Welcome to Vancouver Island Off Road

Nice site, hope to see it grow immensely and I'm sure it will, definitly going to let some buddies know about this one!

Good way to share info and swap/buy parts locally. 

hai2u

Hello all, my name is Bart  i own a 98 cherokee sport 2 door 4.0 5 speed, i have owned it for about a year now but have only wheeled it a couple times.

stock at the moment except for a few cosmetic things etc. just ordered a 3 inch zone lift kit for it which i plan to install in the next couple weeks.

future plans are bigger tires probally 31 or 32s, new wider steel wheels, cb, engine skid, diff covers, fenders , bumpers blah blah blah, could go on forever...

nice looking site here, look forward to meeting and exploring with some of you....

will start a build thread once i get the lift in

Bart

Hello everyone.. i joined this site about a week ago and it looks great.. I'm new to the duncan area and want to get out there exploring, and find some new lakes to fish.. I drive a 2010 jeep with a 4 inch lift on 35's.. i haven't 4x4ed it a whole lot but i do like to take it out to the next fishing hole...

Newb here, Drive a stock 4.0L Tacoma with some all terrains. Into fishing and exploring around. Looks like lots of you are from the Nanaimo area? Im somewhat new to here.

Yep, Its Ryan. Those are logs from one massive tree out near Renfrew.

Hello all, brand new to the site, and mudding in general. Planning on picking up my very own 4Runner in a week or so, it's pretty much already equiped with everything I'll need: Mudding Tires, 4" lift, shocks and a bull bar. Anyhow once I get it I'll throw up a post or something going into details and I'll subscribe to some of the get togethers.

Justin

Hey There Wayne from Victoria here.
It's good to find some like minded people who just like to explore the backroads rather than rock crawling. I'd like to get out more if I had someone to go with, mainly just to have someone else there in case shit goes wrong.
I have a 2003 Jeep Liberty.
Its been a great back road vehicle so far.
There a few Plane crash sites and other things i'd like to explore on the island, just having a destination is a motivation.

Hi all. Kevin here, we live just outside Nanaimo right off of Spruston Rd. Great place to be... Just starting to explore the area now, still pretty new to backroads and Not getting lost. We currently drive a 96 Discovery, as well as a 98 Tahoe for rougher terrain. Tahoe has a 6 inch lift, 35 tires, custom bush bumper, etc. I'll get some pics up of the rides in the next couple days. Would love to get out more and explore with some people as we just don't really know where to go or how to get there. Great site and excellent concept to it all. Thanks...
Kevin

come one come all! extention ridges are a fun place to play. in the city limits of nanaimo and access to the trans canada trail, whiskey lake and the old cfb chillwacks dept of engineering. ive found about 5 ways into the area. please be mindful of the wild flower preserve. have fun. 

Hi great to find this site

my self and a few good buds have been 4xin around nanaimo for a few years and allways looking for more good people to go and play in the bush.

i hope to show you all some great trails and hope you all can take us to lots of new spots to. i have a 93 jeep xj with a 6.5 lift and 35s on it.

Hey all, I've been looking for a while for some guys to go wheeling with. Been living on the island for  a few years now but havn't had much time to do anything. I'm not into doing anything too crazy but would love to start getting out to some lakes or where ever with my 15 year old as he wants to fish anywhere there is water. I have a well built rig, suzuki LJ 80 on toyota drivetrain, locker, exo, 33's etc but with no top or doors I'm not sure how much I want to use it in the winter and It hasn't been on the road for a few years either but it's pretty much ready to go. My daily driver is a sidekick that I am more than willing to put in some dirt or whatever. So I hope to meet some of you guys soon.

Glen.

hey glen! its island livin! u dont need doors. we go till snow. then we go lower. :) it never seems to snow down by the ocean. i was ontop the malahat yeterday with the vic club on quads.  i usually shut down for the winter but im glad theres some hard cores that push their machines n the weather. we r lucky the weathers getting better here. all the back country would have snow in the old days by november. nanaimo used to have a ski resort on green mountain. ud be lucky if theres any snow at all up there.

im driving the stock tracker to show everyone that stock suv vehicles can transverse these hills. everyones got one these days. i say use them.

Well like everyone else, it's nice to find a spot with people who don't have fully custom trail rigs can swap info, tips etc( not that my truck is that close to stock...I've dropped it to 37"s and a 9" lift). My name's Dave and unlike many of the big lifted diesels on the island, I actually take mine off road! What a novel concept! As it's a 2004 3500 Ram, I don't do anything too nuts with it as when it breaks, it's expensive! My girl and I just like getting out and exploring this amazing island we all live on! Hope to get out a lot more in the next few months too, and meet some people we share these trails with!

Greenhart, welcome! (A little late but oh well). I love your truck haha, I always have had a soft spot for big dodges, especially of your model. It's always nice to see a big truck used to it's potential for once. You should come out to cowichan sometime and explore with us. The prime season is coming up :)

Hey =) Names Riley! Stumbled upon this site... lookin good! Excited to share ideas and get out for some adventuring! Cheers

hi i have a jk with 35s and a two inch lift and a 1000 pound winch and front and rear lockers. iam looking for some fun in the bush and new trails to explore so i hope this is place for me

I am in Cowichan Station, just getting back into 4 wheeling after a long absence. Just picked up a 1990 Chev Tracker, basiclly stock right now. Have a 2" body lift waiting to be installed. Planning on picking up a 2" suspension lift when I am in Kelowna picking up my new ZukiNation winch bumper in May. Like most of the people here, just looking to meet up with people and go out and explore.

Agreed!

What a great site. Can't wait to try out some of those routes. We got a little Pajero last year and are hoping to get out there with it soon. There are lots of places to see right around us here in Glenora.

New to the site. Living in parksville new to the area. Have a 1989 jeep cherokee and first step is the build would love suggestions check out post in genral chat. Look forward to lots of adventure to come.

hey man i am in cowichan station too hillbank rd sorry it took so long to reply but i dont webernet to much

Hi. My name is mike and im new to the island. Been here in Victoria one year now and just got my rig. 1993 jeep yj w/2" lift. I'm from the kootenays and am used to loads of back roads/logging roads. I am looking for weekend exploring friends! So anyone feel free to give me a shout if you need a partner. I love exploring and like to see the tops of mountains.

Hi My name is Rob and I am new to the Duncan area.. Can't wait to get out there with you guys!

hey guys i was wondering if any of you new some trails to go wheeling on in victoria ?

Hey my name is Glenn, do lots of mild wheeling all over the island. I live in Victoria. I have a 01 Dodge diesel and a 97 Jeep TJ. Pathfinder01 there isnt much wheeling close to Vic but once you get out of town either out past sooke or Shawnigan lake has lots of trails to explore. Ive been meaning to try and find a trail that connects Renfrew road (accessed from Shawnigan) to Bear creek reservoir (out near Jordan River). I think that would be a good day trip loop to do from Victoria.

Agreed, Vic is not ideal, come to the cow valley or Nanaimo!

Hello and good day to all!

life long Cowichan valley resident, and avid back woods enthusiast. I just found this forum, and am happy that I have.
There is an old deactivated route I want to open up this summer, in the kinsol area to be specific. I know some of you may abhor the idea but its honestly an old deactivated logging road from the seventys or eightys (and by open up I mean winch my locked up 4x4 thru a 50' tank trap). This would open up back trail access to Lois and wild dear lakes both are great fishing and camping areas, and only minutes from town.
I also like how you guys share your treks

keep up the good work and hope to see you on the trail!

Hey BeRadical I am 10 k from kinsol . let me know when brotha

Hey I'm Ian and I live in Vic. Picked up a 91 XJ and am looking foward to get out in the bush more again..

Hey Ian and everyone else. I'm Larry, I drive a 92XJ 4.5" lift on 32's.
Keep your eyes on the "trail runs" section of the forum, it seems to be getting a little more use and hopefully we can get more and more people out exploring with us.

Wtf? Craziest spam messages ever?!?

Is this site still active?

There's not a lot of us but there is a handful that frequent the site, including myself.

Oh were active, just not so much traffic now that guru isnt making a new topic every week. Good bunch of guys to wheel with, understanding when issues come up and experienced.

Cant wait for the next trail run

Perfect. I recently moved to the island from Manitoba, I was into the mud bogging and sand trails there. I currently don't have a trail ready vehicle yet, but the build will be in the works shortly. I also have a Honda atv for weekend trips.

A mudder eh, not much of that around here. Legally at least. Have any idea what kind of rig you're going to run out here yet?

Not sure. Possibly a 4 runner, so I can bring the family along. I have lots of crazy ideas. Cummins powered 4 runner or stretched jeep, something with lots of room for kids and camping gear.

Hunting season too so its hard to get it all in........need to get out again and do some exploring and trail opening.

Check out the Nanaimo Sidewinders 4x4 Club page.......we are always looking for new members, but you gotta be equipped and ready to do some serious wheeling.
https://www.facebook.com/nanaimosidewinders

Thanks guys! Can't wait to light up the torch and crank on the welders and get building. I'm up for some wheeling!!!

Cummins 4runner would be interesting to say the least!

I've done a few Cummins swaps. A 77 Ford. 86 gmc. 83 dodge crew. And a gmc top kick. But my best one was a Perkins diesel into a 55 jeep.

Thanx for makin this site, I'm kinda new to the island, looking to make some friends that are into flinging mud and ripping up the roads, I have a 99 dodge ram 1500 short box 4x4, I have only been out once as I don't know alot of people here. Hit me up when you're heading out and maybe I could tag along.

Welcome aboard Khaos. Keep checking back as people tend to post up where and when they are going.

Thanx mang, and I shall be constantly checking and I will also be posting when I am headin to mud fling :)

Wanted to say thanks for making this site. Seems like a nice community of folks here. :)

Howdy everyone! New member here, but long time backwoods explorer.
Great to find a forum focused on exploring and back country.
I drive a blue 93 Toyota pickup, lifted and on 33s. You'll probably find me cruising around Victoria, Renfrew and lake Cowichan, and eventually all the way to port Hardy. Started at the south island, working my way north.
I'll share my trail finding, routes and camp spots, with photos and stories, in exchange for new routes and camping spots!
Its also great to find a buy/sell community for strictly 4x4, cruising craigslist can get exhausting.
See ya'll on the trail!

Welcome aboard Gear.

Howdy all. Bernard here. Been on the island for about 1.5 years now and finally picked myself up a 4x4. 1995 Yukon stock at the moment but getting upgrades starting with a bumper and Warn 8274 winch (just picked them up). Tires and small lift will be next. Years ago I used to wheel in Waiparous with a 1998 Lada Niva. I've been pretty much out of the scene for the last 8 years. Eager to get back into it. I'm based out of Nanaimo but I'm not scared to travel to get to a trail.

Howdy! Hailing from Errington! New to this forum, found it the other night by fluke, liked what I read! Not new to wheeling or the island. Born and bred right here on the rock! We love the woods and high mountain areas and we're always down for an easy explore or a hard crawl day! We look forward to making some new friends and finding some new areas to explore. Thanks for the site it looks great!

Hey ya'll! new to VIOF. I was wondering if anyone knows some alternative routes to leechtown? Was up around that area exploring trying to get to leech town via Boneyard main. Came across that big ol' red gate. Anybody know who put that gate in ?

Hi guys, Andrew here. I have a 96 4runner with about 3" of lift, rock sliders, front bumper with receiver and in need of new tires. 33" would do nicely but no money for em right yet. Still goes pretty well with 500,000k on it. Into exploring, finding the cool weird stuff on the island like crashed planes, caves, lookout, awesome camping spots and doing a little fishing while out there too. Based out of victoria but explore all around the south island happily

Hey Andrew, I have a set of 33" tires for cheap if you're interested, for a 16" rim. Mickey Thomson baja MTZ, 1 has low tread and other 3 are OK, hence being cheap. Let me know if youre interested!

I guess I should post a formal intro.

A bit about me:
My name is Rob, I live in Langford & I drive a White 2003 2nd gen Tracker ZR2.
I love to hit the trails or find neat camping spots or just about any other excuse to be in the woods any chance I get.
When in season you may find me in the woods picking wild mushrooms. Pine mushrooms & chantrelles in the fall and morels & oyster mushrooms in the spring are my favorites. At other times, I'm just out for a rip exploring the trails and enjoying life on this nutty ball of rock flying through space.

A bit about my rig:
There isn't a whole lot to tell but when I first started contemplating what modifications to do to my stock truck I wanted to make sure I got the off road performance and capabilities I was after without compromising the road manners of a daily driver. For me, with this truck, it's about striking a good balance between off road capability and on road manners since it still spends 95% of it's running time on pavement. Back in my youth I used to love bombing around in the bush in beat up sidekicks and such, so when I had an opportunity to buy a 2nd gen Tracker ZR2 in relatively good shape with relatively low mileage I went for it thinking it would be a really good daily driver/weekend warrior and honestly I haven't regretted it a bit and probably wouldn't trade it for anything since it already meets my needs so well. I spent about a year after I first got it, trying to figure out what it could do and what I could do with it, and after researching a lot of things and reading about other people's experiences with it I started moving ahead with some mods I'd been saving up for. When you start messing with your daily driver you really do have to be more careful than you do working on a bushmobile. It's no biggie to have a project rig on blocks in your driveway but when a job on your get-to-worker snowballs out of control it's panic time so I have always taken great care with it. When I first got the truck it had just over 100k on it, still on the stock everything except the usual things that wear out and get replaced by then like brake rotors etc. I had actually never had a 4x4 in such good shape before so it was well over a year before I even did any actual wheeling with it because it just seemed too nice to take in the bush and beat the crap out of. These are actually pretty tough and capable little rigs stock, and without doing much to them you can basically treat them like a Jeep and they seem to be fine with that. The 2nd gen Trackers are basically the same rig as the Suzuki Grand Vitara of the same era, for those who didn't already know, so a lot of my time has been spent in Suzuki forums when looking for info and advice.

What's not stock anymore:
Optima Yellow Top D35 battery. Yes it fits in a 2ndGen Tracker/Grand Vitara, and is a must for any serious offroader.
K&N air filter. Paper filters choke as soon as any water spray gets on them, K&N is the ONLY filter I trust for offroading.
Class III Drawtite hitch with 2" receiver. This is more for armor, frame reinforcement than actual utility hauling.
Super Slider Rails from Rocky Road Outfitters in Utah. 45lbs each of welded American steel adding strength, protection and a badass look.
OME 989 springs and Nitro Charger shocks & struts. Makes the stock suspension seem like a go cart and adds 1.1" of lift and +2" of flex on it's own.
1" coil spacers from Low Range Off-Road, just to complete the 2" suspension lift. Going much higher becomes problematic and requires more mods.
29" 235/75 R15 Firestone Destination A/T. Adds and inch of axle clearance over stock 27" tires which is as large as you can reasonably go with a 2" lift.
1" SpiderTraxx anodized 6065 aluminum wheel spacers. Prevents in-side of tire rubbing on front frame, corrects stance with 2" lift, looks more badass.

Still on the drawing board:
Custom front bumper replacement. If you're going to go custom you may as well get all you can eat.
When finished it should have bull bars/push bars, bush guards, winch mounted, fairlead guard & front plate slip bracket, light mounts, front receiver & recovery points.
Unless I stumble on to another thousand bucks this week I won't be getting this for a little while. I'm probably going to let Westshore Spring do it since they were really good to me with my lift kit and I've seen more than a few of the trail rigs these guys have done and they're pretty droolin sweet.

It really doesn't seem like much, but that extra 2.5-3" of clearance the package deal got me is more than adequate for 90% of the wheeling I can see myself doing in this thing as long as it's still what gets me around town and to work. I'm still feeling out what the limitations are with it but the short wheelbase doesn't require much lift or extra flex to get a noticeable improvement in performance. Once I have the winch on I will probably be a bit more confident as I'm still a bit paranoid about deep trenchy mud filled tracks.

Anyway, that's the basics for now I guess. Anyone else out there running this type of rig? I'd love to hear from other people that have experience with them and see what you guys could do with 'em.
Cheers & happy trails!

Hey Gear Low,
I'm interested, but I do mean it about not having the cash flow at the moment. What would you be asking for them, and would you hang onto them for a month or two?

Hi All,

My name is Jay and i drive a Toyota Land Cruiser BJ74 but all you clever types probably got that from my profile name. Anyway i have and OME 3"ish lift with some drop shackles 33's and after i had one of the worst brain farts of my life and needed to rebuild by T case i put in a lower low from a Japanese Prado. I also have a lot of custom work done to it like prairie pinstripes and countless dings and dents accumulated over the years. Few other odds and ends but i wont bore you with that. Aside from that it is stock.

Currently it is not in the province. I had to park it a few years back. Long story but now i have moved here, settled in and miss the hobby. Also the lure of all the cool different stuff the island offers vs. what i am used to wheeling is a major draw. I am considering bringing it out and getting it back on the road, well trail soon. It is quite streetable but would not be a daily driver by any means. Right now i am just looking for some intel on the ICBC thing and how hard it is to get a bush buggy type rig insured and registered out here. I will post that up in another thread later though. Right now i just wanted to say hi and thanks for the site. I am sure that this 4 x 4 community is just like all the others. I look forward to meeting some of you and hopefully seeing you on the trails soon.

Welcome Jay, you will find this site is a lot better than most.
There is not any judgmental pricks here so feel free to ask stupid questions or share your build with us without worry of some douchebag telling you your shit sucks.

Where on the Island are you calling home now?

Hi guys thanks for the warm welcomes. I now call Langford home. As for the brain fart it might actually be better described as pure stupidity. I have taken the carpet out and armorthaned the floor. I noticed things were a little warm on the hump. Had a look saw nothing. Took it in. Saw nothing. Turned out the fluid had been sprayed put and no one noticed or checked it. Appeared as seepage from switching to synthetic (bad idea) Anyway I should have been more diligent cause by the time I figured it out it was too late. Led to a full rebuild as the bottom gear was ruined. Got a new lower one so a bit of an improvement but sure not worth the money and hassle. LESSON LEARNED LOL

Welcome Jay! Hopefully you can get your rig out here with no problems, I doubt icbc will be that bad to deal with. This site has been amazing for me. Everyone here is really helpful and supportive, you won't have anyone telling you your an idiot or moron here. (Unless you do something REALLY stupid.... )

Hay I'm new here and I'm getting a rig built at Westshore Spring And 4X4, I've had my 2000 Blazer ZR2 for over 5 years. It's been good to me but she was getting tired from a ton of wheeling and logging road abuse, had to do the Wheel bearings and ball joints twice a year. I drove it to work a few times a month and used it every weekend. I always had a dream of doing a solid Axel swap, with limited funds, no time and no where to do the work, it was going to have to wait. The 4WD system failed and numerous people couldn't figure it out, that was about 3 years ago, but that only slowed me down a bit, I used that stock LSD differential to its full capacity which caused it to explode completely haha. So it was an open Diff 1 wheel drive for the last few months but it still had a decent set of KM2's and I still did a bit of exploring.

After the build is done, it will be an extremely capable rig, but still have some manners on the road. I came into some money and now the Dream build is happening. Not going to be much left over, but it will be what I've always wanted. Looking forward to getting connected with some fun people and get wheeling again. I should be ready in 2 weeks or so and look forward to seeing you guys on the trails.

Welcome everyone im from port alberni area truck has vioffroad stickers on front on my truck and one of the back :) love this site hopefully cya offroad sometime. I drive a 2003 explorer sport trac, its come a way from when i first got it, looking to lift and put 33x12.5s on her.

I wonder if the Blazer runs the same sort of 4WD system as the Tracker.
I ended up finding the most useful info on my truck from Suzuki forums.
The problem that a lot of people have in Trackers and Grand Vitaras is an intermittent 4WD light on the dash and unreliable engagement of 4WD that progressively gets worse. Turns out they use an air actuated pinion in the front diff that is driven by a diaphragm and spring. In most cases it's the actuator pump that gets corroded and the internal fittings can not keep a good seal so that little diaphragm pump that only generates 4psi is constantly cycling trying to keep up with the leak and eventually it gets to the point where even running all the time it can't keep the pinion engaged. The indicator light flashes faster the worse it is until it's blinking about once per second and then it just can't keep up anymore. I was able to disassemble and rebuild the pump and all that was wrong with it was a corroded nipple fitting with an o-ring sitting in a rusty groove. A few minutes with a Dremel and some sealant fixed it right up and then I relocated the pump from the front bumper (stupid place to put it) and remounted it under my air filter box and just ran a new line to the diff. Now I have zero issues with 4WD engagement.

Close to the same system, but over coming that issue with a T-231 transfer case. Manual shifter, and Dana 60's, I'd rather get out and lock the hubs myself lol.

When my stock front hubs start to wear out I'm going to get Warn locking hubs myself.
So far I have 150k on the stock wheel bearings and they're still tight as a whistle.

I'm not so kind to my rig and it's been to the top of the island and back several times, and the mud never helped. Let me know when your going out in the next couple weeks and I want to start getting out lots when I get my rig back. I'm in Sooke but I'll go anywhere for a day trip between here and Nanaimo and if I have a couple days, anywhere on the island. Might take a couple weeks to get used to it but I'll be challenging almost any trail in about a month from now.

I know some great trails that will challenge you, if you're ever interested, I go out most Sundays. Shoot me a PM if you would like to join in on the fun.

Most of my wheeling is done in Nanaimo but I travel to Errington and Chemainus quite often too.

I do make the occasional trip down to Duncan area but I don't know the area that well.

Check out my Thread "B&M XJ fun", tons of pictures of the shit I like to do, but I also like to get out just exploring once in awhile.

I've been following that thread for a while lol, looks like fun, I've done Mt Benson a few times and tackled the tank traps a few years ago. I would like to meet up, I'm going from stock with 31" KM 2's to fully locked, straight axels, 37" Maxxis Trepidor radials and on board air. Huge build and to meany upgrades to list, but it will be ready for almost any trail and plan and spending lots of time up that way. Sundays are a good day for me and I'll get a hold of you soon, should get it back within 2 weeks, it will be a 2 month build for the professionals at West Shore Spring and 4X4. Been talking to them lots and it's going to be awesome on, and off the road.

Hi my name is Kris - I drive a 2010 Nissan Frontier crew cab short box with a 3 inch MK84 coilover lift and a 1 inch body lift on 33's. I am new to Shawnigan Lake and looking for some good camping spots. Not scared to get dirty but not too much into rock crawling as this things my daily driver. I am constantly adding little mods and am just waiting for a set of sliders and skids to get fabbed up. I hope to spend a little time on the different threads and learn a little bit about the area.

Hey Kris, you'll find that ALOT of the regulars on this forum are local to your area and can give you some great information about the area.
There are also a handful of threads on this forum regarding some great camping locations, the guy that runs this board Shane is a great resource for information about camping in the area.

Good luck.

Hey guys, New to the group, Not quite in a 4X4 but an AWD Subaru crosstrek with a BFG K02's, lift, skid plates, disconnect sways and skid plates. Unfortunately don't have a whole lot of power, and no low range but have been out enjoying some places already. Looking for others to show me around, mainly looking for forestry campsites or areas to camp with nice views to get away for a weekend and relax.

Hey that's my parking space! :p

Hi Guys, New to the Group, Looking to come over to VI and explore some of the offroading there July 18-25th ish if anyone wants to join, we've explored the LowerMainland quite a bit. Looking for some cool spots to camp and swim. 89 Taco Pickup on 33s, Custom box built last year to do some serious camping. Very capable crawler. Don't have the dual case in quite yet, lockers in the front, winch. So far the site has been awesome for intel. Thanks in advance!

Hi guys, new to the group and most of my friends drive pavement princesses so will be looking for people to go out with. Recently picked up a 1977 K5 blazer with 6" suspension lift, lockers front and rear rolling on 37's. Looking to get out and have some fun on some challenging but not crazy trails on the south island.

Hope to see you out there.

Cheers,

Kevin

Hey Smitty, good to see you joined up! :-D
-Rob

Hey guys Was wheeling up the sooke area the past couple weeks and got some cool vids that i uploaded to youtube If you guys wanna check it out ill link some vids below we did Can Opener, Butlermain, East Tugwell, and bear creek reservoir the channel is called Bc's Offroaders If you want to subscribe that would be appreciated let me know what you guys think. Also if you dont know how to get to the trail pm for ways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTAwRh-6uJM Can opener
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1ADN-AqrHw&t=3s Butler Main
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlItZ9zATPc&t=21s West Tugwell
Enjoy and keep on 4x4ing!

hey guys, im new to wheeling but have lived in nanaimo/parksville my whole life. i have a stock 99 tj 4.0 5speed. gona be lifting and stuffing 33's under it soon. lookin to learn the back roads and trails in the nanaimo area and make some buddies so i dont have to worry goin alone.

Welcome!
Lot's of great people here to meet up and wheel with.
If you haven't already, you may want to join a couple of the island based clubs on social media as well.
Most of the planned runs are posted on FB.
Sticks n Stones 4x4 club - Nanaimo: https://www.facebook.com/groups/366020336937373/
642 Jeep Club - Sooke: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1915708401778680/
4WD Association of BC - Vancouver Island: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4wdabcvanisle/

A couple more groups to look into on Facebook

"Outsiders" Great group of people with weekly runs mostly stock friendly and based out of Parksville. Drama free group and IMO one of the best groups in the 4x4 community.

"Dirt Church Vancouver Island" again a lot of stock friendly runs and some more challenging stuff for the modded guys. There are some asshats in the group...including myself.

"Big Diff" this is more of a stock/lightly modified group. There are some asshats in the group...including myself.

If I were you I would stay away from "Sticks N Stones" They carry a lot of drama around with them and are not looked at very fondly in the 4x4 community. Just my personal opinion on this one.

Hello all. I am new to all of this. I have been a fan of Jeeps and off roading since I was little but something else always came up. I now own my first Jeep and would like to get it dirty just for fun. I have had it for four days as of this post so I am hoping someone with more experience doesn’t mind a newbie tagging along and has the patience to help out if I get stuck. I am in the Duncan area. My Jeep is a 2003 Liberty and is stock until I can learn more about what I want and what everyone says I should have.

Howdy ... been focused on low and fast car builds till now. my first 4x4, my first jeep. Family expressed interest in doing some camping, I've thought about doing some trail fun and exploring.

got my hands on a 2001 Grand Cherokee, 4.0L, 242 Tcase. needs some work before it hits the road (like ANY used cherokee ive ever looked at haha) .. all the front joints, some exhaust, drivers seat, and a VI (which is how I got ahold of it at work) ... but the unibody/floors solid, all the things I care about work and are solid.

build plans are relatively mild in the suspension (3inch, probably long arms, 265/75/16's, trimming... ) .. more into 'armor' things.. and 'overland' style camping/gear hauling mods. Honestly it'll spend more time on pavement or in bad weather then it will offroad, so I wanna do a weekend warrior that still has nice street manors.

And some hot roddy stuff over time ... just cause I gotta mess with the engine/trans... etc :D

Hi all,

New to the forum and new to Vancouver Island. Just got back to BC after too long in Ontario and I'm looking forward to getting the truck off the beaten track here. I have a 2017 Tacoma OR which is hopefully getting new tires soon :)

cheers

Hi all! I've just moved back to Victoria from Vancouver and brought my 2001 AWD CRV with me. I've had her for a year as I was looking for a cheap, fuel efficient daily driver that could also get me down some logging roads and to rec sites, and she hasn't disappointed! Right now I've got Toyo Celsius tires which I thought wouldn't do much for me on trails, but I've been shocked at how far they've taken me. All-terrains in the near future as soon as I find myself getting stopped by tire grip though!

Being able to get out deep into the forest and pop our rooftop tent has been incredible so far, and I'm excited to explore what Vancouver Island has to offer.

I'm keen to get out for a day of easy trails anywhere in the lower island area while we've still got the weather for it, but definitely need someone to show me where to look! I'm also keen on any recommendations for hikes/mountain biking spots at the end of some of the trails :)