Fg434 and sand dunes

[Enrbee]

Work is very slowly progressing on my Canter FG434 bus to camper conversion.
It was always my intention that this vehicle would take me pretty much anywhere that my Landcruiser would, however having just done a Simpson Desert Crossing in the cruiser it has me wondering.

Not having had the opportunity to play in soft sand in the Canter I am wondering how it would handle the very soft sandy dunes as experienced on the Simpson.

I know that suspension and wheel/tyre choice has a huge affect on four wheel drive performance but am interested to hear from anyone who has actually travelled in this sort of country in a similar vehicle?

Very interested to hear your achievements or otherwise.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[Tonkatuff]

http://youtu.be/fRF0rvt3OAU sorry about the sound but this was me doing some dunes in western Victoria on radials with about 25psi in them on stock suspension. I was really surprised how far I could get but definitely start with singles.

 

[Enrbee]

Thanks TonkaTuff. Mustn't be anyone else who has played in sand dunes.

 

[Tonkatuff]

I hear that Fraser Island tour companies use cancers that. May be a good line of enquiry

 

[whatcharterboat]

I hear that Fraser Island tour companies use cancers that. May be a good line of enquiry

Yeah......tour companies on Fraser Island have been using Canters since the first models landed here in the '80's.....although there is only one company still using them today and they have 6 or 7 in their fleet. They are all 17 seaters with 2100mm wide bodies. I know they still have an earlier FG649 and the rest are FG84s.

Needless to say that they all run single rear wheels.

 

[Fugly]

Enrbee

There are a few clips on YouTube on the Canter playing in the sand check them out
Also on The ATW site there is a very positive write up by a Canter owner on his trips where he mentions crossing the Simpson
he also has recommended Tyre Pressures worth a read
I think it is a Pfd ... Not sure

Cheers
Jim

 

[Enrbee]

Thanks guys, will check out those recommendations.
Neil

 

[whatcharterboat]

Thanks guys, will check out those recommendations.
Neil

Neil, the PDF that Jim mentions is here >>>>

http://www.allterrainwarriors.com.au/LiteratureRetrieve.aspx?ID=3273

Regards John

 

[Enrbee]

Thanks John,
Had already read that - the joys of commuting by train. It is certainly a good write up for ATW and great to see that the Canter was up to the task in the end. Of course taking into account the improvements.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[whatcharterboat]

Thanks John,
Had already read that - the joys of commuting by train. It is certainly a good write up for ATW and great to see that the Canter was up to the task in the end. Of course taking into account the improvements.

Cheers,
Neil

Haha. Train travel and emails.

Yeah, in my opinion that was a perfect testimonial .....mainly because the owner had travelled and lived in the vehicle for years so knew his truck intimately......and then added the mods slowly and made report on each stage.

 

[Flys Lo]

I've recently done the Simpson in my F250, a bit different layout to a Canter, but similar size and weight. Vehicle was at ~4900kgs fully loaded with people/water/fuel with a popup camper in the back.
F250 obviously has "singles" (20" rims on mine with 295/65 R20's... about 35.5" tall, 11.8" wide), and I'm certain they make a massive difference over duals. I should run these tyres at 80psi with that weight on tar, I had them in the mid 20's in the sand. No punctures were experienced (Toyo Open Country A/T II's). Tyre pressure is key, maybe even should have gone lower, but never had a problem getting stuck, however the truck makes about 500hp at the wheels... and at times I used it! As long as you keep pressures low, and keep momentum up, you will be fine. Its the idjits towing trailers thru the desert that have problems.

The extra width of the F250 (and a Canter) compared to the typical Landcruiser et. al. means that you will get some "desert pin striping". I covered my vehicle in clear 3M wrap prior to leaving - very time consuming operation and fiddly, but worth it, as it really saved the paint.
Truck used 137L from Finke to Birdsville 705k (19.4l/100km). I average 14-15l/100km with the camper on, on the black top. - extra wheel base over a lot of the vehicles travelling makes a big difference climbing dunes and for overall comfort. Suspension I don't think makes a big difference in the dunes.

 

[Jonny]

ATW in the sand

We recently had some fun in the sand dunes near Pismo Beach. The All Terrain Warrior Alpha camper on the Fuso chassis did great in the sand!





www.allterrainwarriors.com

 

[Enrbee]

Thanks guys, can't wait to put her through her paces!

 

[Buckstopper]

We recently had some fun in the sand dunes near Pismo Beach. The All Terrain Warrior Alpha camper on the Fuso chassis did great in the sand!

What air pressure were you running on the dunes? I have the same wheels and tires and very soon to have the same suspension that you have. I have never had my rig in sand and am curious how it would do. I have a SWB but that shouldn't make much difference.

Buckstopper

 

[Jonny]

When we were running in the dunes, we had aired down to 40 PSI in all 4 tires, and were very pleased with the performance of the
tires and vehilce at that presure. We also had the ATB Helical Gear Limited Slip Differential installed on this unit, you can see this
option at http://allterrainwarriors.com/accessories/