d22 off road virgin.

[Simonness]

hey guys!

i got my D22 in May and still havnt taken it anywhere.

I live around liverpool, Sydney, NSW.

i was wondering if you guys would know of a place that isnt too hard for a first timer.

something thats easy as my D22 is stock, nothing too bushy cus i dun wana stratch the paint ( for now=) )

if you guys could point me in the right direction then that would be awesome!

Itl be my first step into the AWD scene=]

Cheers,
Simon

 

[Old.Tony]

Hey Simon,

We're not planning to do a run until around mid January, to the Watagans Forest which is just north of Sydney. You'd come up the Cumberland Highway, hit the F3 freeway and take the Ourimbah turnoff - it's not far.

The intention is to have a fairly easy drive along the forest trails with several stops on the way near tougher obstacles that can be walked, inspected and then tried if desired.

Full recovery gear and experienced people will be on hand. We will NOT do anything that's dangerous and will NOT risk the vehicles in any way.

However - and you'll have to live with this - on many bush tracks, "bush pin stripes" (scratches from branches) are par for the course.

You are more than welcome to come along - even if it's just to drive through and see the sights. I won't be doing any tough stuff myself, unless a recovery is needed and Craig's busy.

We haven't scouted the track yet, Craig and I will get that organised as soon as we can. When that's done, we'll put up a post with distances, expected travel times etc.

 

[Matt76]

Wear your scratches with pride mate lol.

D2's are amazingly capable even in stock form mate, get out there and enjoy it!

 

[Simonness]

sweet! sounds awesome guys,

il write that date in my books and il definately come along if i can! but i am going to be overseas from the 8th to the 16th so i cant promise anything, going to miss out dammit!

can you guys recommend anything closer to me so maybe i can hit the tracks myself?

cheers, simon

 

[WIR35]

Hey Simon,

Don't be too scared, the D22 is a very capable truck. Even stock it has great ground clearance, good tyres & good gear ratios - pretty much all you need for most situations. The first weekend I had my D22 I took it to the beach and basically tried to get it bogged by running 35psi in the tyres through powdery sand, I even stopped, reversed and started again and it just crawled out. Very impressed.

 

[Simonness]

iv only taken it to Kurnell sand dunes ( can u even call it a dune anymore? more like a parkin lot made of sand ) and i didnt get stuck even with 35psi. i ended up doing doughnuts for fun cus it was too easy around the dunes rofl.

im hoping to go stockon but its a long drive, id rather camp there and drive back the day after but thats something i need alot of time for.

im looking forward to a days trip =]

 

[scottybobcat]

The boys are out all the time up there mate but if it is your first time it might pay to take someone with you that has a 4wd just in case you get stuck.Safety first mate.

 

[terryc]

New Nav's are pretty popular around Liverpool atm. Had two, a D22(white) and D40(blue), pass in front of me when I was waiting to cross the road at the rail station.

 

[Simonness]

yer i rekon the D22 looks awesome. i cant wait to pay it off so i can start upgrading it.

I need to get a lift kit, the suspension travel is shocking=[ not sure if its normal tho.

anyone live around liverpool that know of afew tracks?

 

[brendan]

i live in blacktown.
ive had my d22 for a few months now and still havnt been offroad with it. its stock for now but do plan on lift and tyres, i just want o get out and 4wd with it.

i usto own a suzuki sierra, SPOA, 32s, was pretty hardcore so i would like to take the nav to its limits

 

[Dave]

Welcome.

Enjoy the forum.

Dave.

 

[AJZ987]

i live in kenthurst, i think the only places close would be up along the zig zag railway, i can ask around and find out if there are any other places around and i would be keen for a trip too as i have a stock d22 and never exacty taken mine off road either.

 

[Old.Tony]

We could do another Currawong Run.

We did a water crossing ...

And a ford crossing ...

And we took a muddy side track that went nowhere and was a bugger to turn around in, but we had fun getting there and back ...

We're going to look for similar in the Watagans Forest soon guys. We KNOW the Currawong run is completely safe and still a lot of fun, the only problem is it's up past Dungog and for some of you guys, it's a looooong way from home (4 hours plus just to get there, 4 hours back).

That's why we're going to scout out the Watagans. It's fairly easy for Sydney to get to, and if we can find some decent challenges that don't actually pose a serious risk then we'll be able to say we had a day of it, and learned some things while having fun.

And days don't get much better than that.

 

[KraftyPg]

And a ford crossing ...

It's a Nissan

 

[WIR35]

a bloody good one at that Krafty...lol

 

[Simonness]

that looks awesome. too bad i got no snorkle either lol.

its on my list, dnt worry about that =]

yer sure i would be keen for a AWD trip any weekend if it isnt too far away but for sure id do a road trip when i got the time.

Iv been going into smallest off roads (if you can even call it that) like parks which have a service road and its pretty fun into thru the mud=]

need more tho!

 

[Red Dog]

Just a word of advice.

Make sure you get rated recovery points fitted front and rear before you start to get to extreme.

A recovery from a point that is not properly rated can damage your vehicle, the recovery vehicle and potentially injure people in the vicinity.

Yes I am pointing out the obvious, but others who read these threads may not be as wise as the rest of us.

 

[AJZ987]

yeah Tony i will be making time for the next trip thats for sure, bit upset that i missed the last, hopefully getting a bullbar and winch in the next few weeks, and get some recovery points properly installed. And anyone going from sydney can always meet up at the start of the F3.

Anthony

 

[Old.Tony]

yeah Tony i will be making time for the next trip thats for sure, bit upset that i missed the last, hopefully getting a bullbar and winch in the next few weeks, and get some recovery points properly installed. And anyone going from sydney can always meet up at the start of the F3.

Anthony

Yeah there's plenty of room on the side in the 80km/h zone so that you can get people getting on from Pennant Hills Rd or the highway.

I want to just reinforce the sage advice about recovery points.

Anyone that WANTS to do some of the more extreme stuff NEEDS to have one or more of the following:

- One or more properly rated recovery points bolted to the chassis

- A 3-tonne tow hitch*

- A winch bar (alloy bar with steel behind, or steel bar)

* I have a hitch receiver with a 4.75T bow shackle in it. At $60, it's a great investment and helps in recoveries and tows - if you have a Nissan 3T or Hayman Reese 3T hitch (50mm square receiver), this is really a MUST buy).

If you do NOT have these fitted to your vehicle, it is actually very dangerous to attempt harder stuff because if we won't try to recover a vehicle that is not properly equipped with these points - because doing so WILL damage the vehicle.

If you're mounting recovery points, don't buy the bolts from Bunnings. You need proper high tensile bolts with the rating stamped into the top of the bolt. They are less expensive than you think, too. Don't settle for "Bob's Stainless Steel Decking Bolts".

 

[Simonness]

well i have a 3T tow bar without a goose neck so thats one on the list.

i got have afew bow shackles but not sure abt the rating, aluminium bull bar
and but much are the rated tow points? and how many do i need?

il scab some high tensile bolts from work, 8.8 good enough?