Simpson Desert, BIG RED

[ParjBonogin Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close ParjBonogin]

What would be the BEST gear for BIG RED and similar ? I assume L4 and S2 or 3 ? No diff locks, centre or rear ?
I have previously owned a Nissan Pathfinder and Jeep Wrangler 2 door and a Beach Buggy. Never had any
problems with BIG RED or BIG Sandy (in Byfield) with them. Me and my partner are now both 80 yo and looking
forward to crossing Simpson Desert, then Tanamai track to Broome, then Gibb River rd. home to Gold Cost.
We have a 2022 Prado GXL, brand new adter 9 month wait, Looking forward to ANY advice, Cheers, Parj

[Daniel150 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Daniel150]

Always use centre diff lock. It will do two things, one being give equal power to front and rear diff, second and more importantly, it will turn off vsc (not traction control). This is important as vsc will kill power to the wheels if the car feels it’s spinning or sliding. Very unhelpful!
I find L4 and just let the auto do its thing will give the best results on a sand dune climb. On a soft beach, I will manually move gears if I can see trans temps rising. H4 is good on a harder beach etc, but low helps with trans temps in the soft stuff.
Don’t stress about traction control, it makes no difference, and is sometimes even helpful on sand, contrary to what you might think.
As you probably know, tyre pressures make a huge difference too.

[404pug Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 404pug]

For Big Red I find about 16 psi HOT works fine for the tyres. Likewise I find high range locked into S1 with centre diff locked and both stability control and traction control OFF. Low 4th will be about the same but you will go nuts switching in and out of low range for every dune because you don't need it between the dunes. For the rest of the Simpson 18 psi hot is fine.