We survived the Arkaroola Rd and Oodnadatta track, not unscathed but better than some. We found it almost pointless asking others how the road ahead is. Some versions of 'ok' means very rough. Some versions of terrible mean quite smooth. What you need is plenty of fuel and plenty of time, because your vehicle won't be in Top gear very often therefor fuel economy is poor. Don't be fooled by freshly Graded road as there are sections that change like areas of large, sharp rocks that can be very harmfull to the undercarriage of both Car and Van, and, sections of deep corrugation that reappear quickly after grading. Some of the Floodways, which are plentifull, are a smooth crossing while some are quite steep and dangerous.
So don't be fooled by appearance. Our 20 y.o. Off road Compass handled it well as usuall, as did the Isuzu, but we saw 12 month old, $75,000 Vans arrive at Coward Springs with no water in the Tank due to fittings being broken off. Even alluminium checker plate protective covers for water taps etc were smashed and had fallen off. Recommend full width Mud flaps or Terrain Tamers to keep those endless rocks away from your Van.
Good tyres and good Air pressures will help.
P.S. While in Arkaroola, do the Astronomy lecture.
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Karl Marx.."the masses are the asses" Groucho Marx.. "I never knew my brother Karl"
Did Oodnadatta Track and Painted Desert Rd as well which was the worst for corrugations.
I agree that it's no good asking what the conditions are because yes some peoples OK was not OK at all but also sooo many different set ups handle the conditions better or differently than others.
The Xtrail went well and nothing broke or fell off, but then I'm not towing. But I also have less clearance so have to take that into consideration too. I let my tyres down to the recommended psi, paid close attention to the changing road conditions drove accordingly and did not let myself get pressured into driving faster than I felt the car (or my back) could cope with.
Also we were lucky that we just missed out on the rain (till we got to Flinders on bitumen then we got drenched).
A couple of good posts containing sensible advice,
There are local sources of info for road conditions and these sources are much more reliable than info from a forum.
Local police and Local councils are a good start.
