4WDs ABANDONED in Worst Desert Flood… Desperate Escape Attempt

Six 4WDs, 70 water crossings and two rigs left on a dune 75 days ago. Jock McDonald and Jesse Gleeson run for Birdsville as Eyre Creek rises across the Simpson Desert's QAA Line. The Bush Mechanic Challenge: buy the cheapest 4WDs you can find and get them 4,000km to the Birdsville Pub, the most remote pub in the country. Jock McDonald and Jesse Gleeson took an ex-backpacker Prado and a $500 Pajero across 1,000 dunes to do it, with Tank, Pete, Dave and the camera crew along for the ride. Day 8 opens with the Ford Ranger overheating and a set of thermo fans robbed out of an old Commodore at Mount Dare, one of the wildest bush mechanic fixes the boys have ever pulled off. Then the weather turns. Day 9 brings rain to one of the driest places on earth. Salt lakes that are normally a highway turn into oceans, tyres come down to 15psi rear and 12 front, the Pajero starts cutting out every time water hits the engine bay, and the run between every dune fills up. With three rigs in the convoy running no snorkel, the crew buddy up behind the ones that do and ride the bow wave. By Day 10 there's over 150mm down and the desert is flooding. Alternators die in the Prado and the 79, the 79 snaps a CV, the Ranger drops into limp mode, the Pajero's ECU goes under and the Prado's transmission takes on water. A call to Ben in Birdsville comes back with one answer: nobody is coming, head east metre by metre. Two 4WDs get parked on high ground and left behind, roof racks and traction boards get laid down as a bridge, and it's Eyre Creek in the dark, then Big Red, then a 1.3km water crossing that's about as far from a desert as it gets. Birdsville is cut off from the rest of the country by the time the boys roll in. The rigs are still sitting on that dune, and the trip back to get them is coming. 🔧 The bush mechanic fix you're proudest of: ____ 🌊 Push on or sit it out — what would you have done at Eyre Creek: ____ CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 1:11 Bush Mechanic Challenge — cheap 4WDs to Birdsville 2:17 Mount Dare — Holden fan into a Ford Ranger 5:38 Into the Simpson Desert dunes 9:12 Day 9 — the rain sets in 11:50 Flooded salt lakes 25:32 The storm hits 33:05 The Simpson Desert floods 44:13 Water crossings between every dune 49:24 The Pajero dies 58:31 Calling Birdsville for help 1:00:30 Abandoning the 4WDs 1:06:07 Eyre Creek crossing at night 1:10:23 Big Red — 1.3km water crossing ----------------- Our Crew: ----------------- Tank from Kincrome: https://www.kincrome.com.au/ Pete from Tough Dog: https://www.toughdog.com.au/ Dave from Offroad Animal: https://offroadanimal.com.au/ ----------------- Our Gear: ----------------- Jocko's Tyres: https://www.kumho.com.au/ 4WD Protective Paint: https://raptordiy.com.au/ Jocko's UHF Gear: https://oricom.com.au/deals/ 4x4 Suspension: https://www.toughdog.com.au/ Jocko & Jesse's tools: https://www.kincrome.com.au/ Workwear & Equipment Safety: https://www.rsea.com.au Experts in heavy duty storage: https://expedition134.com/ 4x4 Mods & Maintenance: https://www.pinnacle4x4.com.au Jocko & Jesse's Fridge: https://www.dometic.com/en-au/outdoor Morrflate Off-Road Air Inflation & Deflation Tools: https://essential4x4.com.au/ Towing Mirrors, fridge slides & towing accessories: https://www.clearviewaccessories.com.au/ 📸 Instagram: @4wd247 📘 Facebook: @4wd247 🎵 TikTok: @4wd247 Shaun, Graham, Jock & Jesse — formerly with 4WD Action — have been delivering Australia's best off-road content for 20+ years. From epic builds and 4x4 tips to Fraser Island, The Kimberley, Colorado and the Simpson Desert. Whether you're in a fully built LandCruiser or just starting out with a HiLux or Ranger — we've got you covered. #SimpsonDesert #SimpsonDesertFlood #EyreCreek #BigRed #Birdsville #QAALine #MountDare #DesertFlood #WaterCrossing #4WDRecovery #BushMechanics #JockMcDonald #JesseGleeson #BMCChallenge #OutbackAustralia #RemoteAustralia #FordRanger #4WD247 #4x4Australia #Overlanding