simpson esstentials

[baz gxl Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close baz gxl]

what accessories should the truck have before attempting the simpson crossing

[rhs58 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close rhs58]

Crossed Simpson in July.
1 x Prado, 1 x Landcruiser, 1 x Landrover Discovery 3
We only took the Landrover so we could have some fun pulling it over dunes and, would you believe it, a bog hole at the bottom of big red.
But seriously, we took all the gear, extra fuel, water....didnt use anything but the snatch strap to drag the Landie out of the bog hole.
Recommend good tyres, we had Bridgestone D694 A/T's, and low pressure - ran 20 psi - 16 for the landie - and plenty of time.
Go gentle and steady, enjoy the desert

[Bes Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Bes]

Hi Baz,

Even though I'm currently in a Cruiser, I'll tell you what I had for the trip, as it may also apply to the Prado.

* Light Truck construction tyres first (Cooper ST), and 2 spares (same tyres - 1 on the roof rack). Ran pressures of 16 front and 18 psi rear - cold - generally, and down to 12 on occasion (to get over Big Red - very soft sand - or when it heated up during the day).
* I had good after market recovery points fitted at the front (Offroad Accessories ones).
* We travelled with another Cruiser, and we each had a snatch trap, shackles, a shovel and I also had an equaliser strap for the front when getting a tug over a dune (to equalise the load on the chassis rails/recovery points).
*Sand flag (bought a long 2 piece fishing rod, and made a flag to fit - attached to bull bar with cable ties and duct tape.
* Fitted air bags into rear suspension, to cater for the extra load. Cruiser doesn't have any extra lift, but the bags helped level the car and cope with the load.
*UHF and Sat phone.
* Extra fuel (you may not need this if you have a D4D) and water for 2 (60 litres but didn't use all this).
* Normal caping gear etc.

Hope this helps.
Cheers, Bes.

[lawrance Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close lawrance]

The enemy is weight, so the less you bring, the better. I fitted a roofrack just to carry an extra spare wheel and had zero punctures the entire trip so the extra weight of the 2nd spare plus the roof rack was just redundant.

A winch is next to useless in the outback, coz there are no trees to winch off. A couple of snatch straps and some shackles plus a long handed shovel is probably all you need.

With the 180 litre fuel tank you should be able to cross without any dramas. I'd pack a spare air filter element as one of the people in my convoy managed to get his filter all wet - forward facing snorkel plus cross wind managed to pick up all the water flung from his front wheel and straight into the snorkel. How crazy is that?