Crazy American with a wild dream

[killa]

That's kinda why I posted the xxxPedition links, that's exactly the pretense of their trip. A holiday in their XJ. As it happened they parted with the vehicle instead of taking it home but that was not the initial intent or the conditions under which they got the vehicle to Australia.

[Crackles]

Gaday Brandon. A great dream you have & one many here do every year. A transcontental crossing usually starts at Cape Byron on the East coast & ends at Steep Point on the West coast. June to September would be the best time to go with cooler temperatures & a higher likelyhood of tracks being open. You have quite a few options as to possible routes from main dirt roads to cross country trackless desert driving. Up to you depending on how adventurous you are. A couple of features of touring the Australian outback are the very rough roads & the long distances between services requiring a heavy duty suspension to carry the extra fuel & water etc. For this reason I'd suggest having a vehicle prepared in Australia rather than bringing something accross from the states that may not be quite as suitable for the conditions. To start with the majority here choose diesels for touring as they have a far greater range.
A few highlights accross the middle are Coongie Lakes, Birdsville, the Simpson Desert, Alice Springs, Uluru, the Gunbarrel Highway & the Canning stock Route.
http://www.exploroz.com/Default.aspx is probably one of the better internet recources for researching where to go & what to see when touring Australia.

[KillaAirborne82]

I'm quite surprised, I go to bed and wake up and you guys are all over this. I took a quick look at that XXXpedition site and that's very very similar to what I want to do. I have plenty of time to figure this out, It's only been on my before I die to do list for about 2 weeks, so I think I have about 10 bucks saved for the trip. Obviously this is not a trip you plan overnight, but I have plenty of time to figure it out. I originally got the idea from a November 2009 copy of Motor Trend magazine. In that magazine there were a couple of guys that crossed Australia straight across the middle in a Mini Cooper. While I'm not that crazy of a person to do it in a Mini, I am daring enough to do it in a properly outfitted 4 wheel drive vehicle. So the next question is if not a Mini then what vehicle? For me there is only one answer to that question. A Jeep. Why not I've owned 4 and I have off-roaded them in many places across US from the beaches on the Outer Banks here in North Carolina to the deserts out west. The Jeep has never let me down. I have used and abused them and they take it, and when tested 1 has saved my life in a head on collision and rolling 3 times with only a broken bone in my foot and a couple scars to show for. My passenger had only seat belt bruises. Some of my friends are like why don't you get a land rover or something. To that I say, "Dude! I'm not freaking Steve Irwin and this isn't an Outback Steakhouse Commercial." It's true I'm American and I can't deny that so why not drive my favorite American car, The Jeep, Faithfully serving America since World War II. But also for me I think it would be a lot like seeing the old American west when it was still wild. I've always wanted to see Australia since I saw the Movie Quigley Down Under when I was a kid, and meeting an Australian Army Officer and becoming friends with him when I was in the Army myself sparked my curiosity with seeing Australia even more. Then after reading this article I have finally decided how I'm gonna do it. Now I just gotta figure out all the details and save money, when everything is in place and the money is there I'll go.

[carvesdodo]

Originally Posted by KillaAirborne82

Quigley Down Under

...........






I did a few miles over a few years, running around over here in a TJ.

Fuel capacity/consumption is your main issue ... especially in the more remote areas.

Carrying extra is the second - 5 jerrycans fit just nice across the back between the wheel arches

Carrying anything else is your third ...

Pick the season you come over with care too ... If you come over with your TJ wanting to do the big miles in our hot season .... make sure the cooling system would be happy working real hard in the middle of a Texas summer.

Our hot season is also the wet one (normally) and lots of spots can be inaccessible.

Most of our outback dirt roads are what you lot call, "washboard roads" I think ... so keep spanners handy for doing stuff up. Some of those dodgy little trail racks might not survive the distance either.

X 2 on the exploroz site for good info.

[KillaAirborne82]

Well for me the first hurdle for this trip is Funding. No money = no trip. But seeing some of the sites you guys have pointed out to me, it might be possible for me to get at least a partial sponsorship. Sponsorship is something I never really considered before. Who knows maybe I can get one of these automotive magazines here at home to sponsor the trip if I write an article and take lots of pictures about the experience. I was thinking maybe I can make a website and put everything about my planning and considerations for the trip and then put the actual trip on the site. As far as the vehicle itself goes there is a lot to consider in just shipping or purchasing it locally. I have to research the local car market there, I need to know the values of vehicles here compared to there, taxes, legal restrictions both in Australia and in the United States both. And then there are shipping cost even if I buy it there, cause obviously Jeep doesn't ship them to Australia for free. Then there is choosing the car that will actually make the trip. I know the outback is a wild and dangerous place, far from help and it will take lots of extra supplies, including parts, tools, water, gas, food, etc. and the car has to be big enough and ready for that. I used to live in West Texas and would consider it like driving out there but on dirt roads. I would actually like to talk to the guy that made that XXXpedition site. I would like to know why he chose an older XJ, and why he equipped it the way he did if he wished there was anything he would have done different. I have no issue with XJs I've owned 2 of them and loved them. I'm just concerned about driving an older vehicle in the outback when reliability is paramount. Although it would definitely be cheaper! But on the other end of the double edged sword I feel driving too new of a car might be a liability as well considering the car hasn't proven itself yet, cause yes I don't care what manufacture you choose there are lemons that come from the factory. Ask me about my last Volkswagen. But so far I am very appreciative of everyone's input, because again this is something that I don't think has been accomplished very often, and it is obvious it is something I can't do by myself. I have a lot of work and research ahead of me to make this dream a reality, but I feel that this dream can be made into a reality.

[superchicken]

Hey Killa
I see you reside in fayettenam. Say hello to the flaming Mug if it still exists.
What unit?
Formerly Sgt P 3/319

[KillaAirborne82]

Originally Posted by superchicken

Hey Killa
I see you reside in fayettenam. Say hello to the flaming Mug if it still exists.
What unit?
Formerly Sgt P 3/319

Well the flaming mug doesn't exist anymore cause I've never heard of it. But I'm not in the Army anymore. I've been out for the last couple of years. I was assigned to 82nd Sig when I was assigned here. I actually got out from Ft. Bliss and my wife is a DA Civilian and took a transfer to Ft. Bragg when I got out. I just came back here cause of her taking that job.