Tanami & 2007 Pajero

I can help you with the Tanami Road as we were there a few months ago

There was a fair bit of work going on and I'd say they are preparing it for tar soon, we sat on about 100km/h for most of it slowing right down for road conditions, corrogations, dust and road trains.

Our tyre pressures were set at 32psi

Fuel is available at Tanami Roadhouse, Yuendemu and then a big stretch to Billiluna so you'll need to take this stretch into account as Rabbit Flat has been closed for some time.

Hope this helps a little

Cheers

Colin

Paul, during a 5 week period in June/July 2011, I traveled from Melbourne - Alice Springs - Halls Creek and Purnalulu (via Tanami) - Broome - Wyndham (via Gibb RR) - Darwin - Alice - Dalhousie (via Finke Track) - Oodnadatta - Flinders Ranges - Melb in an NP diesel Pajero towing a Cub Supamatic CT. The Pajero and trailer performed without fault. The Pajero had 2inch Lovell springs with Bilstein shocks and added underbody protection (intercooler and sump). It did the trip easily and is still going strong. Cheers.

Lloyd,

Can't help you with the roads, as any info I have would be long out of date.

Re the Pajero, I'd suggest a 2" lift, a snorkel and a dual battery set-up, if you're towing next year. Also upgrade the tyres to LT type.

What's probably more important, as this will be your first 4wd, is to get some reputable training for both you and your wife/missus/partner(can't be too careful after that other post) This course will give you better understanding of the vehicle dynamics, and the different handling characteristics to a sedan. I'd also be doing, if the course doesn't provide it, some slow speed(60kph) emergency stops, both with and without the camper. Pick somewhere quiet, with plenty of room, and somewhere that won't have you head butting a gum tree or two. Many people have their first taste of emergency braking in a real emergency, and it often finishes badly!!!!!!

And about the "big push" at the beginning and end of the trip. Just make sure you get plenty of sleep before, like 8-9 hours, and get some good rest in between the 2 big pushes. You don't want to stuff the 5 weeks up by going too hard, and always playing catch up with rest, and other breaks.

Hope you enjoy it, haven't got a spare seat have you?

Bob.

Paul

Not been on the Tanamai or GRR in over 25 years. Had a mate do those tracks in a Disco 2-4 weeks ago. He thought The Oodnadatta track was the worst, 4 years ago I thought the Oodnadatta track was a breeze. Road conditions change
However we do have a 2007 Pajero diesel and have done a number of tracks over the years in the eastern half of Aust towing a heavy Camper Trailer.

In short you will do it easily provided you adjust tyre pressures and drive/ manage speed accordingly. Just because someone passes you doing 20km/hr faster, don't think it is wise for you to do it.
Biggest sin we family people make is that we overload our vehicles. Heavier springs/ airbags won't enable you to carry more, but will make them ride better.
IF I was doing that trip I would firstly consider new or near new Light Truck tyres, then heavier springs, new and possibly 2nd battery set up but that is about it.
For that trip alone, no need for snorkel, bullbar etc, as creeks should be well down and you shouldn't be travelling after dark or in roo hours.

5 weeks is grossly inadequate, you will be travelling almost every day.
Bear in mind that in those months you should have pulled up by around 3.30PM in order to make camp and start food prep in daylight hours.
Otherwise you will make it into one of those "been there/ done that/ tick it off the list" holidays. Yes possible but torture on your family.

Have a great time

I've just returned from a 12 week trip from Brisbane to Coral Bar and return and whilst you could do your planned trip in 5 weeks, I reckon it'd be a rush. We did a lot of the roads you mention and can assure you that while you won't need a lift, a suspension upgrade might make the corrugations less noticeable. Our standard Pathfinder handled it quite well and at no time was it hard to control but my wife did have sore stomach muscles after one particular day.
We found sone of the roads off the main roads much rougher than the GRR or Tanami.
In 18,256 klm, we hardly used 4wd.

Hi Lloyd,

Personally, I think you're trying to squeeze too much in if you're allowing 5 weeks.

Earlier this year, we went from Adelaide up to Ayers Rock, Alice Springs, up the Tanami, and into Kununurra. Then out on the Gibb River Road for 3 weeks, Derby, Broome, back to Kununurra and across to Katherine and down the middle back home. Just that alone took 6 weeks and I wouldn't say that we went slow.

It's up to you, but perhaps you should just concentrate on one section (like the Tanami and Gibb River Road), then perhaps do the west coast another trip. Otherwise your trip seems a little like a "tick box" action (yep, we did it), but did you really enjoy just passing through without having the time to stop and truly appreciate what you're visiting.

For a newbie to 4wding, I would suggest learning some basics, eg tyre pressures, how to drive on dirt, driving speeds, what to have in a basic toolkit, etc. The Tanami can be isolated, so you also might want to consider communication of some sort, eg hire a satellite phone. In Adelaide, the guys out at Adventure 4WD offer great training.

My blog for this trip isn't finished but if you'd like any ideas of the trip you are embarking on, click Kimberley 2012.

Linda.