It's not Offroad, or is it?

Alan

To me Off Road would mean just that, when not driving on the road.... :-)

Gary Highway in my mind is not a road, to which the meaning Road would apply.

So to me that would be off road..

On the other hand Hyden to Norseman is a road and then is On Road..

Richard

The expressions I usually use are:

"Off-road" means a route generally requiring a 4wd even when dry.

"Unsealed" is just that and could be travelled by 2WD.
Of course, unsealed could become off-road with a little rain.

"Off-track" or "Cross-country" means a course not defined by tracks.
"Bush Bashing" is as per "Off Track" but has some bad connotations although thats what Len Beadell always called it.

Hi Alan,

I go with the need of a 4WD and low range to negotiate the country. If you can do it in a 2WD or a soft roader then I don't reckon its off road.

I feel it would be difficult to get everyone to agree to a standard definition on what off road is i.e. how many times have you heard "dont go down that track its a rough as guts" You do it anyway and when you get through it you are still wondering where the rough bits where. Its a matter of perceptions and experience.

Also, and sadly, the use of the terms, off road and bush bashing in some conjures up red necks destroying the environment etc.

Are you getting itchy feet to head bush soon?

Phil

Yep I agree with Alan and Phil in their definitions. Crikey you must be bored mate!

I'm always careful of the terms I use because of the connotations placed upon them (as Phil has said). Bush bashing, while a truly appropriate descriptive term for negotiating some areas of country as my paint work will attest) can have negative meaning placed upon it by some quarters of the population. I prefer to use "off-Track exploration" to refer to an area not defined by tracks these days. Even that has to be explained most of the time because your average punter has no concept of an expanse that is not defined by any form of track. "why the hell would you go there?" tends to be the question.

I think you better head out into the back yard and cover yourself with a few handfuls of western desert dust fella. You're having withdrawals. I have an emergency bag of the stuff in the shed if you're out!

Cheers Mick

I like driving on highways myself - Gunbarrel, Gary, ..... :-))


KK

""To me "Offroad" has always meant driving through virgin bush""

just what the greenies want us to do so they can get all us so called 4wd bush bashers banned????

so me to me offroad means driving off bitumen....when does a dirt track/road become something else....if it aint a road or track then should we really be driving on/in it?

Image Could Not Be FoundHi Alan
You and I share the same thoughts. Off Road is when you have to point your vehicle where there are no tracks and all those lovely things just waiting to puncture and ruin tyres, where as 4 wheel tracks are the roads that are true "4 wheel drive Only"

Here are a couple of examples from our last little venture.

Cheers

Stephen[Image Could Not Be Foundfi]/58567.5/Forum/Pic_257[/fi]

My front lawn........where Tojos fear to tread.........hehehe.


Cheers......Lionel.

It's all in your perception. If you live in the Sydney CBD, the "off-road" would mean going to the local tip to drop off some rubbish.

It's a bit like the word "country"......

People who live in a city refer to the "country" as anywhere outside the city limits........ "Oh, lets go for a drive to the country; what about Moss Vale?"

People who live in a regional town don't see them selves as living in the "country". They would more likely use the word thus: "We're going for a drive to grandpa's farming country to get some firewood".

Then of course, you get the people who move overseas..."to another country".

So, back to "offroad"..... Like most 4 wheel drivers, I don't actually drive "offroad"..... I stick to tracks. I understand that there are expeditions that a lot of readers of this forum undertake where they need to go "offroad", following the GPS etc..... That type of travel is one step beyond what I ever intend to undertake.

Roachie

Hi all
Guess its a matter of what you are used to. IMHO I think that you have to be in 4wd at some stage (locked centre diff for the constant 4x4's) to say you are offroad.

Some of the country I travel regularly for work, Are reasonable gravel roads.

Say the road from Tilpa to Louth, Can be as rough as guts at times with 3-4 inch washouts but I've never had to lock the hubs in. Other times after its been graded you can sit on a reasonable speed(for a gravel road) with confidence

That to me is normal country back tracks or roads.

The locals use 2wd cars and utes to travel country that many would only use a 4x4, but I don't recommend using 2wd on a lot of the roads unless you know the road well (a local)

I think I can clarify this question from a caravan towing viewpoint.
First, “Off Road” is a sticker which is all yours if you spend $10k extra at the Caravan Show. As well as the sticker, you will get a few bits of chequer plate aluminium, bigger wheels, and sometimes shock absorbers or stronger cupboard catches. Of course, if you spend an extra $50k, then you get a lot more, hopefully.
Second “Off Limits” is where you go, if you buy an Off Road caravan (see above) and take it off the bitumen. It may be OK if there are no corrugations, no bumps, no stones, no ‘heavy landings’. Naturally, damage from water or dust is not covered by the warranty. So a few kilometres of corrugations, and your broken cupboard (or worse) is your problem. So is the stone damage to the water pipes, or the wiring.
Thirdly, “Off Your Trolley” is where you end up if you try to make sense out of it all.
Fourth, “Off Out of Here” is where you need to be, instead of trying to make sense of it all.

G'day Alan
Interesting question you have posed.
Let's delve a little deeper here.
What do you define as virgin bush?
Cheers from the Moose

I'm with you on this one Alan

Off road in my terms is any harder then normal dirt track that is not gazetted as a road.

I think in general people have different ideas of what makes a off road track easy, medium, hard, difficult or extreme, what might appear hard to some may be a walk in the park to others.

This shows up in this forum where some people think you have to drive slow, pay real attention or some other caution they highlight to drive on a dirt road and some others don't blink an eye lid and think nothing of it....

Same as distance, some think 400 kilometres in a day is doing well and others will travel 1000+ kilometres in a day.

Everyone has their own abilities and it doesn't mean your an idiot if you go to fast or a snail is your slow.

Most people with 4wd's will or have never driven their 4x4 in harsh demanding conditions.

The only relevant definition is the one from your insurance.
Everything else are just words and nonsense discussions.

have fun
gmd

Gday Alan,
Beadell Tours website is well-read by people on this forum. They seemed to popularise the term "off-track" and use the following to define their tours. Link Here.

ON-ROAD - Sealed or Bitumen roads and highways
OFF-ROAD - Gravel roads, dirt tracks, wheel tracks. If you have a path to follow, then you are off-road.
OFF-TRACK - Cross-country travelling, no tracks or paths at all


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on road



off road




off track