I'm heading of to Darwin pulling a large camper and wanted to know the best way to get there hills and road conditions
i was thinking of turning left at Gladstone
Alot of people have go up to Townsville and cut across from there
So I'm worried about the road conditions and the hills as my trailer is quite heavy and I'm only pulling it
with a v6 Commodore ute
cheers
brickies said
12:52 AM Jun 24, 2016
Hi there are lots of ways to go , But I would head up the Toowoomba range then onto Roma , Blackall , Longreach , Winton , Cloncurry , Mt Isa and then head onto Darwin .
Fringe Dweller said
06:34 AM Jun 24, 2016
G'day Skull. I'm with Brickies , but , say if you lived at Burpengary . I would turn left at Gympie.
Yeah , I would be OFF th Bruce as Quick as possible , with Toowoomba range , even with a heavy trailer,
you are up & over it in minutes, Enjoy your trip.
Skull1958 said
09:43 AM Jun 24, 2016
Thanks brick legs and fridge dweller that was my first choice.
But when I pulled b/baubles. Running up the coast road would and did rip the wheels of a car every so often.
I've been told it been fixed even so them hills would kill me on the fuel.
I'll plan my stops which won't be hard I bought addition 8 of camper to look for free camping sites
Any info on we're you would recommend would be appreciated.
Happy trails
brickies said
10:23 AM Jun 24, 2016
How many klm are you planing a day .
macka17 said
10:49 AM Jun 24, 2016
Stay off the Newell/Leichardt. it's a prick of a road. I normally drop down to 85ish in the ute.
Bounces the b---s off you.
If you don't want the coast. Brickies wound be a nice route.
ANY road going North is taking you to improved living.
Darwin is great plus it's environ's. but if you not used to the temp's it'll knock you around a bit.
specially in the sticky season. But fishing GREAT.....
And converse with people at stops going alternate direction to you.
They'll tell you suitable (and not) places to go to and stop at.
expecting similar from you.
Cupie said
02:40 PM Jun 24, 2016
We usually go the most direct route .. Toowoomba Roma Mitchell Charleville (can bypass if you wish) Blackall Barcaldine MtIsa then across the Barkley turning north at the threeways. If you wish you can have a short trip south to look at Tennant Creek before heading north to Darwin. Don't miss the diversion to Daly Waters Pub and hot pools at Mataranka.
On the way back you can divert to the east at Daly Waters & see Cape Crawford & Borroloola (might need some reserve fuel for this leg - can strike some heavy head winds heading down from Cape C) before going south to rejoin the Barkley at The Barkley Roadhouse. For a bit of variety we sometimes go thru Julia Creek, Richmond, Charters Towers etc to the coast around Ayr/Townsville on the way home. Nothing wrong with the coast road if you are patient & lots of spots to break your journey.
Whatever you do make sure that you are ruthless in dumping excess stuff to reduce weight. Fuel is readily available so perhaps only a small amount of emergency fuel should be carried if you must. Much better to fill up at every opportunity. We never get below 1/4 tank. Always good to have 20L or so of drinking water. We always carry too much food & clothing but weight is not an issue for us.
If you are concerned about pulling up to Toowoomba, then leave your shopping & topping up with water, fuel etc until you get to Toowoomba. Good supermarket & servo on the road thru. We always stop at Twba to stretch our legs & refresh before meandering off. Who's in a hurry? In any case most towns have IGA or whatever at reasonable prices so you don't need to hump too much stuff.
Edit ..I missed the most important bit .. Take your time ... sleep in, drive slowly, around 90km/hr. max. Stop often to see things & revive. Short legs are the go. Pull over to camp mid afternoon. 350km is a big day for us.
-- Edited by Cupie on Friday 24th of June 2016 02:43:56 PM
macka17 said
04:27 PM Jun 24, 2016
Are the bats still there at Mataranka Cupie??.
We haven't been up through there for around 7/8 yrs now.
Aus-Kiwi said
04:37 PM Jun 24, 2016
Flame suite on .. Fly .. Lol
Cupie said
04:58 PM Jun 24, 2016
macka17 wrote:
Are the bats still there at Mataranka Cupie??.
We haven't been up through there for around 7/8 yrs now.
Don't know. Been a while since we were there too.
Aus-Kiwi said
06:36 PM Jun 24, 2016
Maybe calling in on way back south . Have a friend there . I'll let you know .
Skull1958 said
09:53 PM Jun 24, 2016
300 to 500 it depends on how I feel
ill have to take it easy I drove b/baubles and road trains 14 hrs at a time but most of the time in the dark
it will be good to see something for a change
Skull1958 said
10:00 PM Jun 24, 2016
Thanks for all the great info I drove b/doubles and road trains for years I'll have to see the sights lol
All ways driving in the dark some 14 hrs stints
I'll be looking for word in Darwin or anywhere on the way up driving for some extra money
cheers for now
PeterD said
10:29 PM Jun 24, 2016
Skull1958 wrote:
even so them hills would kill me on the fuel.
There is only one notable hill going through Toowoomba. That will not consume any near as much fuel as the extra 125 km distance going the other way.
Skull1958 said
10:49 PM Jun 24, 2016
Thanks fridge kill give it a go I've driven b/doubles and road trains but 90% of the time in the dark
Hello everyone
I'm heading of to Darwin pulling a large camper and wanted to know the best way to get there hills and road conditions
i was thinking of turning left at Gladstone
Alot of people have go up to Townsville and cut across from there
So I'm worried about the road conditions and the hills as my trailer is quite heavy and I'm only pulling it
with a v6 Commodore ute
cheers
G'day Skull. I'm with Brickies , but , say if you lived at Burpengary . I would turn left at Gympie.
Yeah , I would be OFF th Bruce as Quick as possible , with Toowoomba range , even with a heavy trailer,
you are up & over it in minutes, Enjoy your trip.
But when I pulled b/baubles. Running up the coast road would and did rip the wheels of a car every so often.
I've been told it been fixed even so them hills would kill me on the fuel.
I'll plan my stops which won't be hard I bought addition 8 of camper to look for free camping sites
Any info on we're you would recommend would be appreciated.
Happy trails
Bounces the b---s off you.
If you don't want the coast. Brickies wound be a nice route.
ANY road going North is taking you to improved living.
Darwin is great plus it's environ's. but if you not used to the temp's it'll knock you around a bit.
specially in the sticky season. But fishing GREAT.....
And converse with people at stops going alternate direction to you.
They'll tell you suitable (and not) places to go to and stop at.
expecting similar from you.
We usually go the most direct route .. Toowoomba Roma Mitchell Charleville (can bypass if you wish) Blackall Barcaldine MtIsa then across the Barkley turning north at the threeways. If you wish you can have a short trip south to look at Tennant Creek before heading north to Darwin. Don't miss the diversion to Daly Waters Pub and hot pools at Mataranka.
On the way back you can divert to the east at Daly Waters & see Cape Crawford & Borroloola (might need some reserve fuel for this leg - can strike some heavy head winds heading down from Cape C) before going south to rejoin the Barkley at The Barkley Roadhouse. For a bit of variety we sometimes go thru Julia Creek, Richmond, Charters Towers etc to the coast around Ayr/Townsville on the way home. Nothing wrong with the coast road if you are patient & lots of spots to break your journey.
Whatever you do make sure that you are ruthless in dumping excess stuff to reduce weight. Fuel is readily available so perhaps only a small amount of emergency fuel should be carried if you must. Much better to fill up at every opportunity. We never get below 1/4 tank. Always good to have 20L or so of drinking water. We always carry too much food & clothing but weight is not an issue for us.
If you are concerned about pulling up to Toowoomba, then leave your shopping & topping up with water, fuel etc until you get to Toowoomba. Good supermarket & servo on the road thru. We always stop at Twba to stretch our legs & refresh before meandering off. Who's in a hurry? In any case most towns have IGA or whatever at reasonable prices so you don't need to hump too much stuff.
Edit ..I missed the most important bit .. Take your time ... sleep in, drive slowly, around 90km/hr. max. Stop often to see things & revive. Short legs are the go. Pull over to camp mid afternoon. 350km is a big day for us.
-- Edited by Cupie on Friday 24th of June 2016 02:43:56 PM
We haven't been up through there for around 7/8 yrs now.
Don't know. Been a while since we were there too.
300 to 500 it depends on how I feel
ill have to take it easy I drove b/baubles and road trains 14 hrs at a time but most of the time in the dark
it will be good to see something for a change
Thanks for all the great info I drove b/doubles and road trains for years I'll have to see the sights lol
All ways driving in the dark some 14 hrs stints
I'll be looking for word in Darwin or anywhere on the way up driving for some extra money
cheers for now
There is only one notable hill going through Toowoomba. That will not consume any near as much fuel as the extra 125 km distance going the other way.
Thanks fridge kill give it a go I've driven b/doubles and road trains but 90% of the time in the dark
its time to see the forest through the trees
cheers