East Aus Adventure Dec/Jan
Submitted: Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009 at 13:52
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MY10_Subie
G'day Folks,
So finally i've taken the step and bought my first AWD (MY10 Subaru Outback) which i take delivery of the first week in October.
So, both me and the better half plan on getting our money's worth from this vehicle by taking it for it's first big adventure right after Christmas until the end of January. The route we've so far agreed upon is as follows -
Sydney,
Bellingen, Nambour,
Rockhampton,
Longreach,
Boulia,
Birdsville,
Windorah,
Thargomindah,
Tibooburra,
Broken Hill,
Mildura,
Echuca,
Canberra and then home to
Sydney.
Now, we both haven't had much time/experience driving off the beaten track, so i have a few questions for the more experienced out there regarding road conditions on some of the outback roads we plan on travelling (weather permitting of course). The roads i'm most concerned about are the Eyre Developmental Rd,
Birdsville Developmental Rd,
Quilpie Thargomindah Rd,
Thargomindah Rd (to
Tibooburra) and the Silver City Hwy. So would traversing these roads in a Subaru outback be suicide? or is it achievable? now i know it will HOT at that time of year, but this is the only time of year we both get the opportunity to be away from home for such an extended period, and we've both always wanted to visit
places like
Birdsville,
Windorah,
Tibooburra etc. We will be doing the trip in the stock standard Geolander95's that come with the vehicle when new, and we do plan on getting a roof basket to carry 2 spare
wheels and an extra 20L fuel + we have the temporary spare that comes with the vehicle so 3 in total. Were also going to take an AWD training course in November to ensure we got the basics in off road driving covered.
Also if anyone has any recommendations on any equipment that would be a good idea to take along i'd be grateful. Of course we'd be taking plenty of water/food/
first aid kit etc, but if there's anything else that we might be missing that would be useful just let me know.
Cheers
Reply By: Member - Andrew (QLD) - Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009 at 14:21
Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009 at 14:21
Didn't want to wait for the diesel model to hit the shores? ;)
Having owned Outbacks (and WRXs, brumbys, sportswagons) the first thing i would change is the tyres. They will cut with sidewall issues due to being a soft highway tyre. I wrote off a tyre the first weekend i had it on a simple track to a common
camping area....commodore territory. ;)
There are quite a few tyre
places that will swap the tyres over to a better one IF still new....we drove up the road 200m and swapped them for less than $500 IIRC.
I see the spare tyre is SMALLER at 185/65 R17 90M ....keep this in mind if travelling long distance.
Hope that helps.
Good luck with your trip. :)
Andrew
AnswerID:
382385
Follow Up By: MY10_Subie - Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009 at 17:12
Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009 at 17:12
Well i tried to get the dealer to put some A/T's on her, but he said they won't do it. Do you know of any
places down in
Sydney that would do a swap? most of the
places i've asked want me to pay for a whole new set and aren't willing to swap.
I've also noticed that i can't seem to find any information on the internet about the stock standard tyres that come with the MY10 Outback (Geolander G095's)???
FollowupID:
649935
Follow Up By: Member - Andrew (QLD) - Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009 at 17:30
Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009 at 17:30
no, sorry i can't help with
sydney. :(
The seem to be mainly supplied OEM....probably because no-one would use them again. :) They have great grip due to being a soft compound, however i have found them to not last that long (relative to other tyres). A cynical person might think that they are supplied because subaru gets them cheap (even though new ones are damn expensive IIRC), and they work
well when selling the vehicle (very little road noise etc). After that you are on your own. :)
Andrew
FollowupID:
649936
Reply By: Gronk - Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009 at 14:26
Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009 at 14:26
Just remember to keep the speeds down a bit on the dirt and most importantly....have a good time..
The Subie ( not towing ) is an excellent vehicle for those type of roads....treat it like a car and not like a bush bashing 4wd and you will be fine !!
AnswerID:
382386
Reply By: Fiona & Paul - Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009 at 15:50
Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009 at 15:50
We were in
Quilpie area during July and travelled to
Thargomindah which is hard top except for about 80km dirt just past the
Toompine Pub to
Thargomindah and the condition was fine - but that was a month ago but I see no reason, apart from lots of rain to change that.
Thargomindah to the Noccundra Pub is al hard top but it's all dirt from there to
Tibooburra. The road was pretty good overall with some very rough sections, corrugations and some sections covered with a loose sandy surface that made for some careful driving. First time on this type of road for Fiona so I took it real easy, and with the brand new van I watched that also and speeds varied from 10kph to 80kph. I had additional petrol as I was aware of the sandy section. Overall the trip wasn't too bad - 249 Noccundra to
Tibooburra.
Tibooburra to
Broken Hill is almost 60% sealed, you must stop at
Packsaddle for a burger, the rest is hard top with bits and pieces of dirt road for 10-15km stretch's. Some very rough sections with quite a bit of roadwork being done and there will be some difference by the time you go through.
We are pedalling a Forester X and towing a Coromal Pioneer Compac 4102 Van which is standard with a solid chassis. I wasn't certain before we left but was reassured by members of this
forum and away we went. We didn't go to Camerons Corner although we stayed a couple of days at
Tibooburra but that will come next time.
I fitted Yokohama A Drive 215/60R16 99H - Reinforced - whatever that means but my tyre guy recommenced them as we weren't really going off-road. I only had one spare for the Subie and I'll take two next time. We didn't need any but out there you have to be sure, although we passed quite a few other vehicles travelling the other way.
Hope you enjoy your trip, the Subie will eat it up
Paul & Fiona
AnswerID:
382393
Reply By: Member - Toyocrusa (NSW) - Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009 at 20:05
Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009 at 20:05
Hi. Try Blairs Tyres, Peakhurst and Narellan for a trade/swap price. Bob.
AnswerID:
382417
Reply By: mikehzz - Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009 at 20:53
Tuesday, Sep 08, 2009 at 20:53
Hello,
I had a 2004 Outback...a great car, but I would agree on the tyre issue. I took it to Yerranderie and chewed up a tyre pretty good without really thrashing the car about. The 17" rims with lowish profile Geolanders they put on them as standard aren't very good on rocky roads.
Even with all that, you would have to be unlucky to go through 3 spares if you take it easy. Its just a matter of if you want to wreck some pretty new road tyres. Otherwise, the Subi will eat that trip.
The only other thing, 20 litres + 2 spare
wheels on the roof would just about max out the roof rack capacity, especially if they are tyres on rims up there? Be careful there.
Mike
AnswerID:
382428