Safest for CSR/Spinifex: Ute/Wagon/Petrol/Diesel?

Ben, a 4.5 petrol Patrol is a pretty ancient vehicle, no Cat to get very hot, so much less of a fire risk. I would get a diesel vehicle as petrol maybe very difficult to source on the Canning. As to direction of travel, pick which ever suits you, from my experience it won't matter, unlike the Simpson. Good luck with what ever you buy and enjoy your trip.

Any diesel vehicle which was made pre-DPF. I was in a party with one of the newer Prados that went up in flames because of spinifex on the track.
And north to south would be my recommendation.
Cheers

North to south as the sun is generally behind you. Diesel a hell of a lot safer and better range. A diesel without a DPF under the car that could catch grass. ALL Isuzu's with a PDF filter have the filter tucked very safely in the engine bay which is where they are the most efficient.

Hi Ben,

For my money, I would be looking at a 79 Series Dual Cab. Much stronger vehicle in stock standard form, plus parts availability if you are unfortunate enough to break something.

Definitely Diesel, more likely to find diesel in remote areas than petrol, I would not use Opal Fuel petrol if I could avoid it.

As far as spinifex is concerned, good regular inspection and clearing the offending material is always a good idea. The weed sprayer sounds like a good idea, make sure it is in easy reach, but do not get complacent thinking I can put a fire out if I have to. Nothing beats preventative maintenance.

Macca.

Ben - Nothing wrong with a Petrol if cost is your consideration. "If"and only IF you are looking at older petrol Patrols try and snag a "good" GQ with a Carby RB30 they would arguably have to be one of the most field servicable, reliable and competent 4bys left. They are very reliable up to 400-500,000ks if maintained properly with very little ongong maintenence needed on motor/drivetrain etc. Good ground clearance and easy to access underneath if 2" lift and reasonably sized tyres. (I assume you are mechanically adept and can sort out preventative maintenence etc to ensure it is reliable) They were a very underestimated engine when they first came out, but time has proven them to be reliable and capable. It will be predictably thirsty but not as bad as some as fuel consumption is proportional in those carbies to pedal pressure. If you are poking along in 3rd hardly touching the pedal on a dirt track they still get 15lit 100km (properly tuned).
I assume you dont want to spend a fortune and need something that is relatively easy to get up to scratch for such a trip. Whatever you choose second hand will require a lot of attention to detail.
I have driven just about everything in my time including heavy machinery etc and I still own a 32 year old one of these for these very reasons. If you end up going this way message me and I can give you some tips...

Ben,
We did CSR in Aug ‘19, with 3 Landcruisers, a chopped 80 & a pair of single cab 79’s. Much of the stock route had been burnt out, so spinifex was of little worry, both on & off the track.

However, in 2017, we did a trip along a number of Len Beadell’s tracks, and the Prado & PK Ranger in the group were regularly cleaning spinifex out of bash plates & suspension parts. The two other vehicles in the group, a 105 wagon & a 79 ute, rarely needed anything more than a quick inspection. Any vehicle with a large bulk of IFS front suspension, and only moderate ground clearance seem to be the main offenders.

I’d be suggesting vehicles like 100 series wagons with 1HDFTE engine, 79 utes with either of 3 engines available but preference being the factory turbo 6, if you can find one for less than $50K. Nissan Y62 if you can carry enough petrol?

Bob

Spinifex is a problem early in the season - so if you are worried about it, leave your trip until July onwards.
Don't hear much about vehicles burning on the Canning in recent years but I guess its been closed for 2 years now.
My Troopy has a DPF but it is well covered and its hard to see where grass could possibly build up. Toyota did start using a modified DPF guard back in 2019 (they did a recall) and you can do a manual DPF burn before heading into tall grass.

Petrol vehicles run much hotter exhausts and the fuel itself is much more dangerous in a fire so I'd feel safer in a diesel even with a DPF.

TESLA maybe ???

No DPF and good for the environment apparently !!


Enjoy your trip whatever you take

Cheers
Gazz

It was a long time ago (2003) but my (archived) thread #7590 may be of interest ...............

Thank you very much to all of you for the responses, it has helped me a lot. After further research on here, I'm now leaning away from a dual cab 4cyl and towards a 6cyl Troopy due to the sheer amount of fuel, water, food, camping gear and spares required with 3 people in the vehicle. Unless the electric vehicle charging stations get installed at Well 33 and Durba Springs very shortly? Just kidding, my budget is probably $20K 'ready to go'. I'll likely find a cheaper vehicle and have it thoroughly inspected, make sure it has a new battery, tyres, alternator, starter, water pump, radiator, timing belt and service it etc. before we go. Aiming for July 2023, hence why I'm beginning planning now. Cheers everyone :)

Have a read of this thread some archived EO experience and wisdom.