Big Red Tour: How to travel by 4WD in the Australian Outback.

B I G R E D T O U R

How to travel by 4WD in the Australian Outback

WHERE TO GO

BUYING A SECOND HAND 4WD
See Vehicle Preparation for a check list of what too look for when buying a used 4WD.

RENTING A 4WD
If you rent a 4WD, then by all means do not use Car Connection, Glenluce Victoria. I have heard that they have some cousins in Perth that are just as bad.
I do not link to any rental companies, since I find that they are either extremely expensive except for a weekend, or that they are in the Rent a Wreck league.

TYPE OF VEHICLE
It's gotta to be a 4WD. It's gotta be a diesel. It's gotta to be a Toyota Landcruiser. The Landcruisers are the strongest, most reliable 4WD vehicles on the market. 80% of all vehicles in the outback are Landcruisers. Every outback town has a car mechanic that has seen a fair amount of Landcruisers in their day. Just go for it and forget your worries.
The alternative to a Toyota Landcruiser is the smaller Toyota Hi-Lux or a Nissan Patrol. Old Landrovers seems to do the job for their owners. New ones? Well...

TYPE OF LANDCRUISER
You have the following choices of Landcruisers (from the 1980's and on) to choose from:
   60-series: An older, but very reliable model.
   70-series: The "Troopers". A bigger vehicle, with room for lots of equipment and / or people. A more unstable vehicle because of it's height. Like driving a brick on wheels.
   75-series: The utes. These are big, sturdy utes with enormous loading capacity. If you're only two people, this could be your choice. If I did it again, I would probably try to get a ute.
   80-series: A follow up series to the 60's. Modernised version of an old favourite.

PETROL DRIVEN CITY 4WDS? JUST SAY NO!
You should stay clear of all kinds of petrol driven, short, "city 4WDs", the so called "Toorak Taxis". The outback is no place for toys. If you read Australian 4WD magazines they tend to treat all 4WD's as equals, but they're not. Landcruisers are the best. Then comes nothing nothing and nothing and then comes the Nissan Patrols.

RENTING OR BUYING?
Several smaller and bigger companies rent 4WD vehicles from $70 to $150 per day. Renting a 4WD for a longer period is in my opinion too expensive, all though it might be an option if you want to do the Bungles from Kunnunurra or drive out to Chambers Pillars from Alice Springs over a couple of days.
I rented an old 1981 60-series from a company outside Melbourne, Car Connection for $4.500 for 5 months. Since I had tremendous problems with the first car I rented from them, spent 15-20% of my time in outback towns waiting for repairs, and had to spend over $1.500 on service and repairs, I can't really recommend this alternative to anyone.
If I did it again, I would buy an old ute in the 75-series for about $17-20.000 and then sell it again after a couple of months. The second hand value of Toyota Landcruisers is high. The hassle of buying, equipping and selling a car is in my opinion better than the experience I was put through with Wreck Connection.

CAMPERVANS
Several companies, like Brits and Koalas rent converted 70-series Landcruisers, that have been transformed into motorhomes. Personally, I could not imagine anything more horrific than having to sleep in a hot car. The beauty of travelling in the outback is to get close to nature, cook over an open fire and sleep under the stars. You will not get this experience with a campervan.
I admit though that setting up camp is much easier, since basically all you do is to park the truck. Campervans are very popular with German and Swiss German tourists. I guess they are the ones that can afford these monsters.