4wd Driver training courses

[IBoughtAPrado Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close IBoughtAPrado]

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are new to 4wd and have recently bought a Prado Kakadu but want to do a course to learn how to use it properly. Does anyone have any suggestions or reviews of courses that they have done.

All help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Paul

[404pug Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 404pug]

Try Great Divide Tours- has trained thousands.

[Signature035 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Signature035]

Yep, Vic from Great Divide Tours is the best, lives around the corner from us. 9913 1395.

[r4ndll Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close r4ndll]

There are several to choose from in Sydney. And lots of coins offer them too. Do you want a classroom based one or on a closed course? Or one out on real tracks?

I've heard good things about great divide.

I did mine with John Cantrell of Australian 4x4 driver training. (http://www.australian-4x4.com.au). The website isn't the most flash but thhe training is good. You'll need to do some pre-learning by book and then spend 1 or 2 days practicing by driving the tracks around Rydal and Lidsdale state forest. John lets you take a non driving passenger for free which is good if you have a partner who wants some knowledge but doesn't want to drive. If they want to drive you'll have to pay a bit more. It's also done in your own vehicle so you'll learn how it operates.

The 1 day will cover everything you need and you'll get the accreditation, but I'd do the 2 day if you can as you spend most of day 2 driving tracks and therefore practicing. I much prefer practical learning and John will give you lots of that. (In a safe and controlled environment). John does a lot of training and vehicle evaluation for the Army and industry and has eons of experience, and is a firm believer in learning by doing. I had some experience from earlier driving on the farms in Africa so I'm not sure how a complete novice would find it but I guarantee you'll be challenged and be able to do a lot more by the end of the training than you thought you or your vehicle was capable of. There were some complete noobies in their first 4x4 on my course and they loved it.

[P W Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close P W]

The Toyota Landcruiser Club is also a great place to learn. Plus for the joining fee you get all the benefits of the club.

Phil

[Fred63 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fred63]

The Toyota Landcruiser Club is also a great place to learn. Plus for the joining fee you get all the benefits of the club.

Phil

Good Point Phil

Most clubs have driver development courses.
Also gives you the chance to go out on trips with experienced people.

Look for one in your area and go along to one of their meetings.

[Sarco Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sarco]

The Toyota Landcruiser Club is also a great place to learn. Plus for the joining fee you get all the benefits of the club.

Phil

I joined the TLCC and completed their basic 4x4 training course earlier this month on their property down near Goulburn. I've got nothing to judge it against but I did find it suited all my needs as a noobie off-road driver (last 4x4 over 30 years ago) My wife joined the club as well for an extra $5 and also completed the same course, and she had never driven the Prado off the bitumen before.

Recommended, and as Phil has said, all the benefits of club membership

[umsp Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close umsp]

There are many clubs around Sydney.
Go to their meetings and then you can decide which club suites for you.
Usually membership fee include training

[Nik83 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Nik83]

Did the TLCC course a year ago in a stock Prado. Fantastic. And they give you great advice. They allow all 4x4 equipped cars to join I think - I'd imagine that's the case unless there's some issue with the original design - there was pretty much every modern 4x4 on my course.

The women do the driving on the saturday while the men learn recovery, the men drive on the sunday - that way the men can't say something is too extreme to do as their other halves have already done it >8) . The men do do it about an hour or two quicker though, or they did on my day, that's the nature of the beast though. The biggest "whoa" for me was the controlled slide down a slope before a riverbed, with axles in opposite camber - the ruts are deep - I would never have thought it was possible in the stock prado if I didn't know the wife did it the day before. I looked at it and was like "no freaken way, bet I can't do this.... so proud of her ... better do it!".

My wife really was scared at that point, word was that the instructors said they thought they had a flock of cockatoos in the trees until they figured it was her screaming hahaha - to top it off, it was on her birthday! But the brilliant thing is, one instructor (who I've since seen in videos by the creator of unsealed 4x4), knew that wifey struggled on this one part, so he took back her through it over half hour once the course was over. There's a real sense of community. If your wife is reading this, it's not as bad as it sounds. You will be amazed at what your car is capable of. I sit in the passenger seat while I let my mates without 4wd's drive and they're terrified that they're going to damage my car... only to realise on the other side that it was a piece of cake, and the car is amazing.

If you don't have a uhf they provide one for you. The membership is sub-$400/year (I haven't renewed but will in October, I miss it). But part of the membership is the course - which is mandatory if you want to drive on the grounds - and is also an official 4wd certification.

As a just in case, regardless of who you choose, I'd recommend you have front recovery points installed (~$150 - I bought mine from marks4wd) and a tow bar (~$750). You shouldn't need them, but, they're like insurance.

One other thing is they give people good advice about what is required for a 4wd... and what isn't. So my wife came back saying I needed to buy all these accessories but didn't need this or that - Loved that! As an example, for me they were in tune with my bs-meter, and were very practical about things like high lift jacks and if you have to have one, safe use. Other things like learning to use turfors, minimising failure points in a recovery etc made me really respect the information I was receiving.

Couldn't recommend them more - you'll be happy you went with them if that's what you decide.

[Fred63 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fred63]

Paul,

Some great advise in the previous posts.
The best post here is your original post.

Recovery points and training is the best place to start.

The picture here is of someone who went about the whole thing the wrong way.
A fully setup new 4WD and no idea on how to drive it.
the problem here was 100% the nut behind the wheel.
2 from our group on Sunday spent 5 hrs recovering him to a place where a tow truck could get to him.

Fred

[IBoughtAPrado Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close IBoughtAPrado]

Hello All,

Thank you for your advice. Sounds like there are 2 clear favourites so far, but some other mentions. I'm still looking at this time so if anyone else has some ideas please post them.

Special mention to Fred63, I don't want to risk our new purchase but want to hsve fun with it, to me it seems a no brainer to learn first, maybe even before you buy lots of equipment too, unless you have money to burn.

Need sleep so catch up next time.

Paul

[Mattfunk 120 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mattfunk 120]

Hello All,

Thank you for your advice. Sounds like there are 2 clear favourites so far, but some other mentions. I'm still looking at this time so if anyone else has some ideas please post them.

Special mention to Fred63, I don't want to risk our new purchase but want to hsve fun with it, to me it seems a no brainer to learn first, maybe even before you buy lots of equipment too, unless you have money to burn.

Need sleep so catch up next time.

Paul

Not very good for a new car, the wheels are facing different ways 😂

Sent from my SM-J110F using Tapatalk

[Black 120 GX Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Black 120 GX]

Hi Paul,
I am in the Toyota Land Cruiser Club (TLCC), and also the Macarthur 4WD club. Both clubs run driver training as a requirement of being a member.

The TLCC driver training is much more comprehensive, being a night of theory, plus a weekend of driving. The Macarthur club is a one day course.

I am sure all clubs run training courses. Look at what the different clubs offer, there is a lot around.

The TLCC is much more expensive than some other clubs but I believe it is good value as they have more to offer, eg two properties you can camp at for no charge.

Good Luck

[Fred63 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fred63]

Hi Paul,
I am in the Toyota Land Cruiser Club (TLCC), and also the Macarthur 4WD club. Both clubs run driver training as a requirement of being a member.

The TLCC driver training is much more comprehensive, being a night of theory, plus a weekend of driving. The Macarthur club is a one day course.

I am sure all clubs run training courses. Look at what the different clubs offer, there is a lot around.

The TLCC is much more expensive than some other clubs but I believe it is good value as they have more to offer, eg two properties you can camp at for no charge.

Good Luck

Hey Steve good to hear from you.

Ticked anything off the list?


Link to find clubs Here
http://www.4wdnow.com/index.php?opti...id=7&Itemid=55

[pradokakadudavid Member Find all posts View Profile Close pradokakadudavid]

Good choice. I have one to! Let me know if you need any advice re accessories as I have added many accessories which are often difficult to source for a Kakadu.