Simpson crossing - WA fuel test

FWIW, IMO if you allow 20L/100km for the expected distance then x2 you will be as well prepared as you can be.

With 1 Jerry bringing your total to 200L you should make it easily.

There are many places were it is simply impossible to carry "X2" and one needs to be much more precise but if you can "X2" then good. Crossing the Simpson in your car with 200L, no worries.

Travis.

Thanks Travis
Yes I have looked long and hard at that, but my idea was to get a far more "personalised" estimate based on my exact vehicle and driving style. Being a bit pedantic I know, but my one failing is being as well prepared as possible (drives my missus mad....)

G'day Russel,

No worries mate. I understand exactly where you are coming from and am very much the same. But honestly the only way to know Exactly what you are going to use crossing the Simpson is to cross the Simpson.

Exact vehicle a little but driving style is going to play the biggest part in how much fuel is used.

Without going overboard i think you would be better off carrying an extra 20L of water then fuel. Provided you are conservative and dont drive it like you stole it (all the time!), 200L is more then enough fuel, id hazard a guess to say you will use 60% at best so you still have plenty of extra fuel should you wish to go a little further but again... water, you can never have enough if you know what i mean.

Travis.

Thanks Alan
Yeah, I might be worrying too much I know, especially if I carry an extra 40. But hey, with my plan, I get to play in the sand even more.

Thanks Robin
However - The Prado is kitted out with roofrack, second spare up there as well as 30 second tent and a small pod for campchairs etc. Full set of drawers and fridge slide in the back. For water, I will be carrying a 100 litre tank (remove second row seats and use seat bolts to anchor firmly) Long winded reasons for that amount of water, won't go into them here. Plus of course, all the other bits and pieces.

So when we're fully loaded for the trip, the car will be heavy, but not overloaded. The Simpson is only part of an overall much longer trip, so we need to carry a fair bit.

Now, I have a Scanguage fitted which when compared to calcs at fill up time, is proving to be pretty accurate.

Last big trip was 2500 kms out from Perth, through Lake Johnston, then down to Israelite Bay, then back around the coast to Perth. Lots of sand driving, though none particularly soft or difficult. Also lots of 100 to 110 kmh runs on gravel and bitumen.

Scanguage showed an overall average of about 6.4 km / litre. (Which I was pretty happy with, actually) The car has 2 x 90l tanks, but I am working on getting an absolute max of 175 litres out (I figure at least a little bit at the the bottom of each tank is unavailable)

So - 175 x 6.4 = 1120 kms. Halve that - 560 kms. Which is almost the exact distance between Mt Dare and Birdsville. And that leaves no margin for detours, extra soft sand, etc etc.

So I think I will definitely carry at least 20 spare. If I get better than half my normal consumption, I'll be laughing. But if not....

Hence my reason for wanting to do a good test. I've been a diesel man for 20 plus years and while I am loving the smooth, instant, quiet power of the V6, I am still getting used to its quirks in regard to mileage. Watching the Scanguage is very interesting at times. Put your foot down and watch it report 0.8 km / litre!! Must remember to go easy....

Hi Russell

Weather permitting we expect to get to Mt Dare 16th july.

I have always been concerned about Prados tip over angles so I wouldn't carry
any weight up there - do you need a second spare ?

Still an advantage of needing so much water is that if stored well it can keep
your centre of gravity down.

I couldn't quite follow your figures but it looks like you are carrying twice your normal
usage just in your main tanks.

A little advantage of the petrol cars is that you can drive them till they actually
run out.
I did this early in my cars life so I could see what actually happens and be sure of tank capacity and how to restart. (Patrols manually dump sub-tank into main - also mine has drain plugs).
Also a spare fuel pump is a relatively low cost item to take as spare.

In ThreadID: 85015 I tested my cars out and as a result determined that heavy fuel use in the auto more or less relates to how many times the auto changes gear - doing whatever you can to drive in a fixed gear helps - don't know if Prado's can have a lockup mod done but if possible do it.

Worth doing a post trip analysis also - my guess is your Simpson crossing will use close to 120lt.

Have a good trip.

I know the feeling about trying to estimate something you have never experienced. We did a tagalong with 6 other vehicles through the Strzelecki and Simpson May last year. I have a 95 series Prado 3.4 l V6 petrol with 90 litre main and 70 litre sub tank. When we set off from Cameron Corner our plan was to travel through lindon station across its southern border then out into the Strzelecki and Gps it through sand moguls and other terrain including some dunes ias we approached the Birdsville track from the west . Our leader estimated 500km- turned out to be 650 km as it was all previously untravelled territory. He reckoned my 160 l would be fine but I ended up taking an extra 20 in a jerry ( had another 8 for the Simpson route we were planning) and got into Mungerannie with less than 10 litres on board!. Through the hardest sand mogul terrain I reckoned I pushed up towards 30 l / 100 km. Average ended up being about 26l per 100 k. Being petrol it seems consumption does tend to skyrocket through the harder stuff. I reckon you will do better with your consumption on tracks as we were really bush bashing a lot of the time . By the way my vehicle is auto

Sorry- mistake we approached the Birdsville track from the east ( obviously)