travel australia

Hi Jackie,

a few questions (which will help to get replies from everyone):

How much do you have to spend on the car?

Do you plan to go off the beaten track or stay mainly on the bitumen?

How heavy is the camper? The larger it is the bigger the vehicle to pull it

In brief deisel 4x4s hold their value better but cost more to fill the tank, and service. If you are planning to sell after the trip factor that into your equations.

We are doing the same trip, but without kids or camper trailer and bought a 2004 Patrol 3.0TD as it would go wherever we wanted to, and we get around 10-11ltrs to the 109k, which gives us a workable range of about 1100kms. More than enough to get pas the pricier roadhouses along the way.

We'll take a drop of about $7-800 on the purchase of this, but we've put that into our costings. We're spending about $2-400 a week on Diesel, which is steep, but that depends on where we go and how far we plan to travel in a week.

We expect to cover 33-35000kms as a lap of this country, so you will need to factor in things like new tyres, servicing and replacement parts...

Hope that helps, but if you answer the questions above then people will help out with opinions. Bear in mind that they are just that, and make sure that you don't blindly follow other peoples way of doing it.

There are many ways to do this trip and the main thing is to enjoy the planning as much as the actual trip. It will save a lot of time and heartache before you start out! :)

Cheers,

Chris

Check out the website you are currently on to find out about some places that you might not actually even know about, and their attractions.
Also the archives here are excellent. Just search using whatever you're interested in e.g. "Touring Australia." Many have already asked the same questions :))

I would use a diesel engine for various reasons, including towing capability, serviceability and diesel fuel availability up north.
A decent fridge (for the kids drinks) and efficient Dual battery system would be advantageous also.
Mainey . . .

My petrol 80 series landcruiser has been around Oz a few times and with 4 jerry cans has sometimes only just made it to the next bowser. (Tanamai...) Once a farmer was paid good $$ for his stash of petrol to help her reach one station... This was the previous owner, my father in law's experiences while towing a camper trailer. With headwinds and on soft sand he would use over 35L/100kms!!

For an enjoyable trip i think taking out the stress factor of not being stranded without fuel would be a good thing... thats where diesels are usually far better- they can get great range, and diesel is more widely available in the outback. If i was planning a long trip i would go for a diesel. My F.I.L's new car, a diesel 2008 Prado is meant to get 1,800kms range with its factory tanks which is massive.

Also, if you are on a budget and are looking for a cheap 4WD, make sure you have an old diesel rig thoroughly inspected because they are usually alot more expensive to repair than a petrol engine..
God luck!

My personal preference is diesel. I have an 80 series landcruiser which has been "around the block". Diesel fuel is easy to get in the more remote locations, it uses less than petrol (travelled with an 80 series petrol so it was about 1/3 less when we refueled) and you can "drown them" if you have a snorkel. And mine has been extremely reliable.

But .. my preference may not be yours.

Jack

we are looking at buying a landcrusier 95-97 model. our camper is about 800kgs. we are wanting to follow the coast around with a detour to alice springs. thanks again jackie

Sell the kids and get a diesel! Only joking. Pulling power, torque, all the fancy reasons. More expensive to fill up but will out run a petrol engine. They have an almost double engine life expentancy. Mechanics in the scrub will know more about diesel than petrol engines if there are any probs. Re-sale as stated is better.
See as much as possible. Six months will be gone in a flash! We all try to work these things on a budget. The problem seems to be that the budget gets bigger each time! Safe trip.

Within the range you have said I think an 80 series GXL turbo diesel would be the best vehicle for you jackie.

I would seriously think about going to Birdsville or Dalhousie springs on either side of the simpson which can easily be done with your camper trailer, and then doing day or overnight trips into the dessert without the trailer.

The setup for this sort of thing can be relatively simple and if you pick the right times like school holidays their will be plenty of other vehicles around.

When I had to do similar on a budget with young'uns I just didn't take a trailer and this really cuts the fuel cost down at the expense of more set-up time when camping/stopping.

For us it meant we could take a very much unde rated car , a petrol 3lt GQ patrol which costs less than 1/2 that of the cruiser for the same year model.
This type of car could even run gas/petrol and its lower power (100kw / 125kw) was not an issue without a trailer.