Off-roading..sport of Kings?

Hi Bronco

It's not a cheap sport I can tell you that much :) I am always looking at way to make the truck bigger and stronger. Sometimes you have to drive out on a mountain to get that perfect view of the sunset so you need the gear to get up there and of course you need the best fridge to have a cold beer up there :)

When I lived in the UK I used to do a lot of clay target shooting - it is not difficult to spend UKP20,000 on a shotgun. And a pair of Holland and Holland's guns could set you back UKP100,000 or more. By comparison 4WDing seems cheap :)

I am also a radio Amateur so my $1200 radio serves two purposes. I just spent $500 on a winch because I usually travel alone but $500 is probably less than gym membership?

Like most interests 4WDing has a minimum initial spend requirement but once you have the basics you don't have to buy all the additionally trinkets.

Mike Harding

Ray,

What Mike said!... It IS a costly venture but once you're "geared-up" it gets a little cheaper.... you only have to worry about the possible damage then! We have spent three years and a lot of $$$$ to get our Nissan set up how we want it.... it's almost there, and in fact ready for adventure right now! All we have to do is afford the fuel!

It's not for everybody, but then again if everybody did it, it'd be crowded out there in the bush, wouldn't it????

Cheers

Brian

Hi Ray
As the boss put it to the other girls at the 4WD club when they winge about the cost of 4WDing, they could spend it on a mistress instead. He thought is that our 4WD's are our highly expensive mistress needing much care and attention.

Ray
PS It is abit disappointing that the winch, battery kit etc seems to have an equivilant value in diamonds.

Ray I just had a look at your rig profile and you have some great paintings in there you are very talented. I wish I could paint like that....I normally stick with the stick men and stick trees

Hmmmmm.....Ray

If you are looking at the monetary value of things then there are many comparisons that can be made.

It all depends on what you aspire to.

My complete set-up costs less than my mates swimming pool at his house and like him, I get continuous enjoyment out of it.

You are always spending money as this is the commodity we have to trade with. Even you will spend extra money on whatever you need when travelling, being an artists and doing what you do. No, you don't need what we "offroaders" may want. But then again do we NEED all that stuff?

I saw an ad on TV last week for a $600,000 Winnebago Luxury Touring Bus. I can't even afford to buy one wheel of that vehicle but there is someone out there who has that sort of money and they will enjoy driving around in it.

Affordability of a pursuit is in the eye of the beholder.

After saying all of the above I must go and top up my diesel tank at $1.45 a litre.

Them's the breaks. Do or die!

Cheers

I think Willem has the right angle on this. It is not a sport, so cost comparisons with sport probably don't mean much. It is more a leisure pursuit; even a way of life.
The swimming pool comparison is a good one. Also, people spend a fortune on overseas holidays. Others think nothing of spending $30,00 to $50,000 on the 'family car'. Well our 'family car' just happens to be a 4B.

For an initial set up, a $10,000 GQ and about $2,000 on mods and accessories is enough for a vehicle. Another grand or two on a reasonable tent and camping gear and you can hit the road for under $15K. And a good slice of that is recoverable if you decide to sell.

Sure, some of us have expensive set ups, but you don't need it to get into the lifestyle and see this great country.

Ray, I'm not wealthy by any means. But I am lucky enough to have done some 4wd touring over the years. The rigs I've met range from the full on 100k+ through to the locals in their 2wd cars, sleeping in a swag etc.
When I was a teenager I hitched around a bit (it seemed a bit safer in those days, no doubt it wasn't but I was young and stupid.) I was camped in my tiny tent in Ballina, next to a guy in a 4wd and huge van. We started chatting and he told me that he envied me. As a 16yo I was blown away. Yes, says he. You are up and gone in 5mts. I'll be here for another hour and a half before I can go.
The point being that there's a price for everything. More is not necessarily better :))

So in terms of 4WD gear (besides the obvious camping gear like tent, tarp or camper trailer) what do you guys with 4WD trekking experience recommend that you must need?
Like do you neccessarily need radio, recovery gear etc etc
I understand that this may vary with respect to where you may plan on going but I was just wandering opinions on what was absolutely necessary for general 4WD trekking.

Ray

I have friends who don't bat an eye lid at spending $20000 on an overseas holiday for the family as a once off but when you say you spent at least that on extras for the 4wd they say your mad. I go away for 8 weeks a year with my wife and 3 kids touring up north and still have my car when I get home, ready to do it again next year. We don't travel overseas so it's worked out a cheaper form of travelling for us over the years we have been doing it. My kids are also growing up with an appreciation for this country. Another 8 weeks coming up in july this year starting with the CSR yeha. It may be a little more than $20000 but I have to be careful in case my wife reads this.

So in terms of 4WD gear (besides the obvious camping gear like tent, tarp or camper trailer) what do you guys with 4WD trekking experience recommend that you must need?
Like do you neccessarily need radio, recovery gear etc etc
I understand that this may vary with respect to where you may plan on going but I was just wandering opinions on what was absolutely necessary for general 4WD trekking.

Hi Ray,

No matter how little or how much all of us here spend on our rigs and camping set-up, it all comes back to being a lifestyle decision. The great thing about 4WD touring (as opposed to hard core 4WDriving as a sport) is that you can enjoy the benefits close to home or across the other side of the country, tackle a hard trek or an easy one and therefore you can really spend as little or as much as you like to enjoy the great outdoors. Most of the gear (such as recovery equipment, radios etc) is transferable from one vehicle to the next, as is camping gear so a lot of the $$$ spent are on essentially one-time only purchases that will deliver ongoing benefits for years to come. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to ones priorities. We spend the $$$ on our set-up knowing that the entire family enjoys the benefits of the travel, exploration and wonders of this great country. Our CT set us back heaps but with a young family we know that we'll propably get a minimum of 15 years of family holidays and trips out of it. So spread the outlay out over that time, it is actually a pretty cheap deal - certainly a lot cheaper than spending 2 weeks a year in a holiday apartment/cabin etc. We have a nice but affordable home to keep our mortgage at a reasonable level so we can afford to travel and have at least one good family holiday each year. Many of our friends have more expensive homes and family holidays are few and far between and usually only for a week or two at a time. I'm not judging their decisions, merely emphasising the point that what one spends on 4wdriving is a reflection of their priorities.

:o) Melissa