[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by dwaraka

lump I can understand , but tears for whom and for what ?

Oh it was a light hearted comment about the camaraderie being applauded. Offroading is all about helping each other for the uninitiated.

Please do not take offence it was not meant to be.

Have we seen you on OTR?

I knew this was coming. Trust me i have been trying to get on.

you will experience the heart in your mouth at some of the stunts which are not captured.

Inshallah. Soon Soon.

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Gulp.. I have a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye reading the report.

You are a wicked person and next time you need to 'tag along' for an OTR and write a report for us .

Offroading is all about helping each other for the uninitiated.

Nicely put. At times one really wonders what the fuss is all about when people new to off-roading or folks who don't know about off-roading go ga-ga about 'team spirit/camaraderie/helping out' etc etc..

[vinod_nookala]

[quote=mclaren1885;1518019]

Also, what I did realize is, if you are keen on doing OTR's regularly, kindly DO NOT get your Safari's/Scorpio's/Xenon's on a rough terrain like this. Its just too painful to see expensive cars getting scratched/damaged etc. And the repairs will cost an arm and probably a little more as well. Stick to Jeep's/Gypsy's, they are easy and cheap to own and you can literally go anywhere you want with them. Even if you damage something, the whole damage can be un-done in under 50k?

I think Scorpio was well prepared than other vehicles for this OTR, bumpers removed, snorkel, Mudzillas, raised tail pipe etc, but fundamental 4wd low was missing! One should never attempt off roading with out 4wd low however powerful the vehicle might be! I agree with your point that it will cost an arm to bring safari and Xenon kind of vehicle for hard core off road, but i think we are getting there! As long as one can afford, expensive vehicle are welcome!

Also as an outsider, I hope my suggestions are taken in a positive way. I wish someone took up the responsibility to go get some food knowing very well this would take up a lot of time (we had women and kids too in the group). I know it makes it sound very exciting, but one never knows what can happen. What if god forbid, someone got so exhausted and fainted? Or what if we hadn't found an alternative route and had to spend the whole night there itself? I just hope we were better prepared in terms of food & water.

I can imagine what my wife would have done if i made her sleep in jungle without food and water and that too with kid....Divorce!! May be people never thought trail would be so long!! Also rather than completely depending on organisers it is good to buy lots of drinking water and some snacks handy. If things go well, they will return to your fridge if not, you wouldnt starve.

The next thing that worried me is, while we could have sent out one vehicle to get some food, we could also have asked that person to make a few calls back to everyone's house and inform them everything was allright and safe and we'd be back home late. I know plenty of families were very anxious, had no clue if everything was allright or not. I am sure all the families must have been really scared about our well being. Some even went to the local police station to find out if any untoward incidents were reported. No signal meant no means of contact right from early hours in the morning to early hours the next day.

Sending one vehicle isnt a good idea as he might have got stuck as well. Then you would have needed some one else to search for him. May be if the opportunity was a clear one and could have done it! Wasnt this suggested to senior guys?

Last but not the least, I would once again like to commend the fact that everyone stayed united till the very end. I just loved this bit of the OTR and I kept telling memo how refreshing it was for a change to see all of us show some patience. Well done guys .

Unity in the need of the hour especially when you have family pressures is really commendable!!

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

You are a wicked person and next time you need to 'tag along' for an OTR and write a report for us .

Thanks from saving me from Dwarak sir's wrath.

I really do want to join you great folks. I am only worried about Dwarak sir using my neck as a pulley while winching.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

I am only worried about Dwarak sir using my neck as a pulley while winching.

You are really out of touch, that's called a snatch block.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by Samurai

You are really out of touch, that's called a snatch block.

Ah..ha thanks for correcting. Snatch block ofcourse.

[sudev]

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

Lesson to all OTR members: If you need a vehicle to tow you out of trouble, have a tractor in the convoy .

A bit OT here but...

Picture this - The tractor goes in to pull out the Gypsy and in turn gets struck. This is on beach with high tide coming in there was desperation else both would be washed away in to the sea. Ultimately human power helped tractor pull out and then the Gypsy was rescued.





So you got to be ready to accept many things when on OTR

[rjstyles69]

Folks thanks for that excellent report with pictures, made for good read. Hari great job there with the Dicor , being a brand new vehicle you had all the guts to take it there.Kudos !!

BTW that Scorp' looks butch and my compliments to the owner. Rahul thanks again for that great report.

[dwaraka]

Originally Posted by sudev

A bit OT here but...

Picture this - The tractor goes in to pull out the Gypsy and in turn gets struck. This is on beach with high tide coming in there was desperation else both would be washed away in to the sea. Ultimately human power helped tractor pull out and then the Gypsy was rescued.


So you got to be ready to accept many things when on OTR

You said it all.

You should never fear getting struck, but be prepared to get out of struck position. That's offroading.

As for Mclaren's advice on safaris, scorpios, xenon to avoid coming to OTRs, I would say it's owner's choice and doing justice to their vehicle. So far I have not come across any grunts from SUV drivers that they broke some parts. Else they would not venture out for OTR.

We welcome all 4 WD vehicles to participate. Each beast is unique and capable in it's own capacity.

[NIP]

Fantastic report and pics McL. Thanks for the effort. Hats off to all you offroaders in attempting something like this every other week.

[vinod_nookala]

So, how was Rehans Scorpio rescued? Did you guys take JCB the next day? Any day light pics of that?

[ex670c]

Hi Guys,

Seems like you all had a blast. A bit more planning would have helped.

A few suggestions

1) When attempting to pull a vehicle in soft (Sand/Slush/Mud) surface always use 2 vehicle in a V-Pull (tied down at 2 different points on the Chassis). It saves time and quickly bears maximum effort in the recovery.

2) Cable Damper/Mats/Canvas Sheets. - Will dampen the cable if it get cut and prevent injuries to bystanders; the chances of accidents increase.
Didn't notice any in the pics.

3) A diagonal pull helps, in bearing the weight of both the vehicles of the rear axle, and the stuck vehicle get some traction, also if the vehicle is bottomed out, this is the easiest solution. This was amply demonstrated in TPC09, when Sean Hameed in a MG413W pulled out Baskar Keshavalu's MM540.

4) Carry adequate food and water per head.
What happened to full-length trousers and sport shoes? are they not a mandatory part of the ensemble?


Regards,

Arka

PS - The 4WD Scorpio, keeps burning up his clutch with or with-out 4WD-Lo, since MGE48 in Munnar.

[Gypsy-Boy]

Originally Posted by vinod_nookala

So, how was Rehans Scorpio rescued? Did you guys take JCB the next day? Any day light pics of that?

The scorpio was finally removed the next morning using the tractor AND about 25 people!!

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by ex670c

PS - The 4WD Scorpio, keeps burning up his clutch with or with-out 4WD-Lo, since MGE48 in Munnar.

Oh, it is the same one that came to Munnar?

[KRRaj]

Excellent Report and Great Pics!! Looks like you people had some real adventure

Camaraderie and helping others actually has not surprised me one bit. I have been on quite a few treks and this is pretty common there. I really want to get started on these T-BHP meets soon.