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       Nooze

 

May 2008

 

  • NoozeTeam Rumbling

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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  • Chat from the Chair

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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  • A Wish Come True

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.
  • A very hard working and dedicated Noozeteam and Webmaster whom without we would not be able to air our views and comments.
  • We have very good Landlords
  • A great Off Road Site and facilities (maintained by the hardy few).
  • 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

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  • Junior & Tyro Trial 3rd February

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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  • Notices

  • 1st Wednesday in May

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.

  • A Couple Of Quick Items 

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.

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  • Waynes Guide To Offroad Preparation

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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