Would a Camper trailer be ok on the road to Cape Leveque...

[Gav72]

For my next question

I hear the road to cape leveque is pretty rough.

Wondering if peoples have taken their camper trailer up there, if its ok, or better to leave it moored in broome for a few days

I luv the look of the Kooljaman beach camping shelter with camper trailer

[GQtdauto]

Depends on brand/ model of camper , I believe the track in has some vicious corrigations and some soft sandy sections .
I know mine would make it and it is a Chinese made camper but well made , I did replace wheel bearings when I purchased it (new) because I don't trust Chinese bearings but have kept them as spares .
The tracks I've been on have punished every thing on the camper that could possibly break or shake loose and I just had a few minor problems which are going to be fixed by the importer .

[TPC]

I took my camper trailer up that road and most of it was not that bad, just have to go slow through the corrugations but it depends on when they last graded it.
We did not stay at Kooljaman but stayed 4 days at Cygnet Bay and 4 days at Whalesong and loved it.

[Cuppa]

My favourite area of Australia. A camper trailer will be fine to take up the cape, just keep the speed down. Essentially it's 90kms of corrugations (unless you get lucky & it's been recently graded) & sandy tracks off to the coast on either side. There are far better places than the over-managed over priced Kooljaman resort though IMHO. My favourites are Whalesong & Bully's Camp (Djoodoon) but there are others which have been established in recent years which have good reputations. All much smaller & more intimate than Kooljaman but just as spectacular.

It's an area which really needs time to appreciate. I suggest a minimum of a week with two camps, one on either side of the peninsula. It's a place to slow down, chill out & soak up it's many unique aspects. Too many folk rush it & miss the point.

[GQtdauto]

Gav take my advice and change your bearings , grease the crap out of every grease nipple you can find and scribe a mark on the concentric bolts that the swing arms pivot off (they are used to adjust camber etc) either mine wasn't aligned properly or the constant shaking , bumps and corrigations made them move .
So I have tyre wear on the inside of the tyres and one is bad enough to need replacing which they will do , let your trailer tyres down when you air down your tug and despite all advice not to I reduced my pressure to about 24 psi on any rough dirt road and only changed pressure when going back on the black top or climbing big red .

[Gav72]

I took my camper trailer up that road and most of it was not that bad, just have to go slow through the corrugations but it depends on when they last graded it.
We did not stay at Kooljaman but stayed 4 days at Cygnet Bay and 4 days at Whalesong and loved it.

My mate said corrugations on the Gibb you would find that smooth glide over the corrugations at 60-70kms.... is that the same for the road up to cape leveque, or do the corrugations put you right down to 20-40kms.....

[Gav72]

Gav take my advice and change your bearings , grease the crap out of every grease nipple you can find and scribe a mark on the concentric bolts that the swing arms pivot off (they are used to adjust camber etc) either mine wasn't aligned properly or the constant shaking , bumps and corrigations made them move .
So I have tyre wear on the inside of the tyres and one is bad enough to need replacing which they will do , let your trailer tyres down when you air down your tug and despite all advice not to I reduced my pressure to about 24 psi on any rough dirt road and only changed pressure when going back on the black top or climbing big red .

Thanks for the tips, Yep will let the PSI down alright, I'll have to upskill on greasing nipples etc

[Gav72]

There are far better places than the over-managed over priced Kooljaman resort though IMHO. My favourites are Whalesong & Bully's Camp (Djoodoon) but there are others which have been established in recent years which have good reputations. All much smaller & more intimate than Kooljaman but just as spectacular.
It's an area which really needs time to appreciate. I suggest a minimum of a week with two camps, one on either side of the peninsula. It's a place to slow down, chill out & soak up it's many unique aspects. Too many folk rush it & miss the point.[/QUOTE]

Cheers - will research that, wish I had more time, this will be a few days with plans to return for weeks some time down the track

[TPC]

My mate said corrugations on the Gibb you would find that smooth glide over the corrugations at 60-70kms.... is that the same for the road up to cape leveque, or do the corrugations put you right down to 20-40kms.....

The corrugations are going to vary all the time depending on the amount of traffic that has used it since it was last graded, you will need to judge what speed you can comfortably drive when on it but you will probably be safe planning to manage 60-70Kph. The worst road we had was the Tanami , another bad road was the one to Mitchel Falls, both of these we were often down to 20Kph.

[PeeBee]

The corrugations are going to vary all the time depending on the amount of traffic that has used it since it was last graded, you will need to judge what speed you can comfortably drive when on it but you will probably be safe planning to manage 60-70Kph. The worst road we had was the Tanami , another bad road was the one to Mitchel Falls, both of these we were often down to 20Kph.

Agree with everything above. Kalumbaru rd stopped me after about 30 minutes from the Gibb River rd - could not find the right speed to make hanging onto the steering wheel - absolute shocker. Gibb RR was like a freeway - we chanced on being behind the grader from the Kalumbaru road to El Questo - magic ride. Tanami I found the sand corrugation not as 'hard' as the Kalumbaru rd if that makes sense, but still knocked down the speed. Cape Levaque was a t totally different kettle of fish. Going up from Broome the track had about 20klm of deep soft sand, and whilst there we got hit with the tail end of a cyclone that flattened the camp area - all tents except our Southern Cross were on the ground, then the council in Broome shut the road to preserve it. We sat around for 3 days and then left but with the risk of a fine - however, the locals were roaring around on the roads anyway. The flooding was in stretches about 400m long, but the road base was firm. I loved the area, but yes, it is heavily regulated. Whilst there, a guy rolled into camp to prop for his annual 6 week holiday at Kooljamin, - he had a big F250 with 7.3TD in it, towing a 4 axle caravan - must have been 30ft long - drags it every year all the way from Perth - very keen.

[gubigfish]

Cape Leveque is a magical spot been there the once when my sister and brother in law used to live in Broome. As mentioned the road there can be quite rough but manage your speed and tyre pressures and you'll be fine

[GQtdauto]

In short mate the corrigations and road conditions change all the time , go on any of the roads after a grader not so bad go in the tourist season or after some roads the corrigations are so bad it's like having square wheels .
70 - 80 Kay's can be ok on some and on others forget it slow right down , if you reduce your tyre pressure don't go over 80 or even less depending how much pressure you let out .

[stevemc181]

Get up there while its still a moderately difficult place to get to, it will only be a couple of more years and the road will be bitumen all the way. The place won't be worth going to once the grey nomads move in en masse.
https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/Barnett/2016/12/Funding-for-Broome-to-Cape-Leveque-Road.aspx

[Cuppa]

wish I had more time, this will be a few days with plans to return for weeks some time down the track

FWIW - I accept that not everyone has as much time available as they'd like but I suggest that it is better to allow enough time to experience a few places & to miss out on others, than to try to fit more in & spend less time at each one. I certainly understand the 'desire' to fit as much in as you can after driving all that way but too often I've read negative accounts by folk of wonderful places (Dampier Peninsular & Kakadu NP being prime examples) simply because they rushed it, sticking to intineraries made without the experience to appreciate the realities of long distance travel. Doing so only resulted in frustration reality failing to match dreams & expectations.

As has been said road conditions vary. Some corrugations are ok at 60-70kph, some are not. Do not subscribe to the common myth that you need to go fast enough to skip across the top of the corrugations. Whilst it does make the going feel smoother, the car is till getting hammered, but more importantly it is very unsafe. Most roll overs on the Gibb are from exactly this. When heavy or emergency braking or emergency manouvers are needed the driver has very little control. Most roll overs on the Gibb are inexperienced drivers driving to a schedule!

[Cuppa]

wish I had more time, this will be a few days with plans to return for weeks some time down the track

FWIW - I accept that not everyone has as much time available as they'd like but I suggest that it is better to allow enough time to experience a few places & to miss out on others, than to try to fit more in & spend less time at each one. I certainly understand the 'desire' to fit as much in as you can after driving all that way but too often I've read negative accounts by folk of wonderful places (Dampier Peninsular & Kakadu NP being prime examples) simply because they rushed it, sticking to intineraries made without the experience to appreciate the realities of long distance travel. Doing so only resulted in frustration reality failing to match dreams & expectations.

As has been said road conditions vary. Some corrugations are ok at 60-70kph, some are not. Do not subscribe to the common myth that you need to go fast enough to skip across the top of the corrugations. Whilst it does make the going feel smoother, the car is till getting hammered, but more importantly it is very unsafe. Most roll overs on the Gibb are from exactly this. When heavy or emergency braking or emergency manouvers are needed the driver has very little control. Most roll overs on the Gibb are inexperienced drivers driving to a schedule!

[the evil twin]

Wot Cuppa said X2 ... twice :tongue:

I also am of the view that twice as long in 1/2 the places can often be a much, much better way to visit a region.

No point in ticking the Box when you haven't seen what is inside it.

I esp agree with the comment about 'drivers trying to keep to a schedule causing issues/breakdowns'