YD Invitation Dive - Plymouth 30/8/03

[Doug Parker]

<font color='#0000FF'>Brum on sea would be a better description. &nbsp;They come down here with their 4 wheel drives minus tow bars and hog the road at 30 mph. &nbsp;They should stick to driving in cities where they can handle the roads because of Street lights, &nbsp;Pavements, Traffic lights and yellow lines at the side of the road so they can see where they are going. &nbsp;Most of them couldn't drive a greasy stick up a dogs arse.

[rasilon]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Adrian Kelland @ July 01 2003,08:52)]Loads of 4 wheel drives- many with no tow bar. Should be illegal

Now now. &nbsp;There's plenty of decent reasons for a 4x4 not to have a towbar. &nbsp;Normal civvie towbars need to stick out below the chassis which seriously reduces your departure angle and acts a a very good ground anchor if you dig it in, and the damage can be expensive. &nbsp;So you either need to remove it before you do any serious offroading or raise the trailer to NATO heights and bolt the towbar to the chassis (and possibly go the whole hog and fit a NATO hitch too).

[Adrian Kelland]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (rasilon @ July 04 2003,11:44)]

Now now.  There's plenty of decent reasons for a 4x4 not to have a towbar.  Normal civvie towbars need to stick out below the chassis which seriously reduces your departure angle and acts a a very good ground anchor if you dig it in, and the damage can be expensive.  So you either need to remove it before you do any serious offroading or raise the trailer to NATO heights and bolt the towbar to the chassis (and possibly go the whole hog and fit a NATO hitch too).

And how many of these do 'serious offroading' rather than taking little Tarquin and Jemmima the 400 yards to school ?    Maybe 1 in a 1000, probably less. There even used to be a Hummer around Notting Hill, ridiculous.

No towbar - fair enough when a 4x4 is used as a 4x4 offroad. What are the other decent reasons not to have one, apart from never towing? I would like to know, I only drive a car so there are likely to be 4x4 issues I am not aware of.

I would love to have a 4x4 (apart from the cost &amp; fuel consumption). Then maybe I could see over the boat I am towing when I have to reverse to make space for the incompetent 'forwards only' drivers in the county roads of the South Hams. I can't blame them when they tow a caravan, but those who have more manouvrabilty than me are a damn pain in the arse when they can't/won't use it. Goes for all cars of course, not just 4x4s. I would love to see their faces when they meet the local giant tractors or a milk lorry. They stop for nobody!

Rant over - for now  

Adrian

[markg]

<font color='#000F22'>i've got a proper 4x4 (old trooper) with a towbar, never got stuck coz of it yet and 4x4 gets well abused
just need a boat to tow now

[rasilon]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Adrian Kelland @ July 03 2003,14:07)]
And how many of these do 'serious offroading' rather than taking little Tarquin and Jemmima the 400 yards to school ? &nbsp; &nbsp;Maybe 1 in a 1000, probably less. There even used to be a Hummer around Notting Hill, ridiculous.

Well yes, I was just pointing out that it is possible to own a 4x4 without a towbar and not be a twat, notwithstanding that sutch are probably the minority.

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Adrian Kelland @ July 03 2003,14:07)]
No towbar - fair enough when a 4x4 is used as a 4x4 offroad. What are the other decent reasons not to have one, apart from never towing? I would like to know, I only drive a car so there are likely to be 4x4 issues I am not aware of.

Plenty doesn't necessarily mean that I can think of more than one... But having known a few people damage their rear crossmembers quite badly, I'm not going to take the piss if people take them off offroad.

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Adrian Kelland @ July 03 2003,14:07)]
I would love to have a 4x4 (apart from the cost &amp; fuel consumption). Then maybe I could see over the boat I am towing when I have to reverse to make space for the incompetent 'forwards only' drivers in the county roads of the South Hams. I can't blame them when they tow a caravan, but those who have more manouvrabilty than me are a damn pain in the arse when they can't/won't use it. Goes for all cars of course, not just 4x4s. I would love to see their faces when they meet the local giant tractors or a milk lorry. They stop for nobody!

&nbsp;There are many drivers who could do with an attitude adjustment. I hate driving through London (and there is no way I'm taking the landie into the middle, anything inside the circle line and I can get there quicker on foot), but the look of shock on peoples faces when someone in London (ie. me) is polite is priceless. (And the resulting confusion gets me through quicker.)

[rasilon]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (markg @ July 03 2003,14:22)]i've got a proper 4x4 (old trooper) with a towbar, never got stuck coz of it yet and 4x4 gets well abused

When I say &quot;4x4&quot;, you can usually assume I mean Landrover. &nbsp;If I recall correctly, the trooper has a sensible civvie towbar, mounted on the rear bumper. &nbsp;Landy civvie towbars look a bit like they released the vehicle then went &quot;towbar, oh shit, we need one of them don't we&quot; and bolted on something that could be used to plow fields.

[john]

hows the trip going???

[Andy Phillips]

Hi,

All is fine, spoke to the skipper on Monday, been meaning to phone him re; accomodation, will post tomorrow with pricing.

I have had to send a deposit for the boats so will need to get some money back soonish

Andrew

[Mr T.]

Hey Andy,

Sorry mate, gonna have to bail on this gig I'm afraid &nbsp; &nbsp;Thought I'd let ya know before you started asking for deposits etc.

Enjoy the trip all - and please do L-O-N-G and detailed dive reports in order that you can rub the salt in further!

[Tim Ingmire]

Right, being the owner of a new tent and having tried it out in Angelsey I all for camping. &nbsp;Its a two bedroom tent jobbie so can accomodate 1 other - Steve W, wanna share? &nbsp;Actually as we're both be making the same trip do you want to share cars? &nbsp;Let me know.

So can anybody recommend a good campsite local to the points of departure?