Simpson Break down

You know what Robin, I am starting to agree with you... After so much research on the subject, all the pluses of diesel have dissapeared now with modern technology diesels.
In the past diesels had the torque low in the rev range, they were simple (no electronics no sensors) and economical because petrols suffered from Carby problems, high tension lead problems in water crossings etc etc...

These days however, diesels are complex, suffer from waxing in winter, water and bugs, ECU problems just like petrols and electronics suffer in water crossings, while petrols have gained because they no longer use carbys, they no longer have high tension leads (direct coil on each spark plug), and the ECU's have become more reliable...
If you look at some of the testing and fuel usage, with closed loop petrols, the gap has closed too, ie: Prado 4.0L uses 13.5L per 100kms (real figures from three members of our club), Prado 3.0L diesel 11L/100kms (power difference is amazing though), while my TD42 patrol uses 13.5L per 100kms (same as a prado petrol), while I have to put up with noise, smell and lack of power, the prado V6 powers along nice and smooth, no noice, no smell, no smoke and plenty of get up and go!!

My findings after 10 years of owning older petrols and 7 years of owning a Turbodiesel. In my research for a new vehicle now, I am leaning more and more towards petrol again...
Will

Hi Will

Bit like you, just waiting for a better big wagon to come out.

Reading my latest 4wd monthly, I note best 2006 4wd test in
which all main big wagons are lined up against each other.

As usual it was Landcruiser just ahead of 4.2 GU with usual
"lack of go" comments despite GU better chassis etc and coming up
last was the new discovery TD.

It looked really good and performed mostly ahead of the rest
up until its computer failed and the car had to be left behind
in Cape York.

There wasn't even a chance to fix or jury rig it, and the sad thing
is that last year in the same test the discovery failed also.

Robin Miller

Hi Will and Robin,

I did exactly what you guys have mentioned, I had a turbo diesel up till about 18 mths ago. Did the Simpson and the GRR in the time I owned the new model Turbo Diesel and at the end of it all, I sat down and worked out milages including services, (extra costs for diesel, filters, oil (larger volume) etc etc.) and it came out that in a 15,000k trip the petrol that I now own would have cost about $120 more. This isn't the best petro; you can buy either for economy. Add to that, I now have it with LPG also, over the same 15,000k's even taking into account the restrictions and cost of LPG in the outback, I am ahead $245.00 and most vehicles of the same model etc fitted with LPG cost about the same as a diesel. Other main advantage, I can now drive through sandy country just above idle admiring the scenery and the quiet and if a hill appears around a corner, hit the noise pedal and get going without having to wait till the turbo cuts in.

The only benifit I see diesels still having is for carrying fuel in the vehicle, mind you the new unleaded stuff needs a fair old spark to get it to ignite.

That idea was great but ,I have over $10,000 worth of extras,7 we had no where to fit it.
Have a look @ my rig & you will see my, if it was only the truck I would off

"Was that in the MQ? I would have taken all my gear off it and put the money towards a new truck, and left it with them."

Kewl.

I thought that first and then re-reading, perhaps much closer to Birdsville. If $68 per km and $68 per hour, and the total was $4200, thats about 55 km and 7 hours or some similar variation isn't it ?

Well spotted Longreach.

I would still be interested in peoples opinion as to at what location in the Simpson would a recovery be best made from Mt Dare rather then Birdsville?

Oodnadatta do vehicle recovery too.

On the Birdsville side, once you get on the K1 Line, either at Poeppels Cnr or the Rig Road you can head south to the Birdsville track and out of the desert easily. But getting to the K1 Line can be hard, as the dunes have had caps this year.

Whoever is at Mt Dare, Oodnadatta or Birdsville at the time will tell you.

I don't hear any of those blokes jumping out of their skins to do this, and the Birdsville guys clearly have more resources than the others.

Further, if you're heading South or East, your eventual (or revised ;-) destination may make a difference too.

Ciao for now
Andrew.

Phil G. & Andrew W., Thanks for your reply.

Perhaps this kind of information would be beneficial on trip notes eg. where the nearest assistance is located if you have trouble and the telephone numbers.

The main trouble to get it tow to Mr Dare was picking the truck up as advise by Racq as they would tow the truck home if required from Birdsville not Mt Dare ,& I made the decisions to go with the others & enjoy the trip as a passenger & get a plane back from Alice Springs to Birdsville & not miss any of the trip we had planed ,but this did not work either, No direct flight to Birdsville except mail plane twice a week & all flights where booked for a week, I had to fly From Alice Springs to Darwin & then back to Brisbane then back to Birdsville But RACQ paid for these flights as I am in Ultra Care, & I was covered for $3000 per year
Note .RACQ does not cover National Parks roads

Thanks CLC50, I will be traveling that way next year and was interested to know what encouraged you to make your descision to go to Birdsville.

CLC50 So RACQ does not cover you on National Park Rds ................. GEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZ it seems it depends on who you speck to, I was told I am covered on any road so long as I'm not competing in any competition.

Best I read the dreaded booklet and get the correct story ........ So you would not be covered in the Simpson as its a National Park .........bugger.

Brian

To make matters more complicated the Witjira National Park covering most of the Simpson is in SA ... so presumably RAA cover for RACQ ...

nothing's simple.

Well when I first call the Racq,there statement was .They only cover gazetted roads in the hole of Australia,Not in a National Park (TRACK ) & as theo at Birdsville Shell is a RACQ Agent, they said the would tow my truck back to Sunshine Coast from Birdsville if required ,& they would flew me home to Brisbane from Alice Springs, as after I left the Truck I was then with others as a Passager to Alice Springs , then I went to the RACQ office Sun Shine Coast ,After the meeting with the manager ,there was a phone call to Head Office & after a long conversation they agreed to fly me back to Birdsville or bring the truck home. Well next part of Story which i have left out as goes on & on But if you are all Interested He it is,

As on the Monday,1st May, Morning I flew back to Birdsville with one of my sons to bring Truck Home , to check all the gear was still there , cleaned the Fuel tank & replace the fuel line. Well that was the Plan. RACQ said they would pay for my flight to pick up truck, or transport on a truck home.
As the service station said they wanted to replace the Injection system at a cost of $4500 , no way as I had just had them service before I left for the Trip,my diesel mech also said no way also .
Arrived in birdsville 2 o'clock ,Towed truck into caravan park & set up camp.
Next morning work started Tuesday, Wednesday work completed Started Truck running perfect . Then that noise Knock,knock---S-------- Hell shut it down was the quick statement.
Straight to the pub , Wednesday night to Thursday night, & every one new my troubles, Arranged for RACQ to bring truck Home as soon as possible.
Caught a plane to Quilpie on Friday morning & had to stay in Quilpie on Friday night, flew home Saturday,Cost for the trip $1200 ( well what's money) + drinks ???????
Well the truck did not arrive home till the mid June , 1 flood ,3 truck moves, Birdsville -Quilpie,Quilpie - Brisbane ,Brisbane-Sunshine Coast.Which RACQ Paid,
Now to fix the Knock ,New motor, short motor,new injector pump ,or new car these where the questions to be asked.
Well none of these thank goodness.
All required change oil & clean sump, Althrough I changed oil & filters before the trip, The sand dunes , the rough tow trip & a old truck the oil cleaned out the motor of all the internal grim & the oil was like tar & it had no oil pressure.
Well test drive time ,hell its vibrating like hell ,back to the drawing board. Bent tail shaft due to fork lift drivers lifting on to trucks ,of to tail shaft repairs Kunda park $127 .
Well 6th July test drive to Brisbane & back .PASSED.
THE OLD GIRL IS ON THE ROAD
Note: I have open the CLC50 FIRST NATION BANK for all my Trips, donations & Share Holders required

That is one helluva story CLC. I guess RACQ paying to fix the bent tail shaft.

Perhaps we should approach Bendigo Bank for a 4WD'ers Community Bank?

Hi Andrew
No did not bother I was just glad to get it on the road, & up Noosa North Shore Camping & fishing again, as @ 69 years young ,this is my home away from home.

Hmmmmm....
$5000 for a recovery, $4500 quote for a repair... it would seem Birdsville is not a good place near which to breakdown.

I'm glad your problems are over and thanks for the information.

Mike Harding

Hey Mike,

Let us know how you organise to choose where you have a breakdown ;-)

Recovery is an expensive business in anyone's language and the more remote, and the more difficult the terrain, and the more expensive the fuel and living costs, the higher you can expect the price.

What annoys me more, is the limited services and obscene prices on the Nullabor ... Birdsville, I can understand. The Nullabor is gouging by the monopolistic tendencies of the management of most of the businesses out there.

Cheers
Andrew.

Geez, you blokes got it tough. I remember our Cessnas coming in with a new transfer case when we needed it, landing just a half-dozen swales away after a waggle of wings to show us which direction they were taking, and the mechanics would get to and hook it all up and get the truck on its way and that was in 1963. Of course, we did things differently then. No tows needed for mechanical breakdowns, only if you couldn't make the crest of a dune. Mechanics on hand as well as dozers, so we had it pretty comfortably really. Pilots used the claypans safely. One trip through in recent years I heard the bloke at William Creek (Trevor someone) asking if our party would run up and down a few claypans in the Simpson to test out his chances of landing in the desert. Pshaw! CGG pilots were up and down every day after an exploratory wheeltouch and a lookback. Never did they want anyone to run up and down and break the crust. Tough? One of CGGs drivers, just one, looked at his odometer and told me he did 12000 miles on the French Line while we were working on it. That was just to Poeppels and back to Pedirka and Oodna. Yes, petrol driven AB160 Inter. Myself, I drove one of the five Chev Blitzwagons. We took three months, if you didn't know the history of the French Line.

Hi Line B

I have ready a lot of true stories about the history of the French Line & have enjoyed them all.& I have always want to go there & I will be back, I have seen a lot of pictures of the old Blitz with large shed on with D9 pulling them out & cutting road though some hills to get through,

I also red the book about the first women to cross the desert Griselda Sprigg & Husband & later with family .The Book is called DUNE is a four - letter word

Great read.

As this my first time through the French Line , it was a eye opener to me ,and gave a lot of respect for you early guys who worked this area. Born in the bush around Lithgow, became a city boy age 12 returned to the bush later around the 1958 Tamworth area & it will always be in my blood,retuned city 1962 .I was born1937 Hell.

G'day CLC

Good book, I agree. Reg had a plane and backup vehicles, dumps all prepared and ready as he went through and they rendezvoue'd at arranged points. CGG had an extensive backup on our go on the Simpson through the middle 10mths after Reg & Griselda but for both parties, having different objectives and time schedules, it still represented exposure and going in to the unknown with motor vehicles, Reg with 4WD and CGG with trucks and trailers.

I do regard Reg's feat as the greatest because he crossed without a track and had to stay mobile, going forward so he could meet his deadlines and not have people frantically looking for him. Also, he had his young son & daughter Doug & Marg along, making it a family disaster in the making if he put a foot wrong.

CGG on the other hand were a large party ambling through over 3mths over our own road made as we went along, never likely to get into serious trouble except for individual evacuations, but having an adventure all the same. While we put up with privations and minor irritations like barcoo rot and spinifex bites and sundry cuts, breaks and burns and went thirsty and smelly for a while, we were playing with very heavy and expensive plant and equipment that somebody else was paying for!

I suppose you could say French Petroleum were our RACQ on the French Line. The survey (getting us in and out) cost them 4m pounds - about $40m in today's money. You can understand why no one is going to try that again in the Simpson. Your trip though, was one nightmare after another. Top marks for hanging in there, CLC.

Kevin M
French Line

Hi Line B
For your Interest

One of my sons works for Hunt Energy Drilling SA .as a chef, gee no more cooks out there these days. Site at the moment is some where near Moomba , Just moved the rig from outside Windorah to Moomba.
Also has worked for Century Drilling as a Chef.
Works 2 weeks on 2 weeks off, full pay for all weeks, works 14 days straight 10-12 hour days. The campies do all his cleaning / washing/& make the beds/All dodgers Air Condition,
20 trucks move Camps, with Auto Loaders, with some trucks 40 Wheelers,

Gee things have changed since the old Days

All the same, he's earning his money CLC

Kevin M