Group travel guidelines

these may be what you're looking for?

http://www.exploroz.com/OntheRoad/Etiquette/TravelEtiquette.aspx

http://www.exploroz.com/OntheRoad/Skills/4WDSkills.aspx

Always good to have a good understanding of how things will operate when "on tour" and whilst to some it may seem overkill, a good way to ensure group harmony is to have a guidelines on how it will be achieved right from the outset.

Drop me an email and I can send you something I use (email located in my profile).

Cheers

Usual convoy procedures, lead, tail end . . . when travelling to / from either end of the crossing, have meet up at points along the way if needed (depending on size of group, there may be ones that want to travel faster, others slower).

With the simmo, probably the extras needed are :

Stops each 2 or 3 hours for a stretch, catch ups, usually at junctions or features.
Brief rundown on next section before heading off from stops.

Leader calling at top of each dune (or second dune if they are close) to alert other parties of groups presence . . . eg. group of * vehicles heading east on French Line, approx 10km from Knolls junction, anybody else in the vicinity ?

If a large group, you may need a vehicle in the middle to act as comms relay, as a group of 10 or so may be spread out over a dune or 3, and lead / tail may be out of direct line in many cases.
This also applies to the Ood Tk, BV Tk etc unless there's a breeze clearing dust pretty quickly.

Make sure everyone has a spare key wired under their truck somewhere.
We had a BT50 on our trip last week, auto locked with keys in the console in the middle of the simmo, spare had been put inside the glovebox only 2 days before in anticipation of the extra mud / dust.
Tried in vain to open it with wire, ended up rear side window being smashed to gain access.

Peter, this could be the one you are looking for;

Trip Planning - Choosing your trip companions wisely

Cheers

Here is a trip that would definitely had needed guidelines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SHm1wQv_Fg

Mate, having been there and done that I would strongly suggest having guidelines. Simple things such as departure times, general itinerary, what time you plan to pull over for camp setup and the like.
These simple things will help maintain the friendships. I have unfortunately witnessed good friendships been broken because one couple never realised the routine would be different to theirs. Day after day and week after week.
Also suggest not ignoring those basic rules, as it means some might be favoured and others not.
It may seem trivial before you go, but living in each others faces for three weeks is different . If everybody understands before you go what will be what then there will be less disappointments and misunderstandings
Cheers CJ

Peter
I think you should also consider what to do when people don't follow the agreement.

It is easy for people to agree to a travel plan before they leave, but when you get on the road reality is often different. People's selfishness will come out.

For example some one who is normally a late starter may agree with everyone to be ready to leave at 8am. But once they get on the road there natural tendencies are going to show through. They may find it hard to be ready in time.

So as a group what is the action going to be to actually solve the problem.

In the instance I was faced with it, we ended up splitting the group in two and meeting at a pre arranged spot for the night camp

Alam

Peter,
All the above is good and relevant.


The more people you have in the group the more likely you will have problems. We rarely travel with groups for the reason that it is hard to keep everyone happy. I suggest you try and limit the number to 3 vehicles per group and have multiple groups if you need too.

The things I have found causing real problems are:
1. some like to drive as fast as they can and cover as much distance in the day as possible
2. others like us like to stop and look at things, take pictures, watch animals & birds etc
3. watching the sunset having camped well before is good for us, others like to use every hour driving
4. radios, generators, mobile phones all are cause of potential agro
5. having a rest day when you find a nice spot
6. have an agreed navigator for each day, taking turns. others butt in only if asked
7. incessant chatter and inane comments over the cb radios
8. well prepared people having to bail out those who make little effort

I am not a wet blanket but trying to get consensus gets harder as the numbers grow and the time together increases. Short trips of a few days can be good fun as the diversity can be fun. After a time reality hits.

I have enjoyed group trips but definitely prefer solo or 2 or 3 vehicles of like minded people.

The suggestion of splitting into smaller groups and having an agreed stopping point is good but can be problematic if anyone has a difficulty.

hope it all works out and have a good trip.

In the Rub Al Khali, the big desert of Arbia. The main rule is not to lose sight of the guy behind you. If he stops you stop until he catches up. Eventually the leader will turn the group around to find the problem. Put the most experienced/reliable rig [other than leader] at the back of the group.

Eventually we got that pride of place.
Abqaiq

Thanks Team.
I knew I could count on you.
I will drop you a PM The Landy.
Scott M, they are the articles I had found already. thanks though for taking the time to reply.
BarryR1. I have forwarded that article to all the others and suggested we think through the trip and what we are each wanting out of the time on the road.
To all the others, thanks again for feeding me snippets of wisdom.

Fortunatley I have travelled a lot of the High Country with this group so we have a similar understanding but I just wanted to touch on things with them as this is a 2 week trip rather than a 3-4 day long weekend.

Stay tuned for how it all pans out!

cheers.