Simpson desert in a jimny frenchline etc

Careful mate you’ll upset people have spent $200k on their vehicles to “do it the right way”

No reason you can’t as long as you have the fuel capacity

If you go early, Birdsville Races are on 6 & 7th September.

A Simpson Desert crossing could be about 600kms (off the top of my head). You will probably use 15 litres per 100 kms. Minimum fuel with no reserve works out to 90 litres assuming no detours and reasonable track conditions.

Hi Sean

You'll do it much easier than most . Just let your tyres down and take plenty of water and fuel.
Probably warm in September , but quite OK.
Have fun.

Cheers
Jim
ps give yourself a day or two to enjoy the Dalhousie hot springs.

Hi Sean,

Despite the comments from those who obviously do not have a well prepared Touring Rig, you can cross the Simpson Desert in pretty much any well prepared stock high ground clearance 4WD. My son crossed in a stock standard 4WD Hilux, no lift, no Bullbar, no winch and no Maxtrax. Whilst we carried these, he did not and did not need them. However, I would not recommend crossing without at least a set of 4 Maxtrax and a shovel, if you are travelling solo.

The secret is high ground clearance, correct tyre pressures, not being too heavy, and being able to carry enough fuel and supplies to last 4 to 5 days. Whilst it should not take you 5 days to cross, you need enough supplies, particularly water, to last until assistance arrives if you get stuck or breakdown. You should not rely on others for emergency food or water. If you know what your fuel consumption is like normally, you will need to make allowances for the extra you will use being in sand.

You will need a South Australian Desert Parks Pass, (obtainable online), a UHF Radio tuned to Channel 10, and an approved Sand Flag at the appropriate height and position on your vehicle, all are mandatory. A 5 Watt handheld radio will suffice, as long as you have a means of charging it along the way. A Satellite Phone whilst not mandatory would be good to have as well, you can hire one for the time it takes for the crossing. A PLB or EPIRB would also be a good addition in case the worst was to happen.

I would also recommend you contact The Birdsville Hotel and enquire about their Recovery Insurance. $499:00 I think. If you do not need it, you do not get your money back, but it is better than $10,000:00 minimum if you did need recovering and you did not have it, particularly if you are travelling solo.

I would recommend that you check the track conditions and the weather just before making the crossing. The track is likely to be cut up at that time of year, as both the Finke Desert Races, and the Birdsville Bash which were held in the last couple of weeks will have undoubtedly left the track in pretty bad shape.

Good luck, it is a great trip. Plan a stop at Dalhousie Springs for a dip. I have crossed three times, twice from West to East, and once from East to West, all on the QAA & French Lines.

Macca.

Sean

You will do it with ease and far easier than the most will admit.

The car's fine. About fuel, on very odd occasions, people have gone in a long way and had to turn around and come back because they can't get through. This can considerably add to the amount of fuel you need if you want to budget for rare events. Something to think about.

The most important consideration is tyre pressure management. Have a good quality, reliable compressor.
The lower the tyre pressure, the less you will bog and the lower the engine revs will need to be, so the lower the fuel consumption will be.
Sit on the top of the sand and climb the dunes at a fast idle. If you spin the wheels you failed. Let more air out and use less power.
Too low tyre pressure will overheat the tyres if your speed is too high. Slow down. Watch the tyre temperatures carefully.
Leave the maxtracs home. You won't need them if your tyre pressure is low enough and weight needs to be saved for fuel and water. Take the shovel.
Personally, I would not choose BFG AT tyres because they are 3 ply walls and that means they will get hotter due to the flexing when run at low pressures (edit), but many use them successfully and your big advantage is low weight. Keep it as low as possible.

The Simpson is much more that a 4WD challenge track across some dunes. The slower you can go the more you can absorb of the country. Take as long as your water will allow.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

find room for another 30l of petrol for the crossing depending on what your normal usage is. Manuals use much less in sand than autos as a rule. I did Hay river then into QLD last Sept during the heat wave - still was doable. Zukes are a match made in heaven for sand driving apart from the wheel tracks not matching the standard 'gauge'.

You wont have any issues doing the crossing, but you will regret it....being tossed around in suzi@15 km/hr. I found it taxing in my 200, had to swap drivers every 2 hours, shoulders and neck cop it from constant movement. Consider the rig road, and drop the tyres to 12 psi.
Your looking at 560kms of sand, halve the kms you can get out of 80 litres and that will give you an idea of how much you need for the crossing