Storing a Trailer or Caravan at Birdsville for a Simpson Desert Crossing
Storing a camper trailer or caravan at Birdsville to complete a Simpson Desert crossing.
When it comes to completing a Simpson Desert crossing there are always going to be difficulties if you have a camper trailer or caravan in tow. Although we have heard stories of some travellers that have completed a crossing with very small caravans it is most definitely not recommended. If towing a lightweight camper trailer then a desert crossing is more achievable, but this does come at a significant cost not only to the vehicle towing but more importantly to other travellers. For those seeking to avoid many a recovery, lots of hassles, and frustrating every other Simpson Desert traveller, there are options that allow you to complete a Simpson Desert crossing without a worry. The simple solution is storing your camper trailer or caravan in Birdsville while you complete your Simpson Desert crossing.
Storing Your Camper Trailer or Caravan at Birdsville
If you would rather complete a Simpson Desert crossing in just your 4WD like most other travellers, then there is the option to store your camper trailer or caravan at Birdsville. The Birdsville Caravan Park is happy to store trailers and caravans for a fee per day. The fee will depend on whether you want a powered or unpowered storage site.
When we completed our second Simpson Desert trip in May 2021, we had our camper trailer DOT373 in tow. We were travelling solo and only had a short amount of time available for this trip so we wanted to maximise what we could achieve each day. As a result, we chose to store our trailer at the Birdsville Caravan Park for 5 days. This allowed us to explore a big chunk of the Simpson Desert without worrying about our trailer and getting bogged. The team at the Birdsville Caravan Park are helpfully and friendly, but it is a good idea to give them a call a month or two before you travel. They are usually flexible with dates, but it is a good idea to find out if there are any events on as there is the risk of limited storage sites for your camper trailer or caravan when it is busy. If it is outside of the big events, then you should have no issues in finding a storage site. When we called to book, they advised us that we could change our dates closer to the time, so it is just best to book so you are on the list. You can change your dates as your trip progresses.
Cost of Storage
At the time of writing this post the cost in storing a camper trailer or caravan at the Birdsville Caravan Park is $10 per day for an unpowered storage site or $20 per day for a powered storage site.
- $10 per day – unpowered storage site.
- $20 per day – powered storage site.
We chose an unpowered storage site as we have a 180W solar panel on top of our trailer and a fantastic 120Ah Enerdrive lithium battery. We kept our fridge freezer running the whole 5 days without any problems. When we returned from the Simpson Desert, we checked our charge and solar logs, and the lowest battery charge was 65% which occurred on a rainy and cloudy day the day before. When we did check the battery at noon on the fifth day it was sitting at a charge of 75%. We were impressed with how well the solar worked with the freezer running the entire time. All our stored frozen meat was still perfectly frozen. If you do need power, there is the option to get a powered storage site, but it is double the cost.
What Are the Storage Sites Like?
The camper trailer and caravan storage sites are located on the left-hand side of reception and the large bathroom block just after you come through the main gate. The storage sites are on a big level open piece of dirt just behind some cabins. There is nothing fancy, just a large flat piece of dirt with some power points and bore water taps. The location of the storage sites means any stored camper trailer or caravan will be in clear view of either staff or other travellers which provides some level of security. Although anyone can walk into the caravan park and the main road is in clear view, so it is advised to store and lock everything away. We removed anything from the outside of our trailer that was not secure and safely stored it all inside our toolboxes which are all lockable. We also locked our DO35 hitch with a hitch lock. All our gas bottles are secure, so we did not worry about these. When we did return after 5 days everything appeared to be in good order and nothing looked to be tampered with.
Bore Water Available to Fill Up Tanks
At the storage sites there are many taps that can be used to refill your water tanks. This is bore water so it is safe to drink but we would recommend using an inline water filter. If you do need water to top up your tanks it is not free but requires a $10 donation to be made at reception. This donation goes to one of the local groups supporting kids in the community, so it is a worthwhile donation for clean drinking water to fill up your tanks.
Disadvantage of Having to Return
One disadvantage of storing a camper trailer or caravan anywhere, is you will need to return to pick it up. This does mean that when it comes to the Simpson Desert, if you plan on doing a crossing, it will become a double crossing. The other option is to do a loop as we recently did in May 2021. In our opinion, this is not an issue as you get to spend more time in the desert which is beautiful. Other options include a short trip into the desert where you could drive the QAA Line to the Northern Territory border, visit Poeppel Corner and then return. This will give you a good taste of what the Simpson Desert has to offer. You would be able to do this trip in about two days.
Our Simpson Desert Route
There are many routes that you could take to do a big loop back to Birdsville, but this will depend on how much time you have and if there are any track closures. Unfortunately, when we did our last trip, there were a few track closures with others that had just reopened but were in bad condition. This was due to the recent rains that had led to flood damage. The rains were fortunate for the area just not fortunate for us.
As a result, we had to change our route which was originally going to Mount Dare to refuel via the Inside Track, Rig Road, WAA Line and Dalhousie Springs, then back to Birdsville along the French and QAA Lines. The Inside Track and road to Mount Dare were closed, and the Spring Creek Track to Dalhousie Springs was in terrible condition. We therefore chose to do a loop driving Big Red, QAA Line, French Line, the Knolls Track, WAA Line, Erabena Track, French Line, and the QAA Line back to Birdsville. This did mean we drove the QAA and parts of the French Line twice, but it did not feel the same when travelling in opposite directions with the effects the prevailing winds have on the dunes. We found this was a great route and we thoroughly enjoyed the 5 days. If you want to read about the total kilometres, we travelled and our fuel consumption you can read our post here.
You Need a Decent Setup in Your 4WD
After we did this most recent Simpson Desert trip, we do think it is a great idea storing your camper trailer or caravan at the Birdsville Caravan Park. It is inexpensive, secure and you get access to clean water. On top of this, it allows you to experience everything the Simpson Desert has to offer without any worries or hassles. You will of course need to be well setup in your 4WD to be able to make the most of your Simpson Desert adventure. We are lucky in that we have built our 4WD to allow us to travel without our trailer comfortably. You can read our 4WD build posts here to see what we have done to our 76 Series Toyota Land Cruiser.
Stay at Least One Night in Birdsville
We chose to stay the night at an unpowered site down beside the Birdsville Billabong when we returned from the Simpson Desert. This allowed us to have a well-earned shower and a great pub feed at the Birdsville Hotel. We also used the afternoon to repack our trailer and wash a few dirty clothes using the caravan parks laundry facilities. We do not usually stay at caravan parks, but the Birdsville Caravan Park is not like most especially if you camp in the unpowered sites down by the Birdsville Billabong. We woke up early the next day, stopped into the Birdsville Bakery for breakfast and then headed off to Innamincka along Cordillo Downs Road for the next part of the adventure.
Towing Across the Simpson is Achievable
Many people have towed camper trailers across the Simpson Desert it is achievable. This will of course depend on the route you are planning to take, your 4WD, your experience, the weight of your trailer, the type of trailer, tyre pressures, and if you are travelling solo or in a group. It is recommended by National Parks that you do not tow trailers across the Simpson Desert, but it is not banned at the time of writing this post. It is not advised to tow as it can cause a large amount of track damage as well as delays for other travellers.
Route Will Be Important
We have seen many videos online of people completing Simpson Desert crossings with a camper trailer in tow. One of the most popular 4WD commentators Pat Callinan has done this and provided enough commentary on what he would advise if you were planning on doing something similar. The keys are the type of trailer including the wheel and suspension setup, the weight of the trailer, the 4WD towing the trailer, tyre pressures, the level of experience of the drive, and the planned route.
After we have completed two Simpson Desert crossings without a trailer, we have no experience in this area so will keep our commentary short. But from our experience the tracks you choose to drive will play a big part on how successful you are in towing a trailer in the Simpson Desert. For example, the tracks on the QAA Line predominantly run straight up the sand dunes. Although they are the steepest dunes in the Simpson Desert, these would seem to be manageable as they are a straight up run. The dunes are extremely steep in places, and if momentum waned a recovery would most definitely be required. Then there is the French Line, where the tracks wind their way up the dunes. Even though they are less steep than those on the QAA Line, the bends in the tracks will cause problems for a few even without a trailer. Even though this is the case, many people have successfully navigated over these dunes without many problems.
You Will Need More Time & Fuel
Other factors you need to consider is time and fuel. If you only have limited time for your Simpson Desert crossing, you need to factor in the potential time lost in dealing with recoveries and travelling at slower speeds. You will be navigating over hundreds of dunes so there is a high possibility that you will be completing a handful or more recoveries. If travelling solo, the recoveries will be more time consuming as you will most likely be using recovery tracks which will take some time if you have not progressed too far up a dune. If you have others travelling with you then there is the option of a snatch or tow which will save some time. Fuel will also play a big part as your fuel consumption will be on another level when towing. We averaged just under 20 litres per 100kms without a trailer. Our fuel consumption would be close to 30 litres per 100kms if we were towing. This would mean we would need to carry a significant amount of additional fuel which would then affect our weight.
One day we will tow our trailer DOT373 across the Simpson Desert when we have a decent group travelling with us or we have plenty of time. But until then, we will continue our Simpson Desert adventures in our 4WD only.
Thanks for reading our post on storing a camper trailer or caravan at Birdsville for a Simpson Desert crossing. If you have any questions or comments about our experience, please let us know below this post. For more information on planning, tracks, fuel consumption and a range of other topics on the Simpson Desert and Outback Australia, you can read our posts here.
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Thanks for reading legends.
The thoughts of Peter.
