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
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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 .
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 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.
2006 4.2TDi ex-Telstra Remote area Camper. Patrol Sold after 11 years of ownership Replaced with 2006 OKA NT Expedition Truck. Cummins, Allison & lots of goodies
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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 .
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.....Originally Posted by TPC
Thanks for the tips, Yep will let the PSI down alright, I'll have to upskill on greasing nipples etc
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
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.
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