Simpson Desert in stock 150 series

[keencdk Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close keencdk]

Hi guys,

I am awaiting delivery of my new 150 series TD Auto GXL Prado, expected in late June. My partner and I are heading to Birdsville for the races and are considering the following

1. Driving on the road Brisbane to Alice Springs, then doing the Birdsville and Oodnadatta tracks which are rated as fairly easy to check out Lake Eyre with water in it as it is quite rare.

2. Drive to Birdsville on road, then cross the Simpson Desert to Alice and do the Oodnadatta and Birdsville tracks back to Birdsville.

3. Road trip in QLD, then just stick to road heading to Birdsville for the races and doing a flight over Lake Eyre from Birdsville.

As we will have not long received the Prado it will be stock so I was wondering if anyone had done the trip with a stock 150 series and if there were issues, reasons you wouldn't do it again, or even if you have done it with a modified 150 and think it would be no worries in a stocker.

I am not a novice and have owned capable 4wd's over the years (40, 70, 80 series cruisers) and done trips such as Cape York however I am not sure on the capabilities of the Prado out of the box.

My main concerns are the tyres, given the lack of quality of the factory tyres will they be easily staked? Should I just go with buying a second spare wheel and tyre or are they really so bad I should fork out another $1500 on quality tyres to replace the stock ones?

Thanks for any help

Craig

[Stephen77 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Stephen77]

Hi Craig,

I haven't driven in the area you are going but we had two Prado's doing 2 weeks of high speed (still driving to conditions) driving on formed and maintained gravels roads in the Murchison. The vehicle with stock tyres had 2 punctures the one with Bridgestone 694's none. Both ended up with severe gravel rash on the bumper.

Steve..

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

If you search (use google with the reference site:www.pradopoint.com) then you will find about half a dozen posts with the same question you have asked. it has all been answered before. Stock tyres and suspension is crap. Yes "you" can do it but I wouldn't. Too high a risk in an ill prepared vehicle.

[electron Member Find all posts View Profile Close electron]

We did the Hay River track last year in a standard GX with standard suspension. I did fit BFG mud tyres before we went and we had no punctures. But plenty of gravel rash on the rear bumper.
Ron

[footoo Member Find all posts View Profile Close footoo]

G'day Craig

I have done the trips you are planning (the Oodnadatta is a great drive) and you should be ok with the exception of shocks, would really recommend you upgrade them with after market ones. If you are going by yourself I would not recommend the Simpson desert as in its present condition there is a good chance you will get stuck somewhere and there is no point having a winch if there is nowhere to winch of - another mod/addition.

Places like the Oodnadatta and other gravel tracks/roads the key factor is to watch your tire pressures I would suggest something like 25 to 30 psi depending on your weight, 30 is a good starting point. I have done the Oodnadatta 5 or 6 times and never had a tire failure yet (maybe I am just lucky)

If you have the cash to get some more sturdy tires and if you can, shock absorbers would be a good idea, there is nothing worse than driving with blown shock absorbers.

Regards
Geoff (FOOTOO)

[footoo Member Find all posts View Profile Close footoo]

G'day again,

sorry forgot to mention the other important factor with corrugated gravel roads is speed with about 30 psi in the tires I usually travel at about 80 to 85 KPH with stock tires this would be critical with the heat build you that you get.

I noticed that I am listed a "Lurker", like you I believe I will receive my TD GXL end of June, will post up some photos and with planned mods then.

Geoff
FOOTOO

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

sorry forgot to mention the other important factor with corrugated gravel roads is speed with about 30 psi in the tires I usually travel at about 80 to 85 KPH with stock tires this would be critical with the heat build you that you get.

FOOTOO

I would have thought that 80-85 kph would be the upper end of travel speeds on any outback road. Yes you can travel this fast or faster, but a beatifully maintained road that is nice and smooth can still be subject to washouts and other problems that crop up unexpectedly, and usually just as you put the foot down a bit more.

The Oodnadatta and Birdsville tracks will be doable with stock tyres and suspension provided you don't overload the car. A fully loaded or overloaded vehicle will benifit from a suspension upgrade. AT tyres won't hurt either but the stockies will do the job. Tyre pressures are everything, have a look here http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...ssure-Database to see what others suggest, pressures are far more important then the type of tyre. Lower your tyre pressures, lower your speed, drive to the conditions and you should handle most things. Can't talk about the Simpson as I haven't done it (yet) but I know others who took a stock 120 series over with no dramas.

Having said all that, if funds aren't an issue a suspension upgrade and AT tyres would be high on my list of things to upgrade. We all like our mods, but the most important thing is to get out and use what you have, a stock Prado will take you a very long way with no real dramas.

Cheers Andrew

[tassie tiger Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close tassie tiger]

My main concerns are the tyres, given the lack of quality of the factory tyres will they be easily staked? Should I just go with buying a second spare wheel and tyre or are they really so bad I should fork out another $1500 on quality tyres to replace the stock ones?

Thanks for any help

Craig

I would trade the tyres from new for something better suited. Other than that you dont need to do anything to the Prado.

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Here are some links available through Google:
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&sour...w=1310&bih=741

Tassie Tiger is correct BUT the standard suspension is crap. It is not designed to carry the load that you will put on your vehicle nor is is designed to withstand the contant pounding of the corrugations along some of those roads. What the standard suspension is design for (and the same applied to 100s, 200s, Pajeros, Patrols, etc) is to provide a smooth ride around town for a few passengers. Yes you can do it on standard and I've see someone do it with standard on a 100 series but the springs were flat lining due to weight (two people, alloy roof rack, two tyres and rims, swags, drawers, fridge, food, additional fuel, etc). Up to you how you do it. If you do go stock then be prepared to take it a lot slower that you could in areas.

[keencdk Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close keencdk]

Thanks for the info guys. We have decided we will go via road to Alice Springs, and do the Oodnadatta and Birdsville tracks. As far as weight goes we are getting pretty good at keeping it light weight with lots of hiking gear and there is only 2 or us so how much stuff could we need

When I did the cape in my 80 series I did overdo everything but have cut down a lot on what I take and the weight of the stuff we do take. I now make sure I don't fill above the height of the seats, no roof rack etc. One other thing I found was that you see a lot more going slower.

We are currently planning 4-5 days for Oodnadatta track including painted dessert and 2-3 days for Birdsville track as it is about the trip as much as the destination.

thanks again guys

[cyclone Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close cyclone]

I did a trip across the Simpson Desert a couple of years ago with a group of friends. We went down to Cameron’s Corner, Inaminka, Burnsville, Onnadatta, Cooper Peedy and on the Flinders Ranges. (Hope I Spelt them all Correctly) I was driving a patrol my mate was in a stock 120 Prado. He had no problems at all the Prado performed very well.
As with tire’s I changed my Yokaholmer Geolanders for a set of Mickey Thompson tires for the trip. The Prado had coopers and another Patrol had Yokaholmer geolanders. The Mickey Thompson were great but I feel I wasted my money. The geolanders went everywhere I did without a problem. The coopers on the Prado didn’t fair so well. He had at least 5 punctures on the trip

The painted dessert and the Breakaways are absolutely breathtaking. Hope you have a good trip wish I were going.
sid

[Mark from Brisbane Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark from Brisbane]

I am doing (or at least hope to if it's open) The Simpson in latish July...actually depart 8th July but doing Broken Hill, Flinders (there for a week) and oodnadatta Track first. I understand the logistics of time BUT I reckon the min you would want to do is change the tyres and the suspension.......I have opted for AT's and changed the suspension to Bilsteins with King Springs...also added Polyair Bags to help with the weight issue. This has given me about a 60 Ml lift, which I think will help a bit with clearance. This will be the first big trip for the 150 so I guess I'll have to see how it all goes......I agree with Tyre Pressures, I run at about 28 on those roads and just go a bit slower....don't care if I don't go as far each day more concerned with taking care of tyres and the vehicle (and my blood pressure levels).

Good luck if going standard, I am no expert but I wouldn't do that stock!!

[iantz Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close iantz]

A good mate of mine who just retired from work has always driven a Mitsubishi. He did the Simpson 4 times in his last car, which was a mid 90's Diesel Pajero. I asked him about his mods (mechanical/drive line)and you know what? He has none, other than different tyres which I assume he probably upgraded to LTs. Four times across the simpson with his club, endless miles racked up touring other remote places, and other than tyes, no mods whatsoever that have any bearing on ride height, engine performance, diff performance etc.

What does this mean? Like AJ120 said, stock cars will go a loooooooong way. IMO, a lot comes down to how you drive it and decisions you make. If you come across an obstacle which you think requires lockers or the like, bypass it if you can. If you can't bypass then drive sensibly. 9 times out of 10 you'll get through it. When you don't, well that's why you take a back up car. If you are the kind of person that goes looking for the hardest obstacles, then obviously you would want to mod your car. But, those in to simple touring probably don't need to waste their money.

[Mark from Brisbane Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark from Brisbane]

It will be interesting iantz.....on my trip there's a stock Prado 120 coming along, his only change...tyres. We won't be going hard (all are reasonably "old farts")....there's also a stock 200 Cruiser, again only Tyres have been changed.....but also a reasonably modified 100 Series......so will be a good comparo, two of the same, one set modified the other standard. I'll try and do a trip report on my return and advise how we fared.