Hi, first post and a fuel consumption question.

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Hi Buzzo, and welcome to the EO Forum.

Fuel consumption, together with tyres and batteries, will elicit widely varying responses.

I do not take detailed interest in my consumptions but on my first Simpson crossing some years back in a heavily laden Troopy carrying 180 litres diesel I was getting worried about the fuel gauge as we approached Mt Dare.
As it happens we arrived there with maybe 30 litres left in the tank, so we used about 150 litres.

These days we have a 180L long-range tank so all-up carry 270L and have no concerns.

So my 150L does not sit well with the figures provided in the EO file of "4cyl=91L, 6cyl=97L and 8cyl=92L". Don't understand how the 8cyl uses less than the 6cyl.

But lets see what others have to say.

G`day Buzzo welcome to the Forum.

Mate I reckon you might get some of the info you seek from some Blogs about crossing the Simpson.
On the blue bar at the top of the page click on the "menu " button, enter "Simpson Crossing" in the search box ... Hey Bingo.

I have a Blog there titled "Simpson Desert Double Crossing Trip Report August 2008" in page 3.
A while ago now but the info is still relevant.

Enjoy the trip and stay safe.

Scrubby

Birdsville to Oodnadatta in 75 series Troopy heavily loaded 120 litres ,return trip 119 litres via French line..If you have 170 litres of fuel heaps.

our last trip down the Hay River trk to Poepells an to B/Vlle
my GQ ute returned 480k out of the 90lt tank ,still had another 90lt tank to go
my petrol GQ used to do 130 lts for the same ks , glad I got rid of it
mechpete

Hi. I have crossed The Simpson Desert at least 10 times and have never used more than 120 litres even at the worst times when the sand is like talc (soft).
Always been diesel vehicles.

Thank you all for taking the time to reply.

My old girl is heavy enough and I didn't want to carry way more than necessary. The 95 litres for a crossing threw me a bit but I'll carry 40 litres on top of the 170 in the tanks. If the general consensus advised to take more I wouldn't hesitate.

This is the first desert trip for me and I can't wait.

Thank you.

I was of the understanding the extra fuel was in the event you had to return back for some reason ??? like weather rain precaution etc .

Got home last night after a recent Simpson crossing. Used 80L across French Line in 2015 Landcruiser V8 ute, Birdsville to Mt Dare.

Last year, used 103L via QAA Line, French Line, Knolls Track, Rig Road, WAA Line and onto Dalhousie, then Mt Dare.

If the weather looks good then 1 jerrycan should be enough. Take plenty of warm clothes, we had one morning at -3°!!!

Bob

G'day All.

Thank you again for the replies they helped.

I realise now why the question gets asked so much, because it's impossible to answer. The variation in consumptions are huge. I've never taken any interest in how much my ute used in general so had no idea of a figure to add 50% or 100% to as some information say as a guide. After making a big effort to know exactly how much I've used this trip so far it got messed up having to get rid of most of a tank full because it was full of sh@$... I put 51 litres @ $217. in at Mount Dare and got 110 km down the track before down to 40 kph flat out.....

Anyway I ended up taking an extra 20lt ( which was what got me to Oodnadatta after the bad tank full ) and used 125 litres from Birdsville to Mount Dare via the WAA line.

Best highway driving. 13lt/ 100km
First 300 km from Birdsville on WAA line. 24lt/ 100km.

BobY - that ute of yours is incredible on fuel. Is that just the crossing or from Birdsville to Mount Dare / Oodnadatta? We must have been close to crossing at the same time. I left Birdsville on the 8th June.

Deejay - I'm not sure how close to the gvm I am but it would be close to spot on. I built a new aluminium tray and canopy and have had it on the weigh bridge 3 times before hand. Lost close to 400kg after the diet.

Cheers
Steve

G'day Bob.

I enjoyed every minute of it and felt a bit sad it was all over. Can't wait to do more of it.

The worst dune I had to tackle was the very first one from Big Red. I used to live in Esperance and did a lot of beach and dune driving, but that was a long time back. I started a lot higher than I would have there at16/18psi in the tyres at big red. That first dune was soft with the big holes that I wasn't prepared to hit at great speed. I ended up taking three goes and with the tyres down to 10/12 got over it. I left them at that and never had a problem after that just a couple with driver error.

Cheers.
Steve.