Driver training - Essential or a waste

[Signature035 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Signature035]

Re: Driver training - Essential or a waste

Back on track guys......


Highly recommend Vic's Great Divide Tours (& Traning)

He has the best traning facility in NSW.

(No affiliation)... other than hes a great bloke.

http://www.greatdividetours.com.au/

[seenthelight Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close seenthelight]

Re: Driver training - Essential or a waste

Would someone care to draw on that last photo where they think the centre of gravity is?

When this track was first made it was 35/40 degree (side angle), as no 4x4 clubs, manufactures would use the track we had to fill the lower part in, it is about 25 degrees now.(if you look at the photo under the left rear of the car you can see the rock and soil we filled it with).
There was also a 55 Degree climb that not to many cars could do (4x4 f&r lockers had trouble) so we backed it off to 45 degrees so most cars can us it,
the only real steep one there that we use now is 75 Degrees (one way down only)
In my opinion go with a good a 4wd driver trainer then join 4x4 club.

Geoff

[ozwapet2 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close ozwapet2]

Re: Driver training - Essential or a waste

Do the training, either with a club or commercially.
But still join a 4WD club where you like the people, and go on some of their trips. Best way to use the training in a practical sense. Also the wife will meet other ladies on the trips and will help her confidence. I'd advise a medium club, say 40-60 members. Even if you only stay for a year or two and go on say, 8 or 9 trips in varying types of country, your skills will have been developed pretty well.

They also advise that you revisit the training every few years, as the techniques do change over time, and like any skill, you can get sloppy.
Since I did my original training things like traction control have become much more common, so I need to go again.

[Allfour4x4 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Allfour4x4]

Re: Driver training - Essential or a waste

Hi,
Does anyone have an opinion on the effectiveness and neccessity of 4wd driver training or is it best to just learn on the job??
New to the offroad world, have done a few small day trips in sand and bush now but the wife is a little reluctant to come along, scared shitless.
Any recommendations for 1 or 2 day courses covering training and recovery, found plenty of websites but enjoy customer feedback
Jason!

You could do a lot worse than join the Toyota Land Cruiser Club in Sydney, when we were in NSW they had approx.1000 members and trips going all over the show.
http://www.tlcc.com.au/
Standard driving course is compulsory to attend their trips (and free) they also have advanced training (also free from memory) all on their own tracks

[Toy Pradopetty Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toy Pradopetty]

Re: Driver training - Essential or a waste

If you are interested, there is a local club that i am a member of and we only just refreshed ourselves on a Driver Training weekend- Advanced Level. Shoot us a PM if you are interested.--Razorback 4WD Club-Meeting at Camden

Cheers

Frank

[Milti 1974 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Milti 1974]

Re: Driver training - Essential or a waste

Hi all,
Thanks for your useful feedback, I look forward to the day I snap pictures of the missus' face while she is getting a bit of side action like D4D's wife, awesome. It looks like joining a good clun will be a good place to start and I might enquire about some of the leads already supplied, thanks again, happy driving!!
Jason

[longdog Member Find all posts View Profile Close longdog]

Re: Driver training - Essential or a waste

Geoff, what's the best course in Vic? Do you still run courses? I'd love to get Mrs longdog and myself into a course some time. Especially since that day you got me stuck and made me use the winch for the first time...

For the viewers at home, on an unofficial PP outing last November, Geoff led me down a track in the Wombat (which he suspected we wouldn't get back up) on the basis that I had a winch. He also astutely advised the other 2 vehicles without winches to stay up top until we sussed it out. I felt pretty infallible going down, but I was pretty glad he was there to educate when we inevitably had to winch for at least half an hour to get back up. No matter how we approached it we couldn't stay out of deep ruts on wet clay, we winched up with wheels in ruts and diff dragging on the clay. Couldn't wipe the smile off my face for a week, and felt that I had earned another 4wding "stripe". But it also reminded me that the more you learn the more you realise you don't know...

Geoff also told me at the beginning of the day that traction control sucks on wet clay. I didn't really believe him... After all, I had traction control and he didn't. And it worked really well in the Simpson and Stocktons. Plus, don't all the 4wd magazines say traction control is the bees knees? Spent the rest of the day looking for the damned off switch! Haven't found it yet. But I did find out that eventually it turns itself off accompanied by loud beeping after it overheats after 5 or so minutes of useless banging and clanging in wet clay...

So Geoff, I think I've done your intro course, but love to see more!

Cheers, ld



As you can see, this photo is also an obvious but unintentional advertisement for steel side steps...

You can see the trail of the diff dragging, and the rut over the axle. The bloke in blue in the background is looking for the next suitable tree trunk for winching. As usual, the photo doesn't illustrate the gradient of the hill, it's actually pretty steep. And it looks as if we should have been able to straddle the rut. Believe me, we tried. On the far right you can see wheel tracks from the front wheels of previous attempts but the rear wheels kept sliding left into the rut leaving the vehicle pointed to the right directly at the bank and unable to proceed. Even Geoff had to winch out of this muck!

If you can get a day like this with some experienced folk, unbeatable. But even after this I'd still like to do a course.

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Re: Driver training - Essential or a waste

We're members here http://pajeroclub.com.au/ it is a well organised, established club.

[croozza Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close croozza]

Re: Driver training - Essential or a waste

You definately need to do a 4wd driver training course, infact, some clubs wont even let you on anything tougher than easy rated trips if you have not completed one.

As for D4D's comments, everyone is allowed to have an opinion, however peoples opinions are different, and some people dont like to hear that, but it is not for us to comment about what he has to say, obviously he is unhappy about something that has happened, but it should be left up to the mods and him to sort it out without anyone else butting in, so as they can come to an agreeable resolusion so that everyone is happy.

[LaoK User account deleted at own request. Find all posts View Profile Close LaoK]

Re: Driver training - Essential or a waste

I doubt that any course would have helped this guy.









V8 Land-Cruiser in Saudi falls down a 60m well
You'd think that they'd at least put up a flag to let people know there's a 100 mt hole there. This happened in Saudi a few days ago. In areas where there is fresh water under ground the locals dig wells and support the sides with concrete and stones to keep the sand from falling back in to the well. Some of these are up to 100 meters deep. This particular one was 60 meters deep and 4 meters wide, located outside the small town of Ryad in the center of Saudi. The guys went out in the desert for a bit of 4X4 fun on a Thursday when one of them drove in to the well and dropped 60 meters to the bottom with his V8 Cruiser. Rescue workers retrieved the car and the driver had a mild concussion from hitting his head against the wind screen. Hard to believe he is alive.

[two+four Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close two+four]

Re: Driver training - Essential or a waste

You definately need to do a 4wd driver training course, infact, some clubs wont even let you on anything tougher than easy rated trips if you have not completed one.

As for D4D's comments, everyone is allowed to have an opinion, however peoples opinions are different, and some people dont like to hear that, but it is not for us to comment about what he has to say, obviously he is unhappy about something that has happened, but it should be left up to the mods and him to sort it out without anyone else butting in, so as they can come to an agreeable resolusion so that everyone is happy.

Well said croozza, the comments have been taken off line for discussion so as not to take away from this very worth while thread.

[seenthelight Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close seenthelight]

Re: Driver training - Essential or a waste

Hi mr & mrs longdog
what's the best course in Vic?
Any couse you do that helps you offroad and you come away learning something is a good course,
As for the best 4wd course in vic I,m sorry but l think it would be bias for me to say.
Do you still run courses?
Yes we still do 4wd driver training,
if you would like any more info can you please PM me.


LoaK
I doubt that any course would have helped this guy
RECOVERY

Geoff

[LaoK User account deleted at own request. Find all posts View Profile Close LaoK]

Re: Driver training - Essential or a waste

Yeah! Well I have lodged a complaint with my instructors that my 4WD Recovery Course did not include from wells. Most disappointed. LOL