Anyone towed along GRR with standard shocks?
 

G’day brains trust ;)

Not too long from now we are heading to the Kimberley and will have 2 months exploring from Lake Argyle to Broome/Cape Leveque. Heading across from Sydney via Oodnadatta and back via Tanami spending a month either side of the Kimberley. We are towing a trailer weighing 1350kg , 110kg on ball. Estimate there will be an additional 150-200kg of ‘stuff’ in the Jeep.

Read many stories of Gibb River Rd corrugations destroying standard shocks, and it ain’t necessarily Jeeps.

Has anyone towed GRR with standard shocks, and did they hold up? What did you tow and how heavy ?Doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with standard shocks at present.

We have CRDSTU/Murchison springs fitted, but nervous about shocks. Car is 2012 WK2, has 46000km on it, reckon we will be doing around 15000km on this trip. Plus it wouldn’t be cheap to get new shocks sent to Mt Barnett or Kunnanurra and probably not something that mechanics would stock....

Have looked at Dobinsons website, rear shocks are not ‘self levelling’, not sure how important this is or how it works? Towing capacity is also reduced to 2500kg. At times we do tow my dads off road van that is 2500kg so nervous that they may not stand up to towing this off road ?

Any feedback from those that have towed on heavily corrugated roads would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

I did it in my Nissan Patrol a few years back. Stock standard, replaced the shocks about 4 years later at 190000. Don't think I could blame the GRR

Maybe order a genuine spare set from US and put them in your car for the trip?

We did the GRR twice in our 2012 WK2 towing our 2300kg van - in 2013 and 2015.
That vehicle (as is our 2015 WK2), had the Quadralift suspension.
We had no issues with shocks or any other components - the road was rough, but not horrible by my standards and in comparison to many others we have travelled over the years.
Whether the road has been graded, the speed you travel and the loading in the vehicle will be big influences on the experience you have.
By far the biggest issue is dealing with the idiots on the road travelling at high speed and trailing a rooster tail of rocks. A high percentage are towing camper trailers and have the usual three weeks to get up and back from the southern states.
We've done the Gibb 8 times over the years including up to Kalumbaru, and won't go back - gorgeous country but not worth the risk for us now - we saw it first in 1990 when it was a real adventure.
Take it quietly, allow plenty of time to get into campsites early and enjoy the experience - most of all go safe.
John

I second what JnK says. We did it in a 2013 with Quadralift, towing around 1700 kg and well loaded in the car. Take it easy and duck when the looneys blast past. There was a group of Germans in 20 G-Wagons doing it when we drove it. Half of them drove sensibly, the other half drove like it was an autobhan - at around 120 km/h or more.

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...pslbcy8ovg.jpg

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...psuamx0aki.jpg

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...pssmp2hzzw.jpg

The corrugations can be ugly, so just drive to the conditions. And watch carefully for the bulldust holes. Some of them went for a few hundred metres. The later in the season, the worse they get.

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...psdpfkopbh.jpg

Make sure you have some scones at Ellen Brae.

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...pssi7upmux.jpg

The Cape Levique road can be fun. They just keep grading it deeper and deeper and sometimes it is like driving a waterslide - the edges of the road just curve up to over two metres above the bottom and when you pass an oncoming car you drive up the sidewalls. There are a few patches of serious corrugations usually.

We camped on the dune crest at Middle Lagoon.

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...psqnyse6dr.jpg

It was great until the wind got up...

The Tanami is highly variable. We were very lucky and had five grader crews busily flattening it out for us so we had an easy run. People who drove it two weeks ahead of us had a horrible time.

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...pstbral1he.jpg

There is a very handy off the road campsite south of The Granites near Refridgerator Bore. You will come across a stretch of bitumen in the middle of nowhere, south of The Granites. At the southern end of it there are a couple of tracks heading to the left - east - through the scrub. Follow the first one in to an old grader camp a few hundred metres off the road. The road is bitumen so there is no dust and it is quieter. Great spot! A passing truckie told us about it.

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...psliahqggn.jpg

There are a lot of trucks on the Tanami. Just call them on Channel 40 and they will pull over to the downwind side of the road so you can overtake on the dustfree side of the road. They were all great and very helpful. They drive the route every day.

Have a great trip.

Cheers
Numb Thumbs ;)

I really enjoyed that write up! Thanks for posting it and it makes me want to jump in the Jeep and head over there right now...
Just out of curiosity, what is that camper trailer and how did it perform?

Thanks, Hoppy99.

The camper is a VistaRV Crossover XL, built in Bayswater, Victoria. It performed flawlessly, as always. It has superb suspension, plenty of storage, large, well designed kitchen, very quick setup / pack up and is very comfortable. Inside there is a queen sized bed, table and seating for 4, sink and an 80 litre Waeco compressor fridge. It comes with the sail awning with two walls as in the photos and you can also get a full annexe. There is an ensuite available which erects at the rear. We owners call it a camper trailer because the kitchen is outside.

Our XL with the ensuite and annexe:

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...ps05lctufe.jpg

The owners Group Forum is here:

http://forum.australia4wd.com/index....-owners-group/

We have had one since 2010 - the original model, now referred to as the VistaRV Crossover Classic - and sold that a little while ago - for what we paid for it - and moved up to the XL which is 300 mm longer and has all the latest updates and a larger kitchen. We have taken it all over the place and our fellow owners have been everywhere we haven't!

Here is mine in a few places:

Lake Eyre

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...psulp0ij7w.jpg

Quick lunch on the Oodnadatta Track:

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...psgsiodjy8.jpg

Seventeen at last year's Hasta la Vistas, camped at Blue Holes

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...psfdrz9cuo.jpg

A few of us at Cameron Corner

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...psfyfb9wpr.jpg

Birdsville

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...ps57414648.jpg

Haddon Corner

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...ps3b936255.jpg

Our first Crossover, camped in the Wonnangatta

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...g/IMGP0252.jpg

Give me a PM if you want to know anything about them...

Cheers
Numb Thumbs ;)