R36 in the Outback Summer

[Cro]

Hi All,

I'll be taking my R36 on a "mega" road trip through Outback NSW, QLD, NT, SA (7000km all up) in March. I'm going on main roads (i.e. sealed) all the way, and need opinions on what I should be doing before/during/after the trip as I've never done a road trip in the outback before, and I'm a bit worried about the heat on the tail end of the Outback summer.

The car will click over 105,000km on this trip, so I'll get that service bought forward and an oil+filter (plus air filter) change after the trip.
I was thinking about buying some spare hoses, clamps, belts and what not. Not that I know how to change them, but I'm sure the NRMA or equivilent will.
Also thinking about putting flyscreen over the grill area's of the car, centre and lower flanks to stop rocks and the plethora of flies/bugs from smashing the radiators to bits but I am worried about the implications on air flow and heat.

Has anyone had any experience in driving their R36 in the outback, or experienced similar temps?
I know Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne have had some scorchers over the past few weeks. How have your cars been handling the heat?

I'd suspect nothing will go wrong, as my car has been rock solid for the 3.5 years I've now had it but it is good to be prepared.

[99_FGT]

Tyres would be a big concern as well, you may not be able to source the right size in the outback.
Also, bear in mind that it is still wet season in March, whilst reasonably unlikely, conditions like what we are having at the moment may leave you stuck in a small town or worse.
Air and oil filters would be a must - you may want to keep an eye on the air filter during the trip to make sure it doesn't clog up (not likely on the sealed roads)
And the other one would be a decent mechanic that can source stuff and get it to you in short order. Brake, suspension or driveline components will be hard to find locally too.
I haven't done a trip like that, so these are not speaking from experience - just advice. (but I did jinx a colleague last year by saying he should be able to get tyres for his car as they were std falcodore size now. I was wrong apparently)
Al..

[Steve]

My R36 has handled Adelaide heat very happily over the past few years. The temperature gauge hasn't ever moved beyond 90, even when driven enthusiastically in 40 degree plus temperatures.

It's not the R36, but my father has driven his Q7 on long adventures in hot weather with anti-bug mesh over all radiators. He hasn't had a problem with overheating. He changes the mesh once it gets clogged up with bits and pieces of bug.

[Cro]

Thanks guys.
Will definitely add at least an extra tyre and filters to the list. Hearing whats being said about the wet season, Mt Isa is currently blocked off so this should be interesting.

Steve, what sort of mesh does your dad use?
Up until yesterday I thought I'd get some flyscreen from Bunnings, but now I see that there are motor varieties available from the auto shops.

[passatpout]

Thanks guys.
Will definitely add at least an extra tyre and filters to the list. Hearing whats being said about the wet season, Mt Isa is currently blocked off so this should be interesting.

I've driven that road twice last year (first trip Townsville - Cloncurry - Mt Isa at the tail of the wet in April, and Mt Isa - Julia Creek in September), as well as travelled it by rail (work trips all). Not a good area to be caught up in by floods, or any other disaster.. the creature comforts are few and far between. Our comment was that the company chopper better be standing by to pick us up from the roof of the loco.. and have room for about 12 people..

Gives a comparison - my Passat would do the trip from Townsville to Cloncurry on about 55 litres, with a car that would be around 2t loaded, and would average around 105km/h. Our locos use about 6,000l running empty (about 1,500t) westbound, and about 6000l each (3 on the train) eastbound, with the loaded train weighing in about 7,600t, averaging about 35km/h. Not that I was using the Passat up there - hire cars through work, a Kluger and a Hilux.

If you do get stuck, I recommend the Gidgee Inn in Cloncurry. Go for a steak there.. bloody magnificent. Failing that, Gannons in Julia Creek is OK as well, although I saw that JC town is running out of accommodation and the rivers are flowing fast.. the flood marker on the Burdekin just east of Charlie's Trousers is interesting as well, just for the extent that it covers.. the river would probably be close to 5km wide at max flood.

Having said that, my brother is driving from Brisbane to Emerald today/tomorrow, and managed to make it most of the way back today, much to his surprise.

And other than that, I say just take the normal precautions (water, food, reasonable spares, etc). I'd also recommend a UHF radio and/or satellite phone, and maybe even enquiring with the police or other local authorities regarding the road status and if you should notify them of your intentions.

Enjoy the trip. I'm about halfway (timewise) through a trip from Melbourne to Orange to Dubbo to Newcastle to Port Stephens to Eden to Melbourne, have done about 2,200km so far, with about another 1,800km to go.

[Cro]

Lunch at Cloncurry sounds good. Have a 5w UHF handheld with external aerial from my old cruising days, will pack this. I'm guessing ch40 is the go in these parts?
I was going to hire a sat phone, but figured since I'll be on main roads there will always be passers by that can relay a message when Telstra NextG isn't working. Is this a reasonable assumption?

Thanks!

[Steve]

Steve, what sort of mesh does your dad use?
Up until yesterday I thought I'd get some flyscreen from Bunnings, but now I see that there are motor varieties available from the auto shops.

He reckons he uses normal garden mesh, and that it hasn't caused any problems "because of the way I fitted it" but didn't elaborate on how that was.

On most sealed roads between major or even minor towns, you won't be waiting more than a couple of hours for someone to drive past - usually much less. So long as you have food and water and don't leave your car, you'll be fine.

[passatpout]

Lunch at Cloncurry sounds good. Have a 5w UHF handheld with external aerial from my old cruising days, will pack this. I'm guessing ch40 is the go in these parts?
I was going to hire a sat phone, but figured since I'll be on main roads there will always be passers by that can relay a message when Telstra NextG isn't working. Is this a reasonable assumption?

Thanks!

Mobile phone reception on the Flinders Hwy is pretty ordinary. About 10-15km each side of the towns with Telstra is about all you can hope for. No service with any of the others, and Telstra 3G doesn't cover much - about the only remote area where I haven't seen it work.

The road is reasonably busy, more so in daylight, with road trains etc every few minutes. Busy enough that when I was in Julia Creek for a derailment and we had trucks, cranes, cars, etc coming in and out of the site we asked the police if they thought traffic control was warranted (they said no, but wouldn't have needed much more to say yes).

At night it can be very quiet - on my trip from Mt Isa to JC (departing about 19:00) I reckon I only saw about 4-6 other vehicles, for a trip around about 250km. Even during the day it wasn't hard to keep speed up - damn Klugers are limited to $1.80...

And we had no end of trouble trying to find our train - it took us from Cloncurry to Prairie (about 50km east of Hughenden) to catch it... And it was averaging 30, with the road and rail just about next to each other all the way.

But that's also one other tip - of you do get stuck and there's a train nearby (the Mt Isa line has one about every hour), ask them for help. They all have radios and satellite phones and can call in if needed wherever they are.

[Cro]

This is all good info, thank you all!

[PA.]

If you ask your dealer they may let you buy the spares then return them after the trip for a refund. The best spare hoses etc are the ones off the car as your know they fit. Not the first time a person has gone to fit a new belt or hose to find out that it is for their actual model. So buy new parts then fit them and take your old ones as spares. A work shop manual can be handy, you may not need it but the grease monkey in Cloncurry may need it.