Yes, you can take the camper trailer there!

Look no further than the ExplorOz shop Site Link

This DVD shows a Kimberley & Ultimate camper trailers doing the CSR.

Hi Russ,
Given your experience & you know your limits & having done all 3 several times myself, my advice is.
- Cape york, via the old road no problem with CT for a experienced 4WD in solo.
- Simpson no problem with CT but have another vehicle for piece of mind in case you meet a like minded travelling sole going the other way with a trailer on a dune.
- CSR, NO, pure & simple NO, 1900k's multiple head sand dunes & the thought of meeting vehicles coming the other way in the middle of those heads would be simple ugly, not to mention the extra fuel consumption over that distance. However travelled early in the season when it is quite maybe possible without stress.

Just my thoughts, regards Simon.

Well I've done Cape York and I've done the Simpson both with the Trak Shak hanging off the back.

I have also done a bunch of other stuff that people said I shouldn't do with the trailer and I have had very few problems.

When I first got the Trak Shak I was living in Sydney and just to see if I could I took it for a run through Menai. Needed the dif locks to get up Yamaha hill but then that was never easy even without a trailer.

I have seen people get bogged solo in places that I drove through without concern towing the CT. If you know what you are doing then you too should have few probs. Just remember the trailer will accelerate the bogging process and decelerate the recovery, but it is all fun.

One last question, can you back the trailer? Sooner or later you will hve to.

Duncs

32 years experience, and you have a land rover, more like 32 years of getting towed. big smile .

My two cents worth, doing the CSR, leave the trailer behind.

Cheers

D

This subject comes up time and time again. Was on here a week or so ago.

I was never a fan of trailers but eventually the truck got too cramped with all the bulky gear in it that I bought a 7x4 HD bush trailer. It carries all the camping gear and 240lts of diesel.

In recent times I have been on the CSR and Offtrack in the Simspon and in the Gibson towing the trailer. Camper trailers should be no different except that they may be a tad heavier.

Rule of thumb in sandy conditions is to run your vehicle tyres at 15psi and trailer tyres at 10psi. There are arguments against that but that is what I do and it works well for me.

Like with most things, drive to the conditions. To better explain that..... on the CSR or the Simpson, don't do run ups to dunes. Tyre pressure is a critical factor. You might have to fiddle around with your tyre pressures but so what? As long as your holiday is enjoyable and stress free. Most dunes on the CSR or in the Simpson can be crawled over utilising First High Range or Second Low Range.

Its no drama.

Cheers

The people on our video have done many trips with there trailers including the cape.
Big John and Deb with the Kimberly have done the cape half a dozen times or so with there Kimberly.

All the best
Eric

G'D ay Rus N Sue, We can't comment on the Canning Stock Route but in our experience the no trailer response has a lot to do with a percentage of people with not much upstairs. An example was a few years ago we were heading on to Fraser Island on the inland track when we came across a family in distress. Now you dont obviously need any real extreme conditions to show the problems as the inland track is not that bad, but what we came across is a bloke in his $50000 Pajero with a $2 trailer in tow, complete with angle iron pull , loaded as high as the roof on the mitsubishi. It doesn't take alot of guessing to work out what happened. The pull had broken off the trailer. We stopped to see if we could help but old mate had it all under control. He had set up a $1 blue tarp for his wife and two little children to sit under while he was going to head over to Harvey bay { mind you this was Boxing Day} to try and buy another trailer. There is a reason that our trailer under our camper is worth about $3000. and a reason why it will cope with pretty much any thing we put it through and if we do have problems other than thet we have a well equipped vehicle to recover us or any one else having problems. I beleive that if you have the experience you say with a TRUE off road CT and a well equiped vehicle you would tackle the CSR and be successful. As some others said you might encounter some challenges but if it was easy you wouldnt be looking at doing the trip. Cheers. P.S If the Kedron Boys can get an off road caravan through OTT than you can achieve anything using commonsense!!!!!

G'day Russ, I have done the CSR with one other vehicle, not towing. This year we are doing the southern section only and Rudall River, leaving the camper in Newman.

It would make for a more enjoyable trip to leave the camper at one end, or in our case the middle.

To do the full CSR with camper in tow a second vehicle not towing would be the best. Have this vehicle in front to watch out for oncoming, and assist a tow over the top when needed.

Its a great trip which ever way you decide to do it, but more pleasant without towing.

To know whether you can tow a trailer etc on these tracks depends on several factors. I personally think you can just about take a full Off-Road trailer anywhere as long as it is set up correctly and is built for those conditions. Too many people get caught out by taking ill prepared so called Off-Road trailers and find they are not up to the task.....IMO, if your trailer is correctly set up and your carrying the appropriate spares, recovery gear and have the required experience with a tow vehicle up to the task then there shouldn't be any issue.........Though it is always better to have a second vehicle if all goes south......

Russ,

I will base my reply on the Canning Stock Route.

I have seen trailers on the CSR and the vehicles were doing it hard. Apart from the fact that they can not go through the bottom part of the CSR, from Well 5 down, it can be done.

I would assume you would be leaving the tinne at home and even though you have one of the best camper trailers still pack it as light as possible. One piece of recovery gear that I think that should be carried at all times apart from usual, is a hand winch and long (30mt) winch extension strap.

If you have a look at the video of the trailers doing the CSR (good video Eric) they are all "BIG" 4wd. I have driven the Discovery 3 in the Victorian High Country and it went great there but we were not towing a trailer. That is the only contact that I have had with them and have yet to see them on soft sand.

The 4wd selection system being a electronic dial up might cause some concern. The vehicle that I drove in the VHC had some gremlin in the electronics and the system would shut down. It restarted again, BUT. The auto hight control also wanted to think for itself and would lower back down at all the wrong times. I am not sure if you have this equipment level but it would be a concern just going on the experience that I have had.

When we take a vehicle on the CSR we highly recommend that the suspension be up graded and spare shocks be carried. The CSR is very hard on suspension. Spare shocks and springs would also have to be carried for the trailer plus all the usual fan belts, hoses, fuses,oils, and second spare tyre.

The Discovery 3 is very economical but on the CSR it would still require to carry extra fuel. Going on the past few years we have used an average of 190lt from Wiluna to Well 23 fuel drop. What fuel we have left in the tanks plus the 205lt drum will get us to Bililuna. That does not mean that we only leave Wiluna with 190lt. I have both tanks full, 270lt and take empty jerry cans to use at the fuel drop for any fuel is left over in the drum. How much fuel you will use towing would hard to estimate, but you could easily double the fuel usage for normal towing and that would be close.

My thoughts on the matter.
The trailer would make the trip, the vehicle, I think, is a bit light to tow a CT on the CSR, being able to carrying enough fuel and having at least one other vehicle with you not towing a CT. Going to Cape York would be alright again with another vehicle without a trailer. I have not been there in a few years so I an not up to date with the conductions. The Simpson Desert apart from the SA National Parks not recommending that trailers should not be taken across, I will leave that one to you.

With the new permits for the Canning and in what form or resection they will be, might also impact on where trailers can be taken on the CSR.

Wayne

We did the CSR twice and I would not tow a trailer. I wouldn't do that to my car trailer or nerves. 850 Sand dunes I think and no baby ones either. Much more enjoyable without stress. Why not do something different and swag it out there leaving your trailer at home.
Best Trip we ever did, be smart.

Cheers
Reiner

Russ,

It is a good question and, as others have pointed out, it has been done so must be possible.

Having done a big trip with the KK last year, I learnt a lot about some do's and don'ts. I guess the big lesson for me was being prepared for what is coming up and taking the time to think it through and work out your strategy and vehicle set up. This is true of course when you are not towing, but the consequences of stuffing it up are worse with a trailer as reversing back and having another go is not always an option; you need to get it right first time.

Twice I got stuck in soft sand at low speed and in both instances further reducing the tyre pressure (as low as 10psi) and engaging the diff lock got us out of trouble (just).

The second type of trouble simply concerns the turning radius. Doing a 180 degree turn in a creek bed with steep banks on either side gave us some interesting moments. Lots of backing and filling. Again, a walk through and work out your plan saves heaps of stress later on.

Our scariest moment was driving the Wickham/Gibbie track in Gregory NP. We were going up a very steep hill (Low range 1st) which was on a steep ridge that dropped away either side. A 90 degree bend with lots of holes, rocks and loose shale. Half way around the bend the rear wheels break traction in a largish hole and we start to slide sideways and backwards. Because we had slid sideways, reversing out was not an option as the trailer would have jack knifed. All sorts of scenarios flick through my mind including chocking and disconnecting the trailer, trying to manually turn it around to face downhill, etc. Problem was that we couldn't get around it easily (might have been half a day bush bashing to get there). Long story short, but with the rear diff lock engaged and some (more) air out of the tyres, we made it on the second go.

We drove that track for four days and didn't see another car, so was very happy to be able to keep going.

But the lesson I learnt was twofold. Firstly, sellers of off road trailers will tell you that their units can go anywhere your car can go. True, but your car just won't go as many places with a trailer on. Secondly, surveying your route, thinking through a plan and setting up are doubly important, because a quick reverse and another go is not always an option.

Despite the difficulties your day holds, it is always worth it when you can relax in your camper at the end of the day.

Cheers,

Matt.

My 2.2 cents worth (+GST). I haven't driven the tracks you mentioned but I do have 23 yrs experience in the Army and have done all of my off road training with them.

We always took trailers with us and they were loaded to the hilt - because we have to carry all of our equipment.

What we were taught is that the trailer has to be properly set up and packed.

That is, the trailer's rims and tyres were the same as the towing vehicle, they had the same track (width), the trailer tyres were at the same pressure as the rear tyres of the vehicle and you had a proper off road hitch.

When it comes to packing the trailer must be well balanced and only carry what you need.

And most importantly of all you drive to the conditions of the road.

I still apply those principles today when I take my family away camping with our CT and I have been to some decent places in the south of WA and have had no problems.

My preference for a CT is that I spread the wieght over two axles and not one (the rear one) if I was only taking the Cruiser.

Always be prepared to improvise, adapt and over come so when faced with a situation remember always stop and take the time to think out the situation first. Once you have done that you should be okay.

Hope this helps.

Karl

Excellent replies from you all. Thanks very much. We certainly have a lot to think about. One of the main issues is that we simply won't have a "base" to leave the CT at. We have sold up and will be basically "Stateless". This means that we will have to pay for storage or find someone we really trust when we take on some of these difficult runs - hence the desire to tow the CT if we can.

It is quite clear that those who think it can be done have placed a lot of emphasis on prior planning, taking your time and surveying intended routes when confronted with obstacles. This is something I have to do now with the job that I do. I have an allergy to shovels and my boss often complains that I procrastinate too much when confronted with dunes, river crossings and the like. He calls it procrastination, I like to think it's planning.

Are there some places we could go that would be good as a training run. You know, similar terrain, but not as much of it, and plenty of passing traffic if we were to come unstuck? Or should that be "stuck"?

Keep the comments coming - it's all good information.

Thanks again,

Russ.

There are several operators in Cairns who hire CT's almost exclusively for the Cape York trek. I've had some business dealings with them and yapped about their trailers. Mostly not fancy rigs, just sound build, solid chassis and decent suspension (7 leaf seems to be favoured). One operator told me that all his trailers usually need when they get back is a quick coat of paint to cover the chips. I'm guessing that you'll take more care of your own rig than hire company customers, so I'd expect you should have no prob's. I also know a number of people who've done The Cape with their own CT's, including Kimberlies, Utimates and some more basic rigs, like my little Dingo. Main thing is, do it before the buggers seal the road ..which isn't too far away.

Gaday Russ. To understand why you get complete opposite views on towing trailers on the CSR you need to look at the reasons people have trouble.
1. Tyre preasure. 12 to 20 PSI depending on the conditions & weight carried. Too high & you'll struggle the entire way through the sand.
2. Quality of trailer. Some poor quality trailers self destruct. KK should give you little trouble.
3. Speed. Drive too fast & the car or trailer may collapse.
4. Power to weight. The Kimberly is heavy enough on it's own so don't load up too much. As a guide 1.2 tonne max. Disco has sufficient power to tow.
5. Conditions. After rain the sand can be relitively easy. After a long dry windy period crests on the dunes can be very challenging.
6. Wear & tear. Some people can't stand the scratches, dints & damage that a trip like this can do to even a quality camper like yours.

Additionaly I'd suggest travelling with a 2nd vehicle that can give warnings of difficult sections ahead & be in a position to tow should one get stuck.
Cheers Craig............