|
New 4wd For Sale / Wanted Forum added - anything else?
The 4wd forums are growing fast, so it's time to start expanding the forums, this is the first expansion that's obvious to me. Any other specifically 4wd forums needed, let me know!
We'll be adding more 4wd specific sections like blogs, trip reports and equipment reviews over the next couple of months. Let me know what YOU want and we'll see what we can do! |
easier location of info
Having everything thats gone wrong that could go wrong Im having to change plans and go with a 4 wheel vehicle. Loads info and help here but maybe you could do the same as what the bikes have got for easier sorting.
A smaller version of the bike section would be a real plus and possibly encourage more people to post info other than routes ect. 1/make specific area for tech stuff ie landrover/ toyota /campervan/lorry 2/equipment for trips- I know you have this and some 4x4 stuff is covered in it but alot stuff for 4x4s wont really be applicable to bikes and vice versa. 3/garages for repairs and stopping areas in other countries dont think many hotels let you drive your 4x4 into the reception area so safe parking would be a must. 4/shipping agents/methods ect for larger vehicles. 5/vehicle requirement for each country [the legal stuff such as reversing lights ect] you may not want such a large amount of new areas dedicated to 4x4s on the forum, so you could compact it all such trip planning/paperwork covering points 3/4/5. Im still planning and have been hunting info for over a year first for bikes and now for 4x4s. There is some good 4x4 sites out there but they dont have the same upto date travelling info alerts ect as here. And the moderation here is a bit more sensible than most places. I also found alot of the make specific sites are just full of slagging matches ect or very extreme makeovers which look good but I doubt would be very practical such as monster truck conversions and having 5 tvs in your landy. Or just people having all the stuff but only ever using it for weekend drive up the motorway and driving on the grass at the campsite. The info I have mentioned above is all here in the forum somewhere but its buried among the masses of bike posts alot of the time so is harder to locate. |
excellent! thanks for your input.
some quick responses to respond and clarify at this point YES - "1 specific area for tech stuff ie landrover/ toyota /campervan/lorry" YES - "2 equipment for trips YES - "3 garages etc" - some VERY cool stuff coming here, first for bikes of course, but much of it applicable to 4wd, and we can certainly have a "4wd specific" tag. It will include hotels, routes, garages, shipping companies and more. In beta 1 not, and looks way cool. YES - 4/shipping - see above, and also addon for the current bike shipping database tied in for 4wd. vehicle requirements - hadn't thought of that, bikes are generally ok everywhere without much trouble, but should be easy enough to add in. YOU GUYS will be the ones to fill in the info though! :) Nice thing is we have people from so many countries - over 130 at last count - that shouldn't be too hard if everyone does their own country. So that's a YES too. Thanks for the comments re moderating too - we try for a "family pub/restaurant" atmosphere, rather than the "bar on the wrong side of the tracks". Everyone please chime in and tell me what you want - agree or disagree with the above, what's needed etc is all helpful so we know what to concentrate on. Priorities too - what's first? And I feel I must apologise to all of you - I've had in the back of my mind that I need to put in some time on the 4wd side, but just keep pushing it to the bottom of the pile... so give me some feedback and we'll do all we can. We're probably looking at a two month time line to implement most of this. New HUBB forums are easy, the rest isn't - we're doing MAJOR upgrades to the back-end software over the next few weeks first, then we'll have a lot more tools to work with. (We're moving from Drupal 4.7 to Drupal 5.7, and with it vBDrupal same, and vBulletin mods) Additional moderators would be much appreciated! thanks, Grant |
Tech page
On the tech page, would it be worth putting in links to vehicle specific technical sites as well as building up a data base- for example I have a mercedes G wagen and the owners club web site GWOA has a huge amount of technical info that would take for ever to build up here and would only be relevant to a few people but someone new coming here could soon get detailed help. Maybe this page would work like a resourse page.
A 4x4/truck camping equipment page sounds good. Trips and trails sounds good too. 4x4 friendly accomodation with secure parking would be realy useful Looking forward to the expansion Chris |
If your doing a bit of an overhaul of the forums, info by area would make locating stuff a bit easier. Not just for 4x4 but for everything.
That way people could plan in sections. Example- you are on the africa phase of your RTW trip or are just planning to travel there alone. -At the moment for things like paperwork, routeplanning and health requirements alot is still being posted in those sections and some is being posted in the africa sections. trip reports are being posted in other areas as well as traveller seeking traveller. There is also the 2 other parts of the forums for accomodation and repair places. Thats a fair bit of bouncing about, scrolling and searching through posts that may not be useful[ but still fun to read]. The current top page of the forum is pretty large and shows all the sub sections [think of those poor throttle damaged wrists having to scroll up and down] adding more 4x4 sections although great makes this even larger. Having most of the stuff in area related sections would reduce its size and although you would have an extra mouse click to show every section in that area it would make it easier to find whats related to that area and erm give you bigger and more sponsor pics. A bit like a LP guide that updates itself and is interactive. Downside would be- not able to view every subsection of forum at once on one page. Although if your system has the function newest post could be listed under each area heading -the work needed to sort through the posts that are already here and move them. Ouch! I guess it just depends on how you like the forum and how good you are at using forums at the moment its a bit of wild creature shouting "look at all the info I have" and "the infos here find it yourself" and as the volume of info and the amount of people coming here grows the bigger it gets and the harder it will be to find what you actually need. Could be Im spending more time here so im noticing new posts and users and the traffic level has stayed the same. - |
All sounds good, though I don't think the emphasis HAS to be on 4x4. Some of us are in plain old vans! ;-)
I have a whole list of places to camp, in countries/cities where it's difficult to find camping. Not applicable to bikes, since they tend to head for hotels. I've been wondering what to do with this info. Now, there'll be an outlet, thank you! Lorraine |
Wild Camping Spots
I don't think we have it already do we? If not as Lorraine says that woud be great.
Although is there a danger of publishing such things? Perhaps not on her. But yes, if you know of beautiful spots it would be great to pass them on |
Expedition Vehicle versus 4x4...
Yep, with Lorraine, there've been a few treads about vans and small cars under the 4WD fora.
It might be easier to attract more info on 2WD overland vehicles, and how to in a dedicated 2WD section. Maybe that can be the low-budget, low-tech alternative for those who don't need land cruisers or rovers to roam the world. (lada's are great for Central Asia btw) ;-) |
Do we have to have vehicle specific sections yet? There seem to be comments amongst some of the bikers to move away from that as a lot of info can be common to more than one make, I can see that'd be even more likely in a 4 wheeled vehicle area.
We could split the technical section into two: vehicle preparation, and then all the other gear, which might make life a bit easier without adding too many sections into the mix and without meaning you have to pop back and forth between sections for the more general stuff, like airfliters, snorkels tyres etc. Of course the big thing that needs to be encouraged is people titling their posts well. If you get a decent title it makes searching so much quicker. Could it be a thing a mod could do? And if we're on about moderators (and you do a thankless task I know, I am one but not on here), could they sometimes merge topics? We've got about five running on China at the moment, all concurrent, if they were merged into one, it'd be a lot easier. I think sometimes people post rather than search (which is understandable as searching often turns up too much information). Perhaps if there's a post which relates directly to another one running they could be merged? |
Cornish Diety: Although is there a danger of publishing such things? Perhaps not on her.
Huh??? Please explain. Alexlebrit and Robbert: I think this is a great idea, a section for things common to all ie, solar showers. And then a techie section for 4x4 and THEN, another section just for 2 wd. Like, how to make your vehicle believe it has 4x4. ;-) Lorraine |
Just meant
Hi lorraine,
Sorry all i meant was, say you have a great spot for wild camping, where no one knows about it, and no one minds you spending the odd night there, and you post here, and suddenly it becauses an overlanders breeding ground because everyone heard about it on the HUBB. And therefore ruined ........ Just a thought really |
Now, breeding, or at least trying in my favourite wild camping spot:thumbup1:
Sorry, very off topic:nono: Seriously I think it's down to the individual as to whether to publicise their favourite spots but if it's just a handy place to park up for the night that would be really useful. Lorraine and Robert, my appologies for using the term '4x4'. It really should be 4 wheels, as the forum section is called. |
VERY off topic, tsk, tsk, tsk. ;-)
Actually, my list is all in places where there's NO where to camp, but instead of trying a zillion kilometers, you can go here. Literally, some of the places are places where people throw rubbish, but VERY handy for a night. Lorraine |
Clarity
Quote:
|
Quote:
Quite agree: we will end up with the equivalent of even more "green lane" closures (a UK issue, but it is happening also in places such as the US). Could do with a forum for official campsites however? |
Quote:
How many threads are there in the bike tech forums about the right tyres, or the correct oil or basic suspension set up to name a few overlaps. Merging: it would help - apart from China, there are 2 currently running about the recent kidnapping in the Sahara (not counting the one in the bar). |
RE: merging threads - perhaps a suggestion in the website feedback forum when you think threads need to be merged - not everyone notices all of it. And I especially do not - tooooo many other things to do.
If suggesting PLEASE: 1. why? 2. WHICH threadS complete with full url! "two threads on china" means I have to look - and look - and look .... ;) thanks! Re everything else - I'm listening! :) keep working on it and we'll get there! |
Well Walkabout, that's the main problem. In some countries, there are less than FIVE official campsites, and you can drive for DAYS never finding anything! It really is a huge problem. Or, I found it so driving through Central America, Colombia and Panama. VERY stressful. Which is why, pseudo garbage dumps began looking rather appealing.... :-(
Lorraine |
Bush mechanics
Another useful section might be "Bush Mechanics". Not just for 4 wheels, but also for bikes.
For example, you lost your sump plug somehow and need to fix it. Did you fix it,...and how did you fix it without a spare plug? Cut a piece of wood to shape, fold a bit of material over to 'seal' and bang it in with a hammer... Little things that you might read now, which could save you a lot of trouble while on the road when in a pickle!!!:eek2: |
Oh, I LOVE that idea. My solar shower went kaput, so I've made one out of a inner-tube tire, using the old nozzle. Doesn't heat as well, (unless you boil the water... :-( but it DOES work.
Lorraine |
It might be easier to attract more info on 2WD overland vehicles, and how to in a dedicated 2WD section. Maybe that can be the low-budget, low-tech alternative for those who don't need land cruisers or rovers to roam the world.
I think this is the best idea so far - 4x4 are covered many times over on the web, but not 2WDs. Ch |
my thoughts
Firstly thanks for a great forum where I for one have found good info.
I don't think we need vehicle specific forums. Search and you will find. also there is stuff that is worth reading even if you have a different make. If it is getting too big then that is a reason for doing it though. The for sale/wanted is a good idea. Putting a title does make searching easier. I agree that it should be for vehicle travel and not 4wd specific. I am a private website critic (ha Ha) and the simpler the better I feel, minimum clicks to a destination. Also not everyone is good with computers and not everyone who uses the site speaks English as there first language. Information is for sharing whether it is technical or a campsite. I realize that we run the risk of getting places ruined, but if we go to these places lets be the ones who look after them, pick up some rubbish etc. I have many times camped somewhere only to find the perfect spot a couple of hundred metres further up the road the next day. Considering we are not all in the same place at the same time I am sure it will be ok. Graeme |
"Huge problem" so this website can assist
Quote:
Basic campsite info for, say, Europe, can be found quite easily via the web or guidebooks (but there could still be value in a section similar to that for recommended accommodation - places that 2/4 wheel travellers have found to be good/better/best for camping facilities). Camping guides for riding/driving in those countries that have few facilities for suchlike should be of great value, so start with them? |
I agree with keeping it simple but with a few mods.
The tech would good broken up as suggested as to have a section on vehicle preparation is i think the main thing that is missing- how about vehicle prep as a main subject but broken into 2wd / 4wd / truck ? Whichever way its done there is always a cross over of interest and like someone said its about thread title.. |
How about a section just dealing with
4 wheels or more? And really not bothering about how many of them are driven? I think it's great when things aren't too split up to be honest, as people have said, the more clicks you have to make before you get to what you actually want, the less likely you'll bother. And of course for people on the road those useless clicks can cost money. So I'd suggest something like this: 4 Wheels or More Wheels: Vehicles - vehicle specific advice.So really only one more section, and hopefully that'd mean people can find things easier without undue clicking. And then that should hopefully cover most people, without making too many distinctions between a Landie, a 2CV, or one of these. Which is our current favourite in the silly vehicle to drive to China poll. Mind you, out of all of us who works there way through the different sections and who just clicks on "New posts since last visit"? |
Talk of 2 wheels, 4 wheels, 2wd, 4wd is all well and good but where do I fit in when I want to do the same as these two girls http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5...g%20vieng.jpg?
|
Lunatic Fringe?
|
The biggest problem with splitting the forums at this late stage is that there is a ton of extremely useful information in the existing 4wd forums that is easliy searchable, etc.
If you start splitting the fourms up further and don't split the existing information your are faced with the decision of where to put it - trying to split the existing info will be just too big a job. I would be more inclined to keep the existing structure as it is and then consider what additional forums we need on the 4wd side of things. |
Room for one and all?
Quote:
That will be the 3 wheel, 1 wheel drive section that would have a space specifically for sidecars, including 2 wheel drive Urals. With such a forum title it would be able to accommodate "Trikes": this particular one seems to be "in far away places" but it is very clean! In reality, there have been a number of cases of discussion of sidecar rigs within the various bike threads. |
And when I have a motorized monocyle, 1 wheel, 1 wheel drive?
Photos of Unicycles You Sit Inside - Motorized Monocycle (pictures, images, etc.) P.S. where do you put the top box? |
More 4x4 stuff....
I think its a great idea to have more resources on the HUBB for vehicle travellers.
- Especially needed is an equipment section as there is so much on the market at ridiculous prices - Accomodation advice wether its campsites, wild camping sites, secure parking or tips would be useful as when on a bike, I just put the bike in the reception/foyer area! And some people do seem to prefer to park up somewhere safe (hotel etc) than wild camp. - Not sure vehicles need as much attention as the bikes - there are more bikers that use HU (and generally only a couple of vehicles bother with the meetings) - Does it matter wether you drive a 4x4, 2WD or mog - they are all vehicles Look foward to discussing this further Grant, Silver G |
I would suggest a stickie like this in at least the Tech forum that has a FAQ and common questions posting maintained by an admin type.
Thus, a newbie can read that first and see the existing threads about what vehicle to choose, what tyres are best, LR or LC etc etc Suggested Format: Vehicle choice: Defining your requirements first - links to discussion threads 1, 2 & 3 etc LR or LC - links to discussion threads etc Other 4x4's - links etc Bigger vehicles - Unimogs etc - links to threads Suggested other website links 1, 2, 3, 4 etc Tyres: How many to take - links Buying them abroad - links Tyre sizes Suggested other websites links etc Thus some of the churn can be reduced and we all have a central place to look rather than using (the very good) but ultimately annoying and slow search option (I can never think of the correct words to type in ;-) It will take a little while to create, but then will be pretty easy to maintain on a month basis or so... |
Make it similar or the same as the bike forums
Quote:
I occasionally have a read of this 4x4 stuff as a kind of precusor against the day that I finally fall off my motorbike perch and have to find something else to do - that generally happens around age 75 and upward I believe? :rolleyes2:. As a "spectator" of these threads I have noticed the tendency of a thread discussing, say, LR to diverge into slagging off, say, LCs, or vice versa. Replicating the existing bike layout would provide a logical layout for 4 wheeled vehicles while even enhancing the overall HU corporate image, to use a bit of management speak! That would lead to a forum for "which vehicle" (where the comparisons of LR Vs LC can go on evermore) and tech forums for the commonly used machines. On the latter, as far as I can tell there is not much in here about certain manufacturers such as Isuzu, Hyundai, Nissan, M Benz, Daihatsu, Mitsubishi to name one or two. Within each manufs named forum, it would not matter if the topic was about 4 wheel drive or some other "lesser" vehicle - a Ford Transit van? (that will be "all other vehicles tech"?) Just a couple of penniesworth, |
It would be nice to have a 'Your Vehicle' subforum. Where people can post their modifications and their progress of preparing their vehicle for an expedition.
Could that be a useful addition? Jurgen |
Quote:
And one of them is a personal page for all registered users, where you can post your vehicle, mods etc. Thanks for the thought! Sorry for the long delays on all this, :blushing: summer is nuts for us, so really nothing much gets done. And this summer we have also been working on the new "Achievable Dream" DVD series, and that has taken up a huge amount of time. We have over 200 hours of video - we're well into editing it, but it takes a long time. And on that thought - anyone feel like encapsulating the general opinion on the 4 wheels forums - what should we do? And then of course everyone can comment on it - but maybe we can get a plan put together as to layout etc. Note that things like moving threads and retitling threads is a much bigger job than I can even dream of doing for oh, maybe three to five years. :) So volunteers to assist with such tasks are appreciated! We can add any number of moderators as needed. thanks! |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 13:26. |