through the simpson desert

Yes people have, when we did it in 1985 it was 2wd, the desert was still full of exploration teams and semis were encountered on the rig road. These days the rig road is less travelled, is not maintained, gets more eroded with each passing year and covered in more and bigger sand blows on the dune crests. Some sections get very little traffic at all. The bit from K1 across to below the knoll track is very hard going, big dunes with up to 2 and 3 metre crests, very hard with trailers on. These days you are better to stick to the well travelled tracks like the French line but still can be hard going with a trailer especially if you are not experienced.
BUT it is specifically requested by authorities that no one tows trailer across the desert due to increased likelihood of track, vehicle and trailer damage. They have to remove abandoned trailers that have not survived. Remember too that even the bigger 4wd's like cruisers and patrols only have an off road towing capacity of around the unbraked trailer towing capacity ie: 750kg.
Currently through access is not likely till July due to flooding.

Hi John,

We towed our Tvan across the Simpson last July. West to East, from Purnie Bore we turned onto the Rig Road, followed it around to where the WAA/Erabena Track meet, then north to the French Line. From there, east to Birdsville. We took it nice and easy, 5 nights camping out there.... wonderful!! For me, the absolute highlight of a fantastic holiday!

The Rig Road is deteriorating but is still driveable. There are some big ruts here and there that tried to swallow our Patrol, and some are hard to pick in the distance. Don't drive too fast and everything will be fine.

I don't know of any legal issues.... "i have heard conflicting stories of not being allowed to tow a trailer through there"...... I know that towing is not recommended and it does put a strain on your vehicle. Depends on the quality of the trailer I guess. Our travelling partners towed an older Jayco Flipper CT, it broke a leaf spring down the first section of the Rig Rd, and we bush-mechaniced it with a lump of firewood to keep it going. Other than that it was fine. Having said all that, we had upgraded from a Cavalier Off Road ct to the Tvan, and I can honestly say I wouldn't try towing anything else across the Simpson. There will be others who will say they've towed different brands, and that's absolutely fine... just that I wouldn't.

Cheers

Brian

Took the bikes on Rig as well as K1 .

Mostly ok , but in can be a bit daunting particularly after a sand blow.

We had to do a fair bit of snatching but only when bikes were on the trailer at 1.2T , without bikes was only about 700kg and ok.

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John you will always get conflicting reports as the conditions in the desert change every year with the Rig Road getting increasingly more difficult the nore the clay cap gets covered. It's almost at the point now where it is no longer the easiest route.
High Quality full offroad trailers under 1.2 tonne being towed by a high clearance 4by with 130KW or better can generally make the crossing without too many hassles. Even lower pressures than normal are required as is a back up vehicle to avoid holding others up for too long.
The Simpson is not the place for novices to be towing trailers hence the recomendation from the authorities not to do so.
Cheers Craig..............

Towing trailers stuffs up the tracks for those who come later. It is much more responsible to do as Parks ask, and not tow.
Remember also that it can cost a hell of a lot for retrieval if/when things go wrong with your trailer and tow vehicle.

well thank you all very much for all that information and interesting reading. i have a converted 6.5L chev diesel in a gu patrol towing a cape york trailer with independent suspension etc.
i have been been off roading for years, but mainly rocky stuff around FNQ. i would be the first to admit that i would be a novice at towing through sand and as far as climbing dunes while towing, well it will be a first. but i'll take the advice and resist going out there without another vehicle.
if anyone is going that way in the future, (next year) i would be glad to hook up.
thanks again,
John

I agree, the key is getting the PSI correct in your tyres. There is far more damage in driving with your tyres over inflated than any damage that could be done towing a trailer.

It is such a shame that the arrogance of some people with no regard (or just too lazy to do tyres up and down) causes these regulations to be implemented.

If they were digging and dragging trailers they should go back and fill in where they have been. I have crossed the simpson many times and once with a trailer (yes I will do it again), I cannot see how if the tyres are inflated/deflated :) correctly that it would do any more damage than a normal vehicle.

The Simpson is there to be enjoyed, if someone is driving too slow I just pull over and have a beer (light of course) and enjoy my surroundings and worry about getting around them later. I have found too many want to see how fast they can cross it and not even really ever see it.

Found this a couple of years ago:
Ron Moon - Simpson Desert