Thread: Ace's VIII- 5-6th August

Originally Posted by bluetongue

Ace, if it's ok to have someone keen but not so experienced then put me down as a definate... did you mention that there was a convoy I could join up with on the saturday morning?

... Scott

just let them know on the day that you have not had much experience off road....
and they will guide you along through all obstacles.....and tell you where to place your wheels and why....

and dont worry too much.....the trips arent too hard core as its a get to know each other sort of weekend......
you dont want to have too much damage so you can drive home again.....
and if you feel something is too difficult for you....there is usually a chicken track around most hard bits.....
but you are in a land rover....which is very capable......
you just gotta remember that no one will laugh at you if you are not comfortable with any of
the tracks and decide to take the chicken track.....
infact....there is always a few people who take the chicken tracks to avoid the risk of damage.....
or to not shake the baby too much.....or because they have not repaired any previous damage etc.....
and most important of all.....no one will force you to do anything you dont want to...

its just a fun weekend.....to get to meet the people you spend all day and night on the net with......

Excellent... cheers zook
... good to know I need not worry.


...Scott

Originally Posted by George130

I was in that boat for my first trip to Ace's. Been off road 3 times and had no idea of my rig.

You should have taken your 130, Its got more traction than your boat

Originally Posted by RoverOne

You should have taken your 130, Its got more traction than your boat

hiline might be thinking a bit different to that.....
a boat would have had more traction in aces dam........where the kubota got stuck....

Originally Posted by DEFENDERZOOK

just let them know on the day that you have not had much experience off road....
and they will guide you along through all obstacles.....and tell you where to place your wheels and why....

and dont worry too much.....the trips arent too hard core as its a get to know each other sort of weekend......
you dont want to have too much damage so you can drive home again.....
and if you feel something is too difficult for you....there is usually a chicken track around most hard bits.....
but you are in a land rover....which is very capable......
you just gotta remember that no one will laugh at you if you are not comfortable with any of
the tracks and decide to take the chicken track.....
infact....there is always a few people who take the chicken tracks to avoid the risk of damage.....
or to not shake the baby too much.....or because they have not repaired any previous damage etc.....
and most important of all.....no one will force you to do anything you dont want to...

its just a fun weekend.....to get to meet the people you spend all day and night on the net with......

We might throw rocks at you until you do though

It's all good fun though.

Being new means you'll have to take it through a little bit of water though everyone does it once I have, Mainly for the Photo opportunities though.

Originally Posted by bluetongue

Excellent... cheers zook
... good to know I need not worry.


...Scott

Hi Scott, dont worry about your experience mate we arent in a hurry on the Ace's BBQ weekends so having a newbie along isnt a problem, afterall we all need to start somewhere. As George130 said he was very much a newbie and by coming along to the weekend last year in october he actually learned a helluva lot about his rig. You will also add to what you learned on the driver training.

The weekends are designed specifically to get members of the forum together and put faces to the many names on the forum, the majority of the NSW members have met one another at an Ace's BBQ. The tracks are challenging enough to be generally non-damaging (having said that damage can and has occured) but to be able to have fun. When someone gets stuck or needs help we all muck in as team and help the person in need out.

Just remember to say at the start of an obstacle that you are unsure or are a bit worried about. We will encourage to you to have a go and will help get you over the obstacle but will not think any less of you if you decide to drive around. If need be myself or one of the others will sit in with you and coach you up. What you also need to remember is that you are driving the most capapble 'off the show room floor' 4wd money can buy so developing confidence in your vehicle and its abilities is something that will come with time. If we all tell you that your car will do it, it most certainly will but you need to be confident aswell.

Just a couple of questions though, what sort of tyres are you running, what recovery gear do you have (dont worry to much if you dont have much, if you combined everyones recovery gear we could start a shop) and do you have a hand held or in car UHF? If you dont have a UHF of any kind try and get at least a hand held so everyone can communicate, if you cant get one someone will have a spare.

Will be good to have a new face at the BBQ its always good to meet a new member. See you then.

New list;

Ace
Scouse
Dobbo
Stevo
Tony
Noddy
Andrewpv01
XSI
DiscoDave
Cal415
Yabbie
Bluetongue
Roverone- Saturday only
Zook- Saturday night
Con- saturday night
Henry- Sunday only.
George130- Possible
Broonski- possible
Bushie- possible

Matt

Thanks Ace... this is great.

Bluetongue is ready. I'm really looking forward to it.

In reply to a couple of your questions...

Recovery gear
AOK
I bought one of those packs brand-new from ARB... includes snatch strap, +extension, tree protector, bridging strap, rated shackles, gloves etc... all still wrapped in plastic... I'll be keen to pull open the plastic and get some tips how to properly use
I got opposite lock to fit recovery points front/rear... rear is ok, one of those hooks bolted to a hayman reece setup that slides into the towbar... front is same hooks, almost in-line with chassis, should be tough enough, although one side is a little bent after Tusker recovered me out of this rutted slope


Tyres
Korean muddies, probably just under 50% tread


UHF
AOK... in car.

Confidence
To be honest, probably not as much as this familiar-front-end, but should have enough without being too cocky...

let me explain it to you another way.....

you drive a defender.....
if the discos can get through......you wont even feel it......
if the discos struggle......you may need to lock in the centre diff.....maybe....
if the discos get bogged.....just drive around them and test out your new recovery gear....