File =	SimDes2012.htm
Introduction		We had done a previous Simpson Desert crossing, many years ago, in our
Nissan Pathfinder 4WD, with no problems at all. Now I was keen to see how my Beach Buggy could
handle this trip. My friend, Yolanda  was not enthusiastic on doing a rough bumpy ride, exposed to the
elements, with the possibility of having to dig or push in the sandhills or muddy tracks. Therefore, my
mate Matt volunteered to come along, as did Tratty, another very keen Buggy owner & club member.
The plan was to head for Birdsville in 2 days, about 1,600 km., then do a leisurely crossing of the
520 km., desert from Birdsville to Mt. Dare, stopping midway and at Dalhousie Hot Springs, to
freshen up. After fuelling up at Mt. Dare, we would return the same way to Birdsville and home.
BlueV2, another Buggy club member, did this trip several years ago, with no problems.
Map of our travels.
Planned tot. distance=		4,682 km
(Tewantin to Mt Dare & return)
As it turned out,I had to turn back
about 10 km west of  Big Red,
which is the start of the desert,
due to  unfixable car problems.
These are described in the text.
The dotted route, west of
Birdsville, via Dalhousie Springs
to Mt. Dare, is the desert proper
and is approx. 520 km in length.
The approach roads from say
Brisbane to Birdsville are
excellent, and good for 100 ++
You may need spare petrol from
Windorah to Birdsville, 388 km, doing say 120 ++ kph.
Preparation.		My Buggy had been thoroughly serviced at Noosa, with particular emphasis to
fix my sticking throttle, which would happen often, when driving in soft sand. The sand would go into
the cable guide and jam open, requiring constant blipping of the throttle. The mechanics assured me
that this problem had been fixed !! (they blew the guide clean but failed to put in a "sand stopper")
Petrol	The distance without petrol, Birdsville to Mt., Dare was					520	km
	Petrol available in Buggy =			40	litres
	Spares taken, 3 * 20 Lt. =			60	litres
			TOTAL carried=	100	litres
	Available Consumption=520/100=			5.2	km./lt.	I usually do about 10 to 11 km/lt
travelling fast on bitumen, therefore, 6 to 7 km/lt. should be safe going slow on sandhills and tracks.
BlueV2, another club member, reckoned 2 * 20lt. was all the extra he needed. I decided to play safe.
Recovery gear		We packed :- Good shovel and axe, snatch strap, 2 MaxTrax (just as well !!)
		VW Nuts recommended the 2 MaxTrax, for which we were grateful.
		Also a  good 12 volt air compressor, with a narrow "nozzle" to blow dry spark
		covers, should they get wet.
Spare wheels		I decided on one (1) spare wheel only, plus 2 spare tubes + good repair kit.
		Spare wheels occupy much space and weigh a fair bit.
		Didn't expect any punctures in the desert sand, so 1 spare wheel should be Ok.
		Elsewhere, you are no more than 1/2 day from tyre repairs.
==============================================================================
Tools & spares		Carried a comprehensive (and heavy) tool kit, for changing wheels and
		repairing tyres + minor repairs. No other spares parts were carried.
		There are usually several cars a day on the desert tracks, so you can get help
		within 1 to 3 days, at worst.
Food, water, booze.		Since we only expected to spend 2 days camping in the desert, we carried
		minimal "dry" food, 10 lt. of water, + 30 cans of beer + some soft drinks.
		All other times, we would be in hotels/motels with food/drinks readily available.
Communications		Mobile phones worked  west to Charleville, then only at Birdsville (Telstra 3G)
		I had a 406 Epirb for emergencies, in case of roll-over or injuries.
Dune Flag		You need a dune flag to warn oncoming traffic at the crests of steep dunes, of
		your approach. I had a 2700 bamboo pole, fixed thru my roof cage and floor.
		Since I didn't have a Buggy club banner, Yolanda stitched me an elaborate
		black "scull and crossbones" on a red background. Took her 6 hours.
Parj at Tratty's place, showing off his dune flag.					Tratty and Matt, in front of Green Monster.
	Trip Narrative		Commencing from Kedron, Brisbane, Sat., 12 May 2012.
We headed off at 1st light, to meet up with Tratty. Took some "START" photos and headed west.
The day was clear and sunny but I soon noticed that I had forgotten my driving gloves, as it was
freezing cold . A warm jacket and beanie helped. Our days target was Charleville, about 750 km.
Tratty noticed he was using a fair amount of oil, so he had to stop between fuel stops to top up.
The second day, target was Charleville to Birdsville, 842 km. Sunny and clear, easy going, sitting on
110 to 120 most of the way. About 100km from Windorah, the bitumen became a good gravel road.
We lowered our tyre pressures and pressed on. Tratty had forgotten to buy more oil at Windorah,
and had to stop about 60 km from Birdsville, as his oil pressure was getting dangerously low.
I towed him the 60 km to Birdsville, in the fading light, then darkness. No problem with little traffic,
but I had to wait about 1/2 hour for the sun to set, as it was shining directly into my eyes.
We had to tent it that night, as there was something on in Birdsville, using up all the accommodation.
Cooper Creek, near Windorah					Bridge over Cooper Creek, plenty of water.
==============================================================================
Next morning, after a good breakfast at Birdsville bakery (opens 6.30 am) we went to the B'Ville
servo to get our desert supplies of Extra fuel, (& oil for Tratty) Water, food, desert pass $125 etc.
Then there was a 30 km stretch to Big Red, where the Simpson desert commences. Arriving at Big
Red, we had a 10 km detour around a flooded patch to get to the bottom of Big Red. Alarm bell were
ringing while on this detour. My Buggy was scrapping the bash plate badly, while on the wheel tracks
of this detour. Also, the sand was causing my accelerator to jam wide open. I had to be constantly
blipping the throttle to slow down the revs, which immediately started again the minute I touched the
accelerator !! Apparently, the LOAD from the Extra fuel, water, tools, spares, equipment had lowered
my Buggy rear such that my bash plate was touching the ground and acting like a SAND ANCHOR !!
Towing Tratty, 60 km to Birdsville.					He had run out of Top up oil, going fast !
Birdsville, servo, has it ALL.					Detour, 10 km to get to bottom of Big Red.
Anyway, at he bottom of Big Red, we stopped to take photos with the club banner, and let our tyres
down to 8 psi, Parj and 7 psi Tratty. This offcourse made my clearance worse !!
Tratty breezed up Big Red, making it look easy. He also scooted up the much steeper dune, beside
Big Red, to leave his "fresh" tyre marks for all to see. Not many 4WD's could have made this one ??
It took me 3-4 attempts, with sticking throttle and trying to pull 1/2 of Big Red's sand with me !! I could
smell my clutch burning and gears felt funny. I realized then that I had to turn back, but continued on in
a similar fashion for another 2-3 sandhills, mainly because I didn't want to disappoint Tratty or Matt.
About 10km west of Big Red, with inadequate ground clearance, sticking throttle, burning clutch, I
reluctantly decided to turn back. The consequences of getting stuck in the middle of the desert were
horrendous. No buggy or 4WD could tow you to Birdsville. The recovery trucks, from Birdsville or
Mt Dare, would charge anything from $1,000 to $8,000, depending on how far and how long it took. I
barely made it back over Big Red !! Had to let the clutch cool down for 1/2 an hour after each attempt
and had to charge up, flat out  in 1st gear. In the meantime, Tratty was having a ball !! He was
prancing around, off the tracks, over VERY steep dunes, making it look like child's play. Unfortunately
he then slid off a soft bank, into some trees and brushes, with his nose up about 30 deg., well and
truly stuck. Trying to drive out, he dug his rear wheels in till he was sitting on the floor pan.
==============================================================================
Bottom of Big Red, after 10 km. Detour.					Showing club banner, see flooding behind.
Tratty made it look so easy.  While showing					We had to detour 10 km around floodwaters
off, he got stuck badly, later.					to get to the bottom of Big Red, desert start.
Parj making 3rd or 4th attempt, dragging sand.					Tratty left some good "original" tyre marks.
Tratty, well and truly stuck.(showing off ??)					Digging + MaxTrax, got him out.
=============================================================================
After I was safely on top of Big Red (with severe burning smells !!) I grabbed my shovel and MaxTrax
and walked about 80 metres off the tracks to help get Tratty out. Took 3 of us about 45 minutes to
clear his underside, after which we inserted the MaxTrax. Tratty drove up the 30 degree slope with
no problems, thanks MaxTrax, thanks VWnuts !
					Recovery truck, would have cost HEAPS.
	Return from Birdsville
I limped back to Birdsville from Big Red, with the throttle cable still stuck and with worrying burning
smells, dodgy clutch and gearshifts. The mechanics at the Birdsville servo had a good look but could
do little to solve my problems.
	My loaded clearance, under the bas plate, was :-					167	mm
	Tratty's loaded clearance, was :-					260	mm
They could do nothing about my clearance, but blew compressed air into the accelerator guide tube.
This made matters worse, but over time, most of the sand fell out, when not driving in sand.
We were lucky to get CABIN accommodation that night, after a good bellyful of beer and food.
Tratty's buggy was using oil at a fast rate, so he had to pull up often to keep his oil pressure up !!
While having lunch at Windorah, Matt left his jacket on the back of a chair with his wallet in it.
Didn't realise this till 240 km later, at Quilpie, where he phoned them from a servo and arranged to
have this posted home to him. (had $700 cash + license + cards + etc. in wallet.)
When getting dark and approaching FoxTrap, we had seen many wallabies on the road. About 1-2 km
from FoxTrap, after relaxing somewhat (isn't this usual ?) I hit a wallaby a glancing blow. Tratty was
so close behind me, he couldn't avoid it, so he finished it off !!
Lunch at Windorah Pub. Matt left his jacket					Fuel and oil stop, on the way home.
and wallet here, on the back of a chair.					Tratty was using heaps of oil, at 110++ kph.
The next day, Tratty was still using large quantities of oil. Wonder how his engine would have gone
struggling in the 520 km of desert ?? He was topping up with oil in between fuel stops, every 100 km.
Approaching Dalby, it was getting dark, so Parj and Matt decided to stay in Dalby. Tratty didn't mind
driving in the dark, so he pressed on home.
We were surprised that we couldn't get motel accommodation in Dalby after 1.5 hours searching ?
Apparently, the miners bulk book all the rooms for their workers, leaving nothing for tourists ?
Anyway, about 7.30 pm, a motel we were at, had a last minute cancellation, for a 1 bed room. We
grabbed this immediately, and the staff put another mattress on the floor.....beats sleeping in the
schoolhouse veranda ??
==============================================================================
	Lessons and recommendations, for future travellers.
1. Buggy clearance, FULLY LOADED, for driving in soft sand, say min. =							230 to 250 mm
2. A long handle shovel is easier to clear sand from underneath  the buggy, worth any inconvenience.
3. Make sure you have gloves plus a warm hat or beanie. A peaked cap is useful early or late. The
hats or beanies should have restraining straps, to stop them flying off in crosswinds or at speed.
My arm got tired trying to keep my beanie on, or to shade eyes from the early/late sun.
4. The MaxTrax proved VERY useful, as did our (short) shovel and snatch strap.
5. If you have a normal VW tank in your buggy, I would carry at least 3 by 20 lt. of spare petrol tanks.
6. Take plenty of spare Bungy straps, plus ratchet straps, very useful for roof loads.
7. Telstra 3G Mobile phones work OK west till Charleville, then only in Birdsville. There is plenty of
winter traffic in the Simpson desert, so you don't really need a Sat Phone. You would expect help
within 1/2 day at worst ? An Epirb may be handy if you have an "injury" accident.
8. Spare wheels. These are heavy and take up much space. I reckon 1 is sufficient, with say 2 extra
tubes plus a good repair kit. You would be unlucky to puncture twice in the desert sand ?
9. Bash plates. It is best to have a bash plate, continuous under the gearbox and engine. My plate
was only under the engine, leaving a "dropped" scoop behind the gearbox, as a sand anchor.
The best opinion is to make this out of aluminium checker plate, lighter then steel.
10. I will make another trip, soon after the following modifications have been made:-
	Buggy LOADED clearance increased from 167 to at least 230 to 250 mm.
	New accelerator cable installed, NOT liable to sticking. (motorcycle or boat cable ?)
A successful trip report will be appended to this, after it has been completed. Judging by how
well Tratty's buggy went, and reports from BlueV2, this should be EASY for a well set up Buggy !!
P.S.	Tratty's engine blew up a few days after his return, requiring new pistons, cylinders and
	at least some head work. He's very lucky this didn't happen in the middle of the desert as
	recovery costs have been quoted as between $1,000 to $8,000, depending on time and
	distance involved. Probably better to spend some of this in Preventative maintenance ?
On top of Big Red, looking west.					I'm the King of the Castle, nah nah nahhh.
The King needs a tow ??					Try driving into this ?
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