Trip to the Cape, D4 prep advice

[JGuestyBoy]

Hi,
Going on a 3 week trip to The Cape. Has anyone done it in a Disco4? What do you recommend doing to the Disco4 to ensure it makes it there and back? I'm told under guards are essential plus AT's? What else?

[Tombie]

Look at the sticky - essential spares.

Take your time, keep your speed down - it’s WAY too easy to be going a lot faster than you should be, the ride is that good.

Keep it down closer to what the Toyota’s, Nissan’s etc are doing and you’ll stress the vehicle less...

And remember - it’s a motor vehicle; not a boat or submarine

Use good judgement and you’ll be fine.

If you main battery is over 3 years consider replacement prior to leaving.

[justinc]

.... and don't take too much carp/stuff... weight is your enemy

Jc

[plusnq]

We did the Cape two years ago in our D4, along with a friend with a Prado. We took three weeks from Brisbane to the Tip and return. I would have liked to have taken longer but with three kids we were locked into school holidays. We did the OTT , The Tip, Chili beach and Lakefield. Our D4 is pretty well set up with a winch, KO2 AT’s, bashguards and snorkel. If you plan to do water crossings a snorkel is a must.


I would suggest the minimum would be a snorkel, bash plates especially compressor guard, an air compressor, and a recovery kit. We didn’t use our winch at all on the trip even though we drove the whole of the OTT including gunshot.


Weight is a killer on these trips and the D4 doesn’t have much room to play with on GVM. Definitely keep an eye on how much stuff you take as it all adds up. Fuel is plentiful, just fill up regularly and pay what the bowser price is.


We had a great time and there is still lots I’d like to explore up there.


Cheers


Shane

[meloyelo78]

I did the Cape in 2013 with my two adult sons - a lightning-fast three weeks from Brisbane as they were constrained by available leave. The D3 was prepped in the usual way - bull bar, winch, snorkel, sump guard, ATs, cargo draws, fridge, roof rack - but could easily have done the trip stock standard (apart from tyres, of course). It was worth doing though as, since then, it's been a tow rig for an off-road caravan around Australia.

In terms of what to pack, we found the biggest issues were around comms and charging the accessories. I hired a sat phone in Cairns which wasn't used but was nice to have just in case. Mobile reception was available at either end and sporadically along the way. There weren't enough power outlets in the D3 (even with the extras on the Traxide dual battery setup) to keep all the accessories fully charged at all times for three adults - mobiles, cameras, laptops, tablets.

Beer north of Cairns is expensive and mid-strength only. Take cans, not glass, and crush the empties. Carry a few clean-up bags to pick up trash left by useless wombats at camp sites and crossings.

Recovery gear would be useful, especially if doing the OTT or going off the main routes. Tyre repair kit would be a must.

On the Developmental Road, watch for the vehicles coming back, heading south. Invariably, they'll be running out of time, in a hurry to get back home and going way too fast for the conditions. We copped lots of rocks and had a close call with a vehicle coming at us around a bend on the wrong side of the road. I found the best track was driving along the table drain off the road - just be awake to the guide posts.

I carried two jerry cans but fuel was readily available. Don't worry too much about the price - yes, it costs more than further south, but do your bit to support the locals. We certainly did at every pub...lol.

Cheers
Pete

[Redback]

The Capes a doddle, really only need to watch out at two water crossing, Nolans Brook especially, and as Tombie said, it's not a boat and keep the weight down where you can, we took all the seats out, 2nd and 3rd rows to take weight off the car.

[DiscoMick]

If you have a 500k fuel range you should be fine. Just be wary of water crossings and grin and bear corrugations. Oh, and minimise shopping north of Weipa to save money.

[BobD]

The Capes a doddle, really only need to watch out at two water crossing, Nolans Brook especially, and as Tombie said, it's not a boat and keep the weight down where you can, we took all the seats out, 2nd and 3rd rows to take weight off the car.

Yeah, I did the same on a three week trip from Perth to Cape York via Great Central Rd etc and back via the Kimberley. Just left one seat for my daughter who was travelling with us. We have also done the same on a few other trips all over Australia.


The second row seats are very easy to remove and the third row is not that much harder. Mine is currently sitting in a spare room and probably won't be refitted since the D4 is now my play car only.

[p38arover]

.... and don't take too much carp/stuff... weight is your enemy

Yep, you can catch fish during the trip.

PS: there is a specific area on AULRO for Trip Prep questions: https://www.aulro.com/afvb/trip-prep...as-and-advice/

[JGuestyBoy]

Wow!

Cheers for a ll the advice!!! Taling out the rear seats is a clever idea! Ill be sure to take cans not glass too so thank you everyone for those tips, it'll all come in handy!