How to plan a trip?

[SOL Find all posts View Profile Close SOL]

Okay folks.
Have search through the trip planning folder and could not see any thing in relation to how to plan for a trip.

I know this could encompass what to pack and all that stuff. But what to pack is personal preference.
All my 4WDing has been weekend or long weekend type stuff. Never going on a big trips.
Why I am asking as I have not done long distance holiday travelling with various sub destinations.
All my long distance travelling has been from A to B highway running.
After being on here am liking the idea of trips with mini side trips.

Below are a list of question rattling around in my head.
Any more tip or tricks would be greatly appreciated.

1. What online site do you use to plan a trip?

2. What books do you use for reference?

3. How do you base your fuel usage for the terrain type. EG: sand uses 50% more, Mud use 25%?

4. What is your distance for travelling each day? Or do you set it by destination?

5. How do you find what services are available in your area of travel? EG: Food, fuel, water & repairs?

6. How do you select where to camp? Or do you only use camping grounds for your planning?


Thank you
SOL. ;-)

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

So many facets to trip planning!

A couple of thoughts from my experience, for a touring trip if you are averaging more than 200 -250kms a day you are travelling to far and not seeing enough. This is an average though, particularly at the start and the end of our trips big days covering anything upto 1100k are on the cards as we cover familiar ground, but only for a day or 2, then slow right down so the average is around the 200k mark. Averaging less would be great but not realistic for those of us not yet retired.

Where to camp, the "camps" book is worth its weight in gold, loads of good info in there. If you are off the beaten track its more a case of stop when you feel like a camp (Simpson for example), where exactly to camp in the bush depends on a lot of things, probably the main one is keep is higher ground, if it rains 2" of water through the tent is no fun, learnt this the hard way after camping after dark, fortunately it was our last night after a month on the road.

Hema map books are good reference books for various trips, I have the great deserts track book, the vic high country, the cape york and the Kimberly map books, having paper maps as a backup to the GPS is always a good idea anyway. I also have numerous other publications specific to areas we have travelled, a 4wd Tasmania book, Mallee Tracks for the SA and Vic Mallee. Ron Moons books for the Kimberly and the Cape are good, sometimes a bit hard to follow but lots of good advice and ohone numbers and facilities in his books.

Fuel usage, I am usually towing so work on 15/100 for touring, sand double that to be safe. Fuel in the Prado is rarely an issue due to the large tank. For long off road stretches such as the Tanami or the Simpson research others fuel usage for those particular sections.

Talk to other travellers as much as you can while out on the tracks, their info can be valuable as you travel around, just remember what they think are good or bad conditions might not rate the same for you.

Be aware of steep and winding roads, Tasmania for example takes much longer to get from A-B than other places, found that out the hard way as well, tassie was our first big trip.

If travelling with a group, everything takes longer.

That will do for now, heading of myself in the morning, unfortunately all bitumen but still a week away.

Cheers Andrew

[tokhi Member Find all posts View Profile Close tokhi]

G'day SOL, As AJ said and make Google your friend. Ask questions in Google search and you will get hundreds of links and stories. There are more people than you believe that will have been to places you want to go. They will all have had different experiences and interesting things about a place.

I tend to plan a minimum of 6mths before the date I depart.

Look at weather and climate averages for the area you intend to travel to and keep monitoring rends well before and leading up to your trip. As you will know by living in NT big rains up to 100k's or more away can mean flash floods where you are in a very short time.

Start making a list of the things you think you want to take, and a list of the things you will actually need

Talk to guys in 4wd shops, camping shops, chances are they may have already been where you want to go, and ask, ask, ask.
Oh and become a member of other 4wd website clubs, no matter what vehicle type of club it is.
Good luck in your travels buddy and stay safe.

Cheers Tokhi

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

1. What online site do you use to plan a trip?

2. What books do you use for reference?

3. How do you base your fuel usage for the terrain type. EG: sand uses 50% more, Mud use 25%?

4. What is your distance for travelling each day? Or do you set it by destination?

5. How do you find what services are available in your area of travel? EG: Food, fuel, water & repairs?

6. How do you select where to camp? Or do you only use camping grounds for your planning?

1. Any and every site you can find. Those that include site reviews from other travellers are often helpful. Starting a thread about your trip planning on this forum, setting out your rough outline is also a good idea. There are already some other examples of this here.

2. Any and every. Often 4wd magazines cover most of the most popular tracks and locations. There are also shows (such as travel and 4wd shows) that show off some of the trips and spots. Other more popular tracks (ie Gibb River Beef Road) has a number of books dedicated to the area. There is no limit here.

3. It varies. Best to always over calculate. There is a thread here with fuel use figures over different mediums which might help too.

4. I agree with AJ120. Try not to overstretch yourself. The best part of the trip is enjoying the outback/scenery and exploring the surrounds. Unless you are simply driving to one location to just stop at, then allow plenty of time to relax, explore and just to enjoy the moments. When travelling with my family and on the days we are setting off to a new location, I try to ensure that we can get up, have a nice breakfast and pack up and then be on our way to arrive at our location by lunchtime or early afternoon. This allows heaps of time to look around, find a nice campsite, find wood (if needed), for the kids to play, to set-up and relax, to get ready for dinner, and then to enjoy the evening. If you have enough time, you can also go for a little explore. Unless this is simply a small stopover, we try to allow 2-nights. Stopping, overnighting and then leaving the next morning can become a bit tedious, especially with SWMBO and kids on board.

If possible, I draw up an itinerary that allows a few days flexibility built in. If we find and really enjoy a spot, we stay another night. This means our plans just slide along by a day.

If the terrain is fairly rough or there are other places you want to stop at along the way, you won't want to travel too far, unless you are driving along straight roads (like in the NT) in between.

5. See above (websites, books, forums, etc). Even contact the places along the tracks for info. Often local stations, roadhouses, etc., are more than willing to offer some advice. The Pink Roadhouse at Oodnadatta is a good example of this.

6. See above. Often recommendations from others is my best guide.

[SOL Find all posts View Profile Close SOL]

Aj120, Tokhi & NTP, Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this. It is much appreciated.

SOL.

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

Another thing I like is lists, we have a packing list on the computer that I print before each trip, cross of each item as its packed and we know we have everything. Also we have a few menus on the computer, 2 day, 3 day and 7 day menus so food shopping is easy, for longer trips we just recycle the 7 day menu every week, with the odd night out when in civilization.

Another thing worth considering is coverage with your Auto association, we have the top RAA cover which could save us thousands if we have a major breakdown a long way from home.

For longer trips I normally write an itinerary with each days destination or activities, we don't always stick to it but its useful. When I am on the laptop again I might try and find one as an example for you.

Cheers Andrew

[jimmy91 Member Find all posts View Profile Close jimmy91]

planning a trip is over rated. just make it up as you go

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

planning a trip is over rated. just make it up as you go

lol.. remind me Not to go outback with you James!

[mackayvx Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close mackayvx]

Gday Sol...

One thing I could add is in reference to your Prado and CT if you have one.
I found on my recent trip to the Cape that having the vehicle ready 4 weeks before you leave gives you a bit of breathing room.
I guess if you planning suspension work or a new roof rack, that 4 weeks gives you time for that final wheel alignment or to go over all the bolts with a spanner and loctite them in if needed.
Also you have a few weeks to really concentrate on organising that doggy sitter, paying all them bills that are due when your away, mowing them crappy lawns so it actually looks like someone lives at your house and of course... Packing your Prado!

[JoshF Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close JoshF]

Look for 4WD clubs that do long distance touring frequently and copies of their magazines as often the trip reports will give you a good idea of where/what etc to assist.

Look on various forums where people in like vehicles gather and look for trip reports etc

4x4 Earth, ExplorOz are not a bad sites, some magazines cover the basics to enable you to expand to more detail.

Look at the various government and council web sites which will assist in road conditions, passes for access etc

We have done 3 long range >6000Km and 3 > 1500km trips over the last couple of years, consider distances to travel, places to see, what makes it interesting for kids/wife etc, tracks to drive, places to stay (don't just assume the farmer will let you camp on his land) which will give you an idea of costs associated.

of course the easiest one, think about where or what you want to see and just ask

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

I'd also recommend that you fully kit out your rig (and CT if you have one) and do a small trip (1-2 nights) first to get use to where everything is, setting up and packing away, and testing the layout. Always good to have this down pat before your on the road and it's too late.

[SOL Find all posts View Profile Close SOL]

All, Thank you very much for the replies. The idea of a packing list is great. I use excel heaps so will knock a few up.
As for camper trailer still deciding what avenue to go down their. Might need some help as I have never been in or used one.

Jimmy91 That is how I used to plan my camping trips. It never seemed right.


Thank you everyone.
SOL.

[JoshF Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close JoshF]

If you are just going the shorty by itself think about removing one of both back seats if you can. Going to the roof for all the bulky but light items (4wd sleeping mats, sleeping bags, clothes bags etc), Inside think about how you can arrange all you need carry and where it will fit.

For example in my other brand shorty I know I can fit 2 x 50lts heavy duty storage boxes behind the drivers seat (when the 60% seat is removed) and between the boxes and seat back fit 40 litres of water in the cardboard casks etc. Happy to let you know more details just PM me

[SOL Find all posts View Profile Close SOL]

Joshf, Mate I have An idea for the set out of the rear. The rear seats will be going completely. I am also working on a roof rack but that is a plan at this stage as no one makes a rack to replace the rails. As I want to keep it as close to the roof as possible.
I am more than happy to get other peoples ideas as it helps to see things from another angle.

SOL.

[jimmy91 Member Find all posts View Profile Close jimmy91]

lol.. remind me Not to go outback with you James!

you wouldn't keep up