Thread: Fraser Island

We did a 5 day trip to Fraser mid January this year. The very first time I've been there and we absolutely loved it. There were four families in convoy on our trip and our D4 went everywhere the others went in more comfort to boot. South Ngkala rocks, no problem, beach runs no problem and inland tracks no problem. We dropped tyre pressures at Inskip waiting on the barge to 18 psi all round (running Falken Wildpeaks on 20" rims with raised suspension) and never changed them until we aired back up at Rainbow beach on the way out. Yes, definitely make sure you turn the DSC off each time you start the car and the only time I had it in low range (as well as sand mode) was South Ngkala rocks which turned out to be no problem for our D4 (unlike the two 200 series in front of us and a Triton in our convoy).

I must admit our timing was pretty much perfect as we got to the island on the Monday of the week following Cyclone Seth, so the beach run up 90 mile was pretty hard and our tide timing was really good too. Stayed at Dundabura on the east coast away from the 'party animals' so we had a great time.

Cheers

Goldey

Originally Posted by Macadamia

beg to differ. coming from inskip there are sections of the beach that will be impassable at high tides without salt water washing the underside of your car - especially when it's a king tide. You're also forced to drive high up on the beach in softer sand that is strewn with rubbish and debris (some dumped, some washed up). If you enjoy getting a punctured tire on a half rusted long abandoned crab pot then go for it.

I agree though coming from Inskip is the nicer route. Just time the tide or be prepared to have a picnic for a few hours.

My olds live in Tin Can Bay so I visit there a lot.

Probably my bad explaining

What I meant is it’s easy to work around the tides,stop and have a fish,organise the day around the tides,go inland for a while whatever.
High tide is actually a good time to be on the Eastern beach,doing whatever,except maybe driving,as there is often very little if any traffic.
Beaches change all the time,last time we were there,some sections of the beaches were easily traversed at high tide,but that also depends on how high the high tide is at the time.

Originally Posted by HLW

Also there are 2 crossing / barge from main land to Fraser Island being River Heads or Rainbow Beach side
which one will you recommend
thanks
HLW

Given your in Sydney I’d go via Inskip….unless your staying at kingfisher than I would consider River heads…..I believe there are two drop off point on the western side from river heads, you’ll need to decide they as well, generally based on if you’re staying at the resort or shooting across to the eastern side. Cannot help ya on that one as I’ve only ever done Inskip.

As mentioned your days are determined by the times…..we’ll that for the sensible users of the beach. You’ll see plenty belting along at high tide in the soft stuff.

Our last two trips we camped where we were at, at the end of each day, didn’t have to race tides to get back to camp or to a destination….and spent more time relaxing.

Originally Posted by Macadamia

beg to differ. coming from inskip there are sections of the beach that will be impassable at high tides without salt water washing the underside of your car - especially when it's a king tide. You're also forced to drive high up on the beach in softer sand that is strewn with rubbish and debris (some dumped, some washed up). If you enjoy getting a punctured tire on a half rusted long abandoned crab pot then go for it.

I agree though coming from Inskip is the nicer route. Just time the tide or be prepared to have a picnic for a few hours.

My olds live in Tin Can Bay so I visit there a lot.

Why would you try and travel up at high tide or a king tide? Just look at the tide times and don't do that. Or take the inland high tide access track from hook point.

Just got back from a week long trip at Fraser. My tips:

DSC off EVERY time you start the car or change terrain response modes.

Low Range for beach exits and on ramps, DSC will interfere less than it does in high range (even though it's meant to be off).

Sand mode for soft stretches, normal mode for hard high speed beach driving.

DSC OFF.

I normally go down to 18PSI and stay there, with no issues on my 18" factory rims.

I'm posting this article here as we are talking about sand driving. A couple of old fishermen taught me a trick quite a few years back when I was reeeeally struggling along a remote beach with quite a slope towards the sea and spongy sand. I drove a great Niss then and thought I was going to end up in the surf.

They laughed when I eventually made it to the end where they were kicking back with tinnies, having bets with each other that I wouldn't make it. After, On the way out home, one guy followed me, we were now on a really soft different track . . . and yes, down I went.
Max traxs hadn't been invented then. So here's the lesson he taught me . . . .

My pressures were about 17-18psi. I knew I had to go lower with the gauge. He said "forget that thing, let me show you".
He had a valve removal tool in his hand and proceeded to screw the valve right out, and said "listen".

After 7-8 seconds the sound distinctly changed from a higher pitch to a lower whistling pitch. He screwed the valve back in and said, "there, that's about 12 psi."
Both rear tyres, and he said, "back out of the hole then just keep heading forward with momentum throttle." It worked.
No tugging, no digging, no snatching . . . I just drove out.

So firstly don't be afraid to drop to 10 - 12 psi if you're in the soft stuff, keep momentum, and when clear, using a quality pump, raise the pressure to 18 / 20 / 22 or even road pressure as required. Don't do anything tricky with very low pressure, you could roll a tyre off the rim.

But two extra tips . . . . Have a few extra valve inserts in a handy tin in case you drop one in the sand. And before any of this happens . . . . practice a few times at home or in the local servo next to the AIR hose. Listen for the sound change.

Beside beaches, I have driven the Simpson, Great Sandy and Gibson Deserts . . . just SWMBO and me.
If you get really remote and alone, think about taking a spare pump . . . you never know.

Originally Posted by Salt grinder

I'm posting this article here as we are talking about sand driving. A couple of old fishermen taught me a trick quite a few years back when I was reeeeally struggling along a remote beach with quite a slope towards the sea and spongy sand. I drove a great Niss then and thought I was going to end up in the surf.

They laughed when I eventually made it to the end where they were kicking back with tinnies, having bets with each other that I wouldn't make it. After, On the way out home, one guy followed me, we were now on a really soft different track . . . and yes, down I went.
Max traxs hadn't been invented then. So here's the lesson he taught me . . . .

My pressures were about 17-18psi. I knew I had to go lower with the gauge. He said "forget that thing, let me show you".
He had a valve removal tool in his hand and proceeded to screw the valve right out, and said "listen".

After 7-8 seconds the sound distinctly changed from a higher pitch to a lower whistling pitch. He screwed the valve back in and said, "there, that's about 12 psi."
Both rear tyres, and he said, "back out of the hole then just keep heading forward with momentum throttle." It worked.
No tugging, no digging, no snatching . . . I just drove out.

So firstly don't be afraid to drop to 10 - 12 psi if you're in the soft stuff, keep momentum, and when clear, using a quality pump, raise the pressure to 18 / 20 / 22 or even road pressure as required. Don't do anything tricky with very low pressure, you could roll a tyre off the rim.

But two extra tips . . . . Have a few extra valve inserts in a handy tin in case you drop one in the sand. And before any of this happens . . . . practice a few times at home or in the local servo next to the AIR hose. Listen for the sound change.

Beside beaches, I have driven the Simpson, Great Sandy and Gibson Deserts . . . just SWMBO and me.
If you get really remote and alone, think about taking a spare pump . . . you never know.

Good advice mate. Back during our big seemingly never ending drought i towed regularly on Straddie in very soft dry sand. I didn't hesitate to drop to 14 straight away as the go to pressure and at times lower in the Disco. The fantastic LR beads helped with keeping the tyres from peeling off. Like a tractor at those pressures. Cheers

In addition to above, be weary of any water.

Unless the choice is really clear/obvious, take time to stop and look at creek crossings on the beach to work out the best spot to cross.

Also take car with water that looks like a puddle. I was up past Waddi pt driving around a beach track through some very shallow puddles. One puddle on the track looked the same as all the others but was about 800mm deep, and bonnet went under. Thankfully the 110 straight through without issue.

Well the time has arrived we will depart from Inskip tomorrow morning
will post some comments and photos
Last question i have low profile rims / tyres (22") and concern dropping tyre pressure to far down as can cause tyre wall damage if I hit a rock or very hard object
my thought were to drop to 25-30 psi as normally run 40 psi
Some thoughts
Thanks
HLW