Both Roger and myself did the CSR last year in D4s. I went via the Gibb River road and Roger by a different but equally circuitous route. We met up in Kunnanura for a few days to knock off the dust and Roger had to fix a few niggles from his meanderings before we tackled the CSR from the Halls Creek end.Quote:
Originally Posted by Konradical
Carrying fluids - I had, ex Billiluna, a full tank (~80 litres, but I'm damned if I can get anything like 80l from the tank) + 120 litres of fuel and 60 litres of drinking water in jerry cans all carried internally. Plus I had a jerry of fuel on the roof + an empty 10 litre container for water and an empty Life Saver jerry for water if needed. We didn't bother with a fuel drop instead sourced fuel from Kunawaritji and Parngur (Cotton Creek). Fuel consumption along the track was ~ 14.5l/100k. If doing it again I still wouldn't bother with the fuel drop. You will need to carry about the same fuel to get to the fuel drop as to get to Kunawaritji anyway.
I found carrying 60 litres of drinking water was adequate for my purposes. Drinking water was replenished from the above communities and from Georgia Bore. The 10 litre jerry on the roof I filled from various bores for shower purposes. Carrying 6 jerries of fuel was more than adequate. I never refilled the roof one once empty and at no time did we feeling pressed fuel wise. I took on 109 litres of fuel at Kunawarritji @ $2.94/l and a total of 111 litres (in 2 lots of 65l + 46l) of fuel at Parnngurr @ $3.20. Only took on 70 litres at Wiluna @ $1.66, just enough to fill the tank. I think I had 2 full jerries left at this point so would have used ~130 litres from Parnngurr.
I never filled the roof Life Saver jerry with water and I used the roof jerry of fuel as soon as possible and never refilled it again to keep roof weight down.
Food ? I carried 2 fridges a 40l Waco which I used as a freezer (-15C) and a 40l Engel which I used a fridge (+4C). Frozen food was prepared and individually vacuum packed. A dual battery and smallish solar panel kept it all running. Basics, including fresh vegetables, are available at Kunawarritji and Parnngurr but maybe we were just lucky and got at what must be limited supplies before others bought them out.
Problems for us, none to speak of. Roger changed lower control arms in Kunanurra but this was pretty much foreseen as a possibility and some were on hand in Kunnaurra together with a mates workshop to do the job. I gave Roger as much encouragement as I could when he seemed to be flagging in the heat while doing the job. :D
Roger also had to contend with the failure the upper tailgate latch mechanism preventing the tail gate from opening. This was also solved before leaving Kunnanurra by removing the striker so it could not lock and using a strap to secure the tail gate doors shut.
On the CSR itself we had very little trouble. I had a few suspension faults which the diagnostic tool (IID tool) isolated to an algorithmic error on a rear height sensor (ie not a mechanical fault) we believe it was related to very rapid up and down wheel travel due to corrugations. I just cleared the errors, I did not change the height sensor and still have it use today without trouble. I had a saggy rear end in the mornings on 2 or 3 occasions. I believe this was due to a leaking fitting from the emergency air up kit I fitted. We took no action for this. The vehicle just raised itself as normal on starting.
We both had 18 inch rims and D967 tryes. Along the track ran ~ 18 front, 22 rear psi and in off road height the entire way. Not a single flat for either of us, both on the track and from our individual adventures before hand.
My advice - Critically look at weight and ignore your vehicle's GVM at your peril. One of our party (not a Disco) was highly overloaded - result one busted chassis. There were others in a similar predicaments as well. Remove any seats you don't need to put bums on. They are heavy and just dead weight. Get a diagnostic tool. Roger had the Nanocom, I had the IID. If your control arm bushes have high ks on them, change them before you go. Consider fitting an emergency air up kit. Shocks for us were never a problem, still using mine though I have replaced lower control arms since.
The photos show my fluid carrying arrangement. Roger had a different setup. The blue life saver jerry is shown in the photo but was thrown on the roof and replaced by a conventional fuel jerry for the trip.
Both banks of jerries were held down and cross braced with straps. The valves and hoses on the water jerries allowed me to get water by draining from the jerry cans without needing to take every thing out. This arrangement I carried full of fluids across the GRR and Bungles roads to ensure everything worked before starting the CSR. I had no issues along the CSR with it.
