Taka

Hi Koggers, I am tossing around the idea of taking the van down the Anne Beadell Highway. Has anyone completed this journey previously ? I am looking for information on the general road conditions, camps sites and fuel supplies. We have a XC3 19'6", sooped up 79 series and around 1500km fuel range. Any information would be great. Regards Taka

We also have a grey plastic box on our XC3. It has been great as an extra use of space on the draw bar, of course the tow ball weight can be an issue if you load it up. The only issue we have found is they sweat in direct sunlight, due to the box being air tight with no vents. We have our van stored outdoors & find after only a couple of weeks that the bottom of our box has an inch of water ! So now we keep the lid slightly opened to keep the air flowing through in storage. Hope this helps. Regards Taka

$714 NSW ...............

petdav30, My two bobs worth .......... We have a LC 79 series 2013 (3.8t fully loaded) with a 19"6 XC3 (3.5t fully loaded & 350kg tow ball) and found the correct suspension setup is by trial and error. Firstly we ripped out the standard suspension and installed TJM Gold with rear bellows. Towing around the Top End last year basically destroyed all components ($2,300 down the dunny). The bellows ($1,000) were set at around 70psi when fully loaded and we were using the WDH to gain a reasonable ride height, but the stiffness in the rear was horrible (pardon the pun). We were forced to install a GVM upgrade kit. Lovells gave us an extra 600kg of GVM ($5,000 with Engineers Plate) which has been fantastic. Birdsville Track this year proved the capability of Lovells. The bellows were set at 20psi and we did not use the WDH at all. Be careful though, the GCM does not go up when you upgrade the GVM ! With ARB OME suspension, I believe that the upgrade amount (kg) is less than that of Lovells for your vehicle, I may be wrong though. If I had my time over again, I would take the vehicle & van fully loaded to a Registered Weigh Bridge and find out the axle / overall loads before I purchase any suspension. For $30 it would of saved me around $3,000 ! I should of listened to the missus ............. Regards Taka

Hi Roly, We have an onboard ARB twin air compressor with a tank in our 70 series Land Cruiser. The 50 amp fuse has blown about 6 times & one of the compressors died after excessive heat build up (replaced under warranty). To fill up eight tyres (265/75/16) takes a while and the compressor does not stop during this time. I would suggest speaking with Pirtek about hoses as they are more hardy (5m for the vehicle & another 10m for the van). In summary, I would not purchase the ARB air compressor again. PS The vehicle must be running while the compressor is being used. Regards Taka

Hi Andy & Di, We have a 79 single cab GXL & a XC3. We travelled around the Top End for six months last year and certainly had problems with both vehicle & van. Please contact me 0400332499 , I would be happy to offer our experience. Regards Clive & Jude

Hi Leon, I strongly recommend CSM Canopies, the options are endless, the before & after sales service is similar to Kedron. You are paying for what you get ... the best canopy on the market. I took my canopy into Arnhem Land, Mitchell Falls, Tanami, Oodnadatta, Strezlecki last year & did not have one spec of dust in the canopy. Mine was a little over $21k, but worth every penny. You can either a fitment to a tray or directly to the chassis. They also have a branch at Warwick, QLD that produces the canopies. Some branches install only. Regards Taka

Hi Tolley, I went there last year, I am contactable over the weekend if you need info. My details should be on the contact list. Regards Taka.

Hi Koggers, We have our Q in the forward storage box next to the awning arm. I basically have it strapped down by a simple ratchet strap. There are two eye bolts that have been drilled through the floor (either side of the Q) to fasten it. We have just completed 6 months across the top end, driving down every dirt road we could find and never had an issue with the Q coming loose or fat coming out of the catch tray. Be sure not to use your Q under the awning as it can damage the material ! We travelled the Strezlecki track about 4 weeks ago and found it was a shocker ! The whole 475km was rocky due to numerous road trains carving it up, hopefully by the time you are on it the road crews may of patched it up. I have heard that the old strezlecki track is a good alternative. Happy travels .... Taka

Hi Koggers, I hope I don't scare you but I have just had a interesting conversation with a couple who just bought a 200 series. They are retired and doing the big lap with a "New Age" van, weighing in at 3400kg fully laden. Their first tug was a 3 year old BT50 (that has similar stats to the 70 series), the first motor blew up in Mt Isa & the second in Broome 6 months later. From what they were saying it was basically the timing belt going each time. As I have stated previously, our tug is a sooped up 70 series dragging our XC3 around the top end for the last six months. I am definitely not a "one eyed cruiser driver" but would not have the confidence in a BT / Ranger, A lot of the vehicles you see towing vans around 3.5t are cruisers, mainly due to power & availability of spares in all areas. In hindsight though, we wish that we had purchased a ATV, due to the heavy duty suspension. We have been down every dirt road in the top end (gibb, Tanami, Mitchell falls, old Ghan, strezlecki, Oodnadatta, savannah, Nhulunbuy etc etc) that is out there and found the XC3 to have a few issues that a heavier suspension would of handled with ease. We are currently thinking of selling our van for a ATV / TE3 or going to replace the existing suspension with the cruise master load sharing. Regards Taka

Hi Koggers, Just an update on our recent trip. The old Ghan track was certainly that, lots of rocks that chewed the mud tyres to shreds ! We spent the night in at Lamberts Centre and the road was sandy but doable. The road became worse around Mt Dare & Dalhousie Springs to a point where the shakes were frustrating, it was possibly the worst 150km of road we have seen in Oz !!! From Hamilton station (SA) to Oodnadatta to Coober Pedy the road turned out flat and fantastic, the section through the Painted Desert was the best in Oz !!! From Coober Pedy towards William Creek & down to Lyndhurst was another great dirt road with plenty of old Ghan stuff to see along the way. The Strzelecki track started bad and became worse the closer we came to Innamincka. Bull dust holes & carved up sections due to the numerous truck movements. The 475km to Innamincka took 8 hours with few stops along the way !!! The bitumen road from Innamincka to Thargomindah turned out to be a little lumpy in sections. Another of our mud tyres became a $450 sacrifice due to a pair of scissors being on the road !!! Overall the cheese & kisses is happy to be away from THE DUST ....... On to the factory now to have Tom earn his money & fix a small list of issues !!! Regards Taka

Hi Jeff, We have the same issue with our hot water system, it's more like a dust factory !!! How are you rectifying this issue ? Regards Taka

Hi Koggers, Thanks. Once again a wealth of information from fellow Koggers. Regards Taka

Hi Koggers, Does anyone have current info on these tracks. Regards Taka

Hi Koggers, Update on the Tanami. The road was easy. The first 50kms from Halls creek was a little rough but still able to drive at 60-70kmph. Around the border and down to Floodout Creek was a dream. Bililuna & Yuendumu were a mess & not worth going into. We only suffered one flat. We were lucky enough to catch up to Ernie & Margaret from Queensland in Tilmouth who have a new TE & 70 series. The road is doable over two big days of 500km each. The Tanami was a road we always wanted to complete and driving into the west Mac ranges was awesome and worth every corrugation. Camping was a dream with heaps of gravel pits off the road. We saw 9 ford falcons driven at light speed & three road trains. We counted 51 rolled cars, so be careful. Most of the road is 40m across & with a small amount of cattle. Regards Taka

Hi Koggers, I also have the black view camera, it's great. The best on the market. Regards Taka

Hi GraemeY, We decided on the XC3 due to it being lighter (and a little cheaper) than the ATV & TE. I have heard from some Koggers on the road that the tare weight (empty) can be higher than what is stated on the compliance plate. Our van is currently 3.48t fully ladened. The difference to tare is around 800kgs. I know of some vans nudging 4t ! We are lucky our tug is a 70 series landcruiser and can drag it anywhere. However a ford ranger may struggle a little & you may need to drop a little weight to help it out. I hope this helps. Regards Taka

Hi Koggers, Thanks for the info

Hi Koggers, The GRR was in great condition, Kalumburu road was a little bumpy, but the Mitchell falls road was ordinary but doable. We loved our time at Middle Lagoon (near Cape Leveque), we caught up with Chris & Lyn & their TE. Great spot ..... worth a week or two ! We are leaving Broome tomorrow morning and making our way to Halls Creek. Does anyone know of the condition of the Tanami Desert Road ? We have heard conflicting reports ...

Hi Koggers, I am sad to be posting again ..... Our replacement hitch pin has been found after 10 days to be bent like a banana !!! Obviously the issue is serious enough to have Joe from McHitch send a complete housing & auto coupler to us in Broome. Regards Taka

Hi Chris & Lyn, It would be great to catch up somewhere along the way. We have a silver XC3, silver 79 series & have a white Maltese poodle (Taka). Regards Clive & Jude

Hi Koggers, We are relaxing in Kununurra for a few days and will be doing the GRR over the next 3 weeks. It would be great to catch up. Regards Taka

Hi Koggers, Basically it was a incorrect placement of the large washer. It has to be placed in the groove between the removeable hitch plate & the main housing, thus creating a 2-3mm gap between the two. The large washer cannot be under the housing (touching the spring washer). The strange thing is, I find it hard to understand that a simple washer placed incorrectly could of resulted in a disaster. Luckily we were in a carpark when it happened & not on the Gibb ! The hitch is a 3.5t McHitch. Joe from McHitch has been a great help getting parts to us in Kununurra WA. I have taken photos but am unable to post, sorry. I hope this helps. If there is anything else don't hesitate in contacting. Regards Taka

Hi Koggers, I am wondering if anyone has had their hitch pin break ? The hitch we are using at the moment is a McHitch 3.5t. The breakage came thankfully in a car park & not at speed. If we were on the road, it may of been catastrophic to say the least. Regards Taka

Hi Koggers, We made it to Gove from Katherine in 11 hours, 90% of the road is drivable at 80kph. Gove was a surprise, we expected worse. From all the travelers we have spoken to over the last couple of weeks, we almost didn't come here. They are wrong ! Regards Taka (the dog)