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Club or not to Club......Help me run a little study....

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I'm not one of those people that thinks that public land is going to be open to ORVs when I am old enough to have my own children that 'wheel. By then it will be all gone.


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Unfortunatelly, I agree. The Black Hills (my back yard) is THE LAST open forest in the states. Meaning there is nothing stopping you from opening new trails as long as you obey the tread light laws. /forums/images/graemlins/deal.gif We have no trail system, no ORV parks, no maps. We simply follow the rules and go where we wish. It is a bloody shame that this freedom will not last much longer.
 
i thought you were talking about baby seals. /forums/images/graemlins/yikes.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gifto /forums/images/graemlins/truck.gif
 
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I'm not one of those people that thinks that public land is going to be open to ORVs when I am old enough to have my own children that 'wheel. By then it will be all gone.

That's ok though, because private off road parks are opening up all over the country. There's one three miles from my house now that once the trails open up and they allow fullsizes, will be the next badlands.

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Thats a pretty crappy attitude to have. I may not think that there will be many trails open to the public when im 50, but that doesnt mean ill just stand by and let it all dissapear and just say "oh well, lets go to badlands". There is a lot of public land out there that will remain open if people help out. Organizations like BRC are out there fighting to keep that land open, and with enough support it will remain open. Private OHV parks make up a smaller percentage of wheelable land in this country than you think, we just live in an area where there is not much public land.

And if it does all close down, at least i can say i tried
 
have to agree with Tim here... Im not much of a fan of highly organized/regulated clubs. I ain't payin' dues, and I ain't gonna bow down to some "club president". Thats just silly stuff. Clubs where people just get together and wheel are cool though. OBH is sorta like that. There are some members who work closely with land management people, or forestry service people or whatever... others of us just show up and wheel. Sometimes members are invited to go out on clean-up runs and stuff, and thats all good cause there is NO pressure to do something ya dont wanna. Thats how I like it, any demands being placed on me about attending meetings or paying dues or any of that crap is unacceptable. I have no probs with other people doing that kinda thing tho, they can do whatever they want.

j
 
http://www.AustinK5.net

no dues, no leader, just a bunch of guys in Texas that drive K5's. We have common interests and enjoy each other's company. We wheel together, work on each other's junk, eat lunches together during the week, and hang out on the weekends.

If that constitutes a club, then I'm glad to be a part of it.
 
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And if it does all close down, at least i can say i tried

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Amen /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
 
As time has gone by I have had less and less use for the club I'm a member of. For a long time (well, two years) I didn't join because I didn't like the people. Those people left so I joined. Then it got better, almost too good. The kind of good where you doubt it'll ever get any better.

Our club is kind of odd though. It's made up of 40-85 paid members and it's a University club. Every 5 years or so there is a complete turnover of membership. Most members don't join until their sophomore year so they aren't really all that active until their junior year and then they only have another year, maybe two, to go.

Membership largely goes up and down based on management. As long as I've been going our first few meetings have been in the 90 people range. Sometimes 35 people pay, sometimes 85 people pay. Sometimes there are 70 people showing up during the heart of sledding season, sometimes there are 25 people showing up during the heart of sledding season.


The best part of being in a club is club equipment.
 
To each their own. Ill admit there are times being in a political club is a pain, but its something I like and I have no plans of leaving.
 
im not in a 4WD club, but i am a part of the AMA (american motorcycle association), mainly so i can race my dirt bike. they do alot in the legal aspect to keep public land open to offroad. my $39/yr goes to alot of great things.

i would like to join a 4WD club, mainly all the clubs are in the big cities and require going to a meeting thats too far from my house. ill just go wheeling with my friends in the area and if a club starts near me, i would join, mainly to wheel with bunch of different guys.
 
I agree with tim I'm not renewing my membership this year becuase of those reasons politics when your supposed to be wheeling and having fun. I joined to find places to wheel and people to do it with but it didn't work that way. Plus too many jeepers that don't think my full size is anything than a mud truck. Sure did surprize them when I climbed all there rocks with ease last weekend.
 
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For money, all of it goes back to the members for picnics, prizes/raffles, donations for charities, and club supplies like first aid kits, chainsaw, etc...


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I like a little more control over my $$
if you want to give to charity you do not need a club to do it.
if you need a first aid kit you do not need a club to get one.

I have always wanted to form a 'shop club'.
dues would go towards big ticket machinery that is hard to justify for a single person.
more like buying shares then a club deal.
make initiation the donation of a big ticket item that the shop needs.
pooling resources could be the path to some serious toy building.
after a while you should have the big ticket basics covered and start getting into stuff like IronWorkers and sheet metal shears/brakes.
eventually it could grow to having paid staff to manufacture saleable goods if the club wants to go that route
 
All interesting view points. Please keep them coming!

But let me add a little more fuel to the fire....

Do you think you need to join a club to find LEGAL wheeling ares?

Do you care if you're wheeling legal trails?

Do you know if the trails you wheel are legal?

Why does a dues paying club have to have politics involved?
 
There is NO legal trails here. All I've got is some bald prairie and a few coulee hills that I have to use to 4x4 in. There is no such thing as a 4x4 club where I am from, just not enough people/interest ... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
Sounds like new hampshire... I see plenty of truck running around but I've never found a club or any real nice trails....

GMC Gremlin /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/screwy.gif
 
No, I know next to nothing. I know a few crappy powerline trails, thanks for the leads I've been looking for months!
BTW: What's a class 4 trail? /forums/images/graemlins/ears.gif /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif
 
/forums/images/graemlins/doah.gif I meant Class VI (6). It's a road classified by the state of NH as "Unmaintained" Pretty good wheeling for stock to slightyly modified rigs.

If your looking for more hardcore trails, there are many private land locations. Hook up with a club and you'll get a lot of choices. If you want to see an example head up here on October 9th. NEWJO Tour De Rocks
 
A club that is a member of the local Assoc as well as a Member of UNITED. That means my club dues also have some go to United and Southern to help protect our sport by supporting those organizations that fight on be half of the four wheeling community.

A few years ago The President of Southern was Stefan Roth (now the VP)

The president of United was Dennis Noes.

They are both founding members of the club BigJBear and I run with, The Georgia Bounty Runners. www.gbr4wd.com In addition to that the club also works with DEMA (Dawson Emergency Management Assoc) a County level part of GEMA and GEMA (Georgia EMA) is a State level of FEMA (Federal EMA). We help by supplying Man power for search and rescue and do Logistics in poor weather conditions such as snow and rugged terrain.

A good organized club works to give back to the community and is a good representation of the people involved in the sport.
 
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