Cape York: Would you take a nav with 250 000ks on it??

[Dan_86]

Been asked by a mate to do a Cape york Trip later this year for 2-3 weeks. Now I just bought my 2004 D22 Navara 3L turbo Diesel. it has 250 000ks. It doesn't have service History or anything, but have been told it has new gearbox and clutch. When I bought it, I drove it from Melbourne to Stanthorpe (1800ks) through Sydney and didn't miss a beat the whole way.

Not that I dont have faith in the car. It seems great, and have only owned a month or 2. Just would like some advice on what people think. how bad are the roads up there, what would I need to do before the trip etc.

Cheers,
Dan

 

[Jason]

Lift it then take it!

Get it serviced at a reputable mechanic and tell them what you plan on doing.

I think you'll be fine. What tyres do you have on it?

 

[FatBoy89]

Tyres, lift, service and DRIVE! have faith!

 

[Dan_86]

at the moment I have STR rims with 265/75/16 Cooper All Terrains also have a set of 31x10.5x15s Silverstone MT Sport 117s Body lift will be here next week. Plan on Terrain Tamer leafs, torsion bars, and some shocks. not necessarily all the same brand but yeah.


What else is needed??
Already has ARB winch bar minus the winch, canopy, all terrains, roof racks (not cage/rack) Snorkel and HID Spotties, UHF Looking for a cruiser air box, waiting for the body lift (in the mail) and saving up for the above suspension, and gunna have a go at making my own sliders.

 

[FatBoy89]

Mate it's already decked. Tell your mate you'll be right beside him.!

 

[Dan_86]

Hopefully will be. Be good to see my nav that cost 15k up against his new hilux decked out that cost him 60k lol

 

[FatBoy89]

Hopefully will be. Be good to see my nav that cost 15k up against his new hilux decked out that cost him 60k lol

That's what we're all a out here haha

 

[joshman]

make sure your snorkel/air intake system is sealed up tight. if it's factory fitted (done by nissan) it will NOT guaranteed to be water tight. and before you go make sure your door seals are good and that you seal up any penetrations through the firewall. also do up a DIY water brao to assist in crossing all those rivers. (which you will)

and most importantly, get out there and drive you car, get to know it's limits and strengths. nothign worse than being unprepared!

 

[Old.Tony]

Faith is good, but a few trial runs is better. Go do some 4WDing and see how it behaves.

As for getting up there ... you can get all the way to Weipa in a Barina. After that, there are chicken tracks for most things, I'm told.

 

[joshman]

Faith is good, but a few trial runs is better. Go do some 4WDing and see how it behaves.

As for getting up there ... you can get all the way to Weipa in a Barina. After that, there are chicken tracks for most things, I'm told.

Yeah, I read an article about a bloke that took a Mazda mx5 all the way to the cape. There's good roads the whole way now. But where's the fun in that?

 

[Old.Tony]

Yeah, I read an article about a bloke that took a Mazda mx5 all the way to the cape. There's good roads the whole way now. But where's the fun in that?

True. But the advantage in KNOWING this beforehand is that if he doesn't feel confident, he knows there's still a means of getting there.

By taking the thing out 4WDing early, he'll gain confidence in the vehicle AND in his own skills, so double bonus - and then tackling the Big Bad Cape won't seem such an onerous task.

 

[FatBoy89]

Yeah no fun. No challenge

 

[Dan_86]

The trip is about doing alot of camping/fishing so would like to go to a few of the quiet places you cant take an mx5 or Barina. Have done some 4bying before but by no means do I see myself as an expert. Hoping to take the nav out to see how it handles off road sometime soon. The trip isnt until July/August so plenty of time to practice.

 

[joshman]

and get a winch. definitely get a winch and know how to use it

 

[user 10312]

You'll be fine mate. Go up with some company if you can, and take it easy.

 

[user 10312]

I reckon I could get my wife's Astra up there, no joke.

 

[nakedape]

The trip isnt until July/August so plenty of time to practice.

...and you have a mate going with you. So there's some security in that too. I say listen to Old.Tony and do some drives locally - then go for it.

 

[D40Craig]

Did the Cape in August last year in my old GU Patrol ute. No worries with the raods as far as Weipa. After that it depends which way you want to go as to how bad the roads are. The Development track is pretty tame. On the way back, around Archer River I think, there were two guys on the way up in a Toyota Cresida. In our group we had a mate in a bog-standard D40 and he had no problems at all. You'll have a BLAST!
Hope that helps mate,
Cheers

 

[johnbritto]

mate 3 weeks may not be enough me and one of my mates are planing on doing the cape in 2013 and want to go just at the end of the wet you will need a winch if your going up the old tele track and take the carpet out before you go it will get wet my mate and i are planing a 6 week trip giving us 3 days to drive the hard top comfortably with overnite stops from newcastle then hit the soft stuf spend 3-4 weeks doing the various tracks and sight seeing and a lot of camping the way i figure it its one of those trips that you would probably only do once in a lifetime so might as well do the whole thing .roof top tent comes to mind as does big lizards and shot gun

 

[Dave]

My D22 isn't far off those km's, Id drive to Perth tomorrow if I needed to.