trt1617 Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 Hello all I have been thinking about having a go at a novice winch challenge just to see if its something i would like to do on a regular basis so a few questions from someone who might be trying to get into challenges 1 How are the courses set out? are they made to be near impossible to drive? 2 What would you say the the esential bits of kit are to start with? 3 How are they scored. timed or by how many punches ya get or what? 4 Is it possible to go along to any events to see all the action in person or is that not allowed? Now i know my 90 will not be anything like competetive im sure of that but i would like to have a go and see how it goes any ideas of where to start something where they dont mind novices getting in the way? and any of you got any advise,words of wisdom,for a newbie to the scene or anything you may feel one may need to know before setting out to do this would be muchly apreciated many thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boothy Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Best advice, go and watch and you will answer all your own questions, get there early and speak to some of the crews BEFORE they start, and stick around at the end. Good luck...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team gunit Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 go with the kit you have, tackle what you think you can do, nothing is impossible. get booked in for XL start at top dont mess about. all at hw helped each other out with breakages and recovery no one was left in the cold. mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruuman Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Hello all I have been thinking about having a go at a novice winch challenge just to see if its something i would like to do on a regular basis so a few questions from someone who might be trying to get into challenges 1 How are the courses set out? are they made to be near impossible to drive? 2 What would you say the the esential bits of kit are to start with? 3 How are they scored. timed or by how many punches ya get or what? 4 Is it possible to go along to any events to see all the action in person or is that not allowed? Now i know my 90 will not be anything like competetive im sure of that but i would like to have a go and see how it goes any ideas of where to start something where they dont mind novices getting in the way? and any of you got any advise,words of wisdom,for a newbie to the scene or anything you may feel one may need to know before setting out to do this would be muchly apreciated many thanks in advance Some good advice already, but I'd add, choose your winch bitch well, choose your most stable mate. Not the one who will get in a strop at the first problem. It maybe funny for the spectators, but the ride home might be a bit awkward 1. Course setup depends entirely on the event 2. I'd say start out simple. Couple of strops, a long and a short one. A few rated shackles. Most comps require a winch blanket of some sort. Strong recovery points front and rear. Fire extinguisher is a good idea generally Good gloves for the bitch a set of waffle boards Possibly a snatch block. Your need to read the comp regs to get your truck properly up to spec. but if you have any questions on items ask the organisers, everyone's always helpful. 3. entirely depends on the event, some have just straight scores for each punch, some have decreasing scores depending on how many people get each punch. If your just going out to have fun on your first event I wouldn't worry about it and get what you can. Once you get more competitive you can start using a a more planned attack. 4. Yes, most events do. and like everyone has said best thing you can do first. If you feeling noble, you could even sign up for marshalling. My advice would be, don't spend loads of money at first. Don't think that you need to blow 1000's on lockers, 8274's or whatever just to enter. Get a winch bitch who will be able to a do quite a few events with you, this way you don't have to start from scratch each time. Other things i would say, Install a winch control switch in the cab so you don't need the wander lead, put a big hook on your winch line as it makes rigging easier. If you have money to burn, the most cost effective upgrade we did was the headset radio's. Just my opinion, I'm no pro or anything. Just enjoy doing it. Cheers Ruu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Some good advice already mentioned, but I just thought I would add a few pointers... The point about having a co-driver/winch bitch you can trust completely cannot be overstated. There are events and series' about designed for exactly what you want to do - The Challenger clubman series has a novice class and is aimed exactly at people like yourself, wanting to have a go at challenge competitions. It is also worth getting familiar with your kit, how to rig the winch etc. There are a number of play days and club events that also have some punches laid out. They are generally not competitive, but are a really good way to learn what the truck and the winch will and will not do. My brother and I started out doing some of the shires events with punches, as well as a few one off challenge events before entering a full series. hth Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbymogs Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 please dnt take this the wrong way but by the way your question started i would say that you need to take a look first at what you are letting yourself in for pictures and videos do not do any section justice as any body who competes regular will tell you, that you can do a section and think **** that was bad then go home and tell the misses and show her the video and pics and she will go that looks nothing you big pansy..........looks are deceiving i would strongly advise going to see a local event and doing as Slim Boothy has put go and have a chat with diff teams we wont bite but dnt ask questions during a comp or you will probably get a few strong unwanted answers, what ever you do it is very addictive and can be expensive if you let it be Nobby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trt1617 Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 any one know of any challenges comeing up that are viewer friendly? or any sites to keep an eye on for up coming events? thanks for the advise so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will4x4 Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Some really good advice there. As long as you have an idea as to what to exspect as Team Gunit said in whatever event you enter other trucks will help you out whatever.. Team Gunit - helped us get our suzuki back on 4 wheels as did west mids a few times. challange events at the mo Challenger 4x4 series AWDC XL series Mudmonsters / Gigglepin series are all worth noting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richy B Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 any one know of any challenges comeing up that are viewer friendly? or any sites to keep an eye on for up coming events? thanks for the advise so far First round of the challenger/awdc series is creeping up On the 13th march, Its on the Muddy bottom site Nr lyndhurst/New foresty area, A good site for spectating ( in wellies) Or later in the year there are some up yarwell/tixover way which i think is nearer you Hope to see you at a event soon I think were team 15 in this series, please feel free to come n chat at any point, I dont mind stopping at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saley Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 The 1st XL is the 6th March no spectating but contact Neil and sign on as a Marshall and that way you get to see all the sections up close, drive around the site and even help to setup on the saturday if you like this would give you a realy good ideal of what its like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicks90 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 are you new to offroading, or just to challenge events? If new altogether, i wouldnt suggest jumping in at challenges! learn to drive offroad first by doing RTVs and get used to your vehicle and learn to pick lines and read the ground. I'm surprised some teams in some challenge comps even have a driving licence, they have such little appreciation of driver skill and the ability to drive obstacles. They hit an obstacle and pull the winch out. just my opinion of course and not aimed at any one in particular. Just what i have personally observed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellyv8 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 not having a dig but thats probably why they call it winch challenge and not drive challenge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trt1617 Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 not new to off roading just want to move on a bit and like the idea of winch challenges but just wanna know what im letting myself in for have a few of us that are thinking about trying it probably to find we are plop at it but guess ya need to start somewhere are there any that are done in teams? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general-confusion Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 You are in a lucky position of having about 2 or 3 cars and 10 people within 10 miles of you who are into or have been into the challenge scene , plus tixover , yarwell and stibbington sites are all pretty near pm me if you want to chat and I can pass on details of people near you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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