millsy
4x4 Earth Contributer
Last weekend had a great trip around the Ngarkat and Big Desert areas with an old friend and his two mates. We tackled the Border Track, much to my initial concern, but it was not too bad. We all got through. But the way we did it was interesting.
There were four cars - my old MQ SWB, with Westlake A/T's ( no lugs, almost like road tyres ), two diesels with large motors and good off road tyres ( late model Pajero and Hillux ute ) and a little Suzuki with a small motor ( 1.3 litre I think ).
A friend in Adelaide who has had a fair bit of experience explained that he managed to crawl slowly up a steep sand hill off the beach down at Robe. He did it by lowering his tyres down to about 9 psi and kept his revs up over 3000 in low range first gear. All his efforts at charging up in higher gears, and higher tyre pressures prior to this had failed.
But a chap who had just done the Border Track the day before told me to forget about looking after the vehicle ( suspension wise . . . ) and just get as much speed up as possible and power up the hills trying to maintain speed.
I was determined to try the slow and steady method first, before succumbing to brute force. But I think the combination of soft sand, smooth tyres, and lack of skill all beat me. ( But I was running 15psi, maybe 9 or 10 psi would have done it?)
My mate had first tried and failed in his Hillux. Then he dropped his pressures to 15 psi, and with some coaching from his brother-in-law about turning his steering wheel left/right continuously, he actually clawed his way slowly to the top. Cheers and congrats from the rest of us! I tried again using the left/right on the steering. But after a couple of more failed attempts it was time to move on and I went up the 'chicken track' - still slowly and using the steering trick.
The other two had already taken the side track up before we got there and were at the top waiting for us more stubborn types to give it a go.
After that first challenge we all just 'gunned' ourselves over the rest of the dunes. But I felt like I was half driving and half flying! The speed, combined with the bumps meant that I was just bouncing my way up in low range second gear. I felt like I was punishing the old girl and risking suspension damage.
Any thoughts on what's best. How do you do it? What about Big Red? Is it a smooth trip up that hill, or is it a bumpy one also? Fast or Slow? Or can both methods be used depending on pressures?
Other than that little quandry, a great place to visit. If you go, try to do the side track between Scorpion springs and Pine Hut Soak camp site. (This being at the top end of the Track, just where it becomes one-way North to South). The scenery here was so lush compared to other parts of the parks. Dense vegetation with large stands of ‘tall’ trees coming right up to the track. Maybe rather than detour off the Track, it would be better to come into the Track from Pine Hut Soak. It is a really nice camping spot compared to some of the others. Apparently great tracks and views also between Big Billy Bore in the Big Desert, to the top of the Border Track, via Thomsons Peaks Lookout and various other camp sites nearby. But I missed that part of the trek as I had to detour up to Pinnaroo for fuel and Farmers Union IC while the others continued their exploring. I met up with them 2/3 hours later at the start of the Border Track.
We only did the first third of the Track, the one-way section, before turning west to come home. This 28km took about three hours, including the half hour trying to conquer the first hill in the fairly soft sand as explained above. The day before we came across the southern parts of the Ngarkat park from Tintinara to Red Bluff camp ground, and then the next morning across the Red Bluff Track and then up the main (dirt) road called the Murrayville-Nhill road. And two days before this I had come down through the western tracks of the Murray/Sunset Country National Park.
There were four cars - my old MQ SWB, with Westlake A/T's ( no lugs, almost like road tyres ), two diesels with large motors and good off road tyres ( late model Pajero and Hillux ute ) and a little Suzuki with a small motor ( 1.3 litre I think ).
A friend in Adelaide who has had a fair bit of experience explained that he managed to crawl slowly up a steep sand hill off the beach down at Robe. He did it by lowering his tyres down to about 9 psi and kept his revs up over 3000 in low range first gear. All his efforts at charging up in higher gears, and higher tyre pressures prior to this had failed.
But a chap who had just done the Border Track the day before told me to forget about looking after the vehicle ( suspension wise . . . ) and just get as much speed up as possible and power up the hills trying to maintain speed.
I was determined to try the slow and steady method first, before succumbing to brute force. But I think the combination of soft sand, smooth tyres, and lack of skill all beat me. ( But I was running 15psi, maybe 9 or 10 psi would have done it?)
My mate had first tried and failed in his Hillux. Then he dropped his pressures to 15 psi, and with some coaching from his brother-in-law about turning his steering wheel left/right continuously, he actually clawed his way slowly to the top. Cheers and congrats from the rest of us! I tried again using the left/right on the steering. But after a couple of more failed attempts it was time to move on and I went up the 'chicken track' - still slowly and using the steering trick.
The other two had already taken the side track up before we got there and were at the top waiting for us more stubborn types to give it a go.
After that first challenge we all just 'gunned' ourselves over the rest of the dunes. But I felt like I was half driving and half flying! The speed, combined with the bumps meant that I was just bouncing my way up in low range second gear. I felt like I was punishing the old girl and risking suspension damage.
Any thoughts on what's best. How do you do it? What about Big Red? Is it a smooth trip up that hill, or is it a bumpy one also? Fast or Slow? Or can both methods be used depending on pressures?
Other than that little quandry, a great place to visit. If you go, try to do the side track between Scorpion springs and Pine Hut Soak camp site. (This being at the top end of the Track, just where it becomes one-way North to South). The scenery here was so lush compared to other parts of the parks. Dense vegetation with large stands of ‘tall’ trees coming right up to the track. Maybe rather than detour off the Track, it would be better to come into the Track from Pine Hut Soak. It is a really nice camping spot compared to some of the others. Apparently great tracks and views also between Big Billy Bore in the Big Desert, to the top of the Border Track, via Thomsons Peaks Lookout and various other camp sites nearby. But I missed that part of the trek as I had to detour up to Pinnaroo for fuel and Farmers Union IC while the others continued their exploring. I met up with them 2/3 hours later at the start of the Border Track.
We only did the first third of the Track, the one-way section, before turning west to come home. This 28km took about three hours, including the half hour trying to conquer the first hill in the fairly soft sand as explained above. The day before we came across the southern parts of the Ngarkat park from Tintinara to Red Bluff camp ground, and then the next morning across the Red Bluff Track and then up the main (dirt) road called the Murrayville-Nhill road. And two days before this I had come down through the western tracks of the Murray/Sunset Country National Park.
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