Lancelin - Wedge... Help Please!

I can't answer your question Relle, but we tried coming down to Lancelin from Cervantes quite some years ago and ended up turning back (we didn't want to risk the beach bit not knowing the tides, and the inland track was too overgrown to follow). It took us hours to get as far as we did. When we got home, we were talking to someone who said he used to go up there fishing from the Perth side in a Falcon! I don't know that he went as far as the beach bit though.

Thanks for your reply.

The track is quite rocky in areas and the beach way has some trecherous soft spots.

We took a Mazda Tribute V6 up there recently and it didn't like reversing on the soft beach sand but did well on the track, it's just a little too big for my needs.

I'm mainly concerned with height needed for rocky tracks and susceptibility to tipping on the dunes.

Relle

Not too sure whether those shopping trollys have got low range, but unless you are going to use the beach, especially around Narrow Neck, you probably wont need it. The inland track (depending on which one that you take) only needs a reasonably high clearance vehicle. I've actually taken a 2WD F100 to Wedge a few years ago on the inland track with no problems with properly deflated tyres.

Went to Wedge last Saturday for the day. Went up the inland route and except for a little sand at the Lancelin dunes and crossing the Wedge dunes any 4wd would have made it. Come back along the beach from South Rocks to Narrow Neck, it was low tide , if it was high I would not have attempted it. The beach had a few boggy patches and you needed all the clearance you could get to get through. There were three vehicles in our group , Prado, Pathfinder & a Rocky , the Rocky got stuck in one spot only because his wheel track was / is narrower and he bottomed out.
I have visited Wedge many times over the past 20+ years, my first vehicle was a small diahatsu 4wd the i went up to a Rocky and now the Prado. All vehicles have their limitations and as long as you know this and don't do anything silly you will be OK. My daughter has a 1991 Subaru Wgn with slightly wider tyres than standard but no lift kit, she goes up and back no worries although she stays off the beach if by herself because of the clearance factor.
Have you considered a Subaru Wagon / Forrester ? I think they are a nice vehicle and you get dual range.

I have experience with a manual Sportage in soft sand and find it doesn't really have the torque for the very low speed take off that is required when things get real 'difficult'. I have not tried an auto - I think it would be a lot better. I still use a Sportage on rock but have a Pajero for the sand.

I do not know about that parrticular beach , but Vitaras are excellent on sand and tend to be able to rock hop well because you can get a good line because they are small. I took one up Rainbow Beach and the get off at The Cherry Venture was soft but it did it very easily in high range. I also took it up the Daintree track to Wujal Wujal. I have owned an 88 and my daughter had a 97. I would not hesitate to get one , but go for the injected one as the carby is temperamental. The soft top is the best design I have seen and is completely waterproof even in a downpour, and relatively quiet until 110Kmh.( Why can't Rover build a top like it??)
I got 10 l/100 on the highway at 110Kmh and I think my daughter's with injection was better.
Regards Philip A

I tried the beach a few years ago in a troopie and fell foul of sand covered seagrass- I know a troopie is a heavy weight and the tides were against me but there is no way i would try again - even in the boss's 4wd!

Relle

Have a bog standard 95 Rav 4 (with AT Tyres - so I suppose not really bog standard), and have doen beach work in the area. 95 rav is basically same as 98 (just not as new - with old style brake lights)

Only drawback to any of the vehicle slisted is ground clearance. Rav goes fien thru the sand, keepign up with a Disco, Hilux, Surf and Patrol Ute, but lost out once the ruts started to get deeper.

No problems thru the tracks behind the beach, and even got thru a few places the big boys didn't.

Not sure if I would try the beach alone, certainly helps to have someone there to assist with gettign you moving again, although a shovel seems to work just as well (but takes longer).

Around town, the Rav get about 550 - 600 kms each fill (approx 50 - 55 litres), so really good on the economy.

Can't fault the RAV, took her up the Powerlines, and amazed myslef (and a few others) as to what we could get into, and out of !!!

RD

Go the Zuk.
It will do what you ask of it, just remember that it is a baby 4by.
If you want to "play" on the Lancelin dunes, use a very big sand flag, and unless you like flying into thin air, be real carefull There are alot of real big dunes with huge vertical dropoffs, that will see your 4by nose first, and you going to hospital.
Unless you have a very capable 4by, know the tide personally, and have a wish to see a 4by become a reef, do not use the beach run during winter, especially if you are by yourself.
.!MPG:4!

meow.

rick.

have you looked into a nissan x-trail

My city sister's kids got little old 2 stoke suzukis when they reached 17 - too light to get bogged on the beach, or if they did - a couple of lads could lift 'em out.

I think the other vehicle to look at is the Daihatsu Feroza. I had one years ago as my first 4by and my mate has one now that he has lifted, kitted out with endless air and bigger tyres. It is still a little town car that he claims corners like a road car even with the lift and bigger tyres (I'd believe it as it's the wide track model, they are almost SQAURE!).

They are absoultally brilliant on the sand. He goes places in Wedge that i'd never even try in the surf. I've seen him driving on a a stretch of beech comming back from Wedge where his nose was pointing to the dunes and his back tyres touching the water as he powered along the beach around a headland before climbing back up on to the dry stuff! I got bogged before I even got to the end of the dry stuff!! (he's also mad as a cut snake!). I watched him, got snatch backwards by a mate and backtracked to go inland around the headland.

They are a great comprimise between town car and very capable offroader.

Other than that, the Suzuki and Kia woud be good options, the RAV i'd stay clear of. Seen MANY of them stuck BIG time on the way up to Wedge. People think that it's easy, but that stretch of beach can change from a walk in the park to deadly in the space of 8 hours. The subi wouldn't have the clearance for the soft sand and the Terios has no low range.