Fraser Island Trip Report

[Big Bug]

So Bruce do you leave the towing eyes in all the time? Also what is the problem with using just the factory towing eye bolt?

No I don’t leave them in but if I was going somewhere I was likely to need towing I’d screw them in first.

The standard towing eye is just meant for “normal” towing along a road, not designed for being snatched out of a bog situation. Just like normal 4X4 vehicles where they replace the tow points with rated tow hooks to be able to withstand snatching forces. I wouldn’t like the standard towing eye letting go and flying through the air in a recovery situation and possibly taking the head off the recovery vehicle driver or at the very least a rather large dint in the rear of their vehicle.

Bruce CQ

[Markee]

No I don’t leave them in but if I was going somewhere I was likely to need towing I’d screw them in first.

The standard towing eye is just meant for “normal” towing along a road, not designed for being snatched out of a bog situation. Just like normal 4X4 vehicles where they replace the tow points with rated tow hooks to be able to withstand snatching forces. I wouldn’t like the standard towing eye letting go and flying through the air in a recovery situation and possibly taking the head off the recovery vehicle driver or at the very least a rather large dint in the rear of their vehicle.

Bruce CQ

Cheers thanks for the reply.

[Big Bug]

After reading Jonathan’s report on his Fraser Island trip I’ve been wanting to have a crack at a place near us. I had been to Byfield National Park a few times in my T3 syncro without any problems until the last time a few years back where I didn’t make it. Sand is very soft, fine and deep and there is a lot of traffic there these days.

Been wanting someone with a “real” 4WD to come with me but everyone is busy. My daughter was visiting last week so took her for extra shovel power. Anyway gave it a good go but just not enough ground clearance. I have the Seikel Desert HD suspension and 225/65 R17 BFG KO2 AT tyres. I had 235/65 R17 Pirelli Scorpion but they didn’t last on all the gravel roads we did in Central Australia last year. I wanted an LT tyre and the BFG’s were all I could find without going bigger. I was on 12psi and lowered to 10psi to retreat and using my Maxtrax. Might give it another go after there has been some rain. There is a long rise up a slight slope they call Big Sandy that makes it difficult.

Bruce CQ

[jonathan_k]

Nice going Bruce! I notice the daughter isn't shovelling, luckily you are well prepared with the maxtrax!

The conditions definitely look challenging and the centre ridge looks very high. If you're at 12psi there's not much more to be done. I think that with the Desert HD kit you'd be sitting higher than the rest of us with the King Springs lift as well? Has anyone compared?

What are the specs of your van, looks pretty well kitted out.

We probably got lucky with conditions on Fraser. The most difficult beach I've driven was to Dark Point in Myall Lakes during a massive swell on an incoming tide, that was beyond my comfort level .

[chimo0703]

Thanks for the report ...

[QUOTE=jonathan_k;1246683]Thought I would write a little trip report on our recent trip to Fraser Island. I’ll just talk about how the van went as you can watch bikini clad backpackers on YouTube to see what the island is about ./QUOTE]

Thanks jonathan_k for the fantastic trip report and the pictures. This gives me some extra confidence as we'll be heading to Fraser in early October with our T5 (2010, 7 speed DSG, 4motion, Seikel lift kit, diff lock, full camper conversion by Trakka).


We left Melbourne back in November and have been on the road since doing the Big Lap.
We have covered a fair bit of sand and gravel roads and I have always found the van to perform exceptionally well on sand.


Some of the more challenging sand tracks we have done were
- Robe (SA)
- D'Entrecasteaux NP (WA)
- Shark Bay / Francois Peron NP (WA)
Getting to Cape Peron is a 120km return trip on sand (some parts very soft) and we were the only non-full-blown 4WD up there. Saw a couple of these 4WDs gettings bogged, but with the right tyre pressure and the right momentum we didn't have any troubles at all. So I'm really looking forward to Fraser Island (been there a few years ago but with a Landcruiser rental).


We have also done a fair bit of gravel and some of the easier "4WD only" tracks, including
- Gibb River Road
- Purnululu National Park (Bungle Bungles)
- just campe back from Cape York (including a few k's on the Old Telegraph Track - the misses wouldn't let me go further)


It's great to hear that you get free beer and tumb-ups for taking the van off road. Maybe it's the Queenslanders. Most of the commentary we have heard over the past few months were rather on the negative side ("you shouldn't be here", "you can't make it", "you should turn around").
On the way in to Purnululu NP a guy even jump out of his car to stop us and tell us that there is no way we could possibly make it. There were some corrugations, some tiny river crossings (max. 10cm) and a few steep climbs, but nothing a normal 2WD wouldn't have been able to do. It was still a normal gravel road and certainly not a 4WD track. Some guys probably never take their full blown 4WD to anything rougher than these roads and are then surprised if they see a van.
Later during a hike in the NP I overheard a conversation between two guys along the lines "I saw a VW van coming in here yesterday. These guys are just crazy.". When I told him that this was us and that it's a 4motion with lift kit he just said that "It didn't look that high to me - I don't think you have enough clearance for these roads".


We have normal road tyres (235/55R17). We left Melbourne with a set of pretty new Continental tyres (very soft compound). By the time we reached WA we had replaced three of them due to punctures from gravel roads (not fixable). Replaced them with pretty cheap tyres, but made sure they are a hard compound. You hear so many different opinions about tyres, the right pressure and the right speed, but they have worked well for us and we haven't had a single puncture since (and we have covered > 2,000km of gravel since, including the Gibb with some very sharp rocks).


Simpson Dessert is a very interesting idea. I have always wondered if my van would make it. I'd love to take the van there, but wouldn't do it by myself. If such a trip should ever happen, I'd be very keen

[jonathan_k]

Read this a few weeks ago and been waiting to respond. I was in Europe and saw many T5's with significantly more clearance than mine and some very luxurious looking Kombi Beaches!

I'm super impressed with the places that you've taken the van, especially on standard tyres. Amazing trip! A couple of my favourite places on your list and I'm amped to know that the T5 can get there .

Being facetious, I posit that the negativity is from Ned Kelly wannabes who've bought into the brochure and media hype (mentally and financially) and then had it shattered by the Krautwagon rocking up!!

I actually love this topic, but won't go on about it too much, just recount one anecdote from Purnululu in 2007. The first river crossing was just below the top of the bonnet of my Patrol (say, 700mm). At the end of the road was a Forester safe and sound in the carpark and a Landcruiser going out on the back of a flat bed. Who should or shouldn't be there? In the end, the bill for the tow truck is the same.

There's definitely a misaligned perspective that the average traveller has built up about Australian vehicle touring -- like we all watched too many Malcolm Douglas or Alby Mangles documentaries growing up. We just haven't caught up that there's been 10's of millions invested in road improvements in the meantime.

Conditions are variable for sure, though all that takes is a variable approach and you've got the experience to prove it. Keep charging mate and I hope to see yourself and many more T5's on the dirt in the future .

T5's to the moon!!

[chimo0703]

We spent 5 days on Fraser Island and had a blast.

I won't write a detailed trip report but I have uploaded a few videos to YouTube (mainly from Fraser, but also from a few other places we have visited in last 12 months):
YouTube

A brief summary:
- It hadn't rained for quite a while when we arrived, so especially Inskip Point and Indian Head were very soft and chopped up (school holidays and the amount of people with boats, trailers and overloaded cars getting bogged certainly didn't help). Indian Head made me a bit nervous since every few minutes a car got bogged when we arrived there. I walked it a few times to find a good line but made it across quite easily with enough momentum (maybe a bit too much momentum as you can see in the video)
- When we reached Waddy Point it started to rain - which changed everything. Getting back was therefore magnitudes easier.
- We did a couple of the inland tracks. In large all easy going, except for the road to Lake Birrabeen. There was one tricky part with a few drops and a lot of roots to crawl over. I felt this was borderline for the van and I hit the underbody once when going over one root too fast).

Read this a few weeks ago and been waiting to respond. I was in Europe and saw many T5's with significantly more clearance than mine and some very luxurious looking Kombi Beaches!

[Franco]

Hey chimo0703 and Jonathon_k.
I love your pics and vids and reading about your adventures. I hope you both, and others out there (bruceq) post more of the capabilites of the 4motion.
I always get nervous driving on the beach and dunes in fear of getting bogged and having to ask for help. Ive been abused a couple of times in the past for having my van on the beach, both times from young hilux drivers��.
I'm really interested in the rated recovery towing points and would like to get some made.. it would be great if there were a few of us who could sort out a great design and then have them made and hopefully save a few bucks along the way. Or bulk buy from overseas.
Would the style (large thick angle iron with slots and bolt holes that bolt to the chassis ) that you see on a lot of 4wds suit our vans? I've tried getting under the van to see whats there but too much going on to make proper sense in the 4 minutes i looked��.
Anyway I'm sure I'm off topic. Cheers Frank.

[Big Bug]

My wife and I have just returned from a 3 month trip to Cape York and the Gulf. Was an absolutely wonderful trip and there is no doubt about the abilities of the 4Motion. It works a treat. We didn’t do a great deal of what you would consider 4WDriving. Cape Melville definitely needed 4WD but the Transporter had no difficulties at all. The safety net was following my brother-in-law’s 79 Series Cruiser but had no need for a tow. There was some deep dry sand and rutted washed out creek crossing but no water. My biggest problem was ground clearance. I bent up the sill under the sliding door which needed a little tap down with the hammer and a piece of wood to stop it touching the door. Bigger tyres would be good but that’s not possible. As someone mentioned in a post further back, they saw T5’s with much bigger tyres in Europe. I know I’ve seen one on Instagram from Switzerland with tyres that would give me another 38mm lift above my 225/65/17’s. I reckon that would be enough to get most places.

As others have mentioned we had some comments on the UHF radio but I never said a word. When we were coming out of Cape Melville a Hilux driver said to his mate, ‘that 2wd must have struggled in here’!! We didn’t do any of the Old Telegraph Track except to go from Fruit Bat Falls to Eliot Falls which was no problem. (chicken track through the creek crossing) We also went into and camped at Sam Creek, on the way in a group we passed had just gone through Sam Creek and someone said ‘can we go back and watch them go through’! We weren’t going through of course but just camping on the north side. Mind you I reckon we could have made it through without any problems. On the north side of the Jardine River somebody said with amazement in their voice,’ there goes a little white van’!!!

On the bad corrugations I drove with sand driving tyre pressures at sand driving speeds, in other words, 18psi at 20-50 km/h. The Toyota’s would fly past us at breakneck speeds leaving us in a clouds of dust. Surprisingly we only saw 1 rollover that had only happened an hour or so before we came along but a group of 4 vehicles passed us at one stage and the last one almost lost it as he went past. I think it was more good luck than skill he didn’t roll.

There are lots of wonderful places to see up there and definitely worth the trip. Even if I did get home with a fried clutch!!

There are a few more adventurous trips I would like to do, for instance the Canning Stock Route but I think they may be a bit tough on the T5. So I have succumbed and bought a Isuzu D-MAX and a slide-on camper... I’m sure it won’t be as comfortable as the T5 so it’s not going anywhere.

Bruce

[VWTDI]

I'm experienced with real 4x4's and have spent a lot of time travelling remote parts of Australia. Had general recovery gear in order: tow strap, snatch strap, compressor, tracks, familiar with recovery points (front tow point inadequate for major recovery but that's a different discussion -- just don't get badly bogged!).

Mind elaborating on the inadequacy of the factory tow point?
We're looking to do a lap of Aus soon, and while we don't intent to need a snatch you never know what can happen. Looking at the aftermarket options of $1000 seems crazy!

[ZacStu]

I totally get the jitters about getting bogged or dealing with tricky dunes. It reminds me of this one trip I took along the Gulf Coast, where I spent half the time worried about loose sand and whether my vehicle could make it over some steep curves.

Beach driving is amazing, but it tests your patience and nerves a lot. I’ve definitely experienced that moment of relief when it starts raining and soft sand firms up—it changes the game completely!

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