Advice on gear Central Oz tour

[waynep]

I'm starting to plan gear for a tour of Central Australia in the D1 after Easter. Debating what gear to take - especially recovery gear.

I'd like to do go down the Finke River down through Boggy Hole from Hermannsberg, and out the bottom, and maybe the track in to Old Andado. From what I have read, these areas are not overly difficult - maybe some sand, bulldust. I don't want to carry the added weight of the Tirfor unless it is strongly advised to carry one.

Would an investment in an exhuast jack be worthwhile ? ( don't have one at the moment ).

Also looking for tips of any interesting areas/camping spots in McDonnell Ranges /West of Alice etc out of the normal tourist route.

Tks

[inside]

I've never used them but these look good from a one man operation and speed point of view https://www.maxtrax.com.au/maxtrax-in-action-video

[foz.in.oz]

Are you travelling alone? If so self recovery could be a possibility in which case I would take the tirfor as the next vehicle along to give a snatch could be hours away, even days in some cases. I would also recommend carrying a second spare tyre/wheel. It's not unheard of to get two punctures at the same time and unless you can repair them in situ you have a long wait or a bad drive ahead of you.

[Xtreme]

I'm starting to plan gear for a tour of Central Australia in the D1 after Easter. Debating what gear to take - especially recovery gear.

I'd like to do go down the Finke River down through Boggy Hole from Hermannsberg, and out the bottom, and maybe the track in to Old Andado. From what I have read, these areas are not overly difficult - maybe some sand, bulldust. I don't want to carry the added weight of the Tirfor unless it is strongly advised to carry one.

Would an investment in an exhuast jack be worthwhile ? ( don't have one at the moment ).

Also looking for tips of any interesting areas/camping spots in McDonnell Ranges /West of Alice etc out of the normal tourist route.

Tks

If you want to get 'out of the normal tourist route' why not consider the East McDonnell Ranges - Ruby Gorge will be isolated from most tourists.

Roger

[waynep]

I will probably be travelling alone.

Thanks for the tip on Ruby Gorge - will look it up. :D

[weeds]

not sure of the places you have mention but when i did my simpson desert trip i also travelled solo but it was school holidays so there were more than the normal out and about

although my rig has twin diff locks i never used them, hardly even got into low range

again i didn't need to be covered but took the following

snatch strap
shovel
2 x spare tryes
puncture repair kit
spare tubes
hi lift jack

[mns488]

When i did it there where relatively no dramas. I thought boggy hole was awesome.:)

[PAT303]

I've travelled that area and it is unlikely you will get stuck unless you really try too.I'd take spares over a tirfor or set the high lift up as a makeshift tirfor so your not carrying both. Pat

[strangy]

Hi Wayne, this area is pretty easy usually. Though with rain which sometimes comes for a week or so that time of year could make a few spots need some care. Spare hoses, belts and 2nd spare tyre, snatch strap, (usual stuff)
If the area gets enough rain requiring serious recovery Id steer clear in the first place (unless you want your holiday to feature recoveries) Eastern Macdonells have some fantastic spots and have less tourists.

We always Swag it this time of year because the open sky is astounding. Dont forget to collect a bit of fire wood where you can before you get to your campsite if possible. Fire wood is usually scarce at the popular spots.

Cheers

Mark

[Ricey]

I really liked Owen Springs on the Sth West side of Alice. It's a new NP and has some challenges. Take care in the riverbed as the sand is vastly different & can be heavy going. Maxitrax should be carried, air compressor & good gauge, Tirfor (although the maxitrax could negate the need) & the other recovery gear mentioned. I'm another one who's done it solo, there's a few reports in the multi state trip reports section. Oh, the bulldust on the Binns Track (formerly Andado track) is severe & was cause for overheating my transmission twice in July.
Pete

[Chenz]

Went out that way last year and had a ball. I would have a look and a read of the post by Bushie on our Edjits Madigan Line tour. His trip report and photos should give you some good ideas.

Here is the link http://www.aulro.com/afvb/multi-state-reports/61384-edjits-tour-madigan-line-2008-a.html?highlight=edjits

In that area I would not miss Rainbow Valley.

As for spares as the others have said the usual suspects. If you have a look at the photos you will see the day we went from Finke out to Old Andado was the dust storm from hell. Visibility down to a few metres and when you hit the bulldust holes that you could not see you had to stop completely until it cleared which could be a few minutes.

Top area loved every minute

[waynep]

Thanks for these hints guys - going to have look through the interstate Trips section tonight.

I have some BFG MT on steel rims, so I'm going to run those up there. I have had some scary moments trying to remove the wheel nuts for the alloys.

[Phantum]

Alice Springs the heart of Australia. All of what everyone has said but one more no has said anything about comm's. HF with VKS737 or sat phone or both. The base operator for VKS in Alice is Ken a real legend around town and will help you out no end.:):)

Phil

[BigJon]

I really liked Owen Springs on the Sth West side of Alice. It's a new NP and has some challenges. Take care in the riverbed as the sand is vastly different & can be heavy going. .
Pete

I did Owen Springs in my HJ ute :D. Didn't even have an lsd.

[barney]

the tirfor will be heavy, but it will be worth it's weight in gold if you really get stuck.
you can use the hilift as a winch, but only at 5 or 6 feet at a time before re-rigging. you can also utilise the hi lift to break beads on tyres, lift your car to put stuff under the wheels, you can use the rack from it to strengthen a bent steering component or trailing/radius arm. it is a very handy piece of equipment and if you have the capacity, take both!
strap/s, drag chains, shackles, etc etc.
whatever you are going to need to get you out of a "worst case" situation.
some of those max trax could be a good idea as they will get you out quickly from sandy or boggy situations.
take a shovel!
another trick i saw was to not overload your car witrh tonnes of hoses for every application. if you go through all of your hoses, you will be able to categorise them into sizes. make up a whole lot of inserts from copper pipe and take hose clamps. if you blow a hose, cut it, rejoin it with the copper pipe insert and clamp it.
this will get you going until you can get it replaced in the next major centre. all of the copper bits will fit inside each other in your tool box and take up bugger-all room. some lengths of heater hose that you can bypass non-essential components with, will also help and you can also use it for fuel hose if you really need to.
get some DEVCON and know how to use it. this stuff is awesome! from two tubes of "toothpaste" you can mix up a temperature tolerant epoxy that you can repair a water pump hole with it, radiators, fuel tanks, just about anything.

BTW, Finke is not a very friendly place, be careful!
have a great trip

[Ricey]

I did Owen Springs in my HJ ute :D. Didn't even have an lsd.

Top spot hey BigJon :D The old aussie utes were awesome!

Here's the riverbed I almost got stuck in...

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/01/1256.jpg

[djam1]

I lived there for over 25 years and ran tours in the regions you are talking about for about 10 of those years.
I did it all with a high lift jack the tour buses (Bedfords / Unimogs and Land Cruisers ) had winches but they were
of little use the only thing I saw them do on normal 4x4 was bend diff housings.
It isnt difficult and if you are driving a Land Rover and have half a brain you will be fine.

[Chenz]

Have a look at our trip report put together by Bushie which has heaps of info and photos on the Simpson.

May be useful

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/multi-stat...ghlight=edjits (http://www.aulro.com/afvb/multi-state-reports/61384-edjits-tour-madigan-line-2008-a.html?highlight=edjits)

[mikehzz]

I've done most of those places in my Freelander 2. I reckon the most important bits of gear out there are spare tyres and tyre repair kits. You won't need recovering unless it pours down rain, but carry the snatch gear/max tracks anyway. The indigenous people out there mostly do all the tracks in old Falcons and Commodores :)
It's a nice run south from Alice following the Old Ghan railway line to Maryvale, Chambers Pillar then on to Oodnadatta via Mt Dare. Be careful of all the railway spikes lying in the dust because the road is actually where the railway tracks were. Cheers

[2stroke]

I'd say you'll appreciate having decent LT tyres, decent shockies if you plan to spend a long time on the corrugations, and include a high lift jack only if there's room for it in the Disco and some where to actually use it on the car, as in sliders etc. A tyre plug kit isn't a lot of money, weight or space.
Boggy hole is a fantastic place but not a challenge in 4wd terms. Ruby Gap and a little further in, Glen Annie Gorge are beautiful, though like Boggy Hole present no problems if you take your time and drive like a grown up. And you aren't overloaded. If the Plenty Highway is on your way there's a nice track from near Hart's Range to Arltunga, called Cattlewater Pass, a much more scenic run than the Stuart Highway, saving a couple kms as well.

[Cobber]

Hi Wayne, this area is pretty easy usually. Though with rain which sometimes comes for a week or so that time of year could make a few spots need some care. Spare hoses, belts and 2nd spare tyre, snatch strap, (usual stuff)
If the area gets enough rain requiring serious recovery Id steer clear in the first place (unless you want your holiday to feature recoveries) Eastern Macdonells have some fantastic spots and have less tourists.

We always Swag it this time of year because the open sky is astounding. Dont forget to collect a bit of fire wood where you can before you get to your campsite if possible. Fire wood is usually scarce at the popular spots.

Cheers

MarkI can't argue with any of this :BigThumb:
(I also agree with the Ruby Gap or Rainbow Valley suggestion ... it's gorgeous) If you are heading out to Hermannsburg, the turn-off to Palm Valley is just past there - I would recommend that too if it hasn't been raining :cool:

I'd definitely suggest a Sat Phone - they can be life savers, or at very least an EPERB :BigThumb:

You are most likely going to encounter a puncture more than getting stuck, so a second spare (and all associated gear) is a must. As long as you make sure your vehicle is in tip top shape before you head out, you shouldn't have too many dramas :cool:

(I realise it's an old thread, but it may be useful for anyone heading up this way) ;)