Bare minimum recovery gear

[Finlayforprez]

If you do get into this you may want to consider the following. (Since you live in the NoCal area.)
- The Land Rover Experience school at Quail Lodge. David (Finalyforprez - Finlay is his dog's name) has been. I would go if it weren't so far away.
- A year from now they will hold another Overland Expo in Flagstaff, AZ. I haven't been but it looks like a great place to learn about a lot of this stuff. It just happened this past weekend so it won't come around for another year. I wasn't able to make it but will try next year. They have one in the East but that is too far for me.
- Sometimes local clubs do arrange training sessions.

Dan is right, there are a lot of training options. When you join the NCLR, they have an annual weekend event in October (at Hollister) in which they always have several workshops and folks doing training.

As for the Land Rover Experience school at Quail Lodge, they have a few classes, and you will actually get a certificate for a free 2-hour lesson a couple months after you take delivery of your vehicle.

Any of Bill Burke's in-person classes or videos are awesome - he was actually at one of the NCLR's annual events one year doing some training.

The Overland Expo is awesome and I sure hope to be able to go next year!

JotaDe, just don't panic and get too nervous. Seriously, the trips to Hollister are very safe and there are lots of people with experience and take everything seriously. You definitely don't need hours of off-road lessons to have an afternoon of fun at Hollister or another CA SVRA. There are various trips that the NCLR does (they just went to Pismo Beach) that do require a bit more modification to your vehicle, but they always explain what is needed and they go as a group - so it's very safe.

To be honest, these trucks are so capable and they basically do all the work driving off road. It's a VERY different experience driving an LR4 vs. a Defender or even older Discovery.

 

[epiclr4]

Dan is right, there are a lot of training options. When you join the NCLR, they have an annual weekend event in October (at Hollister) in which they always have several workshops and folks doing training.

As for the Land Rover Experience school at Quail Lodge, they have a few classes, and you will actually get a certificate for a free 2-hour lesson a couple months after you take delivery of your vehicle.

Any of Bill Burke's in-person classes or videos are awesome - he was actually at one of the NCLR's annual events one year doing some training.

The Overland Expo is awesome and I sure hope to be able to go next year!

JotaDe, just don't panic and get too nervous. Seriously, the trips to Hollister are very safe and there are lots of people with experience and take everything seriously. You definitely don't need hours of off-road lessons to have an afternoon of fun at Hollister or another CA SVRA. There are various trips that the NCLR does (they just went to Pismo Beach) that do require a bit more modification to your vehicle, but they always explain what is needed and they go as a group - so it's very safe.

To be honest, these trucks are so capable and they basically do all the work driving off road. It's a VERY different experience driving an LR4 vs. a Defender or even older Discovery.

Jota I'll agree with David here. Don't let the readings scare you. There are plenty of trainings out there but, like life, watching and doing are two different methods of learning.

Best thing to do is to go put yourself in a situation with others. Let them go first, watch what happens and then try it for yourself. Build slowly and keep your vehicle stock at first. Learn the vehicle and then once you find yourself being confident and more educated around what it is capable of and feel as though you want to venture farther and more difficult terrain build the vehicle to match the conditions.

I know when I had my Jeep the best method of learning was going out to a trail and doing. I have never taken an off-road class but even my first time out in my rover everyone was amazed at what my brand new stock LR4 could do as they were impressed by my driving ability as well. Granted I had no clue how the LR4 would react most of the time as I was use to Solid Axles, big suspension and tires.

Go out with a sound group of guys that take care of their trucks and think logically about where they are going and the safest way to get there. You will learn a tremendous amount of information and be able to grow from there.

Last thing I will say is once you are comfortable with a group, trust your group to spot and lead you out of a situation. No one wants to see someone else mess up their truck if they don't want to mess up their truck. When your spotters tell you to do something, you need to do it exactly as they say. And if you are not comfortable, always get out of the vehicle and talk it over, look over the situation and find what you think to be the best outcome. If you are not comfortable then don't try anything, take the safe route around the obstacle. No one will judge you for it. Always do what you feel like is the safest for you.

Key to off-roading is to have fun. Enjoy being outdoors in remote places with good people. If you find yourself out there more worried about the vehicle than having fun, maybe you should keep the tires on the pavement.

 

[JotaDe]

I've done light roading (SoCal terrain, dirt, hills, and sand) in the past and am comfortable beginning with that.
What I haven't been a part of is any sort of recovery involving a second vehicle using tow straps or ****** straps - that is new to me.

Thanks for the information on the clubs, classes, and assistance with the list.

Any thoughts on Maxtrax (or similar) recovery boards?
They seem to be helpful to some amount of folks.

 

[danrhiggins]

Jota I'll agree with David here. Don't let the readings scare you. There are plenty of trainings out there but, like life, watching and doing are two different methods of learning.

Best thing to do is to go put yourself in a situation with others. Let them go first, watch what happens and then try it for yourself. Build slowly and keep your vehicle stock at first. Learn the vehicle and then once you find yourself being confident and more educated around what it is capable of and feel as though you want to venture farther and more difficult terrain build the vehicle to match the conditions.

I know when I had my Jeep the best method of learning was going out to a trail and doing. I have never taken an off-road class but even my first time out in my rover everyone was amazed at what my brand new stock LR4 could do as they were impressed by my driving ability as well. Granted I had no clue how the LR4 would react most of the time as I was use to Solid Axles, big suspension and tires.

Go out with a sound group of guys that take care of their trucks and think logically about where they are going and the safest way to get there. You will learn a tremendous amount of information and be able to grow from there.

Last thing I will say is once you are comfortable with a group, trust your group to spot and lead you out of a situation. No one wants to see someone else mess up their truck if they don't want to mess up their truck. When your spotters tell you to do something, you need to do it exactly as they say. And if you are not comfortable, always get out of the vehicle and talk it over, look over the situation and find what you think to be the best outcome. If you are not comfortable then don't try anything, take the safe route around the obstacle. No one will judge you for it. Always do what you feel like is the safest for you.

Key to off-roading is to have fun. Enjoy being outdoors in remote places with good people. If you find yourself out there more worried about the vehicle than having fun, maybe you should keep the tires on the pavement.

Wise words.

 

[Finlayforprez]

Wise words.

Yep!

Also, the NCLR guys are VERY good about judging the terrain and what you should and should not do. I am perfectly fine with backing out of certain obstacles or trails. Also, there are a few obstacle courses at Hollister that are great to practice and have alternate routes if you get nervous.