Nissan Off Road Club - Berakah trail 24th May 2014

[ricster]

haha....with front lockers !!!... you and me both Alex... we could Wimpenize anything

It would be so lekker if one could hire an old hardbody that has no rear locker, or even a working LSD, but with some decent tyres, and take it up a trail like Berakah or even up just a few obstacles to allow one to retry the different lines to find out the sweet spot of a vehicle vs traction vs obstacle

[bogeyman]

I have driven and got stuck and recovered off road vehicles for the last 35 years.
Forward control Land rovers , 10 ton Bedford 4x4 , 40 ton Samil 6x6 600 horsepower v10 monsters , old overloaded Nissan Safaries amongst others.

I have a 50 ton winch on one of my machines that will recover most things if you can get a proper anchor point.
I have been stuck in remote areas of Kruger Park for more than a week with three vehicles and ran out of food.

All that and I still learn new things every time we go playing. Now I must just try and remember them.

[Tinus lotz]

So if I want to learn how to drive 4x4, what vehicle would you recommend?1

Any land rover when hennops is wet.....saw big people cry big tears there, one person even told the salesman to take his then brand new d3 and put it were the sun don't shine, he said he want one of those.... pointing to me, piet and christo

[Herrie]

That is why I use my Safari every now and again to make sure I take the right line and correct momentum to go through an obstacle!!!

[davidvdm]

At risk of sounding like a "broken record", I believe one of your best weapons out there must be tyres.

I recall a day out at Hekpoort at The Gorge" where I was able to drive circles around everything with a simple HB with no lockers. Even the locked Defenders and LC's were all over the place. One of the Ford Leisure Trainers got quite peeved at me when I no longer wanted to listen to her and proved her wrong on more than one occasion.

Now, without offending anybody or stepping on anybody's toes, here is my 2Cents.

Problem with some spotters is that they read lines, and guide you according to the capabilities of their vehicle. Problem is they have the articulation and advantage of lockers and often lead you into a worse situation. Cedric and many of the Nissan guys understand this more than most because they "grew up" from a HB's to Patrols.

I have been led into horrible situations on Berakah before by some Hilux guys that had lockers and did not understand that I could not follow their lines.

For those wanting to "learn" how to 4x4 outside of the capabilities of a Patrol needs to go back to basics and watch for lines that make your path as flat as possible so as to keep wheels on the ground. You need to know what your articulation capabilities are to achieve this. You can even practise this with your Patrol next time you are out on a trail. You don't have to be the guy that just drives over everything, every time, and be mister invincible. Keep that locker off and try the obstacle by picking a line to keep your wheels on the ground.

You never know, when you really need it out in some far away place, your locker fails and you now have to rely on techniques you have never learned because you preferred to show the others on a trail your vehicle could do everything without falling back, or stopping, or spinning like the others.

I think that is where I found it most comfortable with the Nissan guys. Being a group of the same Make of vehicle, takes away the brand competition aspect. I see these trail days as a fun learning experience. To get advise on aspects of our "sport" we would only otherwise get by experience. We can tap into those that have already got stuck, recovered / been recovered, drowned and all those things that you could and will run into one day if you take your 4x4 out into the far away bush.

We have a great bunch of guys with a massive amount of knowledge between them in a vast variety of fields, lets learn where we can, I know I do.

So thanks again to all of you out there for your help and advise. I suppose if we all just did everything perfectly (even by accident) and it was never discussed or dissected and criticised, people that come across forums like this, would never learn anything.

[ricster]

Very true mate..... moral of the story.... you never too old to learn, and you never have enough experience

[Jorrie]

I have read the comments on the recovery with much interest. Clearly there is a lot to learn from your experiences at Berakah. Thanks to all for your valued contributions.

[Kagiso II]

What Davey says is soooooooooo true .. even amongst our own Nissan people way back I experienced that someone would "guide" me where Brutus could NOT go .. thus I learned to read my "own" lines [Noooooooo Cedric .. NOT between the lines .. sies, wat dink jy ?? :-) ]

Since Boezman with teh revolwer shackles, I could pretty much go the Patrol line. Bit more momentum needed but still.
Now, with the Jimny with only LSD [not very effective LSD at that] .. I am back to Sawwe Sannie and Brutus' style again.
The Prado ?? Eisjj that thing goes anywhere ..

Back to Davey's statement about 'Guides' == Maybe we must have training on just that - and the hand signals to go with that. Over the years I have yet to find the "ideal" guide with hand signals everybody in the convoy could understand and follow -- except GREG in the McCarthy 4x4 club .. that man could could guide me over any obstacle imaginable .. with MY vehicle's limitations in mind.

Cedric in our "family" I have experienced .. you also good Bru

[ricster]

Thanks Oom Mac.... Ek try maar net.

I think the key to a good guide is to ensure that the driver is watching the guide at ALL times. If the guide can ensure that he/she is confident, the driver will pick up on that and draw "strength and confidence" forming a good trust between the two. The driver then doesn't need to look anywhere else except at the guide !!!
If the guide is poeping in his/her broekies, imagine how the driver will feel....

[Alex Roux]

A bit off topic but much related:

At the Battlefield trophy challenge in early May, there was no-one from the organisers at the obstacles assisting the drivers.
They would stand by and hook up the cars of drivers that threw in the towel, but no advice or guidance before that.
Turns out the reason for this is liability.

Sure, if you want to be the conductor, then you need to know what you are doing.
But if there is damage to the driver's car, can the owner hold you liable / responsible?