4wdriving

[riley]

Trvelling in a standed gq diesel is there plenty of fuel from Cooktown to the tip.Or do you need an larger tank.

[batesy72]

Riley,

I run a standard 4.5 petrol Cruiser - I use just over a tank (100L) from Weipa to Lakeland Roadhouse (560kms).

There's diesel everywhere.

By memory I think the rough distances are:

Lakeland heading north to Cooktown - 80km
Lakeland heading west on the PDR to Laura - 60km
Laura to Hann River - 70km
Hann to Musgrave - 60km
Mugrave to Coen - 110km
Coen to Archer River Roadhouse - 60km
Archer to Weipa - 200km
Archer up the tip to Bramwell Roadhouse - 180km
Bramwell to Bamaga - 200km

If you're heading into Lakefield you'll have to fill at Cooktown, Laura or Musgrave.


Hope this helps.


Cheers
Batesy

[riley]

Thanks very much that has made up my mind.

[jimbo69]

i carried a couple of jerry cans 2 yrs ago and didn't need them(petrol auto cruiser)
the extra you pay for fuel is offset by the extra weight you aren't carrying

[ant]

Good point Jimbo-keep the weight to a bare minimum. Over the years, I have seen far too many vehicles carrying way too much. No wonder there are accidents on the Development road!

As for fuel, I have known 2-wheel drive vehicles to make it up to Weipa (and further) so fuel stops is not as much an issue as it may have been 10 or so years ago.

One point worth mentioning is to make sure you carry spares such as radiator hoses, fan belts, water (more valuable then fuel), tyres, and air filters just to name a few.

[batesy72]

Ah, two-wheel drives to Weipa... reminds me of my first trip up the PDR in the early '90s.

I took my lowered canary yellow Datsun 180B SSS and its low profile tyres on a big adventure .... after all these years it still rates as the most fun trip up the PDR that I've ever had.

I had to drive with one side of the car in a wheel rut and one side on top of the other rut just so I didn't tear the sump off.

The poor old girl's exhaust survived about 60km...! So I decided that I may as well treat the whole journey as a rally.

To say that I rolled into Weipa with a grin bigger than Chad Morgan's would be an understatement!!

I ended up coaxing the old man out to the local dump - flipped an old Dato 200B over, knocked off its bent and dented exhaust, chucked it on the SSS then drove the bastard back to Brisbane a month later. I tore a few tyres off in the return journey, but still had a ton of laughs.

The trip these days costs me over 200 bucks in fuel ... mind you the cruiser rides better than the Dato. :D

[matt#73]

Hey all:) :)

The wife and I are planning a trip from Brisbane to Bamaga in October. We have never done the trip before and were wondering just how bad it is?

I have been told there is several tracks some worst than others?

We are going to Bamaga to see Leisa's Brother Steven who is the officer in charge at Bamaga Ambulance station and where planning on meeting up on the way to do some camping. We are planning to take a camper trailer (new we are having it made, I am asking for a real 4WD spec trailer) do they handle the trip?

Also we are buying a new 4WD and would love your advise on the best one to choose. the 2 cars we are considering are totally different. I want the new turbo diesel dual cab ST-X Navara and the wife wants the new turbo diesel 4 door renegade. I have looked into them and they both appear to be very capable 4WD's.

Matt

[ant]

Hi Matt,
You will love the trip, particularly Bamaga. That NPA area of the cape is one of my favourites. If you take the development road straight through to Bamaga the trip will be considerably easy. it is only when you get curious and follow the OTL that some of the crossings can be interesting. As a first-timer to the cape I would probably suggest the Development road, particularly if you are in a new vehichle and may not have experience with it off road.

Can't give you too much advice on cars although I would try to steer away from the Renegade. There is an on-going debate on this, and other forums, between the Toyota and Nissan guys and to be quite honest, there is not a lot between them these days. Toyotas are a lot more popular up here though.
If you are only doing the trip once, have you thought about hiring a vehicle?

As for traliers, if you are only doing the one trip then you are pretty fine as long as it is 4wd recommended. Are you getting a camper-trailer or just a standard box trailer for storage? to give you an idea, a good heavy-duty box trailer for off-road use should see you forking out around $7K-that is not a camper trailer.

Something else to consider-roof racks: While these are great to stack things onto, they are a real trap particularly if you over load them and the vehicle becomes top-heavy. I personally would never use a roof rack.

Hope this has been of some help.

[batesy]

G'day Matt,

I'd go the Navara, personally. Dispite my constant anti-nissan comments, the Navaras and Patrols are usually pretty bullet-proof. That said, I don't know too much about the new Navara ... I know even less about the Renegade! Pretty helpful, aren't I...?!!

The previous Navara had a capable motor and with the addition of some decent suspension the dual-cab was also a capable off-roader. Certainly a 4wd you could easily tackle the Cape with.

The roads are pretty flogged out by October, so expect plenty of corrugations. This is what really tests camping trailers. The PDR from Lakeland to, say Bramwell, is about 650 km of rutted corrugations at that time of the year, depending on how much grading is being done.

From Bramwell you will probably want to take the Old Telegraph Line - which is what most people class as the highlight of Cape York travel. The first section of the OTL is roughly 70km and traverses the infamous Gunshot Creek (though there is a detour).

The reality is you can bring any vehicle up to the Cape, it just depends how QUICKLY you are trying to bring it up. Take your time and you'll be fine most of the time.

[matt#73]

Thanks for the reply all:)

I will be going down to jeep Saturday morning and trying to get the deal done:( The wife won out (Its that surprising) but it will be her car 99% of the time so she gets the final vote. I still would prefer the Navara though:(

Ant in reply to your question re Hire car. We are buying the new car to get back into 4WDing as we sold our last 4WD (a Jeep) 2 1/2 years ago. The trip is just the excuse to get out buts in gear and do it.....

How long will it take from Cairns to Bamaga via the development road at a realistic pace?

What sort of spares should I take?

I was thinking spare hoses, belts, tarp for river crossings etc. should I take spare shocks for the car and/or trailer?

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks again

Matt

[ant]

Hi Matt,
Good luck with the Jeep. We were going to buy one a few year back and talked to the dealer in Bris. He was keen for the sale until he heard where we lived at that time (Weipa). Once he knew where we lived he actually talked us out of the deal. As they say "happy wife, happy life"

In regards to spares, you shouldn't need a tarp for water crossings particularly at the time of year you are travelling.
I always carry:
spare radiator hoses and belts.
At least 20 lt of water (for the radiator if something goes wrong)
Oil

You shouldn't need spare shocks, etc if you have a new car and trailer.

Try to limit what you have to carry as the weight soon builds up and will have a negative effect on your cars ability to navigate the roads.

What tyres are you going to run?

[YOYO]

to be quite honest, there is not a lot between them these days. Toyotas are a lot more popular up here though.
.

I have nearly converted you. Soon you will see the light..................

[YOYO]

[QUOTE=batesy;315]G'day Matt,

. Dispite my constant anti-nissan comments, the Navaras and Patrols are usually pretty bullet-proof. [QUOTE]


FINALLY you see the light........

[matt#73]

He was keen for the sale until he heard where we lived at that time (Weipa). Once he knew where we lived he actually talked us out of the deal. As they say "happy wife, happy life"

In regards to spares, you shouldn't need a tarp for water crossings particularly at the time of year you are travelling.
I always carry:
spare radiator hoses and belts.
At least 20 lt of water (for the radiator if something goes wrong)
Oil

You shouldn't need spare shocks, etc if you have a new car and trailer.

Try to limit what you have to carry as the weight soon builds up and will have a negative effect on your cars ability to navigate the roads.

What tyres are you going to run?

Thanks for your input. Yes happy wife semi happy life :)

Did the deal today and will not get the jeep until late July as it is still to be built:(
was talking to my brother inlaw tonight he is new to Bamaga and he thought the Progress road is prity tame?
I was thinking of either BFG AT or MTR's. Maybe even Goodyear MTR's

Feed back would be great.

Matt

[batesy]

Matt,

The PDR is an easy drive this time of the year. Of course it changes weekly, thanks to trucks and tourist traffic. By the time you hit it the road should be well and truly corrugated.

Personally I don't go overboard with the spares kit. There are plenty of travellers to help get a message back to Bamaga or Weipa if you need major repairs. The PDR cops a ton of traffic so you will also stumble across someone on your journey. I do take tools and belts. I also have some electrical stuff too.

The Telegraph track will be your four wheel driving section - you'll still find traffic on it, just like the PDR bypass. Traffic will be starting to thin out by October - the weather starts hotting up by then.

I wouldn't worry about spare shocks. Even if they are thrashed to buggery you can still make it to your destination. If you break your shocky mounts then there is a problem - but new shockies aren't going to fix that anyway! Just take your time on the road. If you want to travel at 120km/h on the PDR than be prepared for the consequences - suspension copping a beating or rollovers.

Also, remember this - slow down when you come across the DIP signs. They are plentiful, and you can get caught out if you fail to ease off. I've seen a few fellas get caught out on these - myself included.

Lastly, the tyre choice is a very personal one. A lot of people up here run the BFGs - A/Ts and M/Ts and a lot run the Goodyear Wranglers. You'll be pretty right with any of them. Of course, all tyres seem to puncture eventually. I've been pretty fortunate myself, I've only had one flat tyre in 40,000kms of PDR driving (the last 1000kms I had two rear tyres with nails in them, but they didn't blow!). I do always have a tyre repair kit with me though - just some generic kit with the plugs and glue etc.

I'd be inclined not to overload your car with too much unneeded stuff.

[batesy]

I just re-read your previous post Matt.


What sort of spares should I take?

I was thinking spare hoses, belts, tarp for river crossings etc. should I take spare shocks for the car and/or trailer?

I didn't notice the trailer bit!!

You can afford to take spares etc if you're bringing a trailer, however, it is the trailer that will be your weak point - depending on the build quality. The road can give trailers a good beating when it is bad, and of course, the performance of your fourby will suffer in the serious four-wheel-driving stuff.

The fact that you are travelling in October will be of help. There's no serious water around at that time of year. All the OTL crossings are pretty tame and so are the ones heading over to Lockhart (Wenlock, Frenchman's). You be unlucky to come across too much over your wheel arches.

Some of the crossings will be boggy but nothing bad compared to mid-year.