Brisbane to Broome via Gibb River return via Tanami Desert

[awwricecracker Member Find all posts View Profile Close awwricecracker]

Any of you chiefs passing through Fitzroy Crossing, I live here and wouldn't mind meeting up for a yarn at one of the pubs (which are both caravan parks). message me when you're coming through.

Oh and dead coopers everywhere. I run mickey stz's on the prado at 32pound and do 80-90km/hr everywhere (dirt roads and bitumen), when I go further than round here, pressures go up and normal speeds happen. I run duellers on my big van and the rears (dually) sit on 25 most of the time with the fronts on 38. I still do 70-80 on dirt roads.. 1000's of kms, no punctures, warping or bubbles.. Did i mention there are dead coopers everywhere?

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

I run coopers and have done all sorts of outback driving, the worst ive got is a little bit of chipping. Never had a puncture. I believe it's all in pressures, tyre temperatures and also the style of driving. No matter what pressures you run or tyres you have if you don't take care in driving you'll end up with a flat.

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

Any of you chiefs passing through Fitzroy Crossing, I live here and wouldn't mind meeting up for a yarn at one of the pubs (which are both caravan parks). message me when you're coming through.

Oh and dead coopers everywhere. I run mickey stz's on the prado at 32pound and do 80-90km/hr everywhere (dirt roads and bitumen), when I go further than round here, pressures go up and normal speeds happen. I run duellers on my big van and the rears (dually) sit on 25 most of the time with the fronts on 38. I still do 70-80 on dirt roads.. 1000's of kms, no punctures, warping or bubbles.. Did i mention there are dead coopers everywhere?

PM sent mate, and thanks for your suggestion.

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

I run coopers and have done all sorts of outback driving, the worst ive got is a little bit of chipping. Never had a puncture. I believe it's all in pressures, tyre temperatures and also the style of driving. No matter what pressures you run or tyres you have if you don't take care in driving you'll end up with a flat.

Yes I agree, I wasn't so much bagging Coopers, but bagging many of the drivers who have them, who think they are the toughest tyre ever and don't use them correctly.

[Rusty62 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rusty62]

Getting closer to our departure date. June 20 can't come fast enough.

Rusty.

[Rusty62 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rusty62]

Any of you chiefs passing through Fitzroy Crossing, I live here and wouldn't mind meeting up for a yarn at one of the pubs (which are both caravan parks). message me when you're coming through.

Oh and dead coopers everywhere. I run mickey stz's on the prado at 32pound and do 80-90km/hr everywhere (dirt roads and bitumen), when I go further than round here, pressures go up and normal speeds happen. I run duellers on my big van and the rears (dually) sit on 25 most of the time with the fronts on 38. I still do 70-80 on dirt roads.. 1000's of kms, no punctures, warping or bubbles.. Did i mention there are dead coopers everywhere?

We will be passing approx July 6. And we use BFG on both cars and both trailers LOL.

Rusty.

[Rusty62 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rusty62]

Yes I agree, I wasn't so much bagging Coopers, but bagging many of the drivers who have them, who think they are the toughest tyre ever and don't use them correctly.

Only failure we have had with BFG has been a rock split a sidewall on Donahue Hwy. freshly graded road, 80 kph, 28 psi, front picked up a flat gibber and rear desired to meet it with the sidewall. That tyre had 105000 km on it. Could have made the last 20 km of dirt to get to Boulia but no. Just bad luck that one.

Rusty.

[Rusty62 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rusty62]

Did I mention we are getting closer to departure?

[2cows Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close 2cows]

Hi Guys.
Heading that way as well. I am leaving Brissie on the 28/06, I am heading straight up to Burketown, across the top to Gibb river via Top Springs then once in Broome heading south to Geraldton and then west via the Great Central Hwy to Ayres rock. Then South and across to Williams creek and Camerons Cnr before heading home.

Leaving my lovely wife with the Prado (and Kids) and will take the trusty Hilux on this one. you will know it is mee as I will we travelling with a Mad man on a KTM 690.

Hope to see some of you travellers out there

Thanks


Mooo

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

Hey guys,

I just scanned this post and want to add a few points of interest for the Gibb river Road part on anyones trip. Firstly El Questro is pretty commercial, its cheaper to stay just up the road at Home Valley, we did this for a couple of days and just did day trips out to El Questro to drive the tracks and check out the hot springs and get fuel.

If you stay at Home Valley you can camp right on the river and there are toilets and showers there with fresh water. We went smack in the middle of July and it wasn't that busy there, busier at El Questro. I found that the service at that place was a little slow and unwelcoming unless you had a name tag on that said you belonged to a tour bus.

Another good place to stay is out at Charnley river station, its a bit off the track but good friendly service and green open spaces to camp, they do have a few water holes as well to swim in and tracks to drive. It does get bloody cold there during June/July though, like single figures.

A place that everyone should definatley check out would be Cape Leveque, the beaches up there are stunning, but you have to book early if you really want to stay right at the cape but there are other places to camp, we stayed at a place called middle lagoon which was good and you could go swimming and fishing there.

I really does get busy in Broome though with all the grey nomads about so if you intend on staying a few nights there i would book early too for that.

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

Found this today - closure of Inmintji store/roadhouse on gibb river road due to lease dispute

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-3...-fears/6361358

Cheers kim

[Rusty62 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rusty62]

5 weeks till we leave brisvegas. Can't come soon enough.
Horizontal falls booked. Staying out on the main boat overnight.

Rusty.

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

Its all anecdotal.
Just to balance the comments. I've now done 100,000 km on my Cooper ST's Cape York (at 40psi because of ignorance) Simpson, Oodnadatta track, Flinders and Fraser - no problems. There are a lot of Coopers out there, so problems will show up. Drive over a railway spike and most tyres will puncture. I'm getting rid of them now because they are getting a bit hard.

Wow. 40psi on the PDR in Cape York? How excessively rough did the ride get the further north you went? I'm keen on finding out because I ran 18psi and did 100km/h the whole way. The corro's were fine if I was doing 85 or above, but when I dropped below 70km/h down to 50 or 40 when rounding bends they were shocking. The worst thing about pulling over on the PDR was taking off again and gathering speed while doing 30, 40, 50. They were jarring rough then.

[Rusty62 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rusty62]

Two weeks today and we are off. Can't wait.

Rusty.

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

Wow. 40psi on the PDR in Cape York? How excessively rough did the ride get the further north you went?

OK confession time. - I was a total newb. Only owned the car 2 days before I set off. Never 4WD before. On the development road I was cruising at 100 or more. Then all of a sudden found myself at 45 degrees to the road. It was a very sobering time. Thankfully I managed to control it (or perhaps the stability control or angels did.) I could have killed myself and others. I slowed to 90ks after that with no further probs.

At the top I thought perhaps I could lower the pressures to 35psi (That's after doing the beaches run near Somerset ruins without getting stuck). The road back was much more comfortable even at those pressures. I will probably drop to 28ish if I do it again. You do learn with experience.