Uluru Trip Christmas 2010
- Thread starter Old.Tony
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joshman
Member
thanks again for the trip write-up, i've enjoyed reading about it, especially the planning stages! a mate and i are planning a very similar trip for the start of july this year., so your write-up has been useful in helping out. as our planning starts to take shape, i'll try and do a similar write-up.
peter w
Member
Hi tony I tow a van about 2.5t in a d40 and i have been doing it for three year and have towed in over 40deg and never had a heat worry I do about 90 to 100km a hour Peter
I think my overheating problem was because I let the vehicle slow down too much for the hills I was climbing. There were no restrictions on the front of the vehicle (I'd taken off the netting I had there to stop the locusts getting to the radiator) but it still lacked airflow. It could have been the steel bar, I suppose, but if I'd tried to keep the speed up a bit higher than the crawl I was doing I'm sure we would have faired better.
Time will tell, I guess. We'll be doing stuff like that again!
Time will tell, I guess. We'll be doing stuff like that again!
Tony
Looks like i'm going to ULURU this christmas ... i'll have plenty of questions for you between now and then - looking foward to sharing a bottle of RED or two with you at the muster.
Reason for going to ULuru ? One of my niece's hasdecided to get married, she now lives in Alice Springs.
Looks like i'm going to ULURU this christmas ... i'll have plenty of questions for you between now and then - looking foward to sharing a bottle of RED or two with you at the muster.
Reason for going to ULuru ? One of my niece's hasdecided to get married, she now lives in Alice Springs.
The trip's actually nowhere near as difficult as you might think. There are some warnings, some things that you need to be careful of ... I'll try to outline them without offending anybody.
Woomera - about as exciting as watching acrylic paint drying (which is nowhere near as much fun as enamel). Even if you like missiles and warplanes, you still need a blue pill in that town to get excited.
Glendambo - good fuel.
Coober Pedy - it's a dust bowl. Can be spotted from 30km on either side of town by the mounds of dirt that they've dug up. The town deserves some exploration, we didn't give it the chance. The Caltex sells good fuel but don't go there in the afternoon, the local tribe wanders straight through looking for their daily ration of beer.
Marla - do NOT stop to help anybody on the highway within 30 mins travel on either side. Ask at the Shell servo for a recovery crew to go out and help the "stranded" people, but by the time you've refuelled there and paid for it, the "stranded" cars will show up and everyone will pour out of the vehicle screaming and yelling and generally looking like something to stay well clear of.
Laseter Highway - do NOT buy fuel on this road. Get it at the Shell at Erldunda, or get it at Yulara resort. You'll save yourself about 50 cents per litre.
If you're doing the tourist thing: visit Kings Canyon FIRST. Walk the canyon first thing in the morning, then visit Kathleen Springs, Kings Creek Station (Kings Creek Station fuel is GOOD and cheaper than Kings Canyon Resort). On your way back towards Yulara/Uluru, turn onto the Ernest Giles Road ONLY for the photo op. Put the vehicle in 4WD mode immediately and keep some speed up, there is some really, really soft sand near some trees not far from the sealed road. Then move to Yulara and enjoy.
Woomera - about as exciting as watching acrylic paint drying (which is nowhere near as much fun as enamel). Even if you like missiles and warplanes, you still need a blue pill in that town to get excited.
Glendambo - good fuel.
Coober Pedy - it's a dust bowl. Can be spotted from 30km on either side of town by the mounds of dirt that they've dug up. The town deserves some exploration, we didn't give it the chance. The Caltex sells good fuel but don't go there in the afternoon, the local tribe wanders straight through looking for their daily ration of beer.
Marla - do NOT stop to help anybody on the highway within 30 mins travel on either side. Ask at the Shell servo for a recovery crew to go out and help the "stranded" people, but by the time you've refuelled there and paid for it, the "stranded" cars will show up and everyone will pour out of the vehicle screaming and yelling and generally looking like something to stay well clear of.
Laseter Highway - do NOT buy fuel on this road. Get it at the Shell at Erldunda, or get it at Yulara resort. You'll save yourself about 50 cents per litre.
If you're doing the tourist thing: visit Kings Canyon FIRST. Walk the canyon first thing in the morning, then visit Kathleen Springs, Kings Creek Station (Kings Creek Station fuel is GOOD and cheaper than Kings Canyon Resort). On your way back towards Yulara/Uluru, turn onto the Ernest Giles Road ONLY for the photo op. Put the vehicle in 4WD mode immediately and keep some speed up, there is some really, really soft sand near some trees not far from the sealed road. Then move to Yulara and enjoy.
jayk
Member
have to second Tony on only using the caltex for fuel. i used the other one think it was a shell or bp, and i got realy bad fuel economy on the next leg of my trip. also wish i knew not to fill up at laseter highway, but oh well too late now!!
Hope you enjoy the trip, absolutley beautiful country!
Hope you enjoy the trip, absolutley beautiful country!
Thanks Tony ... printed the above advise off, and will be putting with my trip notes that i've already started to prepare.
joshman
Member
when we were out there mid year, the birdsville, oodnadatta tracks and earnest giles road were all freshly graded and much like highways, we managed to hook along at 100km most of the way. there are definitely some soft sections along the road, but they're easily spotted and avoided. and where there are soft sections, you shouldn't need 4wd (unless you're towing).
and where possible (at night and on long straight stretches), drive on the WRONG side of the road. where the road is corrugated, it's alot smoother on the wrong side (no joke)
it won't take long to work all this out for yourself though.
and where possible (at night and on long straight stretches), drive on the WRONG side of the road. where the road is corrugated, it's alot smoother on the wrong side (no joke)
it won't take long to work all this out for yourself though.
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With my recent weighty discovery yesterday, I just need to plan very carefully what stuff we 'need' to take, and what we 'should' leave behind so I dont overload the Ute.
We will not need to take extra fuel, because i have a long range tank.
We WILL need to take water - but i will need to be sensible to not load too much
Pots N Pans for cooking will need to be kept simple. If i can use light weight pots and pans for everything, then i'll leave the cast iron stuff at home.
Rooftop camping will be the go, with Woody-Jnr sleeping in his own tent. Rebuilding the drawer system will be a priority (see my other thread about that).
We will not need to take extra fuel, because i have a long range tank.
We WILL need to take water - but i will need to be sensible to not load too much
Pots N Pans for cooking will need to be kept simple. If i can use light weight pots and pans for everything, then i'll leave the cast iron stuff at home.
Rooftop camping will be the go, with Woody-Jnr sleeping in his own tent. Rebuilding the drawer system will be a priority (see my other thread about that).
