[honeybee]

Have just been watching some TBHP offroading events on youtube (posted by a member Vishnu R and they are titled as Team BHP, so I am thinking they are from the TBHP offroad meets). Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S7lseaTM8g

Now in this particular video, Lake Bed 4x4, there appears a gentleman with sunglasses, a light shirt and full trousers, who is probably the scout or the guide. Interestingly on many occasions he is actually gripping the vehicle, as if he can guide them on the right track with his bare hands, or as if he can prevent them from toppling over by his physical strength. In the footage post 6:50, a jeep is trying to climb a steep mound and the rear left wheel is lifting off the ground, robbing it of some crucial traction. An enthusiastic gentleman climbs aboard the rear gate, one foot on the gate and the other on the left hand corner of the jeep (and I see there are holds - meant for hands or feet I dunno). The intention seems to be to weigh down the rear, but isn't this terribly risky?

And all through the video I see people so dangerously close to the vehicles tackling the obstacles, it would be impossible for a driver to take an obstacle through sheer momentum and steering, for the fear of hurting some of these over-enthusiastic participants.

Finally I simply can't make out if the people are scampering about more than the vehicles.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Now in this particular video, Lake Bed 4x4, there appears a gentleman with sunglasses, a light shirt and full trousers, who is probably the scout or the guide. Interestingly on many occasions he is actually gripping the vehicle, as if he can guide them on the right track with his bare hands, or as if he can prevent them from toppling over by his physical strength.

That is Arka, among all the offroaders I know, I think he is the only guy who can offer relatively more physical support with his bare hands. I guess Arka can answer more elaborately w.r.t your query. You must meet him sometime.

In the footage post 6:50, a jeep is trying to climb a steep mound and the rear left wheel is lifting off the ground, robbing it of some crucial traction. An enthusiastic gentleman climbs aboard the rear gate, one foot on the gate and the other on the left hand corner of the jeep (and I see there are holds - meant for hands or feet I dunno). The intention seems to be to weigh down the rear, but isn't this terribly risky?

That is Major Roy I guess. Of course there are dangers, but these guys with their experience have seen quite a lot of such situations and know the fine line between a roll over and a successful recovery.

Spike

[V-16]

Thanks Tejas for starting this very important thread and Sudarshan for adding to the list. Having the retrieval equipment is a must but learning how to use one safely is even more important. I recently attended a 4X4 workshop, held by one of the Tbhp members and was amazed to know how much damage a simple hi lift jack can cause to life if not used with caution. In fact it can be life threatening. In the same way not clearing the area around when a vehicle is being winched or towed out of an obstacle (usually heavy slush) can be dangerous. So i suggest that we must observe safety even while using these equipments as they can do more harm if used improperly.

[Samurai]

Here is an example of what happens if the wrongly rated tow cable is used. The tow cable belonged a newer offroader, so we didn't realise it was not rated. As the towing started, a photographer got too close. I yelled at him and asked him to move out of range. The moment he moved out, the cable snapped.

A rare photograph of a cable snap in action.

[AVR]

Very graphic but should make people realize what happens when you don't stay away from a towing operation:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ec7_1...xcrR8xJDP3U.01

@Mods - please remove if too graphic but its definitely relevant.

[ex670c]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Have just been watching some TBHP offroading events on Youtube (posted by a member Vishnu R and they are titled as Team BHP, so I am thinking they are from the TBHP offroad meets). Here's the link:

http://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=6S7lseaTM8g

Now in this particular video, Lake Bed 4x4, there appears a gentleman with sunglasses, a light shirt and full trousers, who is probably the scout or the guide. Interestingly on many occasions he is actually gripping the vehicle, as if he can guide them on the right track with his bare hands, or as if he can prevent them from toppling over by his physical strength. In the footage post 6:50, a jeep is trying to climb a steep mound and the rear left wheel is lifting off the ground, robbing it of some crucial traction. An enthusiastic gentleman climbs aboard the rear gate, one foot on the gate and the other on the left hand corner of the jeep (and I see there are holds - meant for hands or feet I dunno). The intention seems to be to weigh down the rear, but isn't this terribly risky?

Hi Honeybee,

Physically manhandling a vehicle is very dangerous. Sometimes we have to hold a vehicle to prevent a roll-over, it a calculated risk and not advisable to try it.

The most dangerous act is standing on a vehicle to act as a counterweight, some of these are natural responses and takes time to do away with.

In TPC2012, one of the BODA, teams, narrowly missed serious injuries, while standing on the Gypsy rear bumper, and it broke, with the person falling down.

Regards,

Arka

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Now this is wrong on so many levels:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69gz0sB7hNc

[Bump-Stop]

Although not so much of a technical nature as the other points discussed here, l'ld like to add that:

1. You should always enquire about the area you intend to off road in ... its quite easy to stray into private property or any other sensitive area without realising you're breaking the law (or getting on the property owners nerves)

2. Try to leave your trails /camping sites in fair condition after you finish your outing, ie I'm talking about badly dug up tracks by our aggresive mud terrains, and / or leaving behind dirt or garbage.

I feel these points will take more and more relevance as years go by... Hope we never come to the point where there are innumerable restrictions placed on off road driving due to our own carelessness😀

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Sharing from Facebook:

Yes it's a gory pic, but we hope to remind you that 4 wheeling is dangerous and you NEED to do it right the first time. Keep your egos at home and don't hesitate to ask if you are unsure about anything. Luckily he gets a second chance (a lucky few do) and makes a full recovery after this incident. See his story on the YouTube link attached.

WARNING - A chilling reminder to TAKE EXTREME CARE when using "SNATCH STRAPS"
The "All 4 Adventure" boys came back to see Rhett Walker at remote, 1 million acre, Lorella Springs Wilderness Park, Savannah Way, Gulf of Carpentaria, NT, after his horrific accident.

Often when Rhett and the boys travel on the many tracks on Lorella they tow a large grader tyre to flatten the track behind them.

This tyre was attached with a nylon "snatch strap" that is standard for most outback vehicles to assist other vehicles in boggy conditions.

At the end of the strap was a short length of chain around the actual grader tyre so that the strap does not wear as it drags across the ground. The chain was connected back to itself with fencing wire.

The tyre hooked up, stretched the strap, then the connection to the tyre let go and fired the chain, shattering through the rear windscreen.

The chain smashed into the rear of Rhett's skull producing a huge haematoma, wrapping around his head, opening up a massive wound to the front of his forehead, across his left eye, shattering the bones around the eye and damaging the eye, smashing his jawbone, and cutting right through to the inside of his mouth.

He lost a huge amount of blood in the first few seconds, and then continued to bleed out over the next hour while I was driving him back to the station homestead. We had packed his head wounds with as much tissue and toilet paper as we could, but he still continued to bleed profusely. By the time we were back at the station he was drifting in and out of consciousness, having lost litres of blood.

We were all sure that he was going to die.

We contacted the homestead by satellite phone and they contacted Darwin Hospital. When they heard the seriousness of his condition, Darwin Hospital arranged for CareFlight to immediately dispatch both a rescue plane as well as a rescue helicopter.

Because the property is one of the most remote in Australia, the doctors in the CareFlight plane could not arrive until 7pm that night, and Rhett was not loaded onto the helicopter until 10.30 pm that night. This was in no way a reflection of the service of CareFlight, as they arrived as quickly as possible, and we thank them for their outstanding efforts. It was the fact that Lorella is one of the most remote places in Australia. Careflight said it was the most remote pickup that they had ever done.

The doctors who saw the MRI of his skull fractures told him afterwards that the only other MRI's they had seen, of skulls smashed that bad, had been on corpses. ... Tough little bugger, isn't he? That's what they call "Territory Tough". ( "Lorella Tough" is even tougher.)

As I said, we all thought that Rhett was going to die at the time, but he has come through, is back at Lorella, and loves Lorella even more. We are probably the most remote place in Australia, and that is one of the many things that everyone loves about it.

So take EXTREME CARE when using "SNATCH STRAPS"

Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFyVqvlYJxo

[ButterRider 7]

I would like to mention some mistakes which must be avoided while off-roading:-

1.Not Planning Ahead- One of the worst off-roading mistakes you can make striking out on a whim without a clear plan in place. Remember, off-roading trails are completely different than driving on even the roughest dirt roads.

2. Keeping Tires at Maximum PSI- Every car, truck, SUV, and off-road capable vehicle has a manufacturer-recommended tire pressure. This pressure is best for driving down smooth pavement or well-groomed dirt roads around town. It’s not ideal for driving in the outdoors over rough terrain.

3. Using Standard Street Wheels and Tires- Even the most off-road ready vehicles rarely come stock with the right wheels or tires for your off-roading adventures. This is because manufacturers and dealerships assume you’re going to use the vehicle primarily for street driving.

4. Packing Too Much or Too Little
When you’re heading off-road for several hours at a time, you need to be ready for just about anything that can happen. This means you’ll want to pack a first aid kit, tools for basic off-road vehicle maintenance, and enough food and water to get you through.

5. Pushing Yourself Too Hard, Too Fast- Think about your experience going off-road and choose trails accordingly. If you’re new to the sport, look for novice trails. If you’re more experienced, take on more challenging courses.

[corneliu]

Some mistakes I have made so far:

1) Rock crawling without deflating the tyres. I did my first two sessions @ 30psi, which on hindsight seems insane. I now drop down to 20psi and reflate the tyres before hitting the tarmac.

2) Forgetting to toggle back from 4H to 2H when hitting tarmac. Have made this mistake once. Fortunately the car spoke to me pretty soon (poor thing was shuddering at the turns), and I immediatley got offroad and got back to 4H to undo any wind up. The car seems fine post this debacle; I hope its okay.

3) Forgetting to re-engage parking sensors once back in civilization. Did this once, and paid the price. Turned into a small pole protruding from the ground, which was not visible due to the height of the car, and got a crack on the right side of the bumper.

4) Downhill rock crawling on 4H instead of 4L. This is the most cringey thing I have done so far, including on this steep 45 degree section in the pic below. Took on everything on with 4H, and left it to the my poor brakes to do all the work! Since then have learnt to be on 4L for steep descents and use engine breaking as far as possible.