EOI -> Cape York Trip 2010

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daza
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Post by daza » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:44 pm

Hey peeples,
Just to chuck some ideas in the hat...

- There was a suggestion that making the meeting point Cains or further north would give more flexibility for people to do there own thing, both on the way up and back.

- Along the same lines, driving straight to the top then sight seeing on the way back, so everyone can choose how much they want to do/see verses how much time they have.

- I've read a couple of recomendations for traveling early in the dry season to avoid the dust and road deterioration.



- ... the little used CREB track through the Daintree rather than via Cape Tribulation. sounds interesting!

Whata ya's recken?
Daza.
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Xtreme_RX
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Post by Xtreme_RX » Wed Apr 22, 2009 8:20 pm

Please keep the ideas coming...

August was just an idea. I do want to make a definite date with in the next few weeks so we all can organise time off.

I was talking to an ex customer that I had (I have changed jobs) he does the trip to the cape every two years. He was saying that the road condition doesn’t change much unless there has been heaps of rain.....


The reason why I said august is there is no school holidays to interfere with our trip.

In saying that if we were to go the beginning of June we would be coming home when the school holidays would be starting.

???
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Matt
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Post by Matt » Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:03 pm

The Creb track if open is an awesome track, differently a must do!!! Have done it on the bike!
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DavesB4
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Post by DavesB4 » Thu Apr 23, 2009 8:18 pm

OK - a lot of you guys have lifted and toughened vehicles. I don't. And I don't want to modify my Outback to that sort of extent.

There are loads of stories of standard vehicles making the trip. My Outback is standard and is a manual with hi/lo range. I would love to do a trip to the cape and the opportunity to tag along with some experienced people with some serious off road experience might be just the trick that gets me off my bum and keen to do the drive.

Have you considered the concept of a "dual level" trip that has alternatives that would allow people such as myself to take a standard vehicle along and do just those bits that are suitable and then maybe tag along as a passenger for some of the more extreme bits?

I would seriously consider coming up from Sydney to meet up and do this trip if I was comfortable that my car would be OK when it got back.

I have a set of 15" rims with Pirelli P Zero Rally tyres on them. The rolling diameter is the same as the stock 16 inchers - but the offset is different. These will cope with the terrain I am certain. I can orchestrate a couple of spares but carrying them along with all the necessary camping gear will necessitate VERY careful packaging. A box trailer would be a very handy thing for a trip like this. How much of an impact on progress does a trailer make?

Keep me posted.
Dave Hill

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Xtreme_RX
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Post by Xtreme_RX » Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:30 am

We will be doing the Creb track if it is open.

DavesB4 - Yes it would be possible to take an outback lightly modified to the cape. But a trailer is a big no with our sized vehicles. The only thing is you may damage the front & rear bars as they hang down a bit.

The option for an 'easy' route could be an option for some. We wont be doing absolutely extreme tracks but it will be challenging & fun.

As for the date...????
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DavesB4
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Post by DavesB4 » Sat Apr 25, 2009 4:19 pm

Great news

So ...

... If I don't bring a trailer, how do I safely mount the a spare fuel jerry and a couple of spare rims to the roof racks?? I really wouldn't like to have to fit them plus camping gear and a fridge and three weeks worth of food and clothes inside the car. I would have thought a lightly packed 6x4 box trailer - it even has matching tyres and a Subaru stud pattern so the spares fit that too - would not be a drama for an Outback??

And when you say "lightly modified" - how lightly? I can nearly deal with bumper damage - they are a bit scuffed now and it would be a good excuse to have them fixed. Would an alloy nudge bar help to minimise that sort of damage? It comes out beneath the front bar and will reduce clearance at the front a little - maybe 40mm??. I usually have my Cibie Super Oscars bolted to that.

I am beginning to get more interested.
Dave Hill

MY13 Outback - The new blue one.
MY99 Outback - As it's maker intended - but with a fresher engine now.
1994 RS Turbo - Not quite so stock! And freshly repainted now :)
And then there's the family Vortex - rebuilt, updated and now unregistered and gathering dust in the shed.
:D

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fredsub
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Post by fredsub » Sun Apr 26, 2009 10:43 am

basket type roof racks are the best IMO. Best to take spare rubber and a beadbreaker& refit tool, much less weight. The R&R brand works well.
You need a compressor anyway.
Storing fuel on the roof can be problematic, and wouldn't recommend it.
If you remove the rear seat, plenty of room. Use the plastic Rheem? type fuel jerries - completely gas tight they are.

mention of 'easy' route, i'd like to know more, cause i'm never too miffed if there is an easy route to the same destination.
Like DavesB4, i'm not interested in modding the OBW much, maybe i'll have a vehicle with diff locks next year anyways.....
Yeah been thinking of this trip too, just is >~$1k? in fuel to get there and back from south of Sydney worth it...... probably count on min 6000km.

And definitely don't bring a trailer, not only will you largely increase fuel useage, and have more things that can go horribly wrong, being a subaru its already behind the ball on towing ability compared to a big rig 4wd.

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Post by wrxtc » Sun Apr 26, 2009 7:42 pm

time is creeping closer and closer to the trip to top end next year i was reading some of the threads on here ,i agree with the june idea we always went injune reason being that you miss three weeks of winter down here as well as its not so hot up north either so its bearable good to help with sleep etc, we always went out west but i lived in port mcq nsw then, last time i did read that we were meeting at gympie ?? its a bit all over the place hey cos we all live in such weird and wonderful places but i guess if those that live in brisbane area meet sometime and then tee it up to meet others gympie area and then so on and so on ,but all in all we used to travel either west or when we did go up the coast we would do the drive straight up as quickly as possible staying at those places on side of road for free and then every third night stay in a van park or some place to shower and wash ,remembering one fantastic thing about the servos on the way up some of them have showers so you can pay them a couple of bucks for a shower i think it was lakefield or lakelands something like that had showersfor two bucks so we paid to have one before we hit the road for coen .
we also camped on side of river at coen caught huge yabbies and boiled em up we also camped on the archer river bank what a place, ive done the trip several times to weipa going this way , but ive only been to top end once, we took a nissan patrol at time and a pop top camper so it certainly will be different in a liberty ??? not taking any trailer of any sort ,getting a roof top tent this time, anyways its whatever everybody else is keen with june is a great time though its cold on way up but you start with sleeping bags and end up in a sheet only .im realy looking forward to going again its been about 7 years or more sincei last went. cheers to all keep up the posts so we can kinda get a real date for next year ??
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Xtreme_RX
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Post by Xtreme_RX » Mon Apr 27, 2009 6:46 pm

Well I’m going to make decision on the date.....
It will be Tuesday 1st of June 2010 returning to Brisbane around Sunday 27th of June 2010.

Meeting point for Brisbane / southern state people will be The Big Fish Servo.
(This meeting point still can be changed....)


As for carrying spare tyres - the roof is the best way to go.
As for fuel, all of us will have around the same size tank (60L) so we will all be stopping in the same place for fuel. In saying that I would carry a 20L jerry can just for emergencies.
I wont be carrying one as a have a long range tank & auxiliary tank too (115L) - Any one with an 'L' Series who wants a auxiliary tank approx (45L) PM me...


Questions / input???
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wagonist
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Post by wagonist » Tue Apr 28, 2009 5:12 pm

For the youngsters:
I used to live in Weipa, where I owned a 85 4wd L sedan, and then did a Suba club trip in 99. The conditions may have changed a little since then, but I doubt it as the main reason for the road (the mine at Weipa) has scaled back since then.

Vehicle prep:
  1. Get your cooling system sorted. If you have a suspiscion(?) your radiator could have a problem get it checked out. If it fails, its 1000km to the nearest shop & I got caught in a vehicle that couldn't do more than 80 even with the heater on full tilt. This meant leaving an hour before everyone else in the morning, stopping for a 5min lunch when everyone caught up (while they stopped for an hour) & then an extra hour in the evening catching up. Not pleasant.
  2. trailers are a definite no no. The roads are badly corregated & the trailer will quite literally get shaken to bits. The roads up there are littered with their remains
  3. expensive all terrain tyres are not necessary. some decent road tyres with wide grooves (Kumhos are good for this) will be sufficient. Most of the gravel is just loose. They will cop a hammering though, so if they're borderline, replace before leaving, because there's no availability.
  4. shocks & springs: find some old almost worn out ones to have fitted. Do not get you beaut new ones unless the are soft. The roads are heavily corregated, you need to be able to accelerate past the "shaking part" until you are "gliding" over the top of them. The softer the suspension, the better
  5. no double shocks: the brackets for these will be broken & they'll become useless. I think on the club trip I did up there every single double shock got broken or removed
  6. lift kit is basically a must, or else good ground clearance, or a lack of care of your undercarriage. I was in an unlifted wagon for the trip.
  7. normal fuel isn't really that much of a problem to get hold of.
  8. MY models should have their rear torsion bars removed & refitted prior to the trip. These are a bitch to do at home, let along in the middle of the bush
  9. driveshafts/CV joints: if you suspect they may be an issue, replace prior to leaving, there shouldn't really be a situation where you can break them
repairs/replacement parts:
  1. replacement shock/struts springs (already assembled) depending on their current condition. you don't want to have to rig up solid stuff
  2. exhaust putty. good for temp repairs of fuel tanks too
  3. tool kit
A lot of stuff is common sense for out of the way places, but if you've never been there, it's not like any place you can think of.
Also, sharing spares between common vehicles is a good idea. not everyone is going to have the same issues.

Above all, vehicle prep must be meticulous. Spare parts north of Cairns are impossible to find without getting them shipped from Cairns (at ludicrous rates & time delays).

A tip for the women: on our trip they started rating the days by the number of sports bras they should wear;).
The corregations are hard on everybody.
The theory (and proven in practice) is that the suspension has harmonics in its operation. You want these to be in sync with the corregation's humps. Generally there are 2. A slower one (somewhere between 40 & 60) & a higher (between 80 & 120). It's trial & error to find these 2 particular speeds, & the car will shake itself apart at anything other, so you need to be able to "drive through" this shaking to find the harmonic. And every car is slightly different.

If you're lucky, you're trip might coincide with the road being graded, and most of this won't be an issue, but if not, be prepared.

sorry for the long post, just been there, done that, saw people literally crying at the end of some days.
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Xtreme_RX
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Post by Xtreme_RX » Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:06 pm

Wagonist - Thank you for your valuable information.


Interesting about the dual shocks.... Hmmmm What bit broke?
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wagonist
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Post by wagonist » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:04 pm

Xtreme_RX wrote:Wagonist - Thank you for your valuable information.


Interesting about the dual shocks.... Hmmmm What bit broke?
No probs. I saw some people have a really miserable trip because they didn't know what to expect, & were therefore unprepared.
I'd dearly love to come along too, but not enough holidays & lack of ground clearance on my Toyota (plus lack of 98 octane fuel) rule me out.

I think most of them were using angle brackets U bolted onto the existing shock.
Due to the overdamping caused by this on the corregations, either the U bolts or the brackets snapped.
It's overkill for the type of terrain up there. My L had standard RX Turbo shocks, springs & swaybars.
On the trip with the club, I was in an unlifted L wagon with old shocks & springs. Apart from a 4wd converted Dyna with huge tyres, we had the least problems with the roads.
My suggestion would actually be to have good replacement shocks, but longer softer springs if you want newer stuff.
The shocks get so hot that you can't touch them & the roads are rough enough that the boot catch popped open (who knows for how long either because it was dark:()
Fitting smaller rims with taller tyres will also help with the pounding.
Current rides:
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88 RX Turbo Full-time 4wd touring wagon project - 97 Toyota Caldina GTT (turbo 4wd WRX eater:twisted:) - Hyundai Excel Rally Car:confused::???:
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wrxtc
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Post by wrxtc » Tue May 05, 2009 7:29 pm

yup beenthere done that too i had to laugh at the gliding across the ruts in the road what a crack up the first trip i did to weipa was in a nissan patrol there were quite a few of us so it was always great as we also had a mechanic with us ,and most of the men were very mechanical mindwise, but yes we hit it one of the years where the road had not been graded and my my the old engel in the back of the nissan just shook and shook but you cant go past an engel for toughness and reliablility it worked a treat i kept looking back at it and thinking my god thats gonna blow up ,anyways we went everyyear for quite some time, but good old janie creek turned out to start getting far too many people and then partner and i seperated so no more trips to gulf or weipa or top end, but im realy looking forward to heading up with mr dibs next year , thats means i will be on that trip for my birthday also, last time i spent a birthday in weipa i was forty years old and thats the last time i went too so thats seven years ago now ,couple of the times we went the road had been graded and it was simply unreal we flew up in no time, the idea was to drive as long as we could which meant getting up at daybreak and having a quick cuppa and heading up north every day ,stopping just before dusk,this way we made it to top end or weipa the quickest was possible and then could take our time on way back and make plans at what to see and do ?. we hardly ever stayed in caravan parks ,we always stayed in those places that were free on side of road as you are aloud to stay twenty four hours these places are a bargain i reckon i heard you can get booklets or a map of where these places are situated, about every third nite we stayed in caravan park or motel for a hot shower and a meal at a pub or something like that,all in all the date that is set is great i reckon and we look forward to it all happening. cheers all
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wrxtc
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Post by wrxtc » Tue May 05, 2009 7:34 pm

also hows about a meeting point for people further north of briso like maybe some place in gympie like the matildas just out of weipa on way to glenwood area is a good spot to get more fuel etc coffee , wed probably leave here if that was a second destination to meet others going up and stop there to meet all the others, plenty of time to make more of them decisions later on i guess,im still trying to figure out a count so far are there any definetes yet ????
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Xtreme_RX
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Post by Xtreme_RX » Sat May 09, 2009 2:49 pm

Ok I think we need a roll call of who's definite on attending this trip.

The meeting point can be made further north at Gympie.
But for those who live local / interstate can meet at a closer point & travel in convoy...
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DavesB4
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Post by DavesB4 » Sat May 09, 2009 6:33 pm

I think it's a bit early for "definite". June 2010 is still over a year away. There's a whole lot that can happen and change people's plans between here and there.

As for "interested and prepared to begin planning" - you can count me in under those rules.

Some details
  • I live in Western Sydney
  • I can meet anywhere between here and there
  • I have a standard MY99 Outback that I would like to use for the trip with as minimal modifications as possible - and I would really prefer them to be temporary and removable afterwards.
  • I am not really interested in roads that are not suitable for my vehicle. I have no real need to test its ability. But I am not afraid to get it dirty.
  • I am very keen to be involved.
I have subscribed to this thread so I can stay in touch with it.
Dave Hill

MY13 Outback - The new blue one.
MY99 Outback - As it's maker intended - but with a fresher engine now.
1994 RS Turbo - Not quite so stock! And freshly repainted now :)
And then there's the family Vortex - rebuilt, updated and now unregistered and gathering dust in the shed.
:D

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bluesteel
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Post by bluesteel » Sat May 09, 2009 6:56 pm

------
Im in! :D
------
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Ben
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Post by Ben » Wed May 13, 2009 7:36 pm

Nolans Brook...

How you guys planning on getting through 1-1.2 METRES of water? That is over the bonnet on Patrols, Cruisers etc, no standard Outback is getting through that unscathed...

If CREB is shut, take the coast road, nearly as fun but without the gate...


just something for consideration...

Oh yeah, RACQ Ultracare would be a VERY good idea, and also a spare set of shocks as the vehicle weight goes through them, I've broken L rears you can too!

Please watch before posting!


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Ben
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Post by Ben » Wed May 13, 2009 7:38 pm

BTW, Have a read of this

http://www.4wdaction.com.au/forum/showt ... hp?t=23641

more info on cape trips than you can poke numerous sticks at!

Please watch before posting!


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Fatz
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Post by Fatz » Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:25 am

any more updates on this?
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