Thread: A mad idea or not so bad ?

I towed a heavy 16 foot full van over in jan 2009, had to turn aircon off (raised temp about 10 degrees), removed driving lights etc. Couple of calls to the famous JC. A lot of my problems would have been solved by towing early morning and evenings. We had 45 degrees most days until norseman where it cooled and rained. At one point I thought I would have a cooling shower and got burnt by the cold water in the shower heated by reflective heat. Would I do that same trip again, dam right, just do it a little diferent allowing for more time (was on a tight time frame). My only suggestion would be to put a bigger after market intercooler, be careful with trying to get to much HP out of the little engine, standard fueling probably best, 100% cooling system. Just do it
cheers
blaze

Cooling system has been completely overhauled and will do a fresh coolant change prior and take spare belts/water pump, will also do timing belt and big end bearings some time this year. Done lots of maintenance and will make sure its all tip top.

I've done the trip across many times in vehicles I'd describe as far less capable / reliable than TDI. Came close to having to pull up until things cooled down once, largely due to small diameter tyres on the camper trailer I was pulling getting scarily hot - but then it rained, so I kept going.

I'd have no hesitation in doing the trip in a TDI pulling a camper trailer. Plenty of traffic on the roads these days if you do need any assistance, and it's not that far between roadhouses etc. As Rob has said, if it is really stinking hot (enough to make travel uncomfortable), pull up and carry on at night - just make sure that you have some decent lights on the front as there's always plenty of wildlife out there at night. A 40 (or 80) channel UHF CB radio is also a good idea to have - leave it on channel 40 and you will hear any road condition alerts etc from the truckies.

The thing most likely to give you a hard time out there is wind. It is almost always windy across the Nullarbor, and Murphy's law states that it will always be a headwind. I can only once remember travelling across with the benefit of a tailwind - and that was in the D4 with long range tank recently installed - we got from Norseman to Port Augusta without stopping for fuel (I usually put fuel in at Ceduna). If it is stinking hot - a good stiff headwind will make it that much harder on your vehicle. But the more likely consequence of the wind will be the extra fuel consumption.

Price of fuel across the Nullarbor is not cheap - If you can carry enough to get you between Ceduna and Norseman (1,200km) without buying any, you will save quite a few dollars. At Norseman, put in enough to get you to Coolgardie (170km) and from there on it starts to get cheaper as you get closer to Perth. Fuel in Kalgoorlie is cheaper than in Coolgardie, but the detour is not justified by the cost saving unless you want to visit Kal for other reasons.

Treat the old girl with a little empathy and sympathy, she'll make it.
As already said, drive in the cooler times and don't try to set any speed records.
I probably don't need to remind you but I will, be careful of wildlife, particularly at sunset and sunrise especially on the 90 Mile Straight. Enjoy.

Originally Posted by loanrangie

Cooling system has been completely overhauled and will do a fresh coolant change prior and take spare belts/water pump

Consider fitting a new water pump a while beforehand unless recently changed.

Your car should be perfectly ok for the trip. I have a manual D1 and three years ago went up to Karijini in Dec/Jan, so hottest time of the year. On one day I measured air temps at 52C next to one of the gorges and car went fine.

Last January, I took the Disco across the Nullarbor to Port Augusta, up the Stuart Highway to Darwin (with lots of detours in between), across to Broome and Cape Leveque, then back to Perth via the inland route. That time was with a roof top tent and fully loaded (extra passenger and gear).

This January I went back to Cape Leveque via Carnarvon, Mt Augustus, Karijini, and then home via the coast, with multiple detours along the way, again with a rooftop tent and pretty loaded (extra passenger and gear).

Note that each trip was in the middle of summer (Dec/Jan) and bloody hot, eg outside air temps mostly in the high 40's (sometimes more), doing lots of dirt roads and dodging between cyclones! For peace of mind, I have fitted an aftermarket VDO temp gauge and have installed a Madman EMS2 to monitor EGT's etc, and just drive to the conditions. I sit mostly on 100km/h and relax and enjoy the scenery. This year on one of the days across the top end , I copped cross/headwinds greater than 50 knots thanks to a cyclone off the coast, so had to sit on roughly 80-90km/h to keep within temp & EGT limits. Nullarbor winds can get just as bad.

Towing a trailer or having a rooftop tent means the car works a bit harder, but if you service/maintain it beforehand and you take it easy, there is absolutely no reason you can't do the trip. I am about to fit some sill tanks to my Disco to increase the range, so expect many more years of touring with mine, no matter the conditions. So I am in the "go for it" camp. Oh, and whatever vehicle you decide on, good luck and enjoy the trip!

I had a transmission cooler fitted for the auto a few years ago when we got the Goldstream Wing1, just for peace of mind. Wasn't that expensive, from memory.
Steve

I don't doubt the reliability I just have never driven that far with or without a trailer, I don't have an issue with driving for long stints either.