Thread: Cunningham Highway?

Originally Posted by RecMec

Advise please: How steep-hard a climb is it up the A15 Cunningham Highway to Warwick from south of Brisbane? Will be running in a new 2.2 Puma in the Def, towing a camper, GCM of 3460 kgs.

Interesting responses! The variety always amuses me.

If you are driving from Cairns to Cooktown - back to Cairns - then down the coast and up through Warwick, then the new motor will have at least 2000 km on it before you hit the range.

I know the area well and have towed my 2,500 kg boat behind the D4 up Cunninghams Gap (>6 times), Ma Ma Creek (once), the old Toowoomba range road (lost count) and the new Toowoomba range (once) roads!

My 2 cents worth:

1. Go the new Toowoomba range road - a bit longer than Cunningham's Gap, but an easier drive. Built at great expense with a easy gradient for trucks.
2. Cunninghams Gap - I can easily hold the speed limit on that road - its not particularly steep but is reasonably long climb. The bottom of the range is very rough in places.
3. The old Toowoomba range road - likewise I can hold the speed limit easily. The last pinch is steeper than Cunninghams Gap, IMO
4. Ma Ma Creek - stay away! Narrow, lots of blind curves, full of surprises when a semi comes around a blind corner in the middle of the road. Back in the day I used to seek it out to punt my hotted Mini through the windy bits. I was horrified to go that way with the boat a couple of years ago to find that it hadn't been widened in 35 years. Almost wiped out by a semi on a hairpin bend!

RecMec. Don’t feel bad - Toyota parts delivery is just as bad if not worse....

Why are you going that way? V8Ian, give him a rundown of the inland route, current road conditions, etc.

Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

Why are you going that way? V8Ian, give him a rundown of the inland route, current road conditions, etc.

Indeed! From Townsville I generally go Charters Towers, Clermont, Emerald, Springsure, Injune, Roma, Toowoomba, Warwick ............

........but the OP said he wanted to go to Tewantin first !

Having just re-read the OP, he wants to go via Goondinwindi, so

From Tewantin go down the motorway, over the Gateway Bridge, onto the Ipswich/Toowoomba road, up the new Toowoomba range road, then via Millmeran to Gundi!

Originally Posted by Tombie

RecMec. Don’t feel bad - Toyota parts delivery is just as bad if not worse....

As is their disorganisation trying to get a new vehicle ordered,confirmed, that is not in stock.Hopeless.

Oh,and if you want a Rav hybrid,12 to 18 months minimum,with no confirmation on delivery at all,not that this was the vehicle i was talking about.

What a feeling.

Originally Posted by RecMec

Thanks all for the input.

The Plan is: Day 1, fly into CNS to collect the car from Trinity Motors, Day 2, do a Light Engine run up to Cooktown, stay overnight and return Day 3, an easy run of 500 k's. For Day 4 Def goes back into Trinity's wksp for a check and re-torque of fixings. Day 5 hook up the camper and head for Tewantin, couple days later head for home via Gateway and Logan M'ways, want to avoid long steep winding climbs this trip. Thence across to Goondiwindi.

On the run down the Bruce sit on 1800-1900 revs, yields road speed of 90-95. On this trip Def weighs in at 2640, A'van camper is 820.

Mechs tell me best way to run in a donk is to keep revs low but have a load to make it work. Did that running in a rebuild Series 1 engine two years ago, runs smooth and quiet, Rolls Royce would be jealous.

Def will be ready for collection about end of month. New donk was due at LRA HQ Melbourne last Wed, due in Cairns tomorrow at earliest.

Not impressed with Land Rover's arrogance in dishing out a five week wait to customers not keeping critical parts or assembly's in Australia, no consideration of the trauma and considerable inconvenience customer's suffer.

Cheers all, tku, R.

I'd go straight down the Pacific, all the big hills are gone until the Hawksbury, by which time you'll have 3,500k on the dial.

“I'd go straight down the Pacific, all the big hills are gone until the Hawksbury, by which time you'll have 3,500k on the dial.”

If you do that, enjoy the roadworks south of Byron Bay - they are a nightmare!

Originally Posted by Barraman

“I'd go straight down the Pacific, all the big hills are gone until the Hawksbury, by which time you'll have 3,500k on the dial.”

If you do that, enjoy the roadworks south of Byron Bay - they are a nightmare!

Motorway to south of Ballina, then 80kph for an hour, still shorter and quicker than going all the way west through bandit country.