What's with all the negative comments!!! It's FREE! If you don't like it, don't watch it. There's no need to post nasty comments. Keep on trucking Andrew, love ya work mate.
Another excellent series of videos Andrew and Kate, great to watch you guys traveling together. I think it's actually quite interesting to see travellers going through the ups and downs of overlanding. There's nothing easy about 2 months on the road. Here's to not faking it!
I traveled the Simpson about 4 years ago and this brings back great memories. You have captured the heart and soul of this wonderful part of Australia.
Love your videos Andrew. My experience in working in remote Australia is that ATs are the best fit for most outback tracks based on sand and rock. MTs are great for those who go pig hunting out of Weipa or Gove during the wet season. Some blokes tend to buy them because they look 'aggressive', something the tyre sellers love to emphasise. Real problem is that most of us work or tour in the dry (winter), so not a lot of mud. Sorry about the flies on the Simpson. We had the same in 2006. Crossed again in 2016 and it was much better. If it is any consolation, my worst fly experience was in 2018 south west of Camooweal in QLD, around March. PS: Speak to older Traditional Owners when you get the chance. They have a wealth of knowledge on the Australian outback. Helps with pronounciation of their names and places. Cheers.
I agree. ASPW is living his life and being who he is. We watch because he helps us live ours. He expresses himself as himself he cannot do otherwise. We are even privileged that he allows us unto his personal thoughts (and family life).
I run 35's for offroading and 285's for overlanding. I don't consider 285's to be "wide " tires, OK they are wider than 235's or 285's but nothing compared to the 35's. Andrew when you did the suspension setup for the Troopy, you didn't have the double rear tire carrier and the extra weight of the 2 spares. Nor do I remember from your previous videos of adding extended bump stops? Watching this video and the previous from this series, one can see and say that the rear of the troopy looks to be overladen. If it's not overladen then it's damn close to the limits. Also the rim offset, what may work for the front may not work on the rear. There has been no complaints about steering lock, just the rear. The thought process for any and all conversions so far has been long and methodical, this tire and rim combination seems to be a rush job and turns out to have a few faults. 285's will work on the troopy with the correct rim offset combination. BTW, thanks for the series, I'm really enjoying them.
Hi Mate, there is a map function on the phone you can use to track the drone when you crash it. Manage to Crash mine in to a mountain on my last show. Had to climb the mountain to get it. If it wasn't for the tracking function on the map it would still be on the mountain somewhere in Oman.
Thanks for the video. Your videos were one of the reasons I got into driving to beautiful places. My last trip was about 4000 miles round trip. My son and I saw some awesome sights. Thanks again.
Wide tyres! I couldnt agree more with your comment. Merry Christmas to you and yours. These videos are fabulous. Im a mad toyota land cruiser “nut” just ordered a dual can with delivery this friday (i hope). Got miss world 1979 fj45 with 110,000k on clock. Love your builds 👍
quite a simple fix with the wheel scrub. Extend your bump stop lengths. Some other more extreme options would be to cut and fold the guards or even give it an extra inch of lift
Correct. But when you have a pathological hatred of wide tyres you will not think of the obvious remedy. The vehicle is heavy and the rear end is too low. The rims are too wide for the tyre. The fact that the dune crossings are easy even heading west is a testament to how good the wide tyres really are. But let's not let that get in the way of semantics.
Very much enjoy your work Andrew and your honesty is refreshing. Can’t wait to see what’s ahead. It would be good to do a segment (after the big trip of course) on what you did in terms of preparation etc. and aside from the tyres. Watching your videos I am glad I have the KO2s!
You probably know this by now (I'm just 3yrs late commenting), but the Mavic Pro has a "Find My Drone" feature. Perfect for the situation you just had with it. When activated, it will show on your screen the drone's last known GPS coordinates (while powered), and it's location relative to the controller, and will show directional guide to it via the screen. The beauty of this function, since it's using it's last GPS location, it doesn't have to rely on the drone still having power. But if there is still power, you can also activate the "Turn on ESC Beeping" and if at night, "Turn on LED Flashing" features.
Andrew, the scrubbing is more a result of the track correction than the wide tyres, also the rear suspension appears to have sagged quite alot since the canning stock route
Yeah I was running the 285s on mine, and did the Simpson and many other iconic oz tracks no problem. Then my OME constant 400kg leaves sagged like your grannies ankles, and the 285s started rubbing on the body. Regardless of my suspension, I'm a 255/85r16 fan boy now anyway.
Hey mate I saw your video with Ronny Dahl and your new troopy. I like those panels you’ve fitted where the side glass was. I was looking a while back on a set but the only bloke I found to do them is a mob called yodateq and they cost too much. What brand are your ones? Where are they from? Oh and I want them for my 80 series.
We do have insect repellents in Oz. Rid roll on is good. Also a spray can of insecticide in the cab to get rid of your unwanted hitchhikers when you close the doors. Chemical warfare, apply relax, one spray and relax.
Its a bit like the one at the airport that says "Australia"......its telling you you are in the general area lol......the actual big section of the due is further north from where you were.....the section you were on is the bypass track for those not wanting to take on the dune..... there are 3 tracks of varying difficulty.
My wife and I have decided to add you to our list of Patreon subscriptions. Watching your videos has literally become a guilty pleasure and it’s time we remedied that.
Great Video....about Big Red though...it is easy from East to West, you have to turn around and try the West to East side....That....That, is what all the fuss is about.
Canberra is a city in the Australian Capital Territory... Not the territory itself! It takes up a 3rd of the area of the ACT... the rest of which is very much like the Vic high country and has some spectacular 4WDing! Don't knock it till you try it ;)
I think the reason you don't get it Andrew is because you have tackled it from the easiest side and from what I can see, went down the chicken track. Crossing big red from the other direction is a completely different story. Also it is incorrect to describe it as "Australia's biggest sand dune" which it's not, In fact, it's not even close. It is however the biggest in the Simpson desert, or was, outback conditions are constantly changing of course...
Likewise. The first couple of episodes did it for me too. The Nullarbor is not empty enough, the road isn't straight for as long, the East coast is boring, I don't like wide tyres etc... As someone who has watched his videos for quite some time, this seems like a chore by comparison with his Canning Stock Route series. I feel that rather than enjoying overlanding for its own sake, he has become an "equipment collector".
I agree with you Charlie Smith. I watched the stuff he did in Africa and thought it was pretty interesting. I thought he knew his stuff and was experience in an area of the world that I had not been, and so I believed the things he said. Now he is in Australia and I don't want to be unkind, but it's not good. In fact it's poor. I think his local knowledge is extremely poor and he has clearly not done enough research. It's a shame really, as I find him entertaining, humerous and I believed his product reviews to be unbiased. However, as far as I'm concerned, his credibility is now in question with his exploration videos. Now that I've watch the Australian content and know how inaccurate it is, (which is just so annoying) why should I believe the stuff I know nothing about... The trouble is if you hold yourself up to be an expert, I think you really need to know your stuff and clearly when it comes to Australia at least, he does not. As for the African stuff, how would I know now... I think if he wants a large Australian audience, he really needs to do something fast.. I don't know about the rest of the world, but as you have rightly said Charley, the Australian audience is broad in knowledge and very experienced when it comes to this subject. A RU-vidr is not going to get away with feeding "bulldust" and retain a large audience in this country, on this subject. There are literally tens of thousands of people in Australia that have grown up on camping, four wheel driving, overlanding, etc and been doing it 20, 30, 40, 50 years themselves. I have seen so many comments on 4x4 forums about Andrew and it's not been good. I genuinely hope things improve, as I enjoy his presentation, his photography and he seems like a nice enough bloke...
Don't know if you'll see this comment as the video is a bit old, but you could try to put a high pass filter on the audio of the videos. This would cut out lots of the noise from the wind and make the voices easier to understand.
That drone has to be the worst colour for that enviroment, amazing you spotted it guys well done! Now for some bright pink spray paint 😁. Great video as always 👌
Andrew you said there was a fun section on driving the dunes but didn’t show us! more content on driving would be nice to see some more footage of you tackling the tougher/fun stuff
Sorry about the flies....it does look miserable. I was just out in my desert over the weekend and there were a lot of flies out there too. Probably not related, but still annoying! Keep up the good work and I will see you on the trails, George.
Another great video Andrew. Keep them coming. A quick questions. I know the flys were awful, did you try different insect repellents? I don’t usually use them myself but I can see me reaching for a can of aeroguard with your flys! Anyway Good job.
Good video shame about the tyres rubbing have you tried michelin xzl 7.50 r16 I've been using them for couple of years now never got puncture and good for running on lower tyres pressure.
Big Red was a challenge in the old days because no modern 4WDs , just old banger cars and trucks that got bogged on every dune and spent weeks crossing the Simpson . Wide tyres are good in most situations but i know you like the skinny tyres , more lift at the back of your 4WD would stop the rubbing . You think those flies were bad , go down south in W.A. with the SAND FLIES in summer and they bite you too :-)
Don't want to be spoilsport again but you got the time wrong at Poeppel Corner. In the winter months, South Australia and Northern Territory are are half an hour behind Queensland. The reason it is only half an hour is mainly because Adelaide and Darwin are the main population centres and are fairly close to the eastern border so the time zone works better for them. When we switch to the summer months, South Australia (being in the south) moves to daylight saving time so their time shifts forward an hour. Western Australia and the Northern Territory, who's sunlight is less impacted by the change of seasons do not have a daylight saving time change. Not hard to research.
question, obviously you can't change spring rates on the fly, no pun intended, but why not increase the compression damping, to help with the wider tires? I know it's a compromise, but you're stuck with that tire choice for the trip, and having it bottoming out can cause more than just some minor body work, so just curious as to why you didn't adjust your suspension to suite?
Full credit to anyone who enjoys getting out to see the country and goes to the effort of sharing their experiance. However there seemed to be a great deal of talking without imparting any actual useful information about the wonderful experiance of crossing the Simpson. The time devoted to wide tyres and flies ( we all know about the flies) would have been better spent on the landscape and wildlife. These days, everyone makes travel videos of their trips and there is no shortage of them on RU-vid. Many are just endless dash cam shots or pics of the Mum and kids which is fine but there are many that are really good with some great photography that really show off the desert at its best. How on earth does this get 36K views when it largley consists of talking heads complaining?
Thanks John for your comments. This was an extremely challenging trip to film because the flies were so terrible, one could not even get out and hold the camera. And, may I suggest, we do not all know about the flies in Australia. This channel has a global viewership, and I make my films with the entire worldwide audience in mind. I've done nine TV seasons and over 150 episodal videos such as this one, and never have I found it so difficult to gather worthwhile content while on a trip. I admit, this series is not one of my best. But unfortunately, one is only judged by one's worst work. crs, Andrew
Hi Andrew thanks for the reply. Yes the flies can make life utterley miserable in that area. A fly net is the only way to stay semi sane. I have watched many of your other videos and enjoyed most of them. I have tried to make videos of my trips, mainly to give me something to do of an evening and for myself and my family to view let alone a world wide audience and struggled sometimes no matter how stunning the trip to find worthwhile content. Some people would have no intention or desire to visit these places and show little interest in the landscape or wildlife, others planning on the trip themselves wanted more practicle content and others who have done the trip are unhappy I left their favourite places out. Keep up the good work and enjoy your adventures but I personally would enjoy a little more of the wildlife, landscape and history of the area.
Congrats on his daughter having her braces off! Also the the wide tires may have made the journey on the sand easier, maybe worth the slight noise inconvenience.
4xoverland Thank you for taking the time to respond! I’m in the midst of watching as much of your content that is available on RU-vid. I really appreciate your work and will be using the vast wisdom you have to share in creating memories and adventures of my own! Thank you again!
stopped watching your videos for a long time, not sure why now because ive enjoyed first 3 of this series but you must be missing something if big red is that unimpressive to you. ive never seen it but i know love to do this trip. for me, the once in a blue moon getaway is never about the destination, its about the overall journey and just that feeling of freedom and seeing things ive never seen before. im constantly blown away by this feeling and i crave it more and more.
Hey Andrew love your youtube channel . Tip for flies as we use in the kalahari (Upington) we carry a can of the cented insect spray in the car and as u get in just one spray gets rid of the buggerz . Keepon keeping on and mooi loop from SA.
I'll also add, all dji drones record a gps "paper trail" which is easily found in the app. If you lose your drone it'll give you its last recorded gps position (as well as speed, trajectory etc) and will display itself on a map as a blue dot.
Hi Andrew I see you in one off your latest Vids you show cuts from this great trip, I'm sorry to say the tallest sand dune in Oz is mount Tempest at 935 feet on Moreton Island. Big Red is a symbol for the Worlds largest sand dune desert and home of the longest parallel sand dunes, so I am unsure as to how you came up with biggest, except in length. cheers
G’day mate, just letting you know that you climbed Big Red from the wrong side. For a vastly different experience try it from the other direction next time. Big Red is more than just a sand hill to me. It represents either the start or the finish of another Simpson Desert crossing of which I have carried out more than seventy plus times, either walking or by vehicle or even riding camels over it. It is not just about driving up it. It is also special to me as I named it Big Red about forty years ago and a joy to see that it is now on the ‘must do’ list for all those lucky enough to visit the Birdsville area. To stand on top of Big Red and watch the sun go down on what I call my ‘desert of dreams’ is a rather special and magical moment. Should you wish to know a little more, try desertwalker.com.au.
I have to admit I was hoping that I had missed something. But the alternative was even easier. I could not find the difficult route, and just before me a Range Rover with low profile tyres went over without difficulty. There was a large sign: BIG RED DUNE. So I assumed I has found it!
Denis Bartell?? Now, I'll be damned... Wow! Reading this comment felt just like walking by the greatest childhood hero, and then suddenly realising it, after I read the first two sentences. I've watched the documentary about your Australia crossing by foot, read several articles, reflected long until reality reeled me back, again - and I am genuinely impressed! I hope this humble applause, coming from some stranger living on the opposite side of the globe, means at least a tiny bit... We Norwegians🇧🇻 do appreciate our eminent polar explorers and adventurers, and your achievements are that impressive - you are highly regarded, even up here in the Arctic region. I completely agree: if we are receptive and not blind, wilderness has uncontainable and eternal value to us. Nowadays, people live in a dull state of convenience and absense of danger, so kudos for going your solitary way for decades, taking all those risks. And thank you for sharing your stories, so we ordinary people can begin to grasp the idea of extreme and proper adventures in the late 20th and early 21st century! Salute to a great Australian🇦🇺!
8:55 - 9:11 CLASSIC!! I laughed so hard....mainly because he is right. He's always getting harassed in the comments because of the way he pronounces something. HAHA. "Poor poor famous man, getting harassed". Also, 5:01 thanks for keeping it real!!
Mate, your tyre issue.. did you allow for the dimensional modification of the diff? it struck me that if you extended the hub position to correct the track by 55mm, that you also reduced your clearance to the bodywork by the same dimension. i actually looked for your determination of the tracking issue, because i was concerned myself, i think you just identified the base issue of rectifying it.
Sounds like you know one tenth of the story mate. The KM3s, of which this was the ONLY 16" set in all of Australia, were given to me to test. They did not have any 33" tyres that were narrower available anywhere in the world. Now you know a bit more of the story.
I know this is a year old but 100% right mate. Whether you're given tyres or not its easy enough to extend a bump stop or something to stop the tyres scrubbing or throw in some extended shackles for the trip so they don't scub or even just buy a set of tyres that do fit 🤷♂️ And don't get me started about the wide tyres stuff because well... they help as long as your car isnt underpowered, it makes for a wider footprint which is always going to be better in sand That stuff aside tho its an awesome trip that I hope to do one day soon 👍
So Andrew, you went unprepared - for the flies! A bit of research and you would of had a better time? I liked the rest of the episode. Onward to the next one.
As usual, an excellent video. Look forward for your African series. Sorry for the drone, you have a Find my drone option on DJI GO4 app. Mavic Pro is a good drone, but not as good neither as pro as a Phantom4Pro. And you have 5 directions obstacle aviodance (instead of the 2 of the Mavic Pro)...Perhaps time to do a hardware upgrade...I use P4P for car travels and Mavic Air for light, airplane travels. Both work well and, sorry, again better than MP. As for the Live locator, do you use Garmin Inreach ? It gives you a more frequent positioning update (2 to 10 minutes), making your recorded route to be smoother (distance between points recorded every 6 hr, draws a straight line quite different from the current path). Regards
Now that you have done this what about a movie from London to Siberia via the Gobi desert. I could vicariously watch from my armchair for an hour or so.
Before reaching poeppels corner, I thought u mentioned the 3 states as being WA/SA/NT which is no right...... It’s QLD-SA-NT. No Daylight savings in QLD either...
It is widely held myth that wide tyres are better in sand. The higher floatation they provide is offset by the higher rolling resistance. I've proven it 100 times, for myself and others. Advantages can be gained by larger diam (lower rolling res) lower pressures (lower rolling res) but not width ((increased rolling res).
