travel advice

[acex1138]

hey guys.. got an offer to go visit a friend in of all places katoomba, nsw.

Now up until this point the longest drive trip i did was to vic to go over and help with the fires earlier this year, and that was kind of a rushed thing as you'd imagine.

Since then biggest trip since then has been for a holiday in victor harbour, hitting 100k roads was a bit of an eye opener on safety, how much more ****heads other drivers can be and how inexperienced i am with some stuff, as well as impact on fuel economy etc.

Im currently rocking a VR exec with LPG which i usually run in economy mode, the lpg hasnt been too impressive lately and i've had a lot of work done to it but from what it seems its not pissing lpg away during long trips only for short ones (needs to have mix checked and redone to fix that apparantly, which i cant do before jan 5).

Driving from adel to katoomba, google maps reckons im looking at 16 hours of driving atleast.

So at this point its looking like a 2 day journey there and back. I also dont know what kind of fuel economy to expect so im after anyones advice or expertise to help me plan out the trip, advice to make hte car more efficiant for it, dealing wiht interstate police (im a p plater im expecting a bit of trouble).

Or if you live in the area or on the way there any advice, great places to checkout etc.


The whole point of hte trip is to just get outta my state for a bit clear my head, meetup with a mate over there and celebrate nYe with her so its all for a good cause.

RAA has been renewed, got 4 practicly brand new tyres, thinking of doing oil change, general cleanup and cut down of weight from car (thinking of taking my subwoofer box out) etc.

hoping i can do the trip for less then $180 of fuel each way but what i want and reality might differ a lot

 

[the_trademarc]

I do a lot of trips with my mates, around Vic, upto NSW and once to Robe!
Are you going with anyone or just yourself?

If its yourself, it's always handy to have a map and a GPS, just in case.
Also, try to plan the timing of your trip out as much as possible beforehand and stick to it.
So if you're going to leave at 5am, and plan a stop 830am, stop at 830am, regardless of how you're feeling.
I work out using Google Maps, towns, restaurants, petrol stops and the whole lot, and then work out my stops and petrol fill-ups, because the worst thing is to be stuck in the middle of nowhere, especially when you're by yourself.

Take a jerry can of petrol, and also a good amount of water, for yourself and the car independently.
Also, when you do make stops, talk to the locals about what to expect in terms of roads and conditions, they've always been helpful for us.

And lastly, for god's sake don't speed. The number of times I've seen people easily doing 130, its ridiculous, the roads in the country are very different to the metro, not as well looked after, one pothole and that speed and that's lights out.

 

[Morton]

If you take routes 20 and 24 across the centre (Sturt Hwy onto the Mid Western), you should be fine. Mildura, Hay, West Wyalong and Bathurst all have good service stations and rest areas. I prefer the servo in Hay myself, so you can skip West Wyalong and go straight on to Bathurst if you want. Be aware that many rural service stations shut before 10pm, so ensure that if you plan to drive into the night, you fill the car + jerry can at around 8pm and measure your planned range into the next day. You should be able to comfortably make it from Mildura to Bahurst one a tank of petrol, a tank of gas, an a jerry can for backup though.

I've driven inland from Melbourne to Brisbane (22hrs) in one shot, and only encountered problems getting petrol very late at night - but a full tank and a jerry can was always able to carry me through to the next major town and all-night servo.


Take some comfortable clothes, a good spare tyre, spare belt, required tools to change that belt, and a good 20l water for you and the car. The roads you're going to be on aren't that infrequently trafficed, so you will encounter help if you run into trouble.

Take a spare voltage regulator (part number RE60 I think) and a screwdriver to change it. Set of jumper leads and a tow rope come in handy too, but as long as the car is in good repair you shouldn't run into any issues.

Other than that, just enjoy the drive and the scenery, and make sure you have some good music

 

[acex1138]

sweet guys. ive got my hands on a navman, im making this trip myself.

Right now big thing im looking at is cost, I dont know how much fuel the VR (v6) will chew up there and back, so im worrying over finances atm, the gas has had a service but its still running like crap on it atm.... petrols running beautifully

anyone got a similar car made a similar trip? trying to budget it so i can workout if i can afford this or not

 

[ashbox]

i'd budget on atleast 4 full tanks and a jerry can.
and when you budget for fuel, add 10c a lt to the cost just to be safe

 

[acex1138]

i dont know how many litres it will take to get there... consumption rates etc.

 

[the_trademarc]

i dont know how many litres it will take to get there... consumption rates etc.

Well use Google Maps to work out the distance needed to travel, figure out your fuel tank capacity, and average 9L/100km (10 if you want to be safe), and then calculate your fuel costs, by say, $1.30 for country ULP, then you can work out your petrol split and the like.

If you want, just pm your departure and arrival locations, and also your fuel tank size, and I can work it all out for you if its gets too messy, and it can.

My mate drove his VR Exec pretty comfortably from Melb to Robe, I believe it doesnt have Cruise Control, but he squeezed in around 600 to a tank, thats with 4 boys in the car and a truckload of beer, so, I guess you could hope for at the worst 600 a tank.

 

[acex1138]

ok will do some numbers after work. what im factoring in atm is taking bare essentials i figure cut the cars weight down as much as possible, im not having any sports stuff fitted to the car, i've put light 15" tyres on with brand new tread, removed the tow pack, leaving all unneccicary crap from the car.

All thats coming with me is food, ess supplies emergency gear and my ps3/guitar hero/booze

 

[JBDrifter]

Leave the sub in... you'll want to be enjoying your music as much as possible on a long trip like that! I hate not having a good sound system in my car anymore.

Maybe one day....

 

[acex1138]

looking like its happening i get to stay at her place. 400 fuel should do it + jerry can of extra fuel.

will start compiling a checklist, cheers guys keep adding suggest if u got them.

special thanks tc for the economy numbers and advice

at this point considering tryna pickup a hitchhiker to split fuel with