Simpson Geo Centre and Geo Surveys Hill

[Albynsw]

The issue with that though is Murphy's law, I'm covered for remote recovery, but only if I'm legally allowed to be there. I'd hate to have something occur in the area where I require a permit and don't have one. It's not worth the risk to me, but it still sucks they don't do a weekly type permit.

Fair point but gee you would be really unlucky to get rolled on an insurance claim under those circumstances but……..

 

[Lost1?]

No worries Steve. I will probably sort both. If it goes pear shaped and WA lockdown I will probably do an east west crossing as my mate hasn't crossed the simpson before.

 

[stevemc181]

No worries Steve. I will probably sort both. If it goes pear shaped and WA lockdown I will probably do an east west crossing as my mate hasn't crossed the simpson before.

I think we'll be all good regarding locking down again, but who knows!
I'm not sure yet, if I am going to head down to the Flinders Ranges after Birdsville or turn around and do the east west crossing also.

 

[Lost1?]

Depends on what shape we are in when we hit Birdsville I guess. From rough calcs so far I do need to work on vehicle weight. It's looking like 200kg over GVM at Mt Dare. I have some work to do. Last time I burnt 90L from Birdsville to Oodnadatta. Add another 150k of cross country on top of that and extra for any diversions.

I would be happy to roll into Birdsville with 70L of fuel in the tank. But not so happy to be walking into Birdsville. Time to start planning.

 

[stevemc181]

I’m yet to decide on how much fuel to carry myself. The Patrol is a thirsty beast for a 3 litre, so I’ll probably have a minimum of 280 litres on board, maybe 300. I’ll also be heavy, but on this type of trip it’s hard to avoid that with the additional fuel and water required.
I can’t remember how much I used on a Madigan trip a few years ago unfortunately.

I’ll work out average fuel consumption after my mods are done, but the plan at the moment is at least an additional 3 Jerry’s.

 

[rob_macca67]

I’m yet to decide on how much fuel to carry myself. The Patrol is a thirsty beast for a 3 litre, so I’ll probably have a minimum of 280 litres on board, maybe 300. I’ll also be heavy, but on this type of trip it’s hard to avoid that with the additional fuel and water required.
I can’t remember how much I used on a Madigan trip a few years ago unfortunately.

I’ll work out average fuel consumption after my mods are done, but the plan at the moment is at least an additional 3 Jerry’s.

Not sure if this will help or not... but with yours being the Common Rail 3ltr - do u have a ScanGaugeII or something similar?

I had one on my Defender and once u calibrate it, it becomes quite a useful tool for monitoring fuel usage on a daily basis... I've attached a portion of what I used last year when we did our offtrack trip to the centre. You will the big increase in fuel usage for those off-track sections (highlighted Yellow) and this may or may not give u an idea of what to expect...

 

[ipch]

Just a couple of tips for you guys.

Firstly, dont purchase a desert pass until you get there. That is, buy at Mt. Dare or birdsville. This way if something goes wrong you haven't lost any money.

Secondly on fuel consumption. Where you can, travel in high range and change up to 4th gear at the lowest possable revs. 4th. gear is possable across all of the swales unless wet and quite a bit of the sand sections as well.

I cant remember consumption for the Madigan but my last crossing of the Simpson was 107L. for a V8 Landcruiser. This was my 10th crossing.

Ian.

 

[stevemc181]

Not sure if this will help or not... but with yours being the Common Rail 3ltr - do u have a ScanGaugeII or something similar?

I had one on my Defender and once u calibrate it, it becomes quite a useful tool for monitoring fuel usage on a daily basis... I've attached a portion of what I used last year when we did our offtrack trip to the centre. You will the big increase in fuel usage for those off-track sections (highlighted Yellow) and this may or may not give u an idea of what to expect...

I have run a scangauge II for years, and yes it is reasonably accurate. Mine usually uses around 16lph as an average on long heavily loaded trips, and I usually allow 25lph for trip planning purposes when going offroad. I'd think in low range and climbing dunes, I'll see somehwere around 30-35 litres per hundred. I should be able to cover it with just my main tanks at 225 Litres, but I like to plan for the unexpected and will take at least another 60-80 litres. Nothing more embarrasing than running out of fuel in the middle of nowhere due to poor planning, and always good to have reserves in case of substantial diversions.

I recall seeing the scangauge hitting 35lph when in low range the last time we did the Madigan.

The first of my permits has been approved already, for the Woomera Prohibited Area.

 

[stevemc181]

Just a couple of tips for you guys.

Firstly, dont purchase a desert pass until you get there. That is, buy at Mt. Dare or birdsville. This way if something goes wrong you haven't lost any money.

Secondly on fuel consumption. Where you can, travel in high range and change up to 4th gear at the lowest possable revs. 4th. gear is possable across all of the swales unless wet and quite a bit of the sand sections as well.

I cant remember consumption for the Madigan but my last crossing of the Simpson was 107L. for a V8 Landcruiser. This was my 10th crossing.

Ian.

Yes, using low range definitley increases the consumption, I think we'll be stuck in low range for quite some time in the offtrack sections.

 

[Lost1?]

Well versed in shifting up a gear to roll down dunes and keep revs down around 2000rpm for up changes. Always fiddle with tyre pressures to stay on top of the sand rather than.ploughing through it. This will be a bit of an economy run at times is my thoughts.

220-240L of fuel is probably what I need. Steve has a similar size motor to me but will be 600kg heavier and the torque converter will mean he chews a bit more fuel t han me. The cross country section is the variable. Anyway, plenty of time to make a decision.

 

[stevemc181]

I’m starting to stress out again, my patrol has been in the shop for over two weeks to do a two day job! Still waiting on the stage 2 valve body to arrive.
I also still haven’t received the front mount intercooler and new snorkel etc yet. I need to install these prior to having the new turbo and tune done.

I don’t think I’m going to get as much testing time as I’d like prior to the trip so it might be a case of wing and a prayer!

I’ve had no word back about the Madigan line permit yet, or for the Cosmo Newberry side of the AB hwy.

 

[TonyAC]

Hi Guys, just read through the entire thread. Sounds like a great trip you have planned, hope it all goes well, travel safe.

Lost1?, would be interested for some info on your Triton, I have a MQ, 2018 and have been slowly getting it ready for a big lap when we retire (plus some me time) I would be very interested to know mods, reliability, tyres, and general info regarding how a Triton does in the 4 wheel arena. The only reason I have a Triton, is it came at a fantastic price, ex demo, with just about everything Mitsubishi makes on board. Although about a gazillion Tritons are out there you don’t seem to see many doing the real hard stuff, not that I’ve seen anyway. So I would be thankful for anything Triton related.
I doubt we will do anything quite so extreme, I might though, never say never, hey! And to be sure, we would need to be a tag a long.
I believe WA is open for business. If you can post on your journey, I for one am very interested in following your adventures.

Cheers,
tony

 

[cam04]

Just a couple of tips for you guys.

Secondly on fuel consumption. Where you can, travel in high range and change up to 4th gear at the lowest possable revs. 4th. gear is possable across all of the swales unless wet and quite a bit of the sand sections as well.



Ian.

That might be OK for a manual, but staying in high range and lower gears that don't lock out the TC is a sure fire way to cook an auto box in sand. Vehicle and conditions dependent of course.

 

[rob_macca67]

Secondly on fuel consumption. Where you can, travel in high range and change up to 4th gear at the lowest possable revs. 4th. gear is possable across all of the swales unless wet and quite a bit of the sand sections as well.


Ian.

This is very vehicle specific... plus I thought that part of this trip was actually going cross country where there is no tracks - There is no way that u would be able to drive in 4th Low in a Manual due to the very slow speeds that u will need to travel to navigate your way across the dunes and spinifex mounds

 

[Lost1?]

TonyAC the Triton makes a good tourer is my experience. Mine is a 2009 ML with the 3.2. 33" tyres sap a bit of power out of the drive line but I find them great on sand most of the time. Big dune in little desert was the one time I have struggled. I would recommend 32" tyres for most situations.

I run a canopy on my tub with a false.floor that hides my water tank and second battery (lifepo4). With a fridge slide bolted to the tray of the tub. Suspension is Dobinson 2" lift MRR shocks, hd front springs and +350kg rear. When one up I am around gvm, if I am two up I am generally 150kg over gvm on a trip.

Every mod I make from now on will be with the intent of reducing weight. See how that works out for me. I have told myself I should start a build thread for a while now. I just need to make time to do it.

 

[callmejoe]

I hope your trip goes well, unfortunately I won't have the opportunity to join in.
As things have rolled I will be taking holidays earlier then later so the time frame won't match up.
Was pretty keen but the wife wasn't.

Off towards Ningaloo Coast. (black moon cliff) and what ever we fancy on the way.

Joe

 

[stevemc181]

I hope your trip goes well, unfortunately I won't have the opportunity to join in.
As things have rolled I will be taking holidays earlier then later so the time frame won't match up.
Was pretty keen but the wife wasn't.

Off towards Ningaloo Coast. (black moon cliff) and what ever we fancy on the way.

Joe

No worries Joe, I hope you enjoy your trip, awesome neck of the woods up there!

My vehicle mods/repairs are now back on track and it should all be done by 7th April. This gives me a chance for a good shakedown run prior to the desert trip. The current cost of fuel is obviously going to add a fair bit of expense to this trip, but nothing we can do about that unfortunately.

I’m starting to get excited and really looking forward to this trip now

 

[callmejoe]

Glad to hear the 4by back on track. We have just finished our build on the Navara 2021. Just need to work out how to pack it.

Looking forward to a holiday, it's been just off 2 yrs and absolutely been off its head for work.

 

[stevemc181]

The first stage of my mods are done, FMIC/Intake pipework/4” Snorkel/Transmission upgrades etc. Took it for a good 250km drive today and it’s like a different vehicle. So much better with the power delivery due to the auto upgrades. Very happy and can’t wait to see how it goes when the ZL30 Turbo and Alphatec module are done next week.

Seems I jumped the gun thinking the factory turbo was buggered though! It turned out to be a split on the cold side of the intercooler pipework. Good to know though as I was worried about why I’d done a Factory turbo after only 90’000km.

I’ve chased up a couple of my permits as well. No reply on the Madigan line permit yet, which is a bit of a worry.

I’ve also had an email regarding the permit for the Cosmo Newberry section of the Anne Beadell. They’ve told me they are only processing permits 30 days in advance and I should get it in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Lost1?]

I need.to start on the Madigan permit. I will check out track closures later today.
Looking at how much rain has fallen we might need to keep an eye on that if there is further follow up rain.