Your first 4WD experience

Do a defensive driving course, then do a two day offroad training course. Once you've done those, you'll probably be considered a beginner. Of course, experience only comes from good and bad experiences. I've been doing trips for 10 years now and soft and hardcore offroad, small comps included. And I'm a long way behind some of the other guys on this site who have done the cape 20 times, and play nearly every weekend.

No use tricking your truck up if you can't pick the right line, stick to ruts etc. You'll only end up hurting yourself and your pride and joy.

Cheers

Chris.

Second day of owning my first (and still current) fourbie (patrol), we took it bush and on the way back we've stumbled into a real estate development area full of limestone rubble. Feeling invincible I've started driving in only to realise those limestone boulders were only getting bigger. Rather than trying to turn around, I've stuck it in reverse and started backtracking only to back over a HUGE rock and place a nice big dent in the underbody sill on the drivers side! (remember i'd only had the car for two days!) :)

Moral of the story: Don't drive where you can't see. Not following this rule before has seen me almost drive off a small cliff, stuck on huge rock with the front wheels in the air (separate incident), etc etc...

Another important rule thats maybe important: Always listen to your head and never your mate in the passenger seat. Your the one who has to dig the fourbie out of the mud in the end when you get stuck!!!! :)

Cheers!
Dave.

Hi Finito....
Heres my 2c worth...
Definitely do a course, if you don't want to spend up on a two day course... , join a club that has a Driver Awareness Program as part of it's induction. The first things to learn, equally important, and keep practicing are

1) The Stall start technique
2) Correct snatch recovery procedure

In my opinion, you can't practice the hill stall start too many times!! Get it wrong on any hill, and you can find yourself in a world of hurt and anguish.

The same applies to recovery, it's not to be taken lightly.... people have died from incorrect recovery practices..

We have found the club atmosphere is a very enjoyable thing.. our club has young blokes and old blokes and middle aged blokes and lotsa families in between! You learn heaps. even at the monthly meetings!.. and if you get crossed up on a track, there will always be a "clubbie" to help you out!

We have had lots of enjoyable experiances with our club... but will never forget the exhilaration of our first club trip... it was rated "Easy" but to feel the engine braking on the Patrol down steep hills and fording some not-too-deep creeks, and seeing the live axles walking up rutted tracks had us grinning for days!!!!!

Hope this helps... and Good Luck!!!! It is a very enjoyable past time!

Hey Flinto
Advise I can give is, Know your car back to front, I mean really know it, and carry important tools and whatever spare you can. Also before any adventure, give the car the once over.
Went to fraser many years ago now with my first MQ patrol and all was good until I got off the last barge of the day, something felt a little funning coming off the barge, got around hook point and realised the front passenger wheel had the bearing colapse and the wheel was sort of hanging there. Managed to get on to the small dune and had no idea. No one to help, no more barges to catch that day. In the morning got another 4WD to pull me down onto the hard beach and continue to drive to the barge, somehow got on and off with no 4 wheel drive and went into rainbow beach where i very quickly learnt to change bearings, axle, brake caliper, hubs , discs and anything else that was attached, as it was all chewed apart by driving on it.
Every onther trip i had it down pat to check bearing etc..

Either join a club and take the opportunity to practice under the experienced members' supervision or at least associate with much older and more experienced drivers.
Do everything with caution, as the foregoing posts have said get it wrong and you and your rig get hurt.
Read this forum it is full of good advice, but then take all advice with care.
Don't neglect maintenance - what you ignored last week may well fail when you are well away from help.
No accessory you can buy will provide you with experience and the wisdom to be safe.
Meet you on the road some day!
Camper

Wow, i only posted this morning and i already have a raft of responses! Some of you guys have really had some hairy experiences. I can definitly agree on knowing the vehicle well, the first thing i bought for the car wasn't even petrol, it was the manual for the 4runner! I'm a mechanical engineering student and always carry a hefty set of tools in the car + water and oil, so i should be able to keep on top of minor mechanical repairs, at least to save face. One thing i need to do is to replace the CV joints, and a good start might be to replace all the rubber boots in the car
I think a really common link with all the posts is to join a club, and i will definitly be loking into that. I bet you all have a lot of fun in the clubs, and this is one of the reasons i have decided to do recreational 4WDing.
Look where you are driving. That is a great tip. It seemed a little obviouse at first, but i think we have all had near misses. I will definitly keep that in mind. Last thing i want is to smash up myself and passengers. It is a sore point with alot of P platers that we are seen as recklass because some fools drive their overpowered cars into trees with all their friends.
Anyway, i am really enjoying this thread. Keep them coming, I would like to hear more.:)

Finito,

"The reason you buy a 4wd is so you can go to a worse place to get bogged." That was written inside the front cover of the first book I ever read on 4w driving. It's true.

I have been driving 4wd for about 15 years and still love it.

Like many who have already given advice I have done a great variety of 4wd ing and there is fun to be had in seeing what there is to see and seeing if I can get up that. Even if there is nothing to see at the top.

There are two things that will amaze you about 4wds. 1) Where they will go and 2) where they will get stuck.

My advice is simple, take it slow. You don't have to see it all at once and you don't have to go to fast.

Never be afraid to get out and have a look. And never be afraid to say "I'm not going there." If in doubt go slower rather than faster. If you go slow you probably won't hurt anything and you probably won't get too badly stuck. (Notice I said probably) So getting out should not be too difficult. If you go too fast you hit things harder and then break things you also get further into trouble and make it harder to get out.

I got my first 4wd bogged on the way home from the dealer. I had no recovery gear, no one to help and no idea. I thoroughly enjoyed it. On my last family holiday I got my latest 4wd bogged. I had a shovel a family to laugh at me I knew how to get it out and I had a ball. Can't wate for the next time.

Welcome to the club

Duncs

The problem with 4WD's is that you will be tempted to drive them where you wouldn't dream of taking a normal car!
This is when the trouble starts - because 4WD's still bog, break down and when they bog,they bog good and proper! Because they wiegh twice as much they are twice as hard to pull out!
So the moral of the story is to learn your vehicles limitations and a simple rule to use until you do is - if there are no recent tracks and it looks dicey don't proceed!!
Enjoy it while we still can!

You'll never know hao far you can go in your 4by until you get stuck trying, then you know you've gone too far. You will get bogged, you will get hung up. The secret is having a get out option. Travel with other vehicles if possible, always carry appropriate recovery gear, keep some warm clothing and some water and tucker in the car. You might only be a few kms from home but if it's dark and wet stay with the car and tackle things in the cold light of day. The more you prepare for potential problems the less likely they are to occur.

Number 1 rule is Enjoy it.

My tips are:
Do a 4WD Training course
Join a club - even if only for a short while
Don't travel solo on big trips
Get the right safety & recovery gear and learn how to use it
ALWAYS respect our environment
Cheap parts and accessories are no good

enjoy what's ahead of you in the world of 4wding

Finato bought my first 4wd in 1979 a landrover.
I took it with a mate to the beach and drove just off the black top about 4 metres
into some wet/soft sand.
The mate said I hope we dont get stuck 4 hours latter a tow truck finaly got me out.
It was a bottomless sand something like quike sand to walk on was fine. but once you drove past the sign that said soft sand do not enter thats where the trouble started.

All the best
eric

www.capeyorkconnections.com.au

Hi Finito,

Where are you based, maybe some of us can recommend a few 4wd clubs for you to look into

My very 1st day with my very 1st 4by, picked the car up with my family going for a drive , I found some bush track, thought here is an opurtunity, got out locked the from hubs in , and in I went only to find myself sink the the back axles, trying to dig it out, getting dark wife and kids not impressed, after about 3 hours I decided to check the front hubs, when I left the car yard they were locked in, silly me not checking had unlocked them, and of cause being inexperienced, never entered my mind that the back wheels were dug right in while the front were sitting on the surface,

Lesson number 1 for me , dont try anything on your own, do a cource and join a 4WD club, that was about 4 years ago, havnt looked back sinse.

OH BTW the wife still dont let me forget that experience

Clive

I reckon the most likely place you will have trouble is driving around town. Remember, it doesn't brake or steer like a car. More 4Bs are destroyed in bingles with cars than off the bitumen.

G'day Finito,

When we were 18 and on P's, my mate had a BJ40 cruiser and we took it up to the hills behind our place (Warby Ranges near Wangaratta). I had a few hours to spare before I had to catch the train back to Melbourne for uni. We got bored of mucking around in the mud and not getting bogged. We were parked near a dam put it back into 2wd so we could do a few donuts and have a bit of the traditional fun we had been used to in our Commodores and Kingswoods. We only went about 2 meters after dumping the clutch and the thing sank to the back diff in muddy slop that was just below the hard surface.

Spent about 3 hours digging and jacking with a tiny little jack until we could get out of there. No one around for miles, no radio, no mobile phones back those days and it was just about dark when we finished and got home. Missed my train back to Melbourne. We learnt our lesson, and that was 12 years ago.

My mates problem was letting us talk him into being silly. Don't let your mates talk you into going places that you think are risky, or don't go there unless you have a radio or travelling with another car. Try and talk your mates into selling their 2wds and getting a 4wd. You've done well to get get your first fourbie at a young age. Get a 4wd course under your belt early as it will save you heartache early on.

Wazza

I thank you all for your input, i am absolutly enjoying all these responses. I think it is great that you can get yourself in a near hopeless situation and still reminise on it years after it has all happened. For those of you wondering, i am based in newcastle, around the top end of lake macqurie.
The other day i took the 4runner on the beach and around the dunes around the top of belmont north. I let a friend drive and he got it bogged below the high water line! I simply let more air out of the tires, put it into high range 4WD, and carefully eased it out. I really didn't want my car to be washed away before my eyes! I also discovered that on sand you turn a few meteres before where you actually want to go. It was a good afternoon.
Can anybody out there refer me to a great club in my area? I am pretty sure i would like to join one. Also, my tyres have little tread. They were not flash when i bought the 4runner, but for $3,000, and full comprehensive insurance for $5,900, i was in no position to complain. I won't even consider retreads, but as i have a small amount of money, what percentage of tread would be your minimum for a second hand set of tyres?
Your experiences are valuable to me, please keep them coming!