Petrol consumption on the Simpson

Wayne,

all fair comments.

Just how much extra fuel is the question. I believe if anyone has done the same trip in the same vehicle, I can use that as a guide as to what my usage could be like. Of course there is always the chance that one could get 3/4 of the way across, and be forced to turn around. All things obviously need to be considered.

Brian

Brian,

The reason why no one can say how much extra fuel is required is because we would need a bit more info.

What track/s do you plan to use?
How fast do you plan to drive over the dunes?
What tyre pressure do you plan to use?
How often do you plan to use the air con?
How many attempts have you planed for each dune?
Do you plan to get bogged in the sand and how many times?
Do you plan to use high range and how often?
Do you plan to use low range and how often?
What gear do you plan to use?
Will you leave the gear box in drive if it is an auto?
What gear will you use if it is a manual gearbox?
Where do you plan to fill with fuel before the start of the Simpson crossing?
Do you plan to have a clean fuel filter before the crossing?
Do you plan to have a clean air filter before the crossing?
Do you plan to assist an other vehicle if it is stuck?

After you have answered all of the above I will need to know the following.

How hot will the sand be?
How many vehicles have been through before you?
How deep are the wheel tracks in the sand?
How soft will the sand be?
Which way will the wind blow?
Will the clay pans be soft?
Will there be any rain?

After all that I can tell you how much extra fuel you will need.




I am not having a go at you but to answer you question on how much fuel is required for this trip is an unknown.
I would say that on past experience the standard tanks on you Cruiser will not make the crossing. Fitting a bigger after market tank and you should make the crossing.

Wayne

Wayne,

yes.

thanks
Brian

Geeeeeezus Wayne,

Asking your self all those questions, It's a wonder you even leave your house!!!!!!!!! LOL

Ingo57,

And you thought that is was easy doing what I do for a job.

Wayne

Thanks RobA.

I have made plans to do a weekend of sand driving at Stockton Beach. It will give me some idea of consumption.

When you say "... we always require a petrol vehicle to carry 220l as a minimum.. " does that mean that you are involve in "tag alongs" or something similar?

Thanks for the figures.

Brian

Brian we have been doing 4WD club trips and tours for around 12 years and average two Simpson crossings per year. We also operate a remote area risk management consulting service so we spend a lot of time in the bush. We use a 120 V6 Prado which weighs around 2900kg when it leaves Oodnadatta and if we use the Rig Road, Knolls Track and QAA to get to Birdsville then we use around 160l. Our planning figure is 20l per 100km and we normally average around 17l per 100km. So 200-220l is about right, Check out the Treks section of this website for some excellent information on fuel consumption for all types of vehicles on all sorts of tracks. If you also look at any of the commercial tour operator websites you will see all of them use a planning figure of 200l for a crossing. This allows for all of the variables already mentioned in this post, including how well the vehicle is set-up, tyre pressure, track conditons and most importantly the skill of the driver in the conditions. Those with not a lot of experience tend to over drive their vehicles in low or high range and this increases fuel consumption and stress levels considerably. We do the tracks mentioned above in high range, albeit their may be specific occassions where low range may be called for such as some of the descents on the QAA.

If you have not done one then I suggest a good 4WD training course to understand the key to good off-road driving and that is this thing called "momentum" and to understand your vehicle in a wide range of situations. I know a little of Stockton beach and from what I have seen it is nothing like the Simpson, apart from the sand. But with the right trainer I am sure you would get a lot from a sand training weekend there.

I hope that helps

Regards

RobA

Thanks RobA.

All good info and advice. The same sort of advice that I knew was "out there", so I appreciate you taking the time and sharing it.

Regards
Brian

Hi Phil

We have a 2005 LC 100 seires diesel. You mentioned replacing the sub tank with a bigger one.

Would this mean moving the spare from underneath?

Phil

Phil,
Yes, you have to put that spare elsewhere. Can become a very expensive exercise - $1200 for the tank; $3000 for the twin rear wheel carriers, and then you find the rear springs sag too much, so you fit heavier rear springs. Ends up costing you $5000 to carry extra fuel for the rare trip where you need it. And all the extra weight is behind the rear axle which is not good. I know some people who have baulked at all that and just put 2 spares on the roofrack.

The other downsides are that the gauge will never work as well as a factory gauge; aftermarket tanks often crack; and big tanks are more likely to grow a bit of algae because they don't get emptied as often.

Cheers
Phil

Thats what we thought.

OUCH.

Phil,

Again it would depend and there are a lot of variables.

120 Lt's should get you across with a 6cyl diesel.

What vehicle do have? It will make a difference as to carrying fuel.

Wayne

2005 land cruiser, 100 series 4.2 turbo diesel. All up weight is around 3000kg when fully loaded. Just the standard main and sub tanks with total fuel about 140Lt. Sorry that figure is a guess as my memory is not the best and the book is in the car with my wife on a training course. Only the two of us in the car. All extra seat removed to make room for us to sleep in the back when setting up in bad weather.

We get 12lt per 100km on good dirt such as Mildura up to Menindee and then to Canberra via the dirt roads.

My NP diesel used 95L from Birdsville to Mt Dare in 2006 on a very soft crossing. The few time I got bogged was by not using enough power to get to the crest. I carried 130L.

Wherehego,

thanks for the offer to chase additional info, but I think I now have enough examples to make a decision on what I'll actually carry.

Brian

Hi stev how u hows the new prado t/d going do u like better than petrol ?gee never thought you would cross over,an i mean from petrol-diesel lol not the cloths lol
cheers rusty

Yeah all good. Buying a caravan later this year so wanted some thing that will tow without being tooooo heavy on the fuel like the V6 was. Get around the 10L per 100 highway cycle so extremely happy with that. No doubt it will be around the 13/14's when towing going by the replys I have had/read etc. The turbo motors make a huge difference compared to the old hilux 2.8D bit like the old Navara eh LOL. Looked at an 80 series TD in Melbourne (rare as rocking horse sh@t with the multivalve engine (95 to 98) but was a bucket so went with the prado. While it wont have the off road capability of the cruisers or the patrols like yours it will do what we want it for. Snorkel going on in a week or too then the suspension, then bullbar. Need to save a few more $$ again. Can contact me via same home email address, dont like chatting on line on this forum, would send you private email but as your not a member (not been rude) I cant send them to you privately and will get pinged on here for using it like a chat forum. Take care speak to you soon.... Steve PS will never see me crossing over, cloths that is lol.........