An ExplorOz 4WD Club

Inuit's... They're called Inuit's now a days, not Eskimos.

Personally I think the idea has some merit, not sure about the difficulties of administration but it would be the only club Oz wide so certainly some benefits there

ob

Hi Bonz

Other than being a member of VKS 737, I have no affiliation with any other club, 4wd or otherwise. What you are suggesting is something that I would get involved in, even though from my locatrion, you can forget me attending any meetings or such.

Cheers

Sounds like an idea Bonz.

I am not on Facebook for a few reasons, and at this stage have no intention of going on it. I would think there are many others like me too.

If this is to be part of an "EO 4WD club" and meetings to be held online, I suggest a part of this website be created for the necessary online chatter regarding club matters.

Dave

Sounds like a good idea to me, with technology these days any thing is possible.

I find Skype is a great form of communication but not too many people are using that at this stage.

Good luck with it Bonz.

Cheers

D

Administration would be the big issue.

You would obviously need some sort of organising committee, in which case the club would need to be "Incorporated" to protect the assets of the committee members from the results of litigation, as we are one of the most litigious societies on the planet, it would not be a case of if it happens, but when.

Becoming "Incorporated" is far from an easy process!

I was Commodore of a large Bayside yacht club whilst it was going through the process of becoming "Incorporated", what a nightmare.

Gday Bonz
Little Wes and I will go along with that Bonz . Kathy told me to make friends or there will be no one to come to my funeral . I told her I was trying, and she said yes I was.
Murray

Hi Bonz

Brilliant idea and one that David should look at very seriously.......Part of being able to join in on the chit chat and being a member of the 4X4 Club, you have to be a member of ExplorOz======more members on here instead of visitors etc, which in turn will increase the current number of members which in turns brings in more $$$$ for David and Michelle.


Cheers


Stephen

What a great idea Bonz. I've been involved with all manner of clubs during the past 40 something years and apart from my Gun Club all have been very hard work for a few members of the executive. This idea basically does away with the hard work of arranging meetings etc for the Secretary, the back slapping from the President etc and the other mongrel (Treasurer) who is always chasing you for $$.

I was a member of a 4x4 club where I live but they weren't doing the things I enjoy - desert trips and large National gatherings - so opted out after 2 years with them. Meetings were a bit of a joke with perhaps 6 - 8 members showing up each month.

I vote we hold the face to face at Silverton and get it up and running. On the EO webpage would be great but I also use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family (esp grandkids) so that's nothing new to me either.

Cheers

I agree Bonz it's a good idea.
About 4 month ago my wife and I attended a local 4wd club with a view to join,as we entered the 'club house' we were given the usual stares as you'd expect then sat down for the monthly meeting. No-one bothered to ask if they could help us so we just sat there until the usual 'generl business' phase. I'm not backward in coming forward so I stood up and told them who we were and why we were there. The reply was "Oh welcome" by the secretary. At the end of the meeting the President came over and I thought we may get some reaction, he ask a few inane questions and then excused himself so that he could supervise the setting up of the tea and biscuit service. My wife and I hung around a while attempting to make small talk with the locals but generally it was difficult. We are very open people and have no problems talking to anyone. We left after the meeting closed............one month later we attended again, generally the same response and I ask if there was a monthly trips away and the reply was yes and someone produced the annual calendar...trip planned for the Vic High country was full. That was it for the rest of the year. I missed the third meeting and I havent been back for the new years meeting as I haven't received the promised 2011 calendar yet. I know it's important to keep attending meetings etc but some times one cant get there for a variety of reasons, therefore its difficult to 'connect with members' unless they really really go out of their way to make you welcome. Im not blaming them, it's just the way it is.

I'd welcome an online 4wd club


Cheers for now.................Jeff

Bonz, I'm a member of the Vic Pajero Club which is affiliated with the state body "Four Wheel Drive Victoria".
This affiliation gives access to public liability insurance in the event of an accident during a club run trip.
This all comes at a cost however and the fees payed to 4wdVic are quite substantial and must be considered.
You may even find you have to get national coverage as it is going to be based as a national club.
This last 12 months have seen a tightening of the insurance criteria by the insurance underwriter/s and ONLY club members are covered. If we invite "guests" on our trips now we have to ensure they (and that means every individual) have a temporary membership of our club and pay a fee to 4wdVic for public liability insurance.
It's very messy and it takes time to organise so you just can't invite someone on the spur of the moment as all the paperwork needs to be in order.
All clubs affiliated with 4wdVic are in the same boat, some do and some don't comply but in the event of an accident with a visitor and the club isn't covered then the WHOLE club and it membership is liable.
Accidents can and do happen but if you don't dot your i's and cross your t's then some legal eagle will look for the richest pickings to carve up.
Regards Andrew.

Great idea .......but not without it's challenges.

I've seen the club thing from the inside after 1 year as Secretary and 4 years as President of Australia's oldest and largest 4 x 4 club.(approx 1000 members) Also ran the Victorian 4WD Show for a few years.

Here are a couple or more thoughts.

A club needs some defining common purpose. Often this is a particular vehicle marque or a style of trip predominately engaged in by the membership.
What would the defining common purpose of the EO club be?

Who does the work? mostly it is the 5% who do the 95% of the work.

People join but then leave if they do not feel engaged.

Who gets to join, what are the criteria, should there be any criteria?

People don't join to go to meetings they join to go on trips and socialise with other members.

What about driver training before being allowed to go on anything more than an easy trip?

How is it tied to EO memebrship?

That's just a few to start with.

Essentially a club comes into existence when a dozen or so people have a common interest and want to formalize the association so as to engage with other likeminded individuals and possibly have additional benefits accrue.

I like to idea and would be happy to get involved in getting it off the ground.

Chris

Hey Bonz

I have seen some responses above talk about Public Liability Insurance, I have just changed some of my business to include extra activities, all I did was notify my Insurance Broker and he had my policy amended.

I would assume David would have appropriate public liability cover, this would be for all the trip gatherings that are arranged under the ExplorOz banner, eg: the annual EO gathering or trips and gatherings organized through the EO Forum / web site.

All David may have to do is speak to his broker and have them look at policy to see if it needs amending.

Before we get too carried away here, I think we should do this:-

Michael and Michelle, as owners of "Explore Oz", would you like to go down this path?

Noel K.

Bonz,

Great idea subject to David and Michelle's approval.
I had some involvement in setting up and running the Overlander 4WD club which was incorporated in 2005 in NSW and is affilliated with 4WD NSW&ACT.
It was initiated from the the Overlander Forum as a result of trip leaders running forum trips and uncomfortable about the insurance issue. The club has limited support from the Magazine.
The Office Bearers are based in different states and meetings are held on line via a chat room with an annual gathering each year in a different state.
It has had limited success with membership and from my perspective mainly because of the restricted face to face contact.
Good luck with getting it up if David and Michelle agree.

Even if the club idea never gets off the ground, I would be interested in forum trips. People doing day or weekend trips and wanting company. Its a good way to see places you may not have heard of and meet members as well. Its a shame about the insurance implications.

If id did get off the ground, a concideration maybe to have 'branches' in each state and then as the club progressed, regional branches within each state eg. NSW..Southern Zone, Northern Zone, each Zone having their own committee, a bit complicated but you never know!!

Regards.............................jeff

I’ve been following this thread with interest, and clearly it has resonated with many who have a similar view.

What seems to be apparent is that people want to be part of a formal organisation but the way in which you meet is different. So instead of going to meetings, it is done by via the internet. I guess what follows is how does that differentiate it from what is currently available, is it what people want or would this type of set-up be simply a case of the same old, but the only difference is you meet via the internet? If it is the latter than maybe it hasn’t really achieved too much.

Some of the mains things that people are looking for are, access to trips, discounted and favourable treatment on vehicle insure, product offerings at reduced prices, and access to geographical areas that individuals may be excluded from.

One of the major obstacles that I think would need to be overcome is; how do you achieve membership of the Four-wheel drive associations and be covered under their banner? This is an important issue as it is probably the one thing that opens the door to many of the things people want.

I think you may need a training syllabus in place that demonstrates members have achieved a certain standard of four-wheel driving ability. This will most likely be a pre-requisite to gaining access to areas that may be currently excluded to individuals and potentially to cheaper insurance.

How would this be achieved in the context of an EO club offering?

Once you start heading down this track it really becomes a case of us saying we can do it far better than anyone who has gone before us, and is that really the case as I’m sure there are plenty of people involved in the current clubs that have a great understanding of the issues, and the drive to achieve positive outcomes. If we don’t want to set ourselves up in ‘competition’ to the current clubs and associations what other alternatives are available?

Trips – Under the EO banner any member can currently set-up a trip. If you want to go somewhere all you need to do is organise it and most likely people will follow. If you are the organiser you won’t have the problem of the trip being filled before it is offered.

Products – David & Michelle under the EO banner appear to have negotiated with some suppliers to offer discounts to members, but could this be expanded?

Insurance – This is possibly a little more difficult as it comes down to demonstrating that members of your organisation have ‘superior’ skills to warrant discounts. Maybe one way this could be achieved is for EO to negotiate with both four-wheel drive training organisations to provide certification for EO members, and certain insurance companies to recognise that certification and offer discounted insurance.

Access – It may follow on from the insurance point that EO organised trips that have members on it who have received certification are able to access areas not usually available to the general public.

Rather than reinvent the wheel here, is it worth following up with David & Michelle to see if some of the points covered above, which is a broad summary of what people have indicated they want, can be included in their membership offering, rather than having an EO four-wheel drive club that may be very little different to what is currentl available, and which may or may not be acceptable to the owners of EO.

Offered has food for thought.........and consideration.

Cheers, The Landy