Gday all. 

This falls into 2 sections 1) General Discussions and 2 ) Improvement / Enhancement to the current site. Hopefully this could be incorporated or at least point me into a area that may help. 

Ive been looking at planning day trips overnighters ect but being fairly new to 4wding and not having travelled a lot of tracks i dont know what they are graded eg circle square diamond / double diamond etc and while i know these can change during  the season and weather conditions it would be good to have a guage as to the difficulty of the intended track. 

reading through the 4wd track and destinations section it would be good to see this rating system put in place as a guide to those researching tracks to travel etc . Some of the tracks listed have a comment on the condtion : eg clay based and tricky in the wet. which is good to know and while i understand this would also require members to actively update the condition if they travel on them but in turn it would assist everyone here to have up to date information. 

Ive been looking through 4wd vic website, DELWP, local shires , Mapshare maps  and while they all talk about a national track rating system no where actually lists what each track is or how to find this info. 

How do people plan trips with out prior knowledge of the area or tracks?.  I know you can go down the route of point n shoot, turn around if it gets too hard BUT this also takes time and can be frustrating for people undertaking the trip. 

Look forward to seeing how everyone undertakes leading and learnings they have come by past and present! thanks for helping! 

Regards 

Nick. 

hi Nick, a consistent rating through out the continent would be surely a good thing.

I did the VIC highlands over last christmas newyear, and used the Hema paper map which showed nearly every available dirt track with a rating E easy M medium and D dangerous. They were pretty reliable, I could handle some 'medium' but stayed clear of 'dangerous', just by the look of the steepness and gravel. 

That was the first time I got in contact with ratings. I used the pocket earth app on an old ipad for navigation.

cheers, Chris

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Hema maps have the track classifications based on the criteria at https://4wdvictoria.org.au/index.php/resources/track-classifications

E - Easy

M - Medium

D - Difficult

DD - Very Difficult

You can see these at https://cloud.hemaexplorer.com/map/

I use the Hema Explorer app fairly exclusivly when planning and found the classifications to be fairly representative, probably a bit conservative.

I usually explore solo, so not looking to get into too much trouble, and prepared to turn around if going get tough.  If i was planning a trip for others to be involved in I would want to be pretty sure of the track difficulty by having travelled it prior, but still aware that conditions can change and getting through is not always guaranteed.

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Hi Nick,

I was in the same boat as you and found planning my first trip daunting - but there are a few places to look

HEMA as mentioned above - however I would not rely soley on it, some tracks might be classified Easy and they might not be as easy as you'd imagine.

YOUTUBE - sometimes it's worth sticking a track name on youtube search and see what comes up, I usually try to find the latest video available to get the "latest" track conditions, youtube is very helpful

FACEBOOK - there are a few groups dedicated for tracks on facebook and lots of people are willing to share their knowledge. One of them is aussie 4wd tracks, they have for VIC, SA, NSW and other states. Pop a question in there and usually people reply rather quickly - I used it a few times. Also join "local" groups, for example if you are planning a trip up Wombat SF / Mt Disappointment etc look up on FB if there are any groups for that area - lots of helpful information shared on these groups

PAPER MAPS - Paper maps sometimes they have more details than online maps, they list certain details such as "steep hill" or "deep ford" etc on the map - something that the online hema does not provide

In the end, you will never really know until you are there. I did a winter trip in the Wombat SF and all tracks were muddy and mushy, gave us a couple challanges. Drove some of those tracks back in Jan on my latest trip and all tracks were bone dry with loads of traction and absolutely no dramas. Tracks can be a bit unpredictable. 

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Also, when I plan exploring tracks that are unknown to me I always put a disclaimer TRACKS CHANGE, DAMAGE MAY OCCUR, and we may turn around if required - so do not be disappointed. That way people joining should be prepared for this and not get annoyed or frustrated

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Nick, as well as using the Hema app  if you have it, the 4wdvic track classification is a good guide to use. Many will say it is very conservative but remember tracks are classified with a COMPLETELY STANDARD vehicle in mind. When you ask fellow 4wders, you will get completely contrasting views most of the time as what maybe rated as a difficult track by 4wdVic etc, will have some saying it is 'easy'. Then have a look at their vehicle; generally running 33-35's, twin locked etc etc. Yes, it might be easy for them but most never consider how a 'standard' vehicle, possibly a inexperienced driver, will go. Also, as others have said, conditions can change for what might be a easy/medium track in the dry can become extreme when wet.

For what it is worth, any trip I run that requires more than 70% of 'low range' driving I rate as 'medium' at least. I also suggest when you run a trip it is a good idea to have minimum vehicle requirements, especially when it comes to tyre size/type plus in my opinion basic recovery gear, (snatch strap/shackles etc), should be MANDATORY/REQUIRED, not just recommended.

Am sure you will get some some more suggestions/advice from other forum members.

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