Yes we Can(ning)! - We're doing the Canning Stock Route, but first, some preparations...

The Canning Stock Route is a 1800km 4WD track through the middle of very remote Western Australia, following the boundaries of a historic stock route.
With only one fuel stop in the middle, and potentially being hundreds of km from the next nearest people, it's important to be carrying everything you'll need because there will be no opportunity to pick it up on the way.
I cover some history of the CSR, then set out preparing our vehicle to tackle it, covering water, food, fuel, equipment, spare parts, navigation and communication - everything you need to get out the other end in one piece.
All that's left is to drive half way across Australia to get to the start of it.
Rest of the series: • Canning Stock Route 20...
Some links:
• Offroad Vehicle Setup ... - more details on our radio setup
www.xnatmap.org/adnm/docs/csr... - Russel Wenholz's book detailing the story of the first Canning crossing by 4WD
00:00 Intro
00:28 A brief history of the CSR
03:15 Preparing for the CSR
04:04 Fuel
05:40 Water
06:35 Food
09:27 Rubbish
10:09 Sodastream - is it any good? Is it useful?
10:44 Spare Parts
14:19 Camping Gear
14:44 Navigation
16:51 Communication
18:47 Permits
19:55 Outro

[@johnhowell6139]

Great video. Full of common sense and no BS!

[@DropTableAdventures]

Thanks! I guess I got it all correct enough - the trip went pretty well.

[@ericgard4918]

My wife & I have spent over 27 years and completed more than 40 complete crossings of the Canning. As far as this video goes I have never seen so much over preparation for such a trip. It is 1020 Kim’s from WILUNA to Kunnawarritji. With careful use of your right foot you can do this using only 100 ltrs of diesel fuel. As far as spare parts are concerned, think and check everything in the vehicle. If is up to date and in good Condition there is no need to overload your vehicle with an excess of spares. Shock absorbers are definite Must. ( front ones mandatory). Food wise. Fresh food can be kept fresh for a long period of time by wrapping all vegetables in newspaper. For communication a good U.H.F set and a “ SPOT” tracker will cover all your needs. Don’t take all those things you think will come in handy, leave them at home and keep your vehicle as light As possible. With careful thought and planning you will have a great trouble free trip. One last thought, Make SURE you carry a water fire extinguisher. Small drink bottles with pop tops can be very useful. Remember “SPINIFEX” burns extremely hot and is devastatingly quick. Check under your vehicle constantly. Happy travelling. Eric & Ronnie.

[@DropTableAdventures]

I'd imagine after doing the trip 40 times you'd have a pretty good idea of what you'd need and what you wouldn't. Having not done it before I was intent on ensuring we were completely prepared. And yes, I would probably do a few things differently next time. Actually, having been so "over prepared" as you put it, the trip almost felt anti-climactic, it was so easy. I didn't think we were particularly heavy on the right foot - but we still ended up burning 242L with 1061 km travelled. It was travelling through loose soft deep sand, so it didn't seem inordinately high for the conditions. I'm impressed that you did it in 100L of fuel - what kind of vehicle was that in, and what was the track condition like? We used HF for position tracking and email because we're both amateur radio operators, so it's basically free - no charges or subscription to operate any of that other than holding the amateur radio license. The other vehicle we were with had a Garmin InReach - similar to the SPOT tracker you mentioned. Definitely heard about wrapping vegetables in newspaper - although being from the other side of the country we avoided carrying them as we'd lose them at the WA border. And yeah, agreed about the Spinifex. You'll see many burnt out vehicles in our later videos. While some of them "caught" fire well after being abandoned, many of them were Spinifex fires. Thanks for the comment.

[@MrDigger450]

Great video mate 👍

[@DropTableAdventures]

Thanks! Hope you enjoy the rest of the series! (link to the playlist is in the description if you need it).

[@philsrandomstuff2392]

There’s quite a few videos on the canning but none of them really go into any detail on the packing side of things which you have done which is great. I’ve been planning to do the canning for the last three years so hopefully I will get there next year. I will be travelling solo so it should be one hell of an adventure. You can now tow a trailer from Well one up, Friends towed there track trailer T van back in 2018 and it wasn’t an issue to go from well one as they have realigned the track( you probably know this by now) Looking forward to the rest of this series. Cheers Philip

[@DropTableAdventures]

Thanks for your comment! We were both of the opinion that if done right, the packing and preparation would be the hardest part of the trip - because getting it right makes the actual trip so much easier. I saw the track realignment in places in the section through Cunyu Station, and it certainly looks less arduous than some of the old pictures I've seen, but the old track rules sign saying "no trailers" did remain when I went through - although I've heard some have contacted the station owners for permission and have been told it's OK. I didn't ask myself as we were not towing, so you may be right that it's now allowed. Next video goes live on the 16th at 6pm AEDT, there should be one every two weeks until I run out of videos to make. I don't exactly know how many that will be, the trip was a month long and we got up to a bit more than the Canning. Good luck with your trip, as well, hope you successfully complete it!

[@gohvahn]

Good info 👍

[@DropTableAdventures]

Thanks 👍

[@mubok3743]

Regarding the soda stream, im 90% sure you can get adapters for the back that allows you to hook up a much larger co2 cylinder.

[@DropTableAdventures]

Yeah, I've seen those, and am considering getting one - would be a lot cheaper for home use. Not sure of the advisability of carrying a 2.8kg CO2 cylinder on 4WD trips though, but you can also get adaptors to refill the SodaStream bottles yourself.

[@andrewretsas5589]

I did the CSR over about 10 days in 2010 in a JKU Wrangler. July-August is best time - not too hot but dry....2000km of corrugations. Weight is your killer here. And speed. I took 250 L unleaded petrol and used most of it. 4WD was mostly not needed. There was one or two big dunes but these were not difficult at all.I would not trust water quality for drinking. Best to take what you need plus reserve for breakdowns. I take 10 days extra to daily use (calc 4l per person per day). Better to have water in multiple small containers than only 2 big ones, which can/will leak. 600ml bottles nooks and crannies is wise. Food that is light weight easy to prepare variety. Cook with gas only. I swagged it...need sleeping bag for very cold nights (-2C). A Sat phone and 2way CB radio are essential.I used Hema maps and Hema6 unit.The track goes north:south so hard to get lost of you stay on it. In peak season about 600 cars a month travel the track.A soda fountain...wankers world!

[@DropTableAdventures]

Thanks for your perspective on the trip. 10 days seems pretty quick - how much do you reckon you ended up driving per day - and I imagine you didn't spend two nights in Durba Springs? As for the water containers, we did have three instead of just two. None leaked (after applying silicone to the footwell tank, of course), which was fortunate. The footwell tank has a hump in the middle (to fit over the transmission tunnel... that the LC200 doesn't have), so if it gets a hole in it, you won't actually lose all of it. As for the SodaStream - yes, thoroughly unnecessary. But not that big or heavy, doesn't use electricity, and lets you enjoy some fizzy drinks out there... just a bit of fun.

[@stevenmcnaughton1352]

Hey mate, knowing what you now know, how many jerry cans would you take to go the same trip again?

[@DropTableAdventures]

In a later video, I did a review of the fuel used when we reached Kunawarritji to fill up - with all 7 jerry cans poured into the tank on the way, when we filled up there was 36L left in the tank. So we could have made it with 6 - but with only 5 we'd have been 4L short. So knowing what I know now, I'd still say 7 - in case you end up doing worse than planned (it's wet and boggy, or dry and even softer), or you have to backtrack for whatever reason. Or maybe one of the jerry cans springs a leak, splits, cracks, rubs through, or otherwise fails and loses its contents (hopefully one on the roof, not one inside!). The section north of Kunawarritji is shorter though, and you can fill up at Billiluna if you're desperate (although just to be safe I did fill everything at Kunawarritji - ending up short on fuel will cost you much more than the $3.10/L diesel...).

[@gohvahn]

Do you have gpx map to share? I'm from Melbourne too

[@DropTableAdventures]

I've been meaning to make a clean one based on our GPS tracks, as the route we took didn't quite match either the one from Exploroz or the one I found on Hema Cloud, and neither included the Paruku IPA - I'll let you know when I've done that.

[@gohvahn]

@@DropTableAdventures thanks 😊 hope to get more info from you soon . Great video !

[@lyndasaunders302]

Very informative video, thank you. I have though did you feel the Donaldson air filter you fitted reduced the engine power or fuel efficiency. Thank you

[@DropTableAdventures]

I feel like it had a little bit less power when you went wide open throttle, but on the other hand the vehicle had a roof rack and was heavier than usual - so it was more likely just that. Fuel efficiency on the highway seemed normal - and on the Canning about what you'd expect too. I did take it off when we got home (it is a little noisy) and the vehicle didn't feel like it got faster, either.

[@robzyb]

Wait. What? Is that how you pronounce Carnegie? I've usually heard it it with a hard "g" at the end.

[@DropTableAdventures]

It's how *I* pronounced it, I wouldn't take my own word that it's correct. Unfortunately it's a bit difficult to ask him...

[@robzyb]

Do you say "GIF" or "GIF"? ;)

[@steveleo1636]

@@DropTableAdventures it's pronouced with a hard "g" same as Carnegie Hall. That's the only way to pronounce it.

[@DropTableAdventures]

@@steveleo1636 Thanks for the confirmation, I'll remember for next time!

[@antony3678]

You've HF radios coming out of your ar$e but don't own a printer😅 I'm sure getting a satellite phone would have been easier and lighter than the ridiculous HF set-up. The added weight of all those spares! Have you weighed your vehicle loaded to make sure you're not exceeding the GVM?

[@DropTableAdventures]

I do own a printer... it's just a 3D one :) And yes, you are correct - a satphone is smaller and lighter than all the HF gear, and would possibly be a better choice for many. Though as I said, the Garmin InReach is a better choice than that as satphone calls are expensive and often unproductive (call the dealership for tech advice, get put on hold for half an hour ($50) then have the call drop? Better to text a friend and have them call.). We have the PLB for life threatening emergencies, which is satellite based but has no ongoing fees. But the thing that I love is that HF gear can talk directly to somebody else's without having infrastructure. The HF gear doesn't cost a single cent to operate, nobody's charging for data or time (on amateur radio that is - and amateur radio being a class license now, don't even need to pay for license renewal - just once off for the exam and callsign). And it's a shared medium - I can just put a call out to whoever's listening, whereas with the satphone you need someone specific to call. And while HF data is slow, we still had it all - could talk to people with voice, send text messages and a position ping every 5 minutes via APRS, email via WinLink, share photos via SSTV, even post some (very low res) pics to social media!

[@DropTableAdventures]

I was just reminded of this by a recent announcement... if I was to have bought a satphone, I probably would have bought the Thuraya SatSleeve (it attaches to the back of your phone, and you make the call with your phone, but you can make an emergency call by pressing a button on the device itself, without a phone.) And then this happened, where Thuraya satellite #2 has died, meaning no more coverage in most of the Asia Pacific region, and your satphone's now a brick: www.pivotel.com.au/knowledge-base/faqs/thuraya-network-closure-faqs.html (I'd likely have actually bought an InReach, which uses the Iridium network, though.) Oh, and I missed your question regarding weight - we have a 3.8T GVM upgrade, the vehicle has been weighed and the weight of these items added up. It was (only just!) under GVM. The total weight of all the spares and fluids was only about 100kg.