mereenie loop rd with a 2wd camper?

Hi ximox,

The only time that you need to be concerned about the Mereenie Loop is after rain, otherwise it is just another gravel road.
Cheers
Ian@Mt Dare

Having done this road many times, I would advise against it on a 2wd hired camper. Almost certainly you will find a clause in your insurance policy that voids the cover if you go off road. People get caught on this all the time in the Alice area as it is just so tempting to do the various loops off the sealed roads, so if you have a prob, the insurers are looking double close for a reason not to pay up. This loop is also notorious for the numberof inexperienced outback drivers who get into trouble, 2WD and 4WD. The higher centre of gravity in camper vehicles is a big issue on these roads. If you do it, keep your speed right down and pay particular attention to the road edges. Apart from that, the surface varies widely depending on recent weather, so you can only make a decision at the last moment on the most up to date advice.

Without sounding like a smart arse, trailers are not 2wd and 4wd but strong and not so strong.
If you think the camper you are hireing is strong enough to take on corrugated dirt roads well the answer is yes, if not , no, and if your not sure take it easy.
Mereenie loop road is by no means a 4wd track unless of course, as Ian has said it rains and then everything not bitumised around here becomes 4wd.
If you decided to leave from Alice and go the other way around you could go through Boggy hole ( much nicer drive). If youre worried about the trailer and want to leave it in Alice for a couple of days you could leave it in my yard.
Cheers

Mereenie Loops is a gravel road, but one of the notorious ones (today anyway).

I think there are plans to make it bitumen, but for now:

1. as Ian has said, in the rain it can be terrible and has been impassable and closed at times
2. after the rain you have to expect a lot of mud and after the mud, deep ruts which could easily tip a vehicle such as the Sprinter if you took it too fast
3. the rest of the time, unless it has been newly graded it has massive pot holes and is hard work and slow driving.

Make sure everything is tied down, and be aware that it could damage suspension.

Of course you could go the long way on the bitumen, even if it meant backtracking on Larapinta Drive. In my experience the Ernest Giles Road is nowhere near as bad, but you don't even need to go on that if you don't want.

Ciao for now
Andrew.

I live off the Mereenie, we have some rain damage in parts, not major just slower.

The 40k west of H'burg is the worst out of it.

Plenty of 2wd's do it, just v. v. slowly....

Check your hire conditions. I know that many hire car comp. pay spotters for reporting their vehices off the bitumin.

wow !!!!!! I said quick.....but couldn't expect so! Thanks for all the good advice (and for the possibility to leave my camper by you, Hairy) you all gave me. I'm coming from Adelaide, so I'll be first at Uluru than to Kings Canyon. I think that the suggestion of the Ernest Giles Rd can be good. I was anyhow curious about the Meteorite Craters. Of course I will check on site about the road conditions, and if it had rained, I won't risk! Ehm....to say the truth the camper company DON'T want me to use it out of bitumen road....how did you guess ????? By the way (I mean my way coming on the Stuart Hwy from Adelaide) are any EASY- ACCESSIBLE traks I can attempt? I read about the Rainbow Valley and the Painted Desert (it seems like we go crazy for coloured stones,right?). Thanks again for your help!

Guys, c'mon..... The Mereenie loop is a dirt road, after rain it is a tad more challenging but it is by no means as bad as TR92 - Braidwood - Nowra... you don't have to go outback to get bad roads. Or try Canberra - Tumut via the brindabellas in winter, now there's a 4x4 road if ever there was one.

Gidday ximox, here's my 2 bobs worth. Mereenie can get heavily corrugated and covered in soft sand but the scenery is awesome. It took us 8 hours to do the 300km from Kings canyon back to Alice when it would only take 5 hours to do 500km on the tar.This was in a Tarago van towing a medium size caravan.A motorbike rider was toosed off and ended up being taken to Alice by the Flying Doctor. We got bogged once. At the caravan park in the Alice we camped next to two couples who had also just done the Mereenie. Between us Bob Janes tyre mart made $900 on our replacement tyres. One bloke had his vans side storage compartment pop open on the corrugations and lost another $100 worth of gear, including the handle to wind up his van!!!
There are good tar roads leading east and west of the Alice which will also allow you to see rugged scenery and will be much kinder on your van. there are heaps of gorges and bushwalks within an hour of town that will keep you busy.Cheers, Warrie.

Thanks so much for all the good advices you all gave me!!! I couldn't expect more! At the end we WON'T do the Mereenie, too risky! I'll probably think about a short rent of a 4wd in Alice, I'll decide on site! By now I'll finish packing my luggage 'cause tomorrow we'll leave for London and then Sydney. I havn't said it , but we are leaving from Pisa Italy (you must know the leaning tower!!!).
See you there!!!!