Simpson Desert - Car Set Up Questions

[Chilly]

Hi All,
I am heading to the Simpson Desert for Easter...Three weeks of touring with 10 other vehicles.

I have lots of work to do between now and then. I have a few questions I would appreciate some advise on. I have done lots of reading but have now got to the stage where the old head is so full of stuff I need some help clearing the head out.

I had to change tyres...currently have 265/70x16 Coopers AT's on...had them in the garage. However they are fitted to D1 rims and therefore catch the Spring housing. So...do I change the rims or change the tyres.
My thinking is to change the rims allowing fitting of larger tyres and improve the steering lock.

The questions then are...
0 or -25 offset.
-25 offset will mean wider flares too...or does it?

Changing rims and with going too the Simpson...should I be looking at different tyres too...perhaps a better or slightly more aggressive AT?

Still trying to sort out lots of other things I have to do....reading the posts on here is changing my mind on how I wish to set things up....seeing what others have done and thinking..."that is a good idea". Is not helping.

Currently have Two Fuel tanks to make and fit...thanks to xtreme for his drawing's....bloody terrific...cheers.

Does anyone know of any drawings for the tank between filler and main tank?

Probably going to get the water tank fitted between the rear seats and cargo barrier...when I have a cargo barrier....how is the water tank attached?

I have 30% reduction gears fitted....do you think these will be to low for the trip?

What about aircon....I have the standard Defender aircon...will that be good enough?

O...so much to do and organise!!!

cheers,

for your help.

Chilly

[2stroke]

First priority is a good cooling system and sound tyres (as much to get there and back as the Simpson crossing itself). I've done it on 7.50/16s as well as 235/85s both are fine, but best to be tubeless. About 84 to 88 litres in a 300 Tdi 130.

[justinc]

FGS don't let everyone fill your head with trash!!!:eek:

You need to ensure the vehicle is as lightweight as practical, this in itself reduces the chances of mechanical failure, and saves you fuel.

Standard size tyres 235/85/16 or 750 16 are perfectly adequate, spend good $$ on good quality tyres.

Suspension, standard 110 rear springs are pretty good out of the box, but fronts I would upgrade to 130 Spec, and shocks well these are one of the most important considerations for a trip like this.
Spend some $$ and buy Koni, Bilstein, DeCarbon or similar high quality items, You will be very happy that you did.

Above all drive to the conditions, save the vehicle and keep it as light as possible.

I travel alone to avoid all the around the campfire 'I have a bigger fridge/fuel tank/ tyres/ roofrack/water tank/engine/' bla bla bla rubbish.

It is very serene, quiet and happy around our camp in the evenings :)

JC

[Yorkie]

if your not ready by easter you can follow me in july and pull me and trailer over the dunes... :angel::)

[JDNSW]

I would echo Justin's comments. Keep the weight down, carry adequate fuel and water, be prepared to lower tyre pressure as necessary - which implies a way of pumping them up again! And take it easy

I spent nearly two years in the Simpson without airconditioning, so I can't see this as a problem - but note that even by Easter it could get surprisingly cold at night (as low as freezing), so some warm clothing will be needed.

Driving in sand will be best with minimal tread - road tyres are quite satisfactory, and aggressive tread patterns are a disadvantage.

John

[Chilly]

Hi JC,

Suspension is a Terrafirma 50mm lift. Pro medium.

I understand lighter the better. Just wish to make sure I have enough fuel and water on board.

The other things I have to do are basic maintenance to the car and repairs...such as Track Rod end replacement etc....due to rubbers perished.

Then there is fitting air compressor, Dual battery set up. Fitting fridge. Wiring Winch up correctly....thrown on for now. Organising spares, Door seals and some sound proofing...so I can nearly hear the radio...ha ha!!

Changing or fixing seat....drivers broken.

The group I am travelling with are a good bunch...dont normally get any of the mine is bigger etc banter. A helpful bunch looking to have a great trip!!

Things I look at out neat ideas to help with trips.

Liam,

Would be great to go in July too...money and work prevent that thou

[Chilly]

The Head has been overhauled prior to my purchase and the cooling system.

Watching Nanocom Temp stays very good...below 90C.

Hi John,

Thanks for that...I was thinking the Coopers At's would be a good bet for sand...more road than mud design. I'll need to get some more or buy tyres to suit D1 rims....

[2stroke]

Couldn't agree more more about the shockies, I've had a good run out of Bilstein, and stay below GVM. If going west to east be ready to back off the throttle on the dune faces to avoid the suspension bottoming out on the bumpy dune faces.

[Chilly]

John....I will also be taking some warm clothes...

Cheers

[newhue]

Keep in mind it's only a four day crossing. A stock standard vehicle will do it quite easily. Fuel is at both ends and readily available. I'm not trying to down play advantages of accessories but the above is reality as well.
Though your mates are a good bunch, you don't want to be the one who needs towing or hold the party up due to silly failings. Just make sure your car is properly serviced and anything that look suspect, fix it or replace it.

As long as your shocks are in good order just run with them, same with tyres if that are AT's or better.
It appeared to me, people only cooked shocks and blew tyres due to speed and too high, or too low pressure with HT terrain patterns.
Slow and steady wins the race and enjoy what you went there for.
Not sure about April, but June there is no need for air conditioning. On the roads to the desert it may be good for convoy dust, but in the crossing dust is minimal.
I did most of my desert driving in High 2 and 3. For a Defender it's a walk in the park really.

[rovercare]

Tyre pressure!

15ish psi

momentum

Your low range gears will be of no use, most of it will be high range, all of it really

Stay light

Maintained vehicle, the corrigated roads will usually destroy your vehicle, the simpson itself is an absolute breeze

[Chilly]

Hi Jason,

We have plans based on distance or time each day. Travelling at a pace to enjoy the trip. Not race across to see how quick we can get to the next stop point. We dont care if we make the distance but we do care that we stop by the latest 16:00 each day. Should be BRILLIANT!!!

The tyres are a concern because I have too do something to make the car safe. Either change the tyres,(hitting on the suspension) or change the rims. Happy to change rims if that gives an advantage long term..

[Blknight.aus]

setting yourself up for a trip.

get your hands on a second battery, fridge, some kind of a winch if your solo, a little other recovery gear put some food in the vehicle, plenty of water, add a little beer, couple of changes of cloths, ground sheet, tarp, some collapsing poles, rope, pegs and a good sleeping bag.

Buy stock landrover, service it put the stuff above in the landy and then head off.

Trip prep complete, Doesnt matter where you want to go.

[Tusker]

It's a case of the standard tyres are the best tyres. Or at least the best compromise.

Just get the 235/85/16s, perfect fit for the D1 rims. As already said, they're more than adequate for the Simpson. Plus they have a very high load rating, and as available as any tyre in the bush in an emergency.

And they'll be legal, think about insurance with non standard tyres.

Plus,are there any other Defenders in your group? It helps to run the same size as your mates.

Regards
Max P

[DeanoH]

As has been pointed out, and worth re-iterating, low range is irrelevant in sand as momentum is everything. Having said this, in a manual low 4 is my favourite gear in the desert. Straight through in the gearbox so no strain and a good top speed. In an auto high 2 or 3 will get you through easily.

Don't be afraid to let your tyres down, it's amazing how paranoid some get about this. Run at less than 20 psi and check your tyres several times a day and carry a GOOD compressor. It's amazing how much difference there is in 'driveability' at these pressures so have a go at different pressures and go whats best for you. Down to 16psi will be no problem. Just be careful if you're running tubes in tubeless tyres as the inside of the tyre casing can rub through the tubes. Use quality thick (Dunlop or Michelin) tubes if this is the case, not the usual cheap thin Korean crap. Tread pattern is basically irrelevant, tyre quality is far more important, 235/85's or 750R16's will be fine.

Don't load heaps of crap, keep it light and all will be good. Do not tow a camper or trailer under any circumstances, this will only lead to maximum grief.

Run quality shockers, if yours are a bit dodgy change them before you go as they get a real pounding as you cross the 600 odd dunes on the Simpson crossing. Good quality heavy duty shockers are the best after market item you can have for this trip.

It's roughly 620 Km from Mt Dare to Birdsville on the shortest route (French Line) so not really that far but do not rely on there being fuel at Mt Dare !! On two out of my last three trips they have had no diesel available. Carry enough fuel to get you to/from the next fuel stop, Alice Springs, Finke or whatever.

A well prepared and maintained vehicle is you best asset for this trip.

Don't worry about your winch, it's just useless ballast for this trip.

You don't need to worry about fancy after market water tanks, those 10 litre heavy duty cardboard box water containers from Coles are the best value for price, weight, packing and general ease of use. And they are refillable without too much trouble. :)

Deano :)

[2stroke]

First time I crossed the French line we were travelling with '07 Hiluxes (I was in my 130). High 2nd and 3rd worked well but we were faster than the Hiluxes and it meant that we had too far to double back when I had to tow them out. Ended up in low 4th (popped it into 5th on the longer faster dune swales to keep revs low, with an extremely light throttle!) and if the dune face was bumpy could drop to 3rd and gently roll up at a speed that allows the rear suspension to cycle without bottoming out. I agree with Deano, 4th low works well.
One Hilux was towing a camper trailer and bent it's chassis, frustrating rig to recover as well.

[oldie]

Chilly,

In July 2011 we crossed the Simpson west to east via French Line and rig Road. A wonderful trip as we were there only 3 days after the track was opened after all the rain.

I had bought a new Puma cab/chas in January, added a Trayon slide on camper and that was it.

The Puma has the heavy duty suspension and the standard steel rims and tyres.

We had 140 litres of fuel and 100 litres of water. The most important tip is to keep tyre pressures low.

We had no problems on the trip and in fact the worst part was from Oodna to Mt Dare. The road was very, very rough with long stretches of "goolie pavement"

A tip on fuel is to phone Mt Dare before you leave William Ck and Oodna to make sure they have enough.

If your truck is well serviced you should have a great time. Don't load up on a lot of unnecessary stuff. Keep it simple and go for it.

[numpty]

As has been pointed out, and worth re-iterating, low range is irrelevant in sand as momentum is everything. Having said this, in a manual low 4 is my favourite gear in the desert. Straight through in the gearbox so no strain and a good top speed. In an auto high 2 or 3 will get you through easily.

Deano :)

This is not necessarily the case. It all depends on "conditions" and what you feel comfortable with. Many dunes are easier to cross with a take it easy approach.........in my opinion;)

On 2 Simpson trips, a Madigan crossing (including Geo Surveys Hill) and last year on Googs track, low 2 and 3 were the gears of choice for diagonal moguls and badly chopped up dunes (caused primarily by bull at a gate drivers and too high tyre pressures):cool:

I have done all my desert driving (so far) with 750/16 and 235/16 tyres. The former were Bridgestone duellers on the Stage 1 and the latter General Grabbers on the Defender.

You'll love it.

[cewilson]

I have crawler gears in my Defender as well. Whilst there is comments that low range is of no use, I found the exact opposite when crossing the Simpson Desert. Our crossing was east to west and a lot of the dunes were cut up really bad due to people not dropping tyre pressures.

What this meant was any speed resulted in you bouncing all over the place, which became quite dangerous - and that's not considering what you are carrying inside the vehicle.

What ended up happening was I'd engage low range at the bottom of the dune, and then ended up back into high range once at the top of the dune. Staying in low range along the flats was painful due to the slowness and primarily the noise from the straight cut gears.

Check the conditions wen you get there. You'll know quick enough.





As for the rest - stop stressing about it all. The crossing is enjoyable and nowhere near as hard as say Stockton Beach or similar.

[weeds]

first up you are going to have an awesome trip.......with 10 aother cars i'm sure etween the group you will be pretty sorted prior to the trips.

as other have mentioned, a well serviced and maintain car is a good starting point.

when i crossed solos back in 95 the more i read trip reports the more confused i got so i figured i couldn't get it too wrong.....the more you read the more cluttered your head will become

re: tyres, standard 235/85/16's with disco rims is a pretty good start, i fitted brand new BFG AT's prior to my trip. 22 in the rear and i cannot remember the front pressure

re: fuel, i had a 120L main tank and 2 x jerry cans

re: reduction gears, if you have them fitted than i doubt you will be changing them, i pretty much crossed the simpson in high range although i did cross the rig rd

re: A/C my defer's A/C does not work and i would imanging around easter it would not be uncomfortable. with ten in your group might be handy on the other roads around the simpson to keep dust out from following soooo many cars, A/C on and front vents opened to pressurise the cab

re: shocks....the road when i was out there were in pretty good nick, new shocks would see you through, i had billy's fitted but i had no idea of there quality prior to the trip until i started reading forums well after

plenty have said pack light but its human nature to pack a little extra which i am sure you will do......

the best thing i did was went camping two weekend prior in full trim......my mates though i was crazy as i would set up frisday night, pack up saturday morning (not drive anywhere) set up saturday night and pack up again sunday morning.......this helped me get every thing in the right place.........

i crossed in three days and didn't think it was rushed, it just worked out this way to limited exposure to the flies......

[munss1]

Keep it light take it easy and remember it cost a lot to be recovered out there, old mate at Birdsville needs $1500.00 up front to leave the shop and it could cost as much as $8000.00 to get you back to Birdsville, so keep it light and make sure you are mechanically sound, we spend 6 months of the year in this country doing tour work and we see the lot, over weight, both car and occupants, driving like theres no tomorrow, had one group from Korea crossed the Simpson in 27 hours non stop, and there's more coming to do it that way, use it as a speed run. So keep an eye and ear open for these idiots from abroad.

Remember this is not your land and lets keep it clean and good for our kids.

Hi I am new to AULRO and do a lot of 4wd work touring Oz the company we work for has Mercedes Benz Axor 4wd, with coach pods on the rear, Taking up to 26 Pax to country they would very rarely visit on their own.

What do I own and drive.
For my off season work I operate a contract Harvester and have a Disco 2 for an escort vehicle and service van. Just purchased this vehicle to replace the overloaded Hilux 2.8.
My Touring car is a Disco 1 basically because it has no electrics on the motor and very reliable.
My retirement venture is a Series 3 long wheel base x Bega Valley Bush Fire Brigade vehicle. Done only 9000 mile. Genuine. Motor is seized as in 1995 it was drowned in a creek after a fire, towed home parked at the station and forgotten about. If anyone has a good 2.6 petrol motor out there send me a message.
:)

[wpalmo]

My retirement venture is a Series 3 long wheel base x Bega Valley Bush Fire Brigade vehicle. Done only 9000 mile. Genuine. Motor is seized as in 1995 it was drowned in a creek after a fire, towed home parked at the station and forgotten about. If anyone has a good 2.6 petrol motor out there send me a message.
:)

Sounds like a great retirement project. Why don't you have a look out for a 300 tdi to drop into the Series 3 instead of the petrol 2.6. It will fit and there are numerous threads on the modification out there. It would be an awesome truck that would get you anywhere you wanted to go and cheaper to run than the original petrol 2.6. Just an idea!!

Regarding the "Dakar Brigade" who want to run at 100 km/h minimum and up to speeds of 160 km/h on these types of crossings I totally agree with your comments. I haven't done a Simpson crossing but I see enough of them on the coastal tracks and beach's along the West Coast. There are a lot of head-on accidents in the West Coast dune country. If you are driving in steep dune areas with blind crest's it is a good idea to attach a large post with a flag to your front bar. At least the moron's may see the flag and back off there speed before cresting the dune and having a head on with you. This simple mod has saved me and the idiot coming the other way on numerous occasions. I would not drive in sand dune country with out one. Also totally echo every one else's responses regarding travelling as light as is possible.


Regards Warrick.

[460cixy]

I remember that landy from bega when I lived there

[munss1]

I'd like to keep the old girl original, as I am a volunteer Fireman (retired)