Gunbarrel Highway and CSR Spares

[Mike57]

I know that there is a sticky on remote area spares and I already have most of the items mentioned there. I have some specific questions so I thought I would put them here.

I am planning a CSR trip in August 2021. This will be an 8 week trip from Melbourne and return heading via the Great Central Road to Warburton, the Heather Highway and then the Gunbarrel to Wiluna via Carnegie station than up the Canning. Returning via the Tanami Track.

I just purchased the Off Road Extreme Pod Trailer to keep the vehicle as light as possible so keeping the trailer weight down to less that 1 tonne total I can carry around 600kg in the trailer. That will include 140 lites of diesel and 100 litres of water (both subject to some more detailed calculations) plus tools, spares and camping equipment plus the vehicle second spare.

147919147920

Considering the thousands of kms of corrugations I want to beef up my remote area spares kit (and also some more of the specialised tools).

What I have so far:

GAP IID tool
Crank angle sensor
GOEs emergency air up kit
Serpentine belt
Selection of suspension bolts
Air filter
Fuel filter
Brake pads
Wheel speed sensors (front and rear)
Vehicle height sensors
Brake light switch
Coolant hoses
Fuses
Spare wheel nuts
18 “ compomotive rims and a second spare with BFG 265/60/18 KO2s
Engine oil
Radiator Coolant
Brake fluid
Power steering fluid


What I am thinking about:

Turbo hoses
1 x front hub
Left and right rear hubs
Alternator
Suspension compressor
Additional tyre carcass for the car and trailer (trailer has larger diameter tyres on 17 “ rims as it was not possible to get a LR rims to fit).


I will also have spare wheel bearings and shocks for the trailer.

I am interested in hearing from anyone else who might have done such a long difficult trip in a D4 before. Particularly:

Whether any of these additional spares are warranted
What sort of problems you might have encountered that I have not thought of
What needed to be replaced when you got back
How do the LR shock absorbers hold up in heavy corrugations


I will have a good range of tools including everything needed to fit any of the above spares.

My D4 will have around 85,000 km on it by late 2021. It is a 2014 3 litre model.

Any knowledge would be useful. Many thanks

Mike

[cjc_td5]

I wouldn't take a quarter of that stuff. Mine is a MY14 model too. Gap tool, a selection of hoses and belts, and make sure your LCAs are in good condition. How many people for 140l of water?

[LRJim]

Tyre puncture kit

Relays

Head light bulbs

Wheel locks for the trailer incase you have to leave it somwhere

Enough money on a credit card to put the wife and baby on a plane home (trust me) 🤣🤣🤣

[SeanC]

Insurance that will cover a recovery on the track.
You will need to skip wells 2 to 5 (I think) as trailers aren’t permitted on that section.

[weeds]

I have no experience with late discos......

But, I’d fit new brake pads before I left and I’ve never lost a wheel nut so I’d drop these.

Re: fuel, is there not a fuel drop you can use??

Other than that sounds like an awesome trip.

[DiscoMick]

Neat trailer. Does it have a very flexible hitch (can't see clearly).

I have no experience with D4s so leave that for others.

Do you have underbody protection and big mudflaps for flying rocks?

[BobD]

In my 2010 D4 I have driven 4 times across the GCR, twice from Coober Pedy to Windorah via Birdsville, the Tele Track on Cape York, the Binns Track, Savanna Way via lawn Hill, Plenty Hwy, Kakadu and Litchfield and in 2017 the Gibb River Road and the coast from Townsville back to Perth, all starting and finishing in Perth. The car was on 250,000km when we did the around Australia and Gibb trip in 2017.

The only spare parts I have needed on a trip was air filters, pollen filters, oil changes and a top radiator hose ordered in Kununurra and fitted in Darwin after the original was partially cut through on the Gibb.

The only major failure immediately after a trip was the starter motor, which failed in Perth one week after returning from Cape York in 2014. This was replaced under warranty (60,000 km) and the replacement is still going strong at 280,000km. The LCA bushes also start rattling after a lot of rough roads, which is annoying but doesn't affect the car. As per the previous poster, replace them before you go and they will be fine.

Never had any issue with shocks on the rough roads. The most difficult thing is keeping the speed down because the car rides better at 100kph (or above if you are not careful) on corrugations and you get a dose of reality check when you hit a bigger bump at those speeds and the front suspension crashes onto the bump stops.

Plenty of things have gone wrong with the car over the last 280,000 km but never on a trip or directly after a trip, except as stated above.

I might also add that apart from the Cape York trip all have been towing either a Kimberley Karavan or an Adventure Camper Trailer

[weeds]

Neat trailer. Does it have a very flexible hitch (can't see clearly).

I have no experience with D4s so leave that for others.

Do you have underbody protection and big mudflaps for flying rocks?

Looks like a DO35 hitch.

On another note I’d flip the jockey wheel up and retain it up.

[Eric SDV6SE]

Bull bar (profile pic shows car without one)
Driving Lights
Puncture repair kit or inner tubes
Over inflate spare tires to act a compressed air storage tanks
UHF / VHF or HF
Sand flag (sorry if I'm stating the obvious)
Oil filters
Funnel for filling fluids
Torx bits for prop shaft bolts and other parts
Fly screen for the front grille
Zip ties - cant have enough zip ties

Full Service before heading off, including transmission fluid change and steel pan upgrade
Check LCAs and sway bar bushes plus linkages - spare linkage for front and rear perhaps not a bad idea.

Lastly, satellite phone or remote area wifi so you can provide updates and upload all your photos to this forum to make us all jealous.

Sounds like an awesome trip

[bushrover]

G'day Mike,

Same as weeds, I don't have any experience with late Disco's, however I have lived in the Pilbara for nearly 13 years with plenty trips out towards the Canning, along the Canning and heaps of off track work. I have never needed any spares - just tyres, I carry every electronic part that can disable my vehicle or cause it to go in to limp mode, as well as most of the other items you have listed. If you have a Sat phone, take it, or hire one, even if only for peace of mind. Your GAP IID tool is an absolute must have. Without a diagnostic tool I think I would have left my late model Japanese POS to rot somewhere out in the desert. Make sure you have any special tools required to replace sensors, etc.

Murphy will always ensure the spare you need is the one you don't have.

Of the damaged, broken vehicles we have seen and helped, speed caused 90% of the damage. You can tow a heavy trailer or overload your vehicle and not have a problem........ if you travel slow enough to cause no damage.

I have seen 'off-road' trailers with suspension arms ripped out of the chassis, late model Toyota Pretendo's with front suspensions joints ripped out and a well prepared Nissan G60 with not the slightest problem.

My advice is - keep weight to a minimum, but take what you believe you will need (nothing worse than stressing about the 'whatsit' you should have packed), go slow, run low tyre pressures (especially your trailer), go slow, prepare your vehicle well, go slow and enjoy the trip slowly.

[rangieman]

Emergency silicon tape [thumbsupbig]

[Ferret]

I am interested in hearing from anyone else who might have done such a long difficult trip in a D4 before. Particularly:

Whether any of these additional spares are warranted
What sort of problems you might have encountered that I have not thought of
What needed to be replaced when you got back
How do the LR shock absorbers hold up in heavy corrugations



Have done the CSR in a D4. I don't believe you will need to carry 140l of fuel. I carried 80 litres, easily served my purposes but wasn't towing. Plan to refuel at Kunawaritji (or Parnngurr if out that way). Will cost you a bomb but that is better than dragging around that extra weight in fuel.

Not sure how many people in your Disco. I carried 80l of water for myself only. Again, found that easily served my needs given you can pick up good water for washing purposes along the way and for drinking purposes at Kunawariji or Georgia bore.

Wouldn't bother with the heavy spares like the hubs, alternator etc. If you have doubts about things because of age / kilometers change it out before you go. The shocks are pretty much bullet proof if your sensible with your speed and tyre pressures. I drove at ~18 - 22 psi pretty much all the way, no flats.

Carried the light spares pretty much as per your first list but needed to use none of it.

Will give you fair warning though. Out there you will see the consequences of overloading - broken chassis, abandoned trailers etc. Observe GVM and axle loadings limits. Do everything you can to reduce weight- rip out seats if you can, do you really need this, do you really need that etc. etc.

[Ozzy119]

That's an impressive list of spares. But I would ditch most of it, to save on weight. Preventative maintenance is also a better option than getting into trouble. If you have doubts place the alternator before you go. And the same goes for batteries. That's the way I go.

That said, I have forever more carried an intercooler hose, after some advice from my trusted mechanic. I wasn't expecting it to split on day one, but lucky I had the spare. He also gave me a fuse for the compressor.

Would be a fabulous trip.

[Mike57]

Thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate that. So what I take away from the replies is that shocks and wheel bearings should not be a problem.

To answer some of the questions.

Will carry 100 litres of water for 2 vehicles and 2 people. 65 litre tank under the trailer and 2 x 20 litre jerry cans for water we collect along the way as required for washing purposes. This is to keep the tank water pure and good for drinking.
140 litres of fuel is 120 litres for me and an extra 20 litres for my mate in a GU patrol to keep his weight down. I have not had the trailer long and need to do a trip to north west Victoria and NSW which we are going this year and I will have a better idea of fuel economy on dunes etc with the trailer after that. I did the Simpson on 115 litres without the trailer. I also want to have plenty of reserves for side trips.
Trailers are not permitted between wells 2 to 5 (Cunya Station I think) so there is a detour via Granite Peak Station but I will call them closer to the date to see if there are any exemptions. If not we will back track to Windish Springs.
There is a fuel drop available but min qty is 200 litres which is a bit much even across the two vehicles. Without that it will be close to 1,000 km between fuel stops.
The trailer has a DO-35 coupling
I will be fitting a stone stomper - just not ordered it yet.
Jockey wheel will be flipped up, I just need to move it further forward a little to clear the current stone guard.
I now have an ARB bar and Fyrlights plus a small LED bar
I have a UHF CB, VHF Amateur radio and my mate has HF. I also have a satellite phone and will be getting a spot tracker as well.
I have a sand flag and will take a spinifex screen of some sort. Need to think a little more about that one.
Vehicle weight will be minimised by removing the third and possibly the second row of seats.
I am absolutely a fan of taking it easy. Speed kills vehicles out there.
I have some additional spares not mentioned like spare headlight globes. silicon tape etc plus the odd tools like Torx and 12 point sockets.
I always weigh all axles about a week before any remote area trip to allow time to rethink what is packed. Trailer has a GVM (GTM?) of 1,200 kg but I want to keep that well below this as well. Ideally about 800 kg. Tare weight is 400 kg.
The car will get a thorough going over many months before a trip like this and anything slightly work will be replaced.


Many thanks

[dirvine]

I did the CSR with my Son in 2012 and again in 2015 in a Great Wall X240, he a Prado petrol. We elected to have the petrol dump (200ltrs). Reason was that we did not overload the vehicles with lots fuel and water. Water is available at many of the wells and is quite OK to drink. If not carry some tablets to clean up the water if you are concerned. You can carry a whole pile of spares, but if you service the car properly (ie do not just rely on a normal dealer type service) you should have little to no trouble. If I thought something might fail, I replaced it before I left, that way i did not have to carry a raft of spares.

As mentioned speed is the main reason damage occurs AND letting your tyre pressures down, down ,down. All the vehicles that had issues were mainly associated with suspension, tyres, and 3 people had gearbox issues. (LC200, Madza B50 x2).

[IvanR]

Most of that list of spares can be deleted by by a very careful pre trip service. But at at 85000 kms I would not anticipate too many issues.
Fuel is available at Kunawaritji (CSR well 33) but not between 12 and 2 pm. All I carry now is a brake light, switch fan belt some hoses. light globes, fuses and some suspension bolts. Also the plastic water housing on top of the engine. But I am at 245000 kms. The things I do have are Rapidfix, JB Weld, cable ties (replaces no 8 wire) and assorted nuts and bolts and screws. But again the pre trip service is the most important.

Ivan

[DiscoMick]

Excuse my ignorance, as I'm not familiar with the route, but can I ask what distance has to be covered between fuel stops on your route?

As for water, we have used a ratio of 10 litres per person per day, but honestly it can vary hugely. For example, don't shower, just use a washer and a half-bucket of water. If everyone smells a bit, who cares?

Also, those 10 litre plastic water containers supermarkets sell are a cheap water alternative as they can be shoved into all sorts of corners, they are light and it doesn't matter if one splits, there are plenty of others.

[SeanC]

Have done the CSR in a D4. I don't believe you will need to carry 140l of fuel. I carried 80 litres, easily served my purposes but wasn't towing. Plan to refuel at Kunawaritji (or Parnngurr if out that way). Will cost you a bomb but that is better than dragging around that extra weight in fuel.
Ferret, was that on top of just the standard fuel tank?
What were your fuel figures?
Thanks

[LRD414]

Plenty of useful details re CSR (or any long distance remote trip really) in this thread:
Canning Stock Route in D4 (https://www.aulro.com/afvb/l319-discovery-3-and-4-a/241269-canning-stock-route-d4.html)
Especially the posts by Ferret and Disco W.A

It helped me a lot.

Cheers,
Scott

[Ferret]

Ferret, was that on top of just the standard fuel tank?
What were your fuel figures?

Fuel consumption for me (3.0l sdv6) across the CSR was ~ 14.5l/100k. Mate in a 2.7l D4 had similar. I'm talking on top of the stand tank BUT read on.

The reference provided by LRD414 above has more info and reading it again reminds me I only carried on 60l of water but really had 120l of fuel (6 jerry cans) initially but didn't need that much. I could have got away with 5 jerry cans + the standard tank. After empting one of jerry cans on the Bililuna / Kunawaritji leg I never bothered refilling it again at either Kunawaritji or Parnngurr.

Apologies for the misleading info before, how the mind dims.

[Odysseyman]

Quote - “My advice is - keep weight to a minimum, but take what you believe you will need (nothing worse than stressing about the 'whatsit' you should have packed), go slow, run low tyre pressures (especially your trailer), go slow, prepare your vehicle well, go slow and enjoy the trip slowly.”

i agree here, ESPECIALLY the trailer. The Pod is very light and on rough tracks and dunes it will bounce! I watched Ronnie Dahl on YouTube tow one similar (but not the same) to these across the Simpson and, if I remember correctly, he ended up running the trailer pressures at 5-10 psi and even then he was not happy. That particular trailer didn’t have shock absorbers and only leaf springs and it appeared he didn’t like it at all.
I have also seen a Pod trailer being towed by a young family with kids, in the Vic High Country, that did a complete 360 degree roll on a reasonably sensible access road. He said it had been bouncing too...
cheers
David

[Redback]

I know that there is a sticky on remote area spares and I already have most of the items mentioned there. I have some specific questions so I thought I would put them here.

I am planning a CSR trip in August 2021. This will be an 8 week trip from Melbourne and return heading via the Great Central Road to Warburton, the Heather Highway and then the Gunbarrel to Wiluna via Carnegie station than up the Canning. Returning via the Tanami Track.

I just purchased the Off Road Extreme Pod Trailer to keep the vehicle as light as possible so keeping the trailer weight down to less that 1 tonne total I can carry around 600kg in the trailer. That will include 140 lites of diesel and 100 litres of water (both subject to some more detailed calculations) plus tools, spares and camping equipment plus the vehicle second spare.

147919147920

Considering the thousands of kms of corrugations I want to beef up my remote area spares kit (and also some more of the specialised tools).

What I have so far:

GAP IID tool........YES
Crank angle sensor........NO
GOEs emergency air up kit........NO
Serpentine belt........YES
Selection of suspension bolts........NO
Air filter........YES
Fuel filter........YES
Brake pad........NO
Wheel speed sensors (front and rear)........YES
Vehicle height sensors........YES
Brake light switch........NO
Coolant hoses........NO
Fuses........YES
Spare wheel nuts........YES
18 “ compomotive rims and a second spare with BFG 265/60/18 KO2s
Engine oil........NO
Radiator Coolant........NO
Brake fluid........NO
Power steering fluid........NO


What I am thinking about:........NO TO ALL

Turbo hoses
1 x front hub
Left and right rear hubs
Alternator
Suspension compressor
Additional tyre carcass for the car and trailer (trailer has larger diameter tyres on 17 “ rims as it was not possible to get a LR rims to fit).


I will also have spare wheel bearings and shocks for the trailer.........YES

I am interested in hearing from anyone else who might have done such a long difficult trip in a D4 before. Particularly:

Whether any of these additional spares are warranted
What sort of problems you might have encountered that I have not thought of
What needed to be replaced when you got back
How do the LR shock absorbers hold up in heavy corrugations


I will have a good range of tools including everything needed to fit any of the above spares.

My D4 will have around 85,000 km on it by late 2021. It is a 2014 3 litre model.

Any knowledge would be useful. Many thanks

Mike

Did this last year, 23,000ks in 10 weeks a tyre repair kit is a priority and don't use mud tyres, stick with ATs, a good comprehensive tool kit and a second jack, also the gap tool is a must and maybe some MAF cleaner.

If you take the trailer you'll need to join the CSR at Well 5 no trailer allowed Wells 1 to 5, we also did the entire Gunbarrel from Warakurna Station, you'll need permits for that, free online, the first section is the best part of the Old Gunbarrel, make sure you checkout the Giles Weather Station too.

If you haven't got a long range tank, either get one or carry at least 3 minimum 20ltr jerries, 4 to be safe, fill up at Warakurna if doing the Old Gunbarrel.

Enjoy, Baz.

[Mike57]

Quote - “My advice is - keep weight to a minimum, but take what you believe you will need (nothing worse than stressing about the 'whatsit' you should have packed), go slow, run low tyre pressures (especially your trailer), go slow, prepare your vehicle well, go slow and enjoy the trip slowly.”

i agree here, ESPECIALLY the trailer. The Pod is very light and on rough tracks and dunes it will bounce! I watched Ronnie Dahl on YouTube tow one similar (but not the same) to these across the Simpson and, if I remember correctly, he ended up running the trailer pressures at 5-10 psi and even then he was not happy. That particular trailer didn’t have shock absorbers and only leaf springs and it appeared he didn’t like it at all.
I have also seen a Pod trailer being towed by a young family with kids, in the Vic High Country, that did a complete 360 degree roll on a reasonably sensible access road. He said it had been bouncing too...
cheers
David

This is a bit of the topic now but the trailer Ronny Dahl had on the Simpson was a DOT with fixed axle, leaf springs and no shocks. The bounce was terrible. He now runs a Patriot X2 with a Criusemaster independent suspension and it does not bounce. The Pod Trailer comes in three variants. The basic one has a fixed axle, leaf springs and no shocks and would most likely bounce around a lot. I have off road extreme with the Cruisemaster independent suspension. If loaded to say 50% of its capacity I don't expect it to bounce and that is consistent with observing these off road.

[Odysseyman]

This is a bit of the topic now but the trailer Ronny Dahl had on the Simpson was a DOT with fixed axle, leaf springs and no shocks. The bounce was terrible. He now runs a Patriot X2 with a Criusemaster independent suspension and it does not bounce. The Pod Trailer comes in three variants. The basic one has a fixed axle, leaf springs and no shocks and would most likely bounce around a lot. I have off road extreme with the Cruisemaster independent suspension. If loaded to say 50% of its capacity I don't expect it to bounce and that is consistent with observing these off road.

Mike, Thats great. I didn’t want to mention the other brand but it seemed to be totally unsuited to the task. Wasn’t sure about yours but could see that it at least had shocks. That’s a very good trailer and the Cruisemaster suspension is very good. Looks like you’ve done a lot more homework than some you see out on the tracks. We might see you out and about somewhere. We’re in Melbourne too and get away a fair bit with our AOR Odyssey. Happy travels.
David

[Redback]

Just to add to my comments, I towed a 1.5t camper for the entire journey, in fact all our trips have been with a camper behind the Disco, Cape, Gulf, Flinders, Vic/NSW high country, NSW/QLD Outback, Simpson Desert, GOOGS track.

If you set the trailer/camper up properly bounce shouldn't be an issue, getting the heavy weight over the axle and getting it level with the ball weight correct is the key.

Just my extra 1 cent.

[DiscoMick]

Two spare wheels/tyres is my strong recommendation.

[Redback]

Two spare wheels/tyres is my strong recommendation.

Yes I agree a second spare is a must, repair the tyre if you can first as tyres for later D4s can be hard to find, evens 17s as we found out.

[dirvine]

Again I wonder why people carry two spares. I have never carried two and I have never had trouble in remote areas, and I mean far more remote than the CSR. If going remote, I buy brand new tyres (LT construction is a MUST) before I go. I have a TPMS and a good repair kit along with tyre levers and a spare tube . They have all gone for the ride, but are considerable less weight than a 2nd tyre. You MUST drive to the conditions, and be aware of tyre placement and pressures. Most of the tyre problems I see are because they are old tyres ie +40k on them, high pressures, driving too fast and not looking at the road surface to avoid the stakes etc. Maybe I have been lucky.....

[weeds]

Again I wonder why people carry two spares. I have never carried two and I have never had trouble in remote areas, and I mean far more remote than the CSR. If going remote, I buy brand new tyres (LT construction is a MUST) before I go. I have a TPMS and a good repair kit along with tyre levers and a spare tube . They have all gone for the ride, but are considerable less weight than a 2nd tyre. You MUST drive to the conditions, and be aware of tyre placement and pressures. Most of the tyre problems I see are because they are old tyres ie +40k on them, high pressures, driving too fast and not looking at the road surface to avoid the stakes etc. Maybe I have been lucky.....

I agree with fitting new boots before a major outback trip, I did this for the Simpson and didn’t have an issue ......and tyre pressures.

My last trip to the big country was in 2/3 worn tyres and a probably running a little high in pressures and got a slow leak. Plugged it and it’s still good eight months on.

I’d still carry a second spare mainly because I changed too many tyres by hand many years ago...Im happy to carry the extra weight on the roof rack.

For those consider tyre changing gear, do a test run.....the few I know took a second spare and levers as a back up.

I am convince TPMS is a good preventative measure.

[DiscoMick]

Again I wonder why people carry two spares. I have never carried two and I have never had trouble in remote areas, and I mean far more remote than the CSR. If going remote, I buy brand new tyres (LT construction is a MUST) before I go. I have a TPMS and a good repair kit along with tyre levers and a spare tube . They have all gone for the ride, but are considerable less weight than a 2nd tyre. You MUST drive to the conditions, and be aware of tyre placement and pressures. Most of the tyre problems I see are because they are old tyres ie +40k on them, high pressures, driving too fast and not looking at the road surface to avoid the stakes etc. Maybe I have been lucky.....
I once had two simultaneous flat tyres on the rear of the D1 while on a rocky track up the Cape. Without a second spare I'd have been stranded. So that's why I want two spares for remote travel.

[Eevo]

Again I wonder why people carry two spares. I have never carried two and I have never had trouble in remote areas, and I mean far more remote than the CSR. If going remote, I buy brand new tyres (LT construction is a MUST) before I go. I have a TPMS and a good repair kit along with tyre levers and a spare tube . They have all gone for the ride, but are considerable less weight than a 2nd tyre. You MUST drive to the conditions, and be aware of tyre placement and pressures. Most of the tyre problems I see are because they are old tyres ie +40k on them, high pressures, driving too fast and not looking at the road surface to avoid the stakes etc. Maybe I have been lucky.....


do you even need to take a spare then?

[dirvine]

do you even need to take a spare then?
Probably not. But because of Murphy's law I do. But wto is an overkill in my opinion.

[dirvine]

I once had two simultaneous flat tyres on the rear of the D1 while on a rocky track up the Cape. Without a second spare I'd have been stranded. So that's why I want two spares for remote travel.
But were they new tyres? Did you have a spotter helping you? I have been 4wding for over 40years and I have never had two punctures at the same time! Even with old bar treads.

[rocket rod]

I also think you might be carrying too many spares, and therefore weight, but that's up to you. The one thing I suggest you do though is try and change all of those items while you sit in your comfortable garage. If you can't do it there you'll have no chance on the tracks. If you decide you are not confident changing them in the garage, don't take them.

As an example for a trip similar to yours, I was thinking of just taking tyres as spares and swapping them on/off the rims as required. Have you tried this in the garage? I couldn't do it with tyre pliers, jack under the tow bar, driving on the wheel etc. the bead just didn't break. No chance on sand. I took two full spares.

Have a good trip.

[DiscoMick]

But were they new tyres? Did you have a spotter helping you? I have been 4wding for over 40years and I have never had two punctures at the same time! Even with old bar treads.
They weren't new, and I was towing a camper, but it was a section of road with sharp rocks embedded in the surface that took them out, so I took it as a warning. I'd rather carry an extra spare and not need it than not have it and be stranded.
BTW I saw a bloke in a Toyota 79 rip the sidewalls out of both driver's side tyres (BFG MTs) west of Boulia one time, so it can happen.

[Redback]

We had brand new tyres for the trip, all 6, still had flats, 2 runs of 2 flats so without that 2nd spare we would have been knackered, at the second lot of 2 flats we had no spare until we got to a major town because we couldn't get a replacement a very nervous drive let me tell ya.

Roads like the Mitchell falls road(the worst for corrugations I've ever encountered) from Drysdale to the falls, the Gibb, Great Central, Binns Track, Oodnadatta can be tough on tyres and add to the fact how remote you are and the wheel size, you'd be mad not to have 2 spares.

On the Gunbarrel we saw 2 cars in 4 days, just Drysdale to the falls we saw 4 cars and I can tell you no 17" tyres at either end let alone 18s, from memory only 2 places on the Gibb had 17s in our size and not cheap either, thankfully we had the tyre repair kit, because changing Land Rover alloys is near impossible by hand.

Anyway your choice.