Invitation

[Cuppa]

As a new Patrol owner, with next to no 4x4 off road experience (but with a fair amount of off road bike & quad bike experience - much easier when you can see where your wheels are in relation to the terrain) I need to learn what my Patrol will & won't do. Knowledge that most, if not all of you here take for granted I expect. I live out in the bush, 30kms from Traralgon, in the Strzleckis. Today I had a little fun following some narrow trails & logging tracks (of which there are many all around our place), but felt vaguely anxious when we hit some slightly wet & boggy ruts. Drove through them without problem, but it made me realise that I really don't have any idea of what the vehicle will do, set up as it is. Going out with someone else/others would be useful & reassuring.
If anyone, or even a small group of folks is interested in a camping weekend up here in the bush we have plenty of room. It would be good to take the Patrol out with others just in case I were to get into trouble. Not interested it getting extreme, but company would be reassuring.

Anyone?

regards
Cuppa

[YNOT]

All good to post that up Cuppa.

If you wern't so far away I'd take you up on that offer.
4WD clubs are another great way of learning about 4WDing and getting out with like minded people.

Tony

[Finly Owner]

Cuppa, I'm the same as you. I own one and am slowly(very slowly) trying to make it fit. But I travel down a track occassionally, just to feel like I'm 4WDing, as work days interfere with days I can join outings. But I don't tackle bog holes or waterholes without a buddy to recover me. This is smart 4wding if you ask me.

Tim

[AB]

Hey cuppa, I'd love to mate but can't until after easter. Would you like to join us on the Vic forum meetup 3? It will be at Toolangi (near Yarra Glen) sometime after easter. Date hasn't been set yet but would be great to meet you and you'll have plenty of people willing to guide you. Hope you can come along?

x2 for me Cuppa, but yeah you should come along to Toolangi meet up...Great people and different groups of drivers will choose their own tracks to go on so It's all good!

[DX grunt]

Nice post.

I try to get out and find out our (me and my truck's) capabilities as much as we can.

Rossco's Rule #1. Never go out by yourself. Take a tojo if you have to. At the end of the day, a tow is a ticket to freedom! lol

Take care out there.

Ross

[Cuppa]

Thanks fellas. Camping or daytrip? I'll have to wait & see on a date. I kinda feel I should be a bit better set up before I do something like that too- recovery points & gear etc. 'Touring' sounds more my style than the stuff in AB's pics! It's a bit hard to know what others think of as 'easy' or 'hard'. When up in the northwest, we left our bus at Spring Creek & rode our trail bikes into the Bungle Bungles. Before we went in, other folks, all drivers of 4x4's (towing caravans which they left at Spring Creek) were 'comparing notes' on their return to the camp & all saying how hard/bad/awful the track had been. On the bikes we had found it easy & enjoyable. I find it hard to imagine we would have had any difficulty in a 4wd, (& would have kept our feet dry too)! Maybe they were all 'mainly blacktop' drivers.

Open invite stands for our place if anyone's interested.

Cuppa

[Clunk]

I'd love to Cuppa but again a bit far for me to travel. I'm also new to 4wd'n and finding my feet, although I think at present the Q's capabilities are far greater than mine at the moment (eve in stock form). But the more I go out the more I try and loving it all the more, played on the soft sand, dust 'n' rocks but have yet to play in the mud............... that may be some time coming the way things are going over here. And as Rossco said above, try and go with a group, well at least 2 of you. Happy motoring mate.

[Bigrig]

Cuppa, I'm the same as you. I own one and am slowly(very slowly) trying to make it fit. But I travel down a track occassionally, just to feel like I'm 4WDing, as work days interfere with days I can join outings. But I don't tackle bog holes or waterholes without a buddy to recover me. This is smart 4wding if you ask me.

Tim

X 2 on the bogholes/mud bit - you want others there for that. To be honest, even though I had a lash at the boghole at LCMP on our recent trip, I prefer tracks, hill work, and beach to serious mud - the only ones who truly love mud are auto electricians!! It keeps them gainfully employed fixing all the issues when you get back!!! LOL. Driving in serious bogholes has no real "talent" to it - most people just get the front wheels in (don't hit them fast!) and then gun it, whilst not knowing why they are grinning from ear to ear, because on the inside they are hoping the tyres are pressured down enough, they have enough bite, that the engine doesn't slowly keep losing grunt, and that they can pull the sheepskin out of their crack if and when they get through it!!

Wish I was closer mate, as I'd take you up on your offer in a heartbeat! You're near some beautiful parts of the world there, and even a decent track tour would be great and would give you fat more opportunity to learn technique - much more important! Tony as an example showed one of the guys that came out with is how to do stall starts on a serious ascent if they couldn't get up so the rig was safely using 4low to climb backwards down the hill - that made a huge difference in confidence to the driver to keep having a lash at climbing it, as they felt more in control going back down. Little things that make it look easier and build confidence. As he said also, joining a club would get you out and about in a safe and welcoming environment also.