Simpson Desert

John

Who knows. If it keeps on raining until the end of March then there is a likely chance that ponded water will remain in the creeks and on the salt pans for a while. It is possible the Simpson may not open until sometime in May.

Cheers

Yes, my thoughts as well, Willem. In 2007, the normal crossing wasn't open until August, though only a short detour was required well before then. (and I think the floods came later, at the end of summer) Rig Road affected too, I imagine.

Cheers, John

Yes I would agree description of the CSR. Last year was my 4th crossing of the CSR over a period of 15 yrs. It was by far the worst conditions we have encountered with the constant corrugations ranging from bad to horrendous. many vehicles and trailers suffered from structural damage. I don't think I will be doing the CSR again as I cannot see it getting any better over the years. Cheers

David and George

More and more vehicles seem to succumb to the rigours of the CSR. Maybe this is because they are utterly and totally overloaded.

I swore black and blue that I would never tow a trailer out bush, but guess what, it happened and I couldn't be happier(well I could if I had the right truck...but what is the right truck...lol).

OK, it takes more driving skills to negotiate rough terrain with a trailer in tow. Usually my GQ was loaded all up to 3500kg which is 700kg over the GVM limit. Now, with the weight in the trailer the GQ is under GVM of 2800kg while the extra weight is in the trailer. I added a set of Polyair Airbags and pump them no more that 10psi just to take some of the spring out of the trailer on the back of the tug.

I think too, that many people do not realise, as you two have pointed out, just how rough the desert tracks may be. Invariably I have been stopped by dunes especially when the sand was hot. Some times I have been down to 12psi on the GQ and 6psi on the trailer. If a dune is problematical then I take a drive and look for an easier way over.

I suppose now that the CSR is getting so much traffic the track is deteriorating fast. Even when we did our first crossing in 1994 the old Tojo shook to pieces on some sections...lol


Cheers

Hi Willem, You are right, even 15 years ago there were some rough sections, but we did not mind that. All part of the course and we adjusted tyre pressure and speed accordingly. However at present nearly all of the CSR is in a poor state and badly corrugated for nearly the full length. Does take a bit of the fun out of it. A legacy of poor driving skills from many cars along the CSR, i.e. speed and tyre pressure too high. Cheers

Just looked up my diary, my first CSR trip was 21 years ago 1988. Wow, no wonder I feel old, tired just thinking about it. Will go and have a little siesta now. Cheers

This year I tried towing two old tyres in the wheel tracks using a rope that would break if load too high. It did wonders at flattening the corrugations. I am recommending every group that travels the CSR drag something similar. When we broke the chassis, we dragged tree tops and these did an excellent job.

Willem.

4WD's on the Canning and other remote routes overloaded??? Are you sure ;-)

David