Tires

Your tyres must have plenty of tread. Outback terrain varies from mud to sand to rock. Many acacia tree roots make excellent tyre stakes. Your sidewalls need to be strong. Carry a minimum of two spares, one on a rim. We run BF Goodrich. They are tough and withstand a lot of punishment. In sand country you will need to deflate your tyres to increase your “footprint” and therefore your traction. There are endless arguments as to whether fat or skinny tyres are best. Skinny tyres seem to attract less sidewall stakes. You will need to carry a decent puncture repair kit and be proficient at repairing punctures. There are a number of bead breakers on the market; you will need one of these. You will also need a pump to pump up your tyres after deflation or repair. There are again many brands of 12 volt or fan belt drive models. Carry at least two in your party. We use an ARB diff lock pump with an air hose.When travelling in sand dune country - deflate your tyres. We run across the Simpson Desert with around 18-20psi in our tyres. Doing this will put far less strain on your vehicle, increase your traction and reduce the all too common scalloping on the tracks due to over-inflated tyres. Legend has it that outback explorer Peter Vernon pulled a scraper weighted with sandbags across the sandhills of the Great Sandy Desert behind a Toyota Landcruiser with just 9 PSI in his tyres - proof of the dramatic increase in traction. And with deflated tyres you are saving your engine and running gear massive amounts of effort.