UKVIS
Date Registered: 07-2005
TOTAL POSTS: 1
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QLD 4WD hire
Hi, I am visiting QLD Cairns/Cooktown/Laura/lakefiled region and will be hiring a 4WD. My hire choices seem to be an X-trail or landcruiser. From 'your' experiences can anyone advise if the X-trail will be adequate e.g for the Bloomfield track. I have tropical 4WD experience, but don't know what to expect in QLD especially in terms of grould clearance. No time to go to the tip of the Cape unfortunately. Hope you don't mind comparing with the competitionjavascript:clickicon('');
Any help appreciated
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19/Jul/2005, 12:49 am
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NPC73
X-TRAIL HOLIC
Date Registered: 12-2004
Location: Mount Isa, QLD
TOTAL POSTS: 1247
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Re: QLD 4WD hire
Hi UKVIS,
And Welcome to the Forums.
As much as I hate to say this, the Landcruiser would be better suited in most aspects except for fuel.
Cairns to Lakeland is all bitumen. Lakeland to Cooktown is bitumen except for about 40km of dirt, which is currently under construction by the Main Roads.
The road to Weipa, north of Lakeland can be quite treacherous in parts, and there will be times when you will wish you had the heavier vehicle. Bull dust holes, heavy corrugations and creek crossings to name a few obstacles. In the area around Laura the roads are very hard and rocky. You will break an X-trail here.
Cairns to Cooktown via the "Crib Track" (coast road) is even worse apparantly.
A lot also depends on the speed you intend to travel. The X-Trail will handle the Crib track in the dry, but not in the wet, but only at a slow pace.
But if your hiring the vehicle, I guess it doesn’t matter much. Although make sure you read the fine print of your hire agreements as they used to have a policy in the past that stated that 4wd vehicles were not to taken off-road (highly ridiculous), and you don’t want to be taking the X-trail back with bits and pieces hanging off it.
A bit more discussions can be found in THIS thread.
Cheers
Last edited by NPC73, 19/Jul/2005, 6:00 pm
--- Noel...
Member ID: X-072 (Retired Administrator)
2003 X-trail, TI, Manual, (Series 1) - (with the works)
2013 Toyota Prado, Manual, Turbo Diesel - (Snorkel-K&N-Full Exhaust, 20" Low Profiles, Chrome Bullbar, HID Spots, + All the Bling!)
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19/Jul/2005, 7:53 am
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