4WD Tracks

Gerty Dancer · Guru

4WD Tracks

_wombat_ · Master (of Mischief)

Good question, I do not know, but I do know I would not take a 2wd along the Gibb especially across the Pentacost river and up to Mitchell Falls.

AmandaJayne · Guru

We've only got an Estima which is the same as a Tarago and we go on 4wd tracks, one track made us laugh lots... it was in winter but that did not stop us from going on the tracks at the back of Harvey... there we were trudelling along when we came across a couple of big 4wd's, one was truely stuck... we drove on by and continued exploring, spent 4 hours driving steady, when we came back the 4wd's were in the same spot still trying to get out... the occupants stood and stared as we trundled on by.. we would have stopped but they had 2 more vehicles there to help them out ....

I think I giggled all the way home because the look on thier faces was one of disbelief as we made our way past in a 'family van'.... hubby says as long as the water or mud or ruts too deep and you drive safe that most of the tracks are doable... I've been known to get out and test the waters by walking thro before the van... fill up ruts or make a way around a spot in the track before now. If it gets too bad a turn around is the next best thing... but these are local tracks... those out in the middle of no-where might be a little different.

Onedodger · Guru

To Me a 4wd track is.

One that requires a greater ground clearance than a standard car.

One that requires the additional traction of a 4wd.

One that is very steep and needs a vehicle with low range.

Yes I do know that many 2 wheel drives do these roads but would not like to purchase same after their trip.

I have driven many a rough road/track in a 2 wheel drive vehicle but when one does these same roads/tracks in a real 4wd vehicle the experience and comfort plus the additional safety aspect are worth it.

Just My thoughts.

I may be biased as I was a 4wd instructor for 10 years.

Cheers Dodg.

jimricho · Guru

Someone with local knowledge of the Bloomfield Track would probably have little trouble in the dry in ute with a limited slip diff but a little Korean "buzz bomb" that finds the speed humps in a shopping centre car park a challenge would be a different story.

I don't think you're biased Dodg, you're just passing on the benefits of a lot of experience to the rest of us.

Jim

bill12 · Guru

I have an old holden 1tonner motorhome and with lsd and in the dry season, I did the Bloomfield track on wed,12th oct. Very steep in places, and a few watercrossings, but do able in any car with reasonable ground crearance in DRY conditions. Any rain and I would abort. Clay dirt roads and steep in places, I have slid off the road in 4wd in rain, and this is one of the wettest place in OZ. Bill

jimricho · Guru

Did you have a reviver at the Lions Den?

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

A wise old man told me when I was at the ripe old age of about 18 that when it comes to driving on unsealed/gravel/rutted/steep roads that it all depends on "the nut that holds onto the steering wheel."

That said - many roads rated as "4X4 only when dry" are statements that warn that there are conditions that can be dangerous ... and that is when the "nut that holds onto the steering wheel" comes into play.

As the story above so aptly described - 4X4s get bogged too .... guess its that "nut that holds onto the steering wheel" again.

If in doubt - don't go ... and the first question I ask myself (even in my Land Rover 4X4) is "do I really have to go in there?" ... and ... "If I do, will I be able to drive back this way".

Drive to the conditons etc

Cheers

John

-- Edited by rockylizard on Saturday 15th of October 2011 03:02:18 PM

-- Edited by rockylizard on Saturday 15th of October 2011 03:35:01 PM

Cruising Granny · Guru

To me 4WD is about clearance with the strength to manage the rough terrain, with the tyres to handle the track surface.
The rest is up to the experience of the driver.
Tracks can be sand dunes, beach or bush, stony tracks, deep, slimy, slushy mud with rocks at the bottom.
Just because the vehicle is "4WD" doesn't mean the driver can take on anything, without knowing what is on the track.
Check the depth and flow of creek crossings, then dodge the rocks at the bottom.
It's a big responsibility to operate a 4WD vehicle, even in the shopping centre car park.

03_troopy · Guru

To me a 4WD track is a wider track than the quad bike track i got stuck on at Stockton Beach a while ago... doh!

Cruising Granny · Guru

That's why Hummers weren't very successful of-road in Australia. Our tracks are set by Landcruisers, Landrovers, Nissans etc. Even a Suzy will cope riding the middle. A tour operator in Kununurra had a big red one, but it was too wide for everything except the Gibb River Road. Many of the tracks to the features are single, 2-wheel "roads", and the wider vehicle just broke up the edges and got tangled up in roadside vegetation. I don't think the station owners would have been impressed by the damage, especially at the end of the wet, in the very early days of the dry when track surfaces are still very fragile, and the creeks are still quite deep and slushy.

Superb Blue · Member

In dry season 2016, how many destinations are prohibited to 2WD vehicles? I ask because I want to know if I really need to purchase a 4WD slide-on unit or could get by with a 2WD motorhome?