am i the only one. we all just want to play with our toys. make them pretty and big. that isnt what a truck is for unless ur one of them. if u r. ur on the wrong site. go back to fat book land. maybe one day ill get to run over ur avatar. big truck and big tires take no skill. just a bouncy ride, like dadas knee.
so lets do it like men do it. i like the new tech in gps. makes using maps great. but we all should learn how to get around with out it. how do we get around and find trails and paths. these are the trade secrets. starts with 100 yr old maps. 1950s are the best. they cover most roads ever made. they cut every dam tree on this island. theres a road every where. after ww2 they had a million of those willy jeeps. those boys had nothing better to do but hang out and be men. theres a jeep trail to every spot in bc. lets talk the tools. army spec on the jeep platform. was 1ton without driver. thats 2000 lbs, 6x12 outside dimensions, 6x7 wheel base. OR LESS. tracker is 5x7 and meets the original specs of a 40s willy. end of story. they did come with a shotgunner. i guess machine gunner in them days. they had those great 6x30 tires. and later 6x32. them army tires are basically illegal here. its like owning a bazooka. too capable. have a close look at some old war movie. thin enough for traction with paddles for mud. how tight it turns. how short the wheel base is. and so important is it must be water proof. id like one of our army jeeps. hard to get. ud have to be a colonial. the only experts on the land and terrain in canada is the army. and clubs like us. using the old maps we know where a trail was. this is when we need the boys with there big trucks to plow the road. gps might tell u where u r. but where is that. maps tell u whats there. u aint going to find 50s logging roads on anybodies gps. or 1920. or 1890 tracks. or which creeks are drivable. scouting does all this. scouting says what and how we get through. scouting is just that. seeing whats around the bend. the little cars are cheap and can usually take a good beating. they are a comfortable cruiser off the pavement. its what most asian imports were built for. standard 6 inch clearance. northamerican cars are 4inch. u can put bigger tires on most all north american cars. remember dukes of hazard. yehaa! carry a hand winch and some rope. and hope to get muddy. extra jack is always a good idea.
i post this in hopes of getting more people interested in our greatest treasure.
scouting. in north america we have nice roads thanks to our governments credit card. Trudeau sold us out back in the 70s. they been playing with us ever since. but the rest of the world has shitty roads. geo is another word for world. rock. the planet. geo trackers and geo metros are made for getting around crappy roads. a 1litre firefly gets 60mpg or better crawling around in the woods. trackers r getting more than 40. the metro is one of the fastest and cheapest scouting vehicles. easy to lift and get bigger tires for. cover the muffler and have some fun. a big truck might be cool but the firefly is 3 times as fast on those trails. open logging highway is another story. but the firefly does great at 100kmh on them. all the weight is on the front on a metro. so the back wheels arent anchors. just give it and shell go. dont think u need awd. shorter wheel base and better tires will get u a long way. we do have seasons here. geo aint great once the rains and snows come. but isnt thats when we all hibernate? or play closer to home?
we do look/hunt trails...but I don't openly post what we find when we do it, as most of south vanisle is privately owned...so keeping it quiet is key.
I have a chainsaw, gas axe and a big bumper...I try to go somewhere when hunting a new trip...something at the end of the trail, have any goals in mind?
please share! maps pics stories.
we opened the 26km trail from north shore rd (cowichan lake) to the Nanaimo lakes main earlier this year...
leave us a map! upper nitinat is always open for fishing. how did u get around the gate west on the last nanaimo lake? business hours its open when they r logging. no good for us. r u talking about up shaw mainline? rhainer is all gated too. thats nanaimos water supply. i dont really want to play in there.
I would never publicly post a map....if you wheel the unit in your pic...I wouldn't take you through it...im locked and winched... minimum locked...
u wont even share the trail? why did u even mention it then? ive posted lots of maps. we share trails and places to go. its vioffroad. its about the destination and getting off the pavement. 4wheelin is just part of it. i think ur on the wrong site. ur opposite to what this sites about. we share whats open and whats not. we are trying to get more of the regular folk out here. i drive a stock suv to show people that any stock 4x4 or suv can go explore. i guess not on ur road though, huh! dodges have better tires to ground traction ratio? lol.
u can email me maps. westcoastguru@gmail.com
scouting! tools of the trade. usually anything u can get to run.
that reply was like a crystal meth rant....remember your trespassing most of the time. letting out the maps, get stuff dug up, gated, and im sure you wont make it where I go, thanks, try a different approach next time.
thats not a reply, its just blogging. its about scouting. this site is for newbies. scouting is important. i do not break the law, and i have nothing to hide. i do not destroy or cut anything. we all have big club stickers and license plates. theres cameras everywhere now. this is an open public site. theres all kinds here. trespassing is the same type of offence as doing 95 in a 90. its not criminal to trespass in the daytime. it has a high maximum penalty because the tickets start low and go up. all civil offences are like that.
trespass laws:
http://ambientlight.ca/laws/the-laws/provincial-law/ontario/trespass-to-...
http://ambientlight.ca/laws/the-laws/provincial-law/british-columbia/tre...
scouting! theres tricks to the trade. the right tools for the job. i use old maps to find the old trails. 1909 and the 1950s they surveyed all of canada. by the end of the 50s the entire island was covered in roads. only place u wont find roads is where u find first growth. theres basically 6 types of roads. and 2 types of tracks.
mainline logging roads, fire : very large gravel, highspeed
secondary, fire normal size road thats gravel
branch always gravel but can be messed up with dips and ditches.
forestry, fish n game, fire: mudy or dusty dirt roads. soil roads. never plowed. lots of pot holes. any 4x4 will go
army. they seem to go where no man has gone before. they are laid out in any terrain. these are the rarest to find. ........................they grow over.
yota roads; made famous by the 2 seater toyotas. 6ft wide max. usually to deke gates or join two roads together.
its easy to tell tracks. they are usually built up. as flat as possible.
1909 tracks: steeper incline slightly narrower. tighter curves.
1950s tracks: normal train tracks. same grade and curves
local! I honestly understand why plywood top doesnt want to share, good chance this sight is scoured over by someone looking for law breakers, and plowing down a grown over trail is just as bad as cutting the trees down when it comes to the ministry of environment ect. (which is funny cause logging companies clear mile wide swaths but its illegal for you or I to run over a shrub or plow into a sapling) I like the fact that you are trying to encourage people to get into this way of life, but its not all fun and games. scouting in a stocker can leave you stranded if bad desitions are made. Opening up old deactivated roads and trails is against the law, (not that I agree or dissageree with it) and often the best places are either gated, access restricted, or part of a privately owned block. which means gaining access turns to a foray into the gray scales of the law. I also encourage you all to get out and have fun. but be safe bring proper supplys and please dont get caught! I had a guy from the gate at island timberlands tell me ther is a guy who is paid 100k /year just to find new ways to take money out of the pockets of trespassers and explorers alike, he also advised if ever we broke down get to crown land befor calling for help.
stay safe out there, oh and plywoodtop, if you feel like hooking up for a run later in the year let me know sounds like it would be right up my alley
did u read how the law works. i posted the link. everywhere legal u can go, u can go in a car. this club is about off road, not just 4wheelin. there are other clubs. we are not muddrs or jeepers, but people who want to enjoy what the island has to offer. we are trying to get people interested in the woods and lakes here. most people have cars or at best stock 4x4s. we are all legal here. we dont break the law. we have big signs and licences plates. there are cameras everywhere now. get a dirt bike and ull never have a problem. its how i scout an unknown area. or an atv. maps arent illegal to share post draw or copy. only reason someone doesnt want to share maps cause at some point they broke the law.
this section was for scouting. im sure i missed lots of stuff. i cant say it all. but i just wanted to share one thing about the south island. along the east side the high way runs 25 degrees off north. cowichan lake highway is 15 degrees off west. nanimo lakes rd is almost directly west. the sun will fool u in the hills. most of the valleys are about 20 degrees off. remember this when trying to connect to other roads.
May I politly point out that the link you posted refers to ontario law and is just misinformation for our area. Not that every piece of private land has signs posted close enough together to be considered an enclosed piece of property but if you want to encourage people respectfull people at that than give them some good info please.
http://www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/ID/freeside/00_96462_01
I would have your attention focused on section 4 subsection
(1) Subject to section 4.1, a person commits an offence if the person does any of the following:(a) enters premises that are enclosed land; (b) enters premises after the person has had notice from an occupier of the premises or an authorized person that the entry is prohibited;(c) engages in activity on or in premises after the person has had notice from an occupier of the premises or an authorized person that the activity is prohibited.
Further more at the top of this document Enclosed land is defined for you
"enclosed land" includes land that is(a) surrounded by a lawful fence defined under this Act,(b) surrounded by a lawful fence and a natural boundary or by a natural boundary alone, or(c) posted with signs prohibiting trespass in accordance with section 5 (1);
And section 4 sub section (2) A person found on or in premises that are enclosed land is presumed not to have the consent of an occupier or an authorized person to be there.
And if you read further it says alot of various things detailing how signs should be posted and fences between neibours,
Mostly if you are caught on land you arent allowed and are respectfull and haven caused dammage the owner or occupier is often more than willing to just tell you to leave, and call it a day.
Well now I have a capable rig better than stock, much better. (it hassent seen a road since being redone cause its not finnished) you may assume Iam an extreame 4x4 guy and that I hit mud holes, heck Im probably gonna be told I should look somewhere else for a forum cause Im too hard core..... but you must have the proper equiptment, do you use vehical to vehical communications? how about recovery physics? Do you understand the loads you put on a winch when your burried up to the frame rails? Or up a steep incline!
How about emergency communications? Lets say your newest tag along was crusing at speed on a fresh mainline and his passenger car tires shred apart and the vehical rolls and severly injures the occupants? Do you know what vhf stands for? or what a ham radio is?
I have had to walk out of places deep in, I have been stranded by stock equiptment, I have snapped winch cables, heck even small elecrtical fires! so I decided for myself that I wanted to build a capable rig and lets face it 6" is never enough ...... ground clearance that is! the worst is going down something and being stuck because your stock esqe tires just didnt cut it.
Get informed and make good choices! Stay safe out there!
Brad you should post your gear setup here: http://www.vioffroad.com/forum/general-chatter/what-gear-do-you-bring - nice to get ideas from other users. I agree it's good to be prepared for a walk out or overnight stay at all times.
thankyou shanergy, I must say sorry for getting off the topic of scouting, firstly I feel it was entirly nessisary to empisize my point, and that unless you are naniamo and north good chance when you went wheeling last week you broke the law, hell people who hit the slag piles up are techinically tresspassing on parkland to get there.
tresspassing being against the law isnt my point my point is that befor you head out you need to either know where your going or be compitent enough to find your way home on your own, if you arent then stick with group outings! this is quite obviously a site for newbs, so I need to mention that the woods can get confusing, trail marking tape can help with that. because newbs leading newbs is like the blind leading the blind. oh and if you want a map of the trail plywood top was refering to looks like google maps is way ahead of him! so next time you want to rant or try and convince unqualifyed people to go get turned around and lost in the woods for SAR to find a few days later, try sticking to group outings and leave scouting to someone who isnt gonna have to call 911 wha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i think your idea of scouting the legal roads that insurance covers and that we are legally aloud on are different roads then the ones that you travel. legally we are not aloud anywhere but public roads. public roads are car accessible. this is not just a 4wheeling site. to a cop any gated area is considered enclosed. ambientlight.ca is the site with all the trespassing laws for all canada. theres lots of arguing about the trespassing laws right now all over canada. have u heard humans might be able to shit in the woods soon. calling our faeces poison. this way we wont have any shanty towns. most acreages will have to hook to city water at some point. it will hold house values here.
every tree has been logged on southern Vancouver island. theres a road and a map to every one. do u really think someone made a new road? or just a cut through. in either case theres nothing illegal about maps. just what u do on the land. i hope we are about opening up more places legally not putting in bigger gates. i dont leave a mark any where i go.
regional district propaganda to not shit in the woods or any kind of septic system. including grey water draining.
www.rdnlwmp.ca
getting ready for nuclear war?
heres the jeep 4x4 club of bc. i hear they are looking for railway workers.
http://www.bcjeepclub.ca/
flat tires happen every day. speed limit on the dirt roads in bc is 60kmph for that reason.
theres multitudes of trail runs every month. if u are worried about driving alone, join up tag along or post ur own run. before 1974 there was no transcanda and half the roads in canada were dirt. did we all go off in wagon trains then? all the roads on this island were made by ww2 wiilys n ford jeep. that aint no 70s n up dodge 4x4. the copy of the old jeep per spec is the tracker/sidekick. made and designed by cami ( canadain manufacturing company) utilizing suzukis waterproof system. any trail u think might be new was transversed first by a tracker copy: a willys/ford bantam GP (jeep general purpose). thats 1000kgs 30x6 tires. and no winch. but did come with a shotgun; a dude to help shovel n rock. :) 80x62inch 5x7ft wheel base. 500kg payload, no lockers. 700 000 MA GP's were made. its what made all the roads on this island.
This thread is always a good read :P
a big truck might be cool but the firefly is 3 times as fast on those trails. open logging highway is another story. but the firefly does great at 100kmh on them. This is a quote of your post, at the top of this topic, you or any one gets a instant flat or blow out at that speed its gonna hurt period.
And I didnt miss the obvious point for me to go join the jeep club,
this thread is funny...im going on a bunch of new trails this weekend...and im not gonna put up maps...again...not tracker friendly...bigger only..haha
how do u know what truck im taking? different tools for different jobs. we have to be legal here. i do the trail runs in midisland.
i guess u never spent anytime out on the dirt roads. most of canada was dirt road till the 80s. way scarrier to have a flat on the paved highway. speed limit is 60kmh on the dirt roads here. if u want to be crazy, remember cops consider it criminal at double the speed limit.
fireflys are to 2 ply like a jeep are to 6 ply on the dirt road. its all about ur weight. theres no danger in driving any suzuki on the dirt roads here. maybe the samurais. we had two do endos coming to stop last year on the island alone. most of the world is dirt roads. geo means earth. suzuki is made for dirt. there are metro geo dudes on this site too. ask them. i put 200 000 km on a geo here. not one flat tire. my old chev van with 6 plys needed a new tire every year. it should have had 10ply. pavement is way more scarry to have a flat. cars slide in the dirt roll on pavement. worse if theres other cars coming at u at 100km.
u r scaring people off by ur ignorance. ur doing opposite what the rest of us are trying to do here. u think its safer to drive some home made thing? ask the inspection dudes. i bet urs isnt even insurable. it sure not allowed on any public road. that does include the dirt ones. do u know how many members here are members of the rcmp? id get rid of the pic of ur truck. it aint me but its ur attitude that going to make them hunt u down. i sure dont put up pics of my toys. just the legal ones. u should also reply, not post. ur digging ur trucks grave. rather flaunt it than keep it? cops have nothing better to do than bust guys like u. they hunt guys like u for fun. ask nolimits. he drives a toyota now. fines keep getting bigger and bigger every time u get one. and u have to pay them before u get ur license back. i will erase my posting here tomorrow so u have a chance to read it. ur welcome to meet here and make friends. but ur a fool to post anything illegal. all u illegal guys just give the rest of us a bad name. i did not make the laws. this site has a code of ethics. so does off road bc. which u just keep disregarding.
You make very valid points guru, but the whole point of this build was to retain the on road dual purpose while remaining capable. And when it does go back on the road the first stop is to get an inspection because after 4" of lift your required to have it inspected every year. Just like a commercial vehical. and trust me everything works. Horn, ebrake all lights, the bumpers are just at legal height tolerances. I have done my home work, And after I am finnished I invite any rcmp officer to come down to my place and go over it with a fine tooth comb, heck they can even drive it, cause im not done till its road legal.
And my reference to a tire blow out was not toward a jeep, or tracker but a front wheel drive car, and a stock pickup, luckly both were slow and didnt result in wreaks, however both were passenger car tires and fresh blasted mainline. I grew up in the woods and lived on the dirt roads when I was a kid, our road wasnt paved past out house till 1990
I appreciate the input and the warnings, Ive had buddies with exocaged toys and yes the cops loved to pick on him as well. I am hoping to avoid the drama show. Both with the rcmp and you. So please give it a rest! Maybe if we see eachother on the trail it won't turn into a pissing match.
And although I havent said so I do agree with you on alot of points. Like for instance getting more people into enjoying the outdoors and the back country. we simply differ on opinions of implementation... hopefully one day we can have a valid face to face disscussion on the subject
Sorry for getting you all rialled up but somebodys gotta play advocate
give it a rest. u keep cutting my postings publicly. i dont have a choice. try replying not posting next time u have a brain fart. if u have ideas to share start ur own posting. ur not advocating anything other than ur own ignorance and narcissism. its obvious to anyone that reads this. guys like u get us blocked out of the woods. the government keeps the public dirt roads cleared for us public to use and make economy from those roads. more people more money. more money more economy. more economy more taxes. u just live in a part of the island where the lands all bought n gated. and i ask again. come for a trail run. i grew up in cowichan in the 70s. no cops and everywhere a 4x4 road. u can thank day team realty for selling off the nicest part of the island. cowichan is all sold. chemanius is now guarded. quickest access to the millions of miles of dirt road here is nanaimo. nanaimo isnt the hub. its nanimo lakes at mt decosmos. (centre of the universe). hmm! some druid shit there i bet. its also the quickest access to the entire south island.
front wheel drive cars are great bush beaters. way safer to get a flat on a logging road than the highway by far. u might have to walk. but its better to slide then flip. and its chevy that make geo. its cami actually. they use some suzuki parts. thats why they copied the tracker from a ww2 overlander design. its all about geo! this sites about geo.
i cant find a mechanic that will inspect any custom rig. not in midisland. they say rule of thumb is. if the company that that makes ur vehicle sells the part then they'll pass it. has to be csa or they wont pass anything here. i guess in duncan they r more relaxed. lol! i can get mark to give u a free inspection. he will tell u. u drive by his shop every time u head out to the lake cow. rcmp just look at ur truck and they want an inspection. any rubber hangin pass the body or non rounded steel corners is a fail. if u dont understand the idea. think of some old lady walking by ur truck in a parking lot. and getting hooked on ur truck. u might not see it. but no mechanic will put his license on the line for some home made toy. but maybe all jeep parts are csa. id like to see the stamp. cause so will the inspectors. the system is set up for u to be safe and buy a new vehicle. u have to also put ur inspection sticker in ur front window. sad to see them kill ur toy over ignorance. get a trailer like the rest of us.
or move! the wilds arent in lake cowichan anymore.