Jeep Clubs?

A good club let’s you join a few of their events without membership, there is a few local group here that is way. It’s one of those things you got to put yourself out here a little to see if it works or not. I have a long lasting friendship from a club I was in over 25 years ago, I have a couple outings this past year and nothing clicked. Just people being people…you might air down and be excited about trails with gatekeepers and named “can opener”… and a group that day are like will there be any wild life sightings and place to stop for lunch. Different strokes for different folks..
 
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I have joined two clubs in my lifetime. The BSA as a boy through fatherhood but have moved on from that for a variety of reasons.

The second is called Hudson Valley 4 Wheelers. Ya can find us in the web, facebook and instagram but not with a large following. I was turned on to this off-road club by fellow WTF member @Andy-WhiteTJ an amazing guy full of knowledge and experience. All sorts of members and outings. Some i attend and some i don’t. But let me tell you for trail access and 4x4 community this club is great.



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joe98tj said:
Here in the Northeast if you want to do any type of decent wheeling that doesn't require driving 4 hours away to a public place, you need to join an offroad club. Luckily that means we have a lot of offroad clubs. Any decent offroad club is also a part of one or two parent organizations around here so we all communicate with one another on some level. I have only been with the one club I am a part of now, but in talking with other folks my experience is that there is a wide range of styles/cultures of clubs up this way and some have had to search around a bit and get out to see what the club is like before finding the right one for them. Some are more strict on requirements, some are much more laid back and just want people to get out and wheel. Not sure you'll find the same experience where you are but thats what us folks with no access to public land get to deal with. I imagine for most of you folks out west it is more of a better way to just connect with other offroaders and not have to go out alone more than it is a neccessity to actually get out and offroad.
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Spot on. Just to add to that, most of our wheeling is on private land and some of it is quite challenging. Each club seems to have a good relationship with the land owner and we protect that. As a club member in a club that is also part of 2 associations, we invite other association member clubs to the properties we use and and vice versa. You get to know different people and different areas to wheel on.
 
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Weasellee said:
I have joined two clubs in my lifetime. The BSA as a boy through fatherhood but have moved on from that for a variety of reasons.

The second is called Hudson Valley 4 Wheelers. Ya can find us in the web, facebook and instagram but not with a large following. I was turned on to this off-road club by fellow WTF member @Andy-WhiteTJ an amazing guy full of knowledge and experience. All sorts of members and outings. Some i attend and some i don’t. But let me tell you for trail access and 4x4 community this club is great.



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Thanks for the kind words.

Now that Ben's Jeep is done, we need to get yours back on the trail.
 
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inkedrose said:
Has anyone in here had much involvement with Jeep clubs? I'm always looking for people to wheel with and clubs seemed like a potential way to meet folks. Then I look at websites and start reading about bylaws, patrols, mandatory meetings, ECT. Offered to help out a club with trail maintenance last year but they said I needed to pay and attend X non wheeling meetings/events a year to be allowed to shovel. Own my business and not looking for extra mandatory responsibilities. Usually I wheel to get away from crowds, the whole club thing seems counter intuitive. Has anyone here had positive experiences with clubs? I know they do a lot to help keep trails open
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I’ve considered joining MHJC just to get out and wheel more often and to do my part to keep trails open, but when it comes down to it, I really don’t like club structure overall.

In the past, I’ve attended meetings for the local Toyota Land Cruiser club chapter and a dirt bike trail management club, but the formality of it all was just a little off putting and doesn’t seem like my flavor of fun. I have to spend my workweeks living in a highly structured environment, I don’t need more of that in my downtime.
 
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I'm available during weekdays depending on my schedule rotation, so if there are any Colorado jeepers that need to do it on a weekday, let me know. In fact if there are any out of towners that are here during weekdays or weekends let me know.

All this talk gets gets me excited for wheeling season.
 
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hosejockey61 said:
I'm available during weekdays depending on my schedule rotation, so if there are any Colorado jeepers that need to do it on a weekday, let me know. In fact if there are any out of towners that are here during weekdays or weekends let me know.

All this talk gets gets me excited for wheeling season.
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I am always down! Try to keep my season going year round but starts getting limited this time of year
 
deadbeat son said:
the formality of it all was just a little off putting and doesn’t seem like my flavor of fun. I don’t need more of that in my downtime.
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Similar situation. Looks like you're not far either. I'll start posting more in Colorado group. See who's around when
 
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inkedrose said:
I am always down! Try to keep my season going year round but starts getting limited this time of year
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I’ve ran Switzerland trail during the winter just to scratch my itch to get out. It’s not technical, but can get pretty slippery in spots. Sometimes just getting into the woods is worth it.
 
deadbeat son said:
I’ve ran Switzerland trail during the winter just to scratch my itch to get out. It’s not technical, but can get pretty slippery in spots. Sometimes just getting into the woods is worth it.
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Man... I have a business off Colfax so any chance to get out of the city and into the mountains is good. Switz is pretty during winter, dogs are stoked up there. Theres a big section of trail up north by Red Feather that usually stays dry ish most the year or Woodland Park area/The Gulches down south. There's always somewhere
 
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InOmaha said:
Other than here, I'm not into Jeep clubs. They tend to be newer Jeeps, ducks, stickers, 20" rims and other stuff I don't care about.
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Precisely! That’s my experience with the Jeep club around here, although they do make a yearly run to Hot Springs ORV Park. In their defense, there is almost no wheeling within 6 hours of driving. I have resorted to just showing up to the off-road park and finding some like-minded wheelers to fall in line with or wheeling alone. From my experience, the vibe is “the more the merrier” and people will gladly let you tag along. All too often, though, I get stuck with a group sticking to easy trails and bypasses.

It may be different where it’s public use land and not a dedicated off-road park, but that’s all I know.
 
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Here's my take on clubs.
If there aren't organized groups like this our public lands are going to be closed down that much faster.
When I bought my Jeep in 2002 I starred looking for a club to join. Then when I got back from Iraq I looked more and attended a few different club meetings and runs before finding a good fit.
I've been a member since 2006.
My clubs requirements are:
Attend 3 club runs and 4 meetings. This is to allow both club members and the candidate to get to know each other.
Being a member of a PNW4WDA club means you're also supporting it.
The current problem is many of the more active members of the PNW4WDA are getting older and can't keep up. But many of the younger people either don't want to be involved or don't do clubs.

I'd suggest trying to find a local club that fits you. Doesn't Colorado have a 4WD association? Got through them and find clubs in your area.
 
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Wildman said:
I'd suggest trying to find a local club that fits you. Doesn't Colorado have a 4WD association? Got through them and find clubs in your area.
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We have a group called Stay the Trail. They are a great organization, do a lot to help keep things open. I've donated financially to them. Went to their website and through the list of all the clubs near me. We have signage on several trails thanking "X" Club for maintaining which I'm down with. I said something in an earlier post about offering to come swing a shovel but that club in particulare only wanted help from members. Life is hectic enough not trying to add anymore mandatory things. I do get the concept of wanting to know who you're wheeling with
 
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inkedrose said:
We have a group called Stay the Trail. They are a great organization, do a lot to help keep things open. I've donated financially to them. Went to their website and through the list of all the clubs near me. We have signage on several trails thanking "X" Club for maintaining which I'm down with. I said something in an earlier post about offering to come swing a shovel but that club in particulare only wanted help from members. Life is hectic enough not trying to add anymore mandatory things. I do get the concept of wanting to know who you're wheeling with
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I get it. Some clubs just turn you off after the first meeting/encounter.
And I don't always have the time to attend meetings with my club. I think I only made it to 4 out of 12 meetings this year. My club is about an hour away from where I live. I tried to start a club in my area and it flopped after a year. Just not enough people interested.
 
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Zorba said:
We have a couple or three around here. They seem to be OK, but apparently live and breathe facebook, which counts me out.
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OJC is all about mall crawlers and ducks. No thanks.

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