Canning Stock Route

G'day, Its a few years since I did it, and I'm relying on other peoples opinions as regards trailers, but first off, you're definitely choosing the right direction - its much easier than heading north.

The important thing with trailers is to lower the tyre pressures same as with the vehicle - about 15psi is usually good.

My own personal opinion (backed up by other experience) would be to keep the trailers as light as possible - pack most of the gear in the tow vehicle. this will make the sandhills much easier, but expect to have to snatch the trailers over on at least some of the bigger dunes.

Any other advice I can give you I can be contaced direct on alex75_48@hotmail.com
Cheers,
Alex.

Gaday Viv...Keep the weight down in both the cars & the trailers (Kimberley's are heavy enough already). 1.2 tonne all up for the trailer otherwise it can be hard work. You could refuel at Kunawarritji then share a drum at well 23 to minimise the fuel to be carried. Unlike the Simpson there are a few double headed dunes which can be difficult when towing. Allow plenty of time as speed & overloading are the main reasons gear breaks out there. Unsure of your previous experience but it is important to be able to back the trailer at least 50m in a straight line & would expect you have already towed in sand dunes somewhere easier as this is probably not the place to learn. April could still be quite warm, the sand may be very dry & without much traffic the soft wind blown crests can be a problem.
The petrol Playdoes will be up to the task so have a great trip.
Cheers Craig..... :-)

Hi Viv
I guess that you know there is a section down the south end that you can't take trailers? I understand that there is a way around it that involves travel on private property or something like that. We did not investigate as we never intended to go that far down.
We did Billiluna to Well 33 (Kunawaritji Community) in July this year. We in a petrol Paj (NM) and Aussie Swag trailer and brother in a Hilux trayback and Campomatic trailer. We had 140 litres (useable) fuel in the car and 100 litres in Jerries in the trailer plus 120 litres water in the trailer tank. Water no probs as Well 46 was good and Well 33 also. We had an estimated 120 litres fuel left at Kunawaratji and could refuel there, although we had to wait 24 hours for the truck to arrive as they had been held up due to water on road. We ran same tyre pressure in camper as in front of car, down to 18psi as needed.
It's a long story I guess but we basically had "no problems". Didn't have to be towed or snatched over any dunes, had to have more than 1 go at 4 dunes with 1 dune taking 3 goes. This was just because I was pigheaded and didn't use the run up on the second go, preferring to think that I would be OK. Most of the dunes are fine, it is just the ones that do a hard turn right at the bottom and don't give you a chance to line up the vehicle and get revs right that present challenges (in my opinion anyway).
I certainly endorse the comment above, make sure you can back the units for 50/100 metres and, if possible, practise this in soft sand as that changes the dynamics significantly. We purchased the DVD from this site and that helped our planning a lot although that does show the vehicles approaching the dunes at what seems to be high speed. We did not find that necessary but certainly had to have the revs up. Our Paj is auto but you can (and I do) drive it in manual so keep gears low and revs up. I learnt that high range was better than low range as in low, when changed back to 1st, the power to the back wheels was too high and more chance of bogging down.
People talk only about the sand and dunes but be prepared for water crossings and mud (we had both in July and you are 2 months earlier) and rocky "breakaways" (whatever they are...) but kms of sharp dangerous looking rocks that necessitate (for us anyway) 10/20 kms per hour not wanting to get punctures. And the absolute worst part of the trip we did was just after Tobin Lake where you travel along the dunes and the "oopty doos" are awful, or maybe it was the last 30 odd kms into Well 33 where the corrugations were real bad and unavoidable, so grit the teeth and keep moving.
We had intended to go to Georgia Bore but had seen enough abondoned wells, sand dunes and spinifex after 670kms so we decided to go out on the Kidson Track/Telfor Mine Rd, plus this option gave us Carrawine Gorge and Marble Bar.
Be prepared to suffer scratches on car and camper. Mind you most of ours have rubbed out but only after hours of cut and polish.
Don't worry about the Halls Creek to Bililluna section-- easy going. We had intended to start from Halls Creek but there is a very nice camp just 17 kms in from Bililluna, Stretch Lagoon that we heard about in HC so we made this our start point and were glad we did.
The other advice I would have is to over prepare. Our tyres had done 50,000 kms and had over 50% tread left but we put newies on. We have OME suspension on the Paj that gives a lift plus harder working. Our trailer is relatively new s no extra stuff needed there.
!00 to 150 kms per day was enough. We set off at 7.00 am each day and planned to pull up by 3 ish.
Now the bad news??? At the Community there were 5 vehicles being worked on, yes 5, in 1 day. They have a work shop and some tools but no tradesmen. The groups in on the day we were there were lucky that there was a welder and an auot electrician also waitng for fuel (they were on 2 motor bikes and side cars) and they offered to help out. A Jackaroo had lost his radiator off the mounts and back into the fan, one on the road had broken a front wheel stub, one dropped an engine mount bolt (lucky that they found it), 1 a staked tyre and another with tow bar worked loose.
Two Prados on track at the same time as us had problems with bull bars or front bumpers/panels (or something) vibrating loose and the one that burnt was just a couple of days in front of us.
As for our vehicle and trailer we got through OK, if we ignore the scratches. Had it checked over in Geraldton and all OK but then when we got home we decided to replace the back shockers. The Hilux was the vehicle with tow bar problems and then they did a shocker on the trailer.
If I can help anymore just let me know.
Rusty

G'day Rusty,
Just going over your Canning report there and noticed you went out via Telfor track. Can you give me a road report on that stretch of track as I am intending to traversing across there in the near future.
Thanks

Hi Viv
We did the CSR last year but much later than you 've planned. One vehcle with us did in 4 shockies in about five minutes just before Kunawaritji, they had two spares which did not fit their vehicle (bad advice) so had to get some in from Perth before we could move on. The mechanic at Kunawaritji was teed up for the Sat morning to fit them but when it came time to do the work the mechanic had gone walk about (not to be found) so all the guys got together on a slab of concrete and changed them. (They were charged $100 for the use of the concrete).
I will probably be howled down for this little piece of advice but in my opinion I would leave the trailers in the shed at home!!! in doing so you may not need as many dispirin.
Anyway you will love the trip. enyoy.
By the way we went from south to north.

D&B

Viv
If you are still reading this. I forgot to mention, you should carry a "slide" of some sort in case you do have to snatch the trailer, otherwise the tow bar will just dig in. We made ours from an old plough disc that could go under the tow hitch and attach firmly with welded hook for snatch strap.
Did it work??? Don't know as we never had to use it in anger and wern't about to try it "just for fun"....
Rusty

G'day Viv
Prado will never make it without losing the bullbar or some other bit.
Will not have the grunt to tow that bloody heavy KKK.
Make sure your 24 hour road side assist anywhere in Aust is up to date before going.
Have heard that there are multiple cyclones due around that time next year so the place will be flooded out. Prados don't go well under water, especially towing a KKK.
Take a tent instead of that nasty KKK you softies.
Apart from that it's all good.
Cheers from the Moose :-)

HA!, you call us softies, who uses the MOOSE to do the stiring, thats animal cruelty!

Just for the record,

We are having a snorkel fitted and the bumper bar is now welded on.

Cyclones in June? I will cross that bridge should I come to it.

Anyway, we thought we could rely on you for 24 hr road side service..............experienced buddy!
After all what are friends for?
Having said all that why aren't you worlking?

Did you read Rustys comments on the Prados (7/10)?

Rusty,
Likewise we are interested in viewing this slide made from the plough disc. Sounds brilliant.

Thank you all for your valued information.
Further to my questions, we are looking at new rubber on the Prado (won't get stuck now). We are also going to put the same rubber on the Kimberley so it is all interchangable. We would appreciate any information on Cooper AT's 265 x 70 x 17 light truck, which we are considering fitting.

Also does anyone have any recommendations on a good GPS system with maps of the Oz Outback, A system that allows points of interest "POI" ie Popels Corner by coordinants.

Thanks
Viv

Viv

April/May might be a bit early as localised flooding occurs around Lake Gregory. It depends entirely how good(or bad) the wet season up north is. You will have to do more research closer to the time.

In my opinion the North South route is the most difficult as each dune has to be approached on a bend as the dunes run diagonally across the CSR. There are run ups but reversing a trailer in the sand isnt fun.

Tyre pressures are extremely important on the sandy sections and 15psi on the tow vehicle and 10 psi on the trailer will take you anywhere.

Go to my website below to read the account(Canning Stock Route) of our solo North South trek some years ago. There is also some updated info in my article Western Deserts 2006

There is a burnt out Prado about 3km south of Georgia Bore(Well 22). Check your vehicle every day for accumulted grass around the exhaust system

Cheers

Hi Viv,
We did the CSR in July 2004. I have read most of the replies and they are all good stuff. However, if you have petrol vehicle,I would strongly suggest you carry a 5 litre Hills sprayer or equivalent, a pair of leather gloves, a ground sheet and a wire hook made out of a coathanger.
Going in April/May, spinifix may still be above ground clearance and will collect underneath on catalytic converter or exhaust system. Those items i mentioned to be at hand in case of emergency. 2004 a Ford Explore burnt to the ground due to spinifix under the vehicle. Currently there is a burnt out Prado sitting out there. I drove a Nissan pathfinder and with the exhaust pipes coming from left and right bank of the motor and meeting underneath the vehicle, they formed a bit of a valley and the spinifix was piling on top of the pipes and the catalytic converter. + 400 degrees is pretty hot. I had to use the spray a number of times, as it actually caught alight at one spot. It is easy to pick up as it will have a smouldering smell. You will be OK so long as you check underneath every hour or so. When you do stop to check under vehicle make sure you are on a clear spot. I was able to wipe across the top of the pipes with the glove but you may need the wire to clear in some small spots.
The trick is not to let it build up.
It will only happen in particular areas along the track, but if you are mindful of it, and prepared you will be ok.
It is an awesome trip and we thoroughly enjoyed it, we took 21 days and it realy is a life experience. I can strongly recommend the Calvert ranges, some 30Ks in off the track but well worth it.
I wish you well and I know you will enjoy the trip.
Eric.

Hi Vivienne

When we were out there in July this year we came across two vehicles pulling Kimberley Campers. There were from somewhere in Adelaide and were testing the trailers out. (So the book at Well 26 said). Cant remember exactly where in Adelaide, but it may pay to search the web for Adelaide suppliers of the Kimberly Campers.