Brand new to off roading with H2

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HockeyMom's picture

Tonie
Victoria
Brand new to off roading with H2

Hi,

I will be honest, I don't have a clue about this sport or how to get started.... What I do have is a 4x4 and some girlfriends who are keen like myself, to get out and try it out. The willingness to improve my vehicle if i like the sport.
Any suggestions on how a newbie can introduce themselves into the world of off roading? For starters, I could use a referral to a good mechancial place. I want to do some serious light upgrades for on and off the road on my vehicle...

Anyways, I thought I would try a local forum...

Beer-n-Meat's picture

Beer-n-Meat
Nanaimo

Welcome to the forum, I cannot offer any advice on good mechanics in your area as I'm more central and tend to do all my work myself (a lot cheaper that way)
The Victoria area is pretty much locked down right now but there are a large amount of people in your area that go wheeling, best bet is to sign up on some other sites and just check in once or twice a week to check for organized runs and just go meet some people.
If you don't mind travelling a little further for some fun, Duncan has some great places to go especially for people new and testing their limits. Again just check back here and other places once or twice a week for runs posted.

http://www.bcjeepclub.ca/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1641001396151255/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1116639451704724/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/947550748646299/
Bottom group is great for people just entering into the hobby as they tend to do a lot of exploring instead of the gnarly tight trails and they really are a great group of people.

The best advice I can give you though.
Leave the drama/attitude at home
Always take out what you brought in when it comes to garbage
Never leave anyone behind, when your out in a group, you are responsible for the person behind you...never lose sight of that person. (Not enough people actually do this)

You should also have some recovery gear even if it's minimal, you shouldn't rely on others as it may leave you stranded.
Farm jack / Jackall / highlift - can be bought at Canadian Tire / Princess auto for about $70-$80
Recovery straps - can be bought at Princess auto for about $50
You should also have yourself a come-along, I bought myself a 4ton at home hardware for $30
You should also pack a shovel with you.

With those items you can self recover from almost any situation.
Check out some you-tube videos on self recovery with a highlift / come-along

I'm in the Nanaimo area, if you ever want to come this far North I would be happy to take you out and show you around some.
Have fun and keep the rubber side down.

HockeyMom's picture

Tonie
Victoria

Beer-n-Meat, you’re the best!

Thank you so much for taking the time to put this information together for me. I will research further on ‘etiquette’ and ‘self recovery’. Definitely will check out the facebook pages as well. Great way to start.

Thank you so much for your time and patience!!!

Tonie

Beer-n-Meat's picture

Beer-n-Meat
Nanaimo

Also if you are going light shopping may I suggest a place.
Eli is a personal friend of mine and you won't find a better product at a better price AND with a lifetime warranty.

www.lokilights.ca

Tell him Larry sent you, he should give you a better deal.

jas's picture
jas

Jas
Shawnigan

Hi Tonie
Welcome to the forum.
Tell us a bit about your vehicle. You'd be surprised how well capable some 4x4s are in their stock form.
Before you go spending some money on trying to improve it maybe go out for a ride along with someone as a passenger just to see if this is something you like and want to do.

Trailblazzers's picture

Erik
lake cowichan

you can always hop onboard with someone as well and see what it is all about and the type of trails etc you are interested in

i dont know many people who have upgraded there H2's other than for pavement vechiles. Pics ?

Trailblazzers's picture

Erik
lake cowichan

you can always hop onboard with someone as well and see what it is all about and the type of trails etc you are interested in

i dont know many people who have upgraded there H2's other than for pavement vechiles. Pics ?

HockeyMom's picture

Tonie
Victoria

Thanks Larry, I left Eli voice mail and shot off my information on his website contact sheet. This is exactly what I was looking for!

HockeyMom's picture

Tonie
Victoria

That's a great idea. I'm heading out of town for a couple of weeks but I will be back in 2nd week of November and you might just see another post from me looking for this :)
Tonie

HockeyMom's picture

Tonie
Victoria

Thanks Erik,
All I really know is that it has a 6.2 l engine, and i got 37" wheels. Its a 2008 H2.

Beer-n-Meat's picture

Beer-n-Meat
Nanaimo

Good looking rig Tonie, she will be very capable, just stay away from the quad trails as she's a little wide.

Turboricky's picture

Rick Perry
Campbell River

Hi HockeyMom. Welcome to the forum. I am pretty new here as well but have had many 4x4s over the years. I personally like to stay away from major modifications. I have found from my personal experience that usually your vehicle will perform better and break down less if you leave it the way it is. Just put the biggest tires you can fit without a lift. If you have 37s then I don't think you need to go any bigger. Although lights look cool, if you aren't driving at night then it's just something that will easily get broken if you drive on a lot of overgrown roads (just my opinion). I think the most useful mods would be heavy-duty bumpers, good tow hooks, and a winch.

Trailblazzers's picture

Erik
lake cowichan

I find that funny because I replaced all my stat components Within products stronger engineered aftermarket parts it is amazing what the large vehicle manufacturers get away with when it comes to their wedding of brackets to the frame or axle and the use of grade 5 bolts for most of the structural components.

Spadanko's picture

Jen
Sahtlam

Hey Tonie, I will be looking to do some short easy test runs with my truck soon. If you don't mind coming up to Duncan for the day we can go out on some of the easy trails I know. Probably mid November.

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