Truckster (Vic) replied:

Do something WITH a club... Specially with the weather the way its been raining and shiat. DONT go out without BASIC recovery gear..
A BARE minimum is Snatch strap, and 2/4 RATED Shackles and a shovel. Then if someone else comes along, even if they dont have recovery gear, you do, they can get you out, but if they dont....You will VERY quickly see the value in a Turfor Hand Winch, specially if your stuck overnight(like a bloke on the Patrol list was yr or so back, slid off a slimy track trying to turn around late in the day to go home, and got stuck on a black boy.. Went nowhere till rangers came past next day)..

Even then, recoverys can be Dangerous, if you dont know what your doing, a Shackle on the end of a snatch strap travelling at 100mph+ goes THRU things like doors, dashboards, seats, etc, adn thru body parts.. people have been killed from incorrect recoveries. things like dont loop snatch strap over towball, something like a winch blanket to stop the snatch strap rocketing back towards you...

If you dont know anything and go out yourself with no recovery gear, and get into trouble, your screwed...

Clubs have training runs every month, well most clubs do...

Try the Sydney Nissan Patrol club, I was with them, EXTREMELY FRIENDLY and driver training is VERY VERY Professional... They meet in Queens Rd Five Dock. http://www.nissanpatrolclub.org/

Its important to learn correctly...

Old Soldier replied:

G'day Phil,

Welcome to the wold of 4Wd, and to the forum.

Don't worry who drives what, you chose a Disco for your needs and that is all that matters. Enjoy your purchase and have many, many safe times "off road."

I fully endorse what Truckster said in the above post. Go find yourself a good club and be a good learner.

It may save your life one day.

Enjoy the bush

DennisN

Mark replied:

Phil,
Don't recall too much in the way of 4wd tracks around JB itself, probably graded dirt is the worse you'll come across. There are 4wd tracks in Morton NP which is just a bit inland, I went on a trip from JB years ago & recall it took around 1 hour to get into the park. I think one of those "4x4 tracks close to Sydney" books has Morton NP featured.
Cheers

Froilan replied:

phil,

agree with truckster completely. join a club so that you can learn more about your 4by, or if the club thing is not your style, do a recognised training course. i just did the getabout 4wd adventures (basic) training course, and can recommend highly to anyone contemplating joining the 4wd world.

why not try the yalwal trek which you can take from nowra. you can make it as easy or difficult as you want. very nice views and a very good intro to 4wd. just watch out for the mudholes specialy after some heavy rain as it can be deep enough in some parts to "swallow" your truck.

the "4x4 tracks close to Sydney" suggested by mark have good directions for this track. i purchased the book from this site. just check out the shop.

Jurgen replied:

Hi, Join a Land Rover specific club (Range Rover Club of NSW may be OK). Do a training course with them.
Check to see if you have any recovery points, as I don't think the disco's do. The eyelets under the car in each corner are NOT recovery points, they are tie downs for shipment only. (I've owned a Disco, Rangie and now a Td5 Defender Xtreme - so I know a bit about Landy's), and yes, I'm in a Landy club in Adelaide.
Have fun - you have an exceptionally capable and comfortable vehicle.