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First off a quick mention for Carl Robinson
who first told me about the cabin we were going to have from Sidegate
Lane School. I omitted this fact from last month’s issue.
Next I must thank all who helped out last
weekend at Stonham Barns as the great SLROC fundraising machine was
wound up for another year’s hard labour. We were so lucky with the
weather, you would not believe! How anything drove around that course I
don’t know but a certain Orange Disco and Blue 90 must have spent the
entire weekend slipping and sliding around it, and keeping the punters
happy. That’s not to say that all our other volunteers did any less, as
they all performed brilliantly. I thank you all, whether you were stood
signing people on, loading and unloading or like ‘our Barry’ - coated in
mud up to the waist from all the recoveries he was dealing with (at
least his better half didn’t beat me senseless when we met on Sunday for
causing their washing machine to throw a wobbly). As usual the Saturday
night get-together - something we really are good at - went down well,
with yours truly receiving a slightly early birthday cake from
Christine. Many thanks for that despite pressuring me for a speech:
Especially when everyone knows how quiet I am.... And as I said then,
that’s the side of the club that I really like: The chance to socialise
with like-minded folk with a sense of humour. Not necessarily Land Rover
chat, just any old thing that comes to mind and inevitably degenerates
into howls of laughter: Priceless!
In this issue Bruce Allen tells of his Tyro
trial win and JaneB and Christine have a few words to say about the
‘What Club’ article from last month. Also Paul Hester has been Monster
Trucking in Iceland.
Please read and act upon the info given on
page 9. We need to stop another lane being closed to us: Remember,
Culford is next!!!
Now read on… DEANO
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So, the budget is now over for another
year, and Alistair has done his bit to try and drive us from the road
yet again. Incidentally, has anyone else noticed the resemblance between
the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Sam the American Eagle from the
Muppets? I’m sure they share the same set of eyebrows. Anyway, I for one
will not let him, or any other killjoy put me off enjoying my Land
Rover.
An event took place the other week which
will at some time impact on the Land Rover marque and that was the sale
of the company to Tata of India. Whether this will impact on where some
of the cars are assembled, only time will tell. Whether a Land Rover
built in India will have the same appeal as a Solihull product, I’m not
sure.
I have sometimes
heard the odd comment about the Club being “picky” over loose items in
vehicles during scrutineering at Newbourne. I know our vehicles are not
exactly travelling quickly round the course, but occasionally they do
roll. Remember this; the weight of an object times the speed of a
collision equals the amount of force it exerts when it hits. That means
a seemingly innocent small tissue box can weigh the equivalent of a
house brick in an accident: Food for thought.
If you have to have kit in the back, make
sure it is properly secured and you will have no problem with
scrutineering. Have a good month and may your breakdowns be cheap.
Andy
Beevers – Chairman
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It all started in Rhodes. A brief
conversation with my wife about how I would like to see lots of snow and
suggested a short break to Austria/Switzerland. Even better, Iceland
where we could go onto a glacier in a Land Rover having seen pictures in
various Land Rover magazines.
That was the last I thought about it until
December 25th at 10am when my wife presented me with a parcel
containing two tickets to Iceland and a confirmation email confirming a
reservation on a 4x4 tour in Iceland.
December 28th we arrive in
Retrovick and check into the Hotel, snow everywhere and –6°C.
December 29th 7.30am we wait in
the Hotel reception where we are greeted by Yanis the owner of a Ford
Excursion, sitting on 54-inch tyres and a good 2ft 6 inches to step up
into the passenger seat. We are off to pick up four more passengers and
then join a convoy consisting of two Nissan Patrols also running on huge
tyres 48 inches.
We make our way along the main road out of
Retravick to view natural hot springs and the geezer Strokkur which
erupts every 8-10 minutes, blowing a steam jet 30 feet up into the air.
We do the tourist thing taking photos, marvelling at this phenomenon of
nature. Yanis drops the tyre pressures down to 12psi ready to tackle the
mountain road to the glacier LANGJOKULL. As we battle our way up the
mountain road we drive through 2 and 3 foot snow drifts as if they are
mole hills. There are two or three tricky moments where we have to
reverse back and engage the different locks and plenty of right foot. As
we make our way further up the mountain Yanis lowers the tyre pressure
even more to 8psi. We are now driving on top of 2 to 3 feet of snow.
Road markers indicate the edge of the road and are only visible due to
protruding tops 6 to 12 inches out of the snow. As we round a corner we
are greeted by a fleet of snowmobiles, two of our party choose to do the
remainder of the journey on snowmobiles. We leave the snowmobiles and
head up the mountain towards the glacier. Yanis tells us we were on the
road but the markers have dispersed.
It is a weird experience floating on snow,
leaving only a 3 to 4 inch impression. Now we are stuck, no forward
movement as the Ford drops into the snow up to its axles. Yanis is
determined not to be beaten so we all disembark and begin to walk the
final hill to the top of the glacier. Yanis lets down the tyres again,
to 2psi. After several attempts and various different routes he makes it
to where we are standing and not before time as it is –12degrees without
the wind chill factor. As we get back in the truck we are greeted by
Yanis grinning ear to ear with the heater running flat out. We continue
for another fifteen minutes and arrive on the glacier. A quick walk
about and we are heading back to the snowmobiles. We collect our two
passengers and make our way back down the mountain road. Twice we stop
to increase air in the tyres, as Yanis is wary a tyre may pop of the rim
(they don’t carry spares). We arrive back on the main road and head for
a famous waterfall called Gulfoss where they have a café serving hot
soup and rolls. We are all grateful to warm up a bit before venturing
out to do the tourist thing, more photos, –8 degrees and freezing spray.
Yanis picks us up again and we are off to do an Iceland green lane
through the Pingvellier National Park… but that is another story.
Paul Hester
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In
Response to Rattle & Hum's
-
What Club
?
While I agree with his idea of the
Strengths of the club I feel that he has missed a few. The club has by
far more strengths than weaknesses.
-
There is a very hard working Committee who give up a
substantial amount of their time for the benefit of the Club.
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A very hard working and dedicated Noozeteam and
Webmaster whom without we would not be able to air our views and
comments.
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We have very good Landlords
-
A great Off Road Site and facilities (maintained by
the hardy few).
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Members including women who continually put their
hearts and souls into Club events etc.
-
Although we have no specific member who deals with
PR, I think the Committee and other Members deal with this in a
justified way, talking and writing to the Public and Official bodies
with respect and common sense. With Deano doing such a good job with
the Nooze, the Club is always being featured in national magazines
which in my view is very good PR.
-
He mentioned no women on the Committee; being a
member for only a year he will not know the Club’s history. Previous
members of the Committee have been women, myself included. I must
say that they have all done a sterling job in whichever position
they have held, some putting more in than their male counterparts!
The women members of the Club do not
necessarily need to be on the Committee to put their views and ideas
across. They only need to speak to the Committee or attend a Committee
meeting and I can assure you that if they have a viable idea or view
that they are passionate about and are willing to help get it rolling
the Committee will take it all onboard, and don’t forget most of the
Male members of the Committee have wives or partners who are also very
active Club members (some non-Club members), doing behind-the-scenes
work that people forget about.
I do agree there is a weakness within the
Club regarding the ‘Gung-Ho Right foot’ brigade. Spinning and revving
gets you nowhere but dug into a big hole and holding up other drivers.
There needs to be more Co-operation with the Marshall’s at events, if
you are asked to exit via another route then please do so, not have one
more attempt and get even more stuck thus putting that part of the
course out of action.
This is unfair on those who do abide by the
rules and those who maintain the site.
Having said this, it is best they dig holes
on an off road site rather than on Green Lanes, which seems to be his
major concern.
Being an active green laner myself (even
before I joined the Club, which I have now been supporting for nearly 9
years) I have seen my fare share of green lane events, arranging many of
them with Wayne and other members. In this time on only one occasion
have Wayne and myself had a wayward and aggressive driver, who was
promptly told the do’s and don’ts of green laning; it is to say that
this person is no longer a member of the club!
Was it something I said? We will never
know.
I’m sure you will agree that the Right’s of
Way officers of the Club - both past and present - have always put their
All into the job, giving up their precious time and even using their
holiday from work to attend meetings with SCC and the Land Access Forum.
But unfortunately one man against many doesn’t stand a chance even with
Club members behind him.
Green lanes being lost and won is not just
an issue in Suffolk it is a national issue and some counties have not
fared as well as us since the NERC bill. Some of those counties whose
network included RUPP’s have lost their whole network of lanes despite
protest.
I agree that Each and Everyone of us needs
to do our bit but that’s not always possible due to peoples time,
commitments, circumstances etc. I’m sure those within the Club that do
enjoy Green lanes do the best they can to uphold the Drivers Code of
Conduct and to keep lanes open by objecting to TRO’s by letter or email
to the appropriate authorities.
I can see where you are coming from and
why; are you a member of Glass?
This maybe where your true calling lays.
Some may not agree with me but in the
nearly 9 years that I have been associated with the Club it has gone
from strength to strength and on the whole this is due to the work done
by a dedicated Committee both past and present whom without, there would
be No Club.
Christine Clarke.
Response
I take this opportunity to respond to the
article presented by Rattle and Hum in the April edition of the Nooze
titled “What Club?” It disappoints me to learn that the negatives
outweigh the positives of the Club. The majority of which tend to be out
of the Club and Committee’s hands.
The first gripe about the Green Lanes are
very much out of Deano, Simon, Wayne and Christine’s hands (your area
reps who form the Rights of Way team), but are in the hands of the Local
Authorities. The Local Authorities look at the costs of maintaining
Green Lanes against other cost pressures and therefore favour applying
Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO), as ramblers by default cause less
damage (debatable, judging by the £1.5m spent on 7km of Snowdonia’s
footpath’s, much of the stone airlifted in by helicopter at £6,500 per
day! – DEANO). Although it could be argued that some of the damage
which 4x4 drivers are accused of is from the agricultural vehicles who
use the lanes to get to their fields, while other damage which is quite
rightly mentioned caused by Mud Muppets who are out on the lanes for a
good time without showing respects for other users and the surrounding
countryside.
Whilst on the subject of Green Lanes Simon
has in the Camel at all times OS maps with the local Green Lanes marked
up so there is nothing stopping anybody from asking to copy the lanes
onto their own maps and arranging their own trips rather than waiting
for a posting on the Forum, which are to be regarded as non-club events.
Gripe number 2 Women do drive Land Rovers;
you only have to observe the school run for this. Numbers may be limited
at Newbourne as I for one get little pleasure from driving up and down
mounds of earth and getting myself axle deep in mud. I do however enjoy
driving some of the Green Lanes and will kick Simon out of the driving
seat.
Gripe three Women are not on the Committee
as off road driving is mainly regarded as a man’s world. However,
historically, the wives of the committee could be regarded as indirect
committee members. Without the dedication and support the women provide
at Shows, Charity Events etc the club would not be able to function as
effectively as it does.
As far a PR goes it is the role of every
committee member as they host various events throughout the year.
Likewise every member should have a role to play by promoting through
word of mouth to family, friends, colleagues etc.
I strongly agree with the comments
regarding the solid club membership, and the community and charity work
etc carried out by the club. In addition the club has a strong
comradeship whereby everybody is friendly and supportive of each other
especially when unfortunate incidents occur. On a final note the club is
growing, evolving and changing and to this end perhaps the club should
be remembered as “What a Club”!
Jane Bareham
^Top
The article said
‘beginner’ which immediately caught my attention, along with the
prospect of a day’s non damaging trial driving with little or no
pressure. So along with my brother as co-driver we arrived at Newbourne
for scrutineering.
We had a comprehensive brief for us ‘newbies’ on the finer points of
trials given by Fred, Terry and Simon. They made the point that if you
didn’t want to attempt a section or part thereof you didn’t have to,
although they’d still dock you the points! Anyway the format was fairly
straightforward with your vehicle having to pass through the 10 gates in
order without touching them. The number on the gate referred to the
amount of points you would accrue if you touched it. If you had a short
wheelbase you were not allowed to reverse or ‘shunt’, however if your
wheelbase was longer you were allowed 1 per section, which would be
useful on some of the tight sections. They also recommended you walk the
course first and look at your lines. I think this is the most important
thing to do before you drive the section as you will see the ground and
where possible cross axle points are or where you need a bit more
momentum or where you need to start your turn etc. All the marshals were
on hand with any and all advice you needed and would give pointers on
lines, gear selection, speeds and so forth. You could also drive from
the age of 14 and there were a couple of younger drivers there who did
extremely well. I saw one Range Rover, which I thought, was left hand
drive only to see a young lad of 14 sitting behind the wheel!
Brilliant.
There were 5 sections in
all and they seemed to start off fairly easy and would get progressively
harder, testing you a bit more each time but not scaring you in the
process, remember this was for beginners. After the first section there
were smiles all round, certainly in my Rangy, as we cleared the section.
Beginners luck, but also walking the course paid off as I knew what was
coming and could position the wagon as I needed. The sections were well
laid out and the gates were positioned so that you needed to get the
lock on just right or you would hit them, also you needed to think a
gate ahead and position yourself as you might need a tight line to go up
the hill after the gate you were just going through for example. It was
great fun and challenging as you wanted to go round clear. There were
tight up hill slalom sections, steep drops and climbs, axle twisters,
mud, water, bushes and more using the whole of Newbourne area. After a
break for lunch we went around the sections in reverse, walking the
section again proved to be the key as the ground was different. In the
end we completed 7 out of a possible 10 sections all of which were both
fun and challenging and talking to others in the pits everyone had
enjoyed themselves. I certainly did and with my standard ’81 Range Rover
classic I managed to clear all the sections just showing you can have a
go in anything and as long as you are over 14 at any age.
I would like to say
thanks to Fred, Terry, Simon and all the marshals who stood around all
day in the cold making the day safe and thoroughly enjoyable for
everyone and I can’t wait to have another go. Thanks again to all and
see you around at Newbourne.
Bruce Allen
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No doubt you’ve heard of
our recent association with SuLSaR -
Suffolk Lowland Search
and Rescue
Well here’s your chance
to get the whole story Come along to the Crowfield Rose and find out
what it takes to be a Search Team Member, Search Manager or Search
Controller. This should be of special interest to our Rover Rescue
members some of whom are already assisting SuLSaR.
Make it a date, 7th May
2008 - 8pm start
Pete Bickley (Click for mail) is your contact for this event.
If
you’d like to help out at any of our events, just speak to the relevant
Clerk of Course/Organiser, listed beside each event on pages 6 & 7 of
the Nooze magazine. That way you should get the correct info straight
away, rather than a guarded, “ Not sure I’ll need to check”, or “I don’t
have a problem with it, but you really need to speak to ….”
You
know it makes sense.
————————
If
you have attended a marshal’s course and marshalled at an event, why not
go a step further and help us out by being Clerk of Course? If you would
like more info, ring any of the committee on their published numbers and
they will be pleased to help answer queries.
^Top
I make no apologies for repeating this article once again. While
most members now have an idea what is required for their vehicles, new
members may not, and this is therefore aimed at helping them.
Wayne Peck, stalwart marshal and Scrutineer was speaking to me at
one of our driving days. He was unhappy at having to turn away three
vehicles that had absolutely no recovery points, or were too dangerous
to be driven around the site (and yet they were driven there!). I'm not
going into details of who these members were (they weren’t happy), but
Wayne thought that a short summary of basic preparation might avoid this
happening again. It’s a difficult subject to broach without sounding
patronising so we hope you will all take this the right way.
Wayne's First Law
First off is something that should be on your daily checklist:
Wayne spotted a battery lying on its side with no clamp in sight! Now
come on people you shouldn't be waiting for the MOT to come around for
the inspector to do your checks for you, you know it makes sense. In
Wayne's own words, "If you do roll it, the bonnet acts as a huge frying
pan with fuel and oil laying in it, a loose battery may hit the bonnet,
spark and Woosh! You're in deep trouble". So while Land Rover provide a
nice sturdy clamp, this doesn’t always hold the battery sufficiently but
a simple metal strap with a couple of holes drilled each end to take
bolts will solve that problem.
While
you are under the bonnet, look around the engine bay. Any leaks,
especially from fuel or brake lines need sorting immediately, sometimes
it's as simple as tightening a hose clip or pipe union. I bet you take
the time to spray some waterproofing around the wires on your petrol
motor so you don't look a Charlie in the first puddle you come to, so
take the time to look properly for the other stuff while the bonnet is
up
Staying beneath the bonnet, check security of the steering box on
Series motors along with the drag link if you can see it, and on coilers
have a wiggle of the steering shaft looking for excessive room in the
u.j’s because the Scrutineer will do.
Likewise have a look underneath the vehicle at the steering
joints/track rod ends. We’ve seen vehicles driven to the site, with the
TRE’s so badly worn they were refused entry to the courses and you have
to wonder how they made it to the site! Likewise the drop arm balljoint.
Add another check to your list while you’re at it: The handbrake.
This must be able to hold the vehicle on our scrutineering slope, that’s
why it’s there (the handbrake and the slope)! It’s a major fail point
and is quite easily adjusted.
Wayne’s Second Law
The dangers within:
That spare wheel you never bothered to bolt down in the boot, the
wheel brace that has been sliding around for weeks, even the box
containing your recovery kit must be bolted/strapped down securely.
Failing that, take it all out in the car park after you have
scrutineered and before you go out onto the courses.
Literally anything that is loose within the vehicle whilst you are
off road can inflict a serious injury. You may laugh, but I even use one
of the seatbelts to strap my flask of coffee down - it's not just in
case it falls on the floor and breaks - although that is a life
threatening scenario in itself as far as I am concerned. We’ve even had
vehicles turn up with shovels, spades and even an uncovered machete
lying on the floor between the seats. It’s very easy to overlook things
that are always there.
Stow it
all away securely or take it out.
Which finally brings us to:
Wayne’s Third Law
Recovery Points.
Now while it might be quite ok to drive the White Course at
anytime of year - unless your Paul and it's your first time off road
with the overhang and tow-hitch/plough on a Rangey (sorry mate it's just
an example)! – it’s been proved time and time again that while the Black
Course has it's usual impassable obstructions for some, so can the
normally mild Yellow Course! The dip beyond the tabletop proving too
much even for grizzly claws at times and as for the bomb-hole...
The point I am making here is that if you go onto the course and
get stuck, with no recovery points just how do you expect anyone to get
you out? Proper recovery points, I'm sure you realise, are imperative.
Don't be fooled into thinking those little egg-shaped plates with a big
hole in are any good for recovery because they're not. They were
designed to lash the vehicle to a transporter and that's all. Much the
same applies to the later front 'towing eye' fitted to Discovery and
Range Rover: towed by an AA patrol, or winched onto a truck maybe ok,
but stick a kinetic recovery rope onto that same towing eye, and it'll
probably be ripped from the chassis at Mach 2. What you should be
investing in is, a pair of 'Jate rings' which attach to the chassis with
high tensile bolts while Series/Defenders can use 'D-rings' (which
attach above the bumper using the bumper bolts) or ball/pin hitches
bolted straight through the bumper in line with the chassis rails.
However, do not forget to put a spreader plate behind each hitch
or you stand the risk of pulling the bolts through the bumper (don’t
forget the condition of the dumb-irons as that’s what the bumper is
bolted to). A standard tow-hitch will suffice for the rear but don't
underestimate the forces applied to recovery points, I've seen a rear
tow-hitch come off the back of a Series during a kinetic recovery, and
the rear crossmember was still attached to it! Likewise I watched a
towrope with shackle and part of a bulbar still attached, go sailing
over the top of the motor doing the pulling! Welded recovery points are
a no-no too; they should be bolted. Most bull bars have unsuitable
points, as they are not in line with the chassis. If you aren’t sure
what you need, pop along to the pub on a Wednesday night and ask any of
the guys who drive the course. They’ll love to tell you how to spend
your hard earned. One other deserved mention is the use for recovery of
these webbing straps. Most are not designed for pulling motors
out of mud, but for holding loads onto vehicles or lifting. Use only the
proper gear!
Finally
have fun and stay safe. DEANO
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