Rav 4 Simpson or not?

Graeme

A standard Subaru Forrester accompanied us successfully up a very dry Big Red, in 2006, but not the Simpson..
That was relatively easy. I presume the Rav 4 would be of similar height and capability..

The question you would have to ask yourself is, are people prepared to buddy up, and help this vehicle to cross the Simpson ??????????????

Have seen most makes of 4x4's out there.(there is no height rule, but a little will help)
Put on some quality off road tyres on it.
To make sure that you are not gunna rip it in half, when and if you hook up a snatch strap, ( if you have to use it) and be prepared to carry most of it's crap, and maybe drag it over some of the dunes..

Make sure that there are at least 1 other vehicle with you, if you are gunna try it, because you will need the exrta room to carry all the stuff, that the Rav 4 is not capable of carrying..
It would be a challenge.

Cheers

Bucky

Graeme, my concern is that you ask if the vehicle is ok for the BIG trip. I feel strongly that you should know all about the capabilities of a vehicle from smaller / safer trips, before you attempt such trips. With those experiences you'll also know about how the vehicle compares to others as well, and learn lots of other very useful stuff about the vehicle / your parents driving capabilities. I know early RAV's did it easily but they had so much clearance compared to newer one's. Good luck with it. JD

A Rav 4 would do it at the moment on the right tyre pressures. The sand isn't that soft this year. We were able to literally idle up big red. We passed a Forrester going east to west on the french line (along with a bunch of other Subi's). They claimed they had no troubles.

But I would like to echo the sentiments of the others above. This is a big trip to undertake as the first serious outing. Fuel range would be an added problem.

Hi pyro 1

I met a guy who takes his HT holden across every couple of years. and he has not lifted it or nor does he have off road tyres.

what he does have is a bucket full of experience and caution is his best friend.

If you can carry most of the kit for the rav and exercise a zhit load of caution you will get across in around 4 days.

Push it and I would suggest that is exactly what you will be doing to the rav.

what the hell if you got the money to recover it if it breaks i say go for it.

Have fun and enjoy the adventure.

trev

Just get them to rent a full size 4WD... much more comfortable in all respects including fuel.

Not knowing a RAV 4, does it have good(rated) recovery points front and rear.That would be a must for snatching over sand hills.

G'day Graeme,
At the risk of repeating what others have already said, let me make the following observations.......

If your parents have little 4x4 experience, get them to either join a club or do an accredited course. I would think the club thing is probably better 'cos when they've done the clubs DAP, they can go on a few trips with the club and practice what they've been taught. There's a lot more to it than just locking the hubs in. This will give them the confidence to have a crack at the Simpson.

Your profile says you drive a turbo'd 100 series, so with planning and knowledge, you will be able to "help" them get over the dunes that the RAV won't IF the need arises. Again, a club DAP or an accredited course will teach all of you correct use of tow straps and snatch straps. And never take short cuts with recovery, always do it the correct way to ensure no-one loses a limb.

Make sure the RAV has recovery points fore & aft..... and NOT just the tie down points that most people THINK are recovery points!

Tyre patterns probably aren't too important in sand, but tyre pressures are!!!! Although, you will have to make sure that the tyres are capable of driving over 100's of kilometres of gibber strewn roads to get there! So the standard road tyres that came from the factory may (or may not) be adequate on these roads. Once in the sand, lower the pressure in the tyres..... we run 18psi in the Patrol, not only gives good traction but also more comfort, not so bouncy!

I would think that if they want to go, and the RAV is the vehicle they want to go in, then if you're prepared to give them a tow here and there, and they drive sensibly, I wouldn't think it a problem.

Hope this helps


Cheers

Brian

As others have said; Get those recovery points sorted ! After that if people can tow trailers through the Simpson I don't see why you can't tow the Rav :-))

As for experience you need to have them try some soft sand hills and have a good play with tyre pressures. Also, what about the fuel range of the Rav ? Who is going to carry the extra fuel ? Not much room in a Rav.

I have seen on the French Line, numerous Subaru's, Mercedes C70, Nissan Xtrail, Corolla and Datsun 1400 ute. Many others have crossed in a variety of 2wd vehicles.

Consider putting mechanical LSD's, true trac's for eg, front and rear. Won't make any difference to the road, except lack of wheelspin when the bitumen is wet, and INMO best option for slippery surfaces such as sand, and if one wheel is stuck in the air, then just some handbrake action gets the stopped wheel going.

I drove a friends Rav4 all over stockton beach and it handled it fine.

The only comments I would add to the already educated list the other posters have provided is this...

The low ground clearance and relatively soft suspension, mixed with a large front overhang caused the Rav to dive into the sand everytime the speed was increased to tackle a large dune. The occillations of the bumps (whoop-d-doops) before a dune slows the rav down when momentum and controlled speed is required to crest a due.

Apart from that I would also question is the centre difflock (I believe viscous) would cope well with the sustained wheelspin you find when driving for long periods in sandy conditions.

They are one of the more capable of the soft roaders and might cope well, but is it worth the stress? If so and your planning is adequate then so be it.... good luck I hope its enjoyable.
Matt.

Thankyou all,
I think that I will ask the to come as far as Birdsville, Should be fun anyway, we will get there via Bore track and Walkers crossing. Its the lack of experience that worries me and I know my father would not do a 4x4 course. It was a nice idea.
Thanks again
Graeme

RAV will make it but it make take years off its life.

Whatever you do DO NOT TAKE A TRAILER

It is scientifically proven that these completely destroy the desert until eternity. Even if a procession of a hundred vehicles have gone past (speeding, overloaded, 2WD, pumped up tyres etc) the damage caused by just one trailer stands out like the proverbial canine genitalia.

Last year, A friend joined us with a stock standard Kia Sportage - same clearance, same tyres etc as a RAV.

He made it over all but 3 of the dunes, and we simply towed him over the soft bit at the top. He had lots of power and very low tyre pressures - all he lacked was clearance. The big 4wds leave ruts that would slow him down.

Recovery points: Snatching is not necessary. Most softroaders have good TOW points. We use an equaliser strap so the load is shared between two tow points and gentle tug and a tow pulls them over. No point in fitting 10,000lb hooks on a small vehicle.

Fuel is an issue. RAV will need to carry an extra 60 litres of ULP - where do you store that? Add 60 litres of water, and thats a lot of extra weight for a RAV.

If they are running a fridge, you can simply upsize the cranking battery. We fitted an N70 to a RAV once before, which meant the owner could runa fridge for 2 nights, and still start the vehicle the following day.

Tyres: its very hard to damage a tyre on the common tracks in the Simpson desert, so any tyres will do. But they are an uncommon size, so he'll need a second spare.

Cheers
phil

The problem I see with soft roaders in general is that they let people go far enough to get themselves into real trouble.
Two problems with rav, no low range, no centre diff lock and if you lose traction on one wheel all drive will go to that wheel. OPPS thats three. lol
Foresters are more capable with low range etc.
Pyro if you do a search on this site you will be able to find my little adventure recovering a rav off a mountain.
Cheers pete