Conquering the Outback: TuffAnt Simpson Wheels and the Land Rover Discovery 5

Rob and Karen are some of our amazing TuffAnt customers! This is Rob's review of the TuffAnt Simpson's for their adventures around Australia.

My wife Karen and I have been touring with caravans since 2014. We towed our first and second vans, both Jayco’s, with our VW Touareg 4xMotion until 2019. When we decided to do a 'lap,' and realised that the Touareg was approaching five years old, we began feeling concerned about getting serious repairs done in the outback. Consequently, we decided to buy a Land Rover Discovery 5 - which arrived in March 2019.

Whilst excited about our new vehicle, the main worry we had for our D5 was tyre size; we couldn't source 18" like the ones we had on the Touareg for the D5, only 19 inches. However, at that time, there was a better tyre choice in 20”, so we changed the standard Good Year Eagle F1 255/55R20 tyres for all-terrain 255/55R20 Good Year Wrangler Duratrac

. That was the start of a frantic “build” to get the D5 ready for a trip around Australia by the end of March that year.

We were only 1500km into our Lap when one of our Duratracs was destroyed by a sharp rock penetrating the sidewall in the Flinders Ranges. The stress was huge when we realised that we couldn’t get a new tyre until we arrived in Perth. A month later we commenced the Gibb River Road. According to locals, it was in the worst condition it had been in over a decade, and we were advised to run 30psi to lessen the risk of sidewall damage. I can tell you; the Gibb was a huge worry and we still had Cape York to go. Fortunately, apart from a simple puncture near Exmouth, the rest of the trip was without tyre trouble.

About 12 months later, through the Land Rover Discovery 5 Owners Group – Australia, on Facebook, I became aware of TuffAnt. Back then, their 18” wheels were Steelies and not suitable for the large brakes on my Sd6.

However, one thing TuffAnt is not short on is innovation.

Enter the new 18” TuffAnt Alloy Simpson.

After a long talk with TuffAnt’s Natassia Pomroy, I ordered a set of Smoke Grey Simpsons in August 2020, and wrapped them in Nitto Ridge Grappler 265/65R18 tyres. Our TuffAnt Simpsons and the Ridge Grapplers and more recently, the awesome Toyo Open Country R/T LT265/65R18 have taken on the Victorian High Country, the deserts, and the outback. We’ve towed our Crusader XCountry Extreme on the Oodnadatta Track twice, Binns Track, Birdsville Track, the Mereenie Loop, Ernest Giles Highway, and the Plenty Highway. Most recently we’ve completed the Great Central Road – 1000km of unforgiving dirt, stones, corrugations, and bulldust between Uluru and Laverton in WA, altogether, several thousand kilometres of hard outback tracks.

These iconic tracks have become almost worry-free in terms of tyre safety. It’s about tough LT tyres and the most important thing – sidewall height and strength. My TuffAnt Simpsons allow me to fit the best tyres available for the Outback. After 80000 kilometres on TuffAnts, I reckon I have the experience to say that they are the best thing I’ve ever done to our weapon of a D5.

Follow more from Rob & Karen on their insta @wewouldntbedeadforquids