Big van

Having been there a few times, it's possible.Well, you could say you'd definitely get most of it there.

It would be a looooong trip.

What is the overhang at the back?

Also when you get up there when and how will you get back down later on in the season?

You could drive a Holden Commodore over most of it after it's been graded, Buuut, there are those places outside of "Most Of It" that I reckon would stop you unless you plan to tow it with a D9 or something similar.

Gday 410 had a mate take a off road van up there this year all the way to the top he is still trying to repair it not a good move i think
Regards BJ

Hi Rich When we went up the Cape back in 1973 a bloke took a 22ft Vicount to the top,remember back then there was only the tele track. He towed it with a 6x6 Studebaker. Next year we might go up in our Jag and leave the Unimog at home, it would save a lot of fuel Regards Noel

We did the Cape last July-August.

I saw a few Bushtrackers up there, a Kedron or two and one old guy towing what looked to be about a 30 year old caravan.

As I don't own a van I asked him how he managed it not having one with the flash modern suspension....he said "bugger that most of them are wrecked by the time they get to the top let alone come home"

He then went on to explain that the particular suspension he had was well suited to the rough stuff even though it was a very old van.

I think if you went up just after it opened you'd be fine, but coming back would be an issue...perhaps Barge it back to Cairns????? would be expensive BUT maybe far less than carvan repairs.

Bottom line is (and I am not a van owner) I think the Cape isn't a Van destination

You wouldn't get far past Cooktown...I went up through Lakefield National Park and whilst fine in a fourby a big van would struggle, especially for the first 100 Kms or so with quite a few creek crossings...early in the season would even be worse than when we went in July.

A few (in fact a fair few) we met along the way had done some of these,

1) Taken their vans as far as Cooktown and camped from there up and back.
2) Taken their vans as far as Cairns and camped from there
3) And a few took their vans as far as Laura (tar road to 2 kms this side of Laura), parked behind the Pub (probably way way cheaper than anywhere else) and then camped from there.

IF you like a few creature comforts another option would be to hire a Camp Trailer ex Cairns, we ran into a few "van people" who had done that as well.

I think you'd regret semi destroying a caravan if you took it, the corrugations are no worse than many places I have been but much worse than just an average gravel road.

The worst is beyond Bamaga, but still not great to that point.
Hope that helps with your plan