Why Off Road Clubs are Important for New Jeep or 4WD Owners

While not a part of any "club", I do donate to a local action group that works with federal agencies (FS and BLM) to keep motorized trails open throughout CO. Donations go trail projects/maintenance and they advocate for OHV recreation by sending members updates to comment periods, any land use changes, and overall trail updates such as closures/accidents/adoptions.

As to clubs---to much drama, misinformation and big egos.
 
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tworley said:
While not a part of any "club", I do donate to a local action group that works with federal agencies (FS and BLM) to keep motorized trails open throughout CO. Donations go trail projects/maintenance and they advocate for OHV recreation by sending members updates to comment periods, any land use changes, and overall trail updates such as closures/accidents/adoptions.

As to clubs---to much drama, misinformation and big egos.
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You do have to look around for the "Right" club but if there aren't a lot in your area that can be a problem. And clubs aren't for everyone either. I've been part of the PNW4WDA since I moved back to the PNW in 1995 but also support other orgs locally and nationally.
 
I was in a VW club. Who here understands Germaqn ?
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RINC said:
I was in a VW club. Who here understands Germaqn ?
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No nonsense


In 1979 I went out on a certain island in the northeast with a club and my '78 CJ-7. This is not a statement about clubs in general or any other specific clubs, but I never met a bigger group of aholes in my life. They knew everything about everything and were happy to tell me how to do anything, but they never actually did anything. After running around on the sand for a couple of hours I went over to one of the guys who had onboard air to see if I could air up; he told me there was a gas station down the road that would let me air up for a couple of dollars. I had to buy and install a CB radio to go with them and was told to get on channel 12 and stay there. I didn't hear a word all day; later I learned that it was one of their 'jokes' to have newbies on channel 12 while everyone else was on 21. Ha ha.
I guess if I was hard core or a rock crawler I might be interested, but I see nothing to be gained by joining a club at this point. I can drive on the beach, pitch a tent, and start a campfire just fine by myself. If I have a problem, I have a cell phone that works pretty much everywhere I go.
Sorry if I offended anyone, just my $0.02
 
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Wildman said:
You do have to look around for the "Right" club but if there aren't a lot in your area that can be a problem. And clubs aren't for everyone either.
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There are a bunch of them around here, honestly probably more than I could count. They are a good way to meet people with a fondness for a similar hobby. But you're right, they are not for everyone.

I went wheeling with a few early on. What I noticed is that most of the folks were more interested in standing around and showing off their jeep. They'd meet at the trailhead at 10 am, stand around and talk and sip coffee. By the time they were done showing off it was damn near noon before anyone began to air down and think about the trail.

Thankfully I got involved with some folks who are a bit more technical and like to hit the road at 6am to beat any other group who has the same idea that day.
 
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tworley said:
Thankfully I got involved with some folks who are a bit more technical and like to hit the road at 6am to beat any other group who has the same idea that day.
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Air down at sunrise, then Let's Roll !

Seems to be a group of us forum peeps getting together often here in the Phoenix area. They have not run off this nOob so they seem OK. :cool:
 
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tworley said:
There are a bunch of them around here, honestly probably more than I could count. They are a good way to meet people with a fondness for a similar hobby. But you're right, they are not for everyone.

I went wheeling with a few early on. What I noticed is that most of the folks were more interested in standing around and showing off their jeep. They'd meet at the trailhead at 10 am, stand around and talk and sip coffee. By the time they were done showing off it was damn near noon before anyone began to air down and think about the trail.

Thankfully I got involved with some folks who are a bit more technical and like to hit the road at 6am to beat any other group who has the same idea that day.
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I guess I've been lucky. My current club is pretty active and we have 1-2 runs a month plus do other events that happen like parades or fund raisers. We meet at 8AM and are rolling onto the trail NLT 8:30 most times.

But I've also ran into the type you are talking about but they were more the bike crowd. Meet for a ride with a group of bikers and they stand around talking shit and showing off their latest modification. Then stop every 30 minutes to stretch or take a piss.

I do think clubs are a good thing for newer owners and it doesn't matter which type of off-road vehicle it is. But being exposed to a few bad groups doesn't help and it turns people off to the idea.
 
There are a couple or three around here. I have yet to seriously check them out. Apparently, they do all their online comms via facefuck - if they haven't got the brains to run their own website, how are they on the trail?
 
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They can be great for land rights / trail access. When I was in Cincinnati, Ohio River Fourwheelers spent a lot of time on these issues and it has definitely paid off in the Red River Gorge area of KY

A month after I bought my TJ I went out wheeling with a local club, after that I was hooked.

For someone who moves around, it’s a great way to meet people with similar hobbies.
 
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tworley said:
There are a bunch of them around here, honestly probably more than I could count. They are a good way to meet people with a fondness for a similar hobby. But you're right, they are not for everyone.

I went wheeling with a few early on. What I noticed is that most of the folks were more interested in standing around and showing off their jeep. They'd meet at the trailhead at 10 am, stand around and talk and sip coffee. By the time they were done showing off it was damn near noon before anyone began to air down and think about the trail.

Thankfully I got involved with some folks who are a bit more technical and like to hit the road at 6am to beat any other group who has the same idea that day.
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I’ve found that a lot of people want to appear like a Jeeper than actually BE a Jeeper. I’ll stand around and chit chat once the day is done. I’m trying to get as much seat time in as possible when I’m at the trails.
 
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Our club has 500+ "members" on the FB page. Maybe 20 I've met and/or wheeled with/recovered. Maybe a dozen of us go out regularly, usually twice a month, sometimes twice a week with usually 3 - 8 rigs, kids, dogs, etc. We encourage rookies and do our best to share our knowledge and encouragement as well as a full dose of hard ass for anyone who 'screws the pooch'. We leave no one behind, share all and generally have a great time. We do a week long camping trip to a nearby wilderness annually and grow that every year. Helps to be on BLM/USFS land so no crowds.

The 'club' before us was a bunch of morons, did not tread lightly at all, and were generally a bunch of pompous asses. The club I'm in keeps me in check. :ROFLMAO: It doesn't take long to see who's who and who's what.

But, politics is always present and I hope it doesn't spread. I'm not a joiner as a general rule. This has been my exception. We're actually attracting folks who'd heard various disparaging comments about us, but it seems that's dissipating and we're growing ACTIVE members. We do have a lot of fun and now no one goes out alone (usually).

And we welcome all 4x4s but the majority are Jeeps, including TJ, LJ, YJ, CJ.. (but they won't call my XJ a Jeep).

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