Whats happened as of late on here?
Where did all the hard trips go?
I used to love heading out with the likes of Antony, Kelvin , big pig, alex patrol, peter gq351 etc etc...
These were the guys i remember were always keen to hit the hard stuff vic had to offer.
I felt fairly comfortable wheeling with these guys but i just fear doing a hard trip on here may have me wheeling with people i dont know...

The part that i dont know them isnt the problem, im quite friendly and very social and can talk to anyone. What worries me is the issue where people put there hand up for those harder trips and you just dont know what youre going to get....
Is it going to be someone highly skillful and with a capable rig or is it going to be someone that thinks the above and ends up being way out of there vehicles capablities and there comfort zone...
Im all for people challenging themselves and there vehicles but as of late have found that im so time poor with work and being a husband and daddy, that any oportunity i get to go out is now a privellage, so i hope to spend it tackling tracks and not baby sitting anybody.


I think because of this it must cause a lot of issues for people to want to post harder trips because you never know what youre going to get...

Is there anyway we can have a system where there is an extreme catagory
The extreme catogory should only be for locked vehicle's
35plus tyres and have done to some extent a majority of vics toughest tracks....

I just think thay this will help pick up the pace with the harder boys as we tend to want familar or experienced people on the trip...

Thoughts...
Will this see more harder trips if it was set up like that?

Hey bud, I think there's a few reasons the harder trips have dried up. There's the issue you raised of babysitting people who are out of their league which becomes tiresome for the trip leaders who want to run these trips. Also the issue of quite a few who were doing trips like these going broke fixing their vehicles, which has caused a shift in alignment of the type of driving they are doing. And finally I think many of the extreme trips are being run privately with convoy members that the trip leaders trusts are up to the challenges.

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That being said, there's some very capable drivers on here that will definitely be up for anything you throw their way.

Just run a trip, be very clear with the description as to what is expected, and if you aren't sure about someone's experience just drop them a message off the board and have a talk through it.

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Hey mate in the same boat very time poor with a 1 year old but keen for hard trips just need abit of time in advance to book it in. Any one hit us up if ya keen

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I don't do hard/extreme trips anymore, I sold my Disco last year because I just lost interest, sadly I didn't get time to do as many trips as I would have liked due to working on weekends (I'm self employed so Saturdays are not an option most times). Adding that I live out past Ballarat the trips are 2-3 hour drive before I get there so damage was always at the back of my mind as it's a long drive home if I break something. You want to live in regional areas that's the price you pay, couldn't live in Melbourne too bloody busy!!

May I add that trip leaders get pissed off after being burned by participants who are out of there depth exprience wise, no shows, rudeness, arrogant participants who boast about how much exprience thay have, could do this that or the other better etc...so they would rather just invite people they know or do private trips (at least you can control the sort of people you want on a trip). Sad but that's the reality

Trav

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Im around but not actively pursuing  harder tracks like I used to, If i come across them so be it but more into exploring and looking for places that I haven't been to before. Time /work is a biggy for me to so usually its a spontaneous decision to take off or one thats planned well in advance with a few mates that I can allocate time too.  Drive, fire, beers.. :)

I will say that I dont think this is an extreme type platform, more general/medium 4wdriving. It's to public to be extreme, thats why any harder stuff these days is run private. Mudrhino was a private type forum, not as open to public view like this, that's where all the harder stuff was done, everybody was on the same page so to speak, but sadly it folded a couple of years ago., people move on and times change.  Back in the day it was big, trips every week.

All you can do is post up and see how you go, 

cheers.

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I think this doesn't go just for extremely hard tracks. I'm someone after medium/hard and my car can handle a fair bit, but it's the unknown that stops people posting. I'd run trips myself, but between wondering/worrying who I'll get on the group (unprepared, unexperienced/idiots) and a lack of knowledge of tracks (mostly been following other trip leaders in the past, leaving me with plenty of experience driving, but with a lack of knowledge what certain tracks are like) I just don't do it. So, as I choose to make time for hobbies, I have a car that I'd love to use more but don't. So now I'm gonna get a dirtbike too, as I know more people that ride actively than who 4wd....

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I’m always keen for harder trip, but everyone’s hard may be different.... For me a hard trip is challenging on the vehicle and also the person, meaning having to pay attention and think well about your lines, you get stuck a few times (35s and twin locked) and you winch a few times but that’s what’s I enjoy. Not so much driving into a bog hole to get stuck or something so extreme or rushed that panel damage is almost guaranteed...

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I think there are several reasons.

Some just become tired of always being the trip leader, and it's usually only a few that put in the effort to organise trips on a regular basis. It also becomes dissattisfying when a trip is organised and many pull out, leaving just a few or none for the trip.

Also, really hard trips mean doing the same tracks over and over again nowadays, with the tracks eventually becoming boring and more like work than play. Playing ostensibly in the same sand pit every weekend isn't a lot of fun when you can pretty much anticipate what's going to happen. 

Then there's the revelation that 4WDriving can (maybe should) be more than just busting a gut and a vehicle on a weekend and having not much to show for it at the end of the day, other than more repair costs etc. Such trips do nothing really for appreciating the bush and the people around you, as all you're doing is working from morning to dusk, or later.

And, as people get older, they tend to want trips that are more inspirational. Encountering challenging tracks on the way is always a bonus, but actually experiencing the other aspects of the bush and the company with you becomes a new experience. It's akin to the old adage of 'can't see the forest for the trees'. So many just do day trips to the outskirts of Melbourne and rarely see anything beyond. 

And I guess when people get a new 4WD, they don't want it to become a bush pig on the first outing, or the 20th. While they are still happy to do trips, they no longer want to trash their vehicle. And if these numbers are growing, the other numbers are diminishing.

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Aww..whats with the 35 minumum...i feel hurt.

There was a time when you were playing on 33's !!!!

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If you have smaller tires you just learn how to pick lines better, can't even remember how many times I have been told by guys with 35's " you wont make it on this trip with 32's " and half the time get further than others with 35's.

Most of the time most are winching on the same track regardless of tire size

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