Thread: survey on 4wd clubs

Originally Posted by barney

thnaks for your comments guys, all this has been really helpful.
it just goes to show that not everyone wants the same thing.
it all pretty-well boils down to variety and less ******* on an official level.
in the LROC, we are mindful of the effect that bogging down a general meeting with arguments over bylws and points of order really puts people off and lately we've been trying to defer any such talk to the committee meetings.
there also has been talk of trips for camper trailers, dog friendly trips (for extended families) and driver training that includes trailer skills. new ideas coming all of the time. 2007 will see another run of the "GPS for dummies" training day.

Hey specificly designed for me

1 - are you a member of a club and which one?
Sydney LROC

2 - would you prefer to form your own club instead of joining an existing club and why?
Like ACE, considering because of distance to meetings & to cost $85 not value for money (if it goes up again I'm out), magazine large part of cost & full of adds, black & white cover would do fine, trip calendar takes up too much room with old trip procedures listed.

3 - why would you not join a club?
Wouldn't, meet too many nice people that become friends for life in clubs, ignore the wanks (plenty of them leave to start their own) & get on with 4x4 driving.

4 - what would you want from a club?
Good driver training (LROC has), good website with lots of offroading pics (LROC wanting but OK), good cross section of trips (LROC has), a good magazine without the frills.

5 - if you joined a club, would you prefer it to be all landrover, mixed or don't give a rat's?
All Land Rover vehicles, even if life members change vehicles, they recind their membership if no Land Rover in their fleet. There are plenty of mixed clubs for "other vehicles".

Fees are an issue, there are plenty of good clubs around under $60.
If the "Club" can't exist without an expensive magazine gobbling up the funds then its lacking in soul.

When I was Trip Cordinator for three terms, it amazed me going over trip forms the tiny percentage of members actualy participating in "club trips", and it hasn't changed. Some members only turn up for the Christmas Party but its their money I suppose they can do what they want.

Average membership life span was once around 5 years, I'd be addressing... why is it so?

Club rules, neccessary to function, to be kept to a minimum.
Trip Procedures: very neccessary rules so no one gets lost & they do when you have the procedures inplace...even mates have to wait at next turns for each other, you can't rely on radios at all it must all be visual to be certain.

Somebody mentioned trailers/campers on trips, I for one never liked them on medium to hard trips, infact a number of trips I ran could not accomadate trailers as we got many number of vehicles bogged (before drought), would be a tactical nightmare with trailers in tow I for one don't want to spend my leisure time digging out trailers. There are trips & there are "trips" not all easy enough to make it with trailers.

A trip I'm doing to WA 2007 is camper van friendly, & so is a farm stay next year and in this weather I would consider each request on merit. All are family friendly, most of my trips have younger kids, wives...older kids, older people (grandparents), geriatrics (trip leader), & pets always alowed if not going through NP.