune crests than previous years. This is due to the southerlies blowing more than the westerlies. Sand has been swept up from the swales in the dune corridors and deposited on top of the dunes. Some of the sand blows are extremely soft. You might, however, experience a better run as travellers before you might have knocked the top off the crests

I towed a 800kg trailer along the French Line and Rig Road recently(beginning of May), west to east, and also did a small offroad excursion into the Northern Territory from there.

Some of the country I went across was pretty rough and I recorded 27/100 fuel consumption in a diesel! I would say that you would probably be looking at between 25/100 and 20/100 for fuel usage along the Rig Road.

I used low range 2nd gear for most dune crests and only the very last, large sand dune on the Rig Road stopped me. There was a 5 metre sand crest over the normal track surface however.

The key to all desert travel with a trailer in tow is tyre pressure. I ran 13psi cold on the Nissan and 10psi cold on the trailer. If you need to run higher tyre pressures you are inviting trouble but ususally it is an individual thing and each driver may have their own opinion on this. I prefer to make life easier for myself as the desert experience is then more enjoyable.

Have fun

Question:

Did the bank give you permisson to borrow that much for fuel..? If so your lucky, though the interest is a killer. I believe the later model V8's with 5 speed Auto are better, I had the first ever GXV V8 4 Speed Auto and it was a pig on fuel. Otherwise they are a great rig.

A mate rom Perth towed a Trakshak to Tassie...on Bitumen
His average fuel economy was 25L/100km
His Worst fuel economy was 32L/100km (head heading back to Perth, I believe)

Bearing in mind that the above figures are not sand driving; tarmac only. Apparently the TS weighed about 1.5T with water, etc onboard.
I think he has a 2000 model 4-speed Auto V8 Cruiser.
Hope this helps.

There are pages on this website which give estimates for petrol/diesel in varying conditions.
If you're towing, I would factor in at least 50% additional fuel usuage.

Cheers,
Davo

There are many posts about this. Something we found useful when we crossed the Simpson was to ensure the brakes on the Trailer are disabled. Stops constant pounding and stress with the trailer brakes working when they should not. Just take care. The Rig Road should not cause too many problems as long as its dry.