TECHTRICKSR
ecently I was at a
wicked old pub in
Lithgow enjoying a
cold one after a long
day of fi lming, when
I had the pleasure of meeting a
group of 4WDers who were
new to the scene and clearly
loving the thrill of their fi rst
weekend out on the Blue
Mountains tracks.
We got chatting and I asked,
what is it that draws the
younger generation into the
4WD scene? How much do the
reasons differ from the reason
we fi rst took our paddock
bashers out 20 years ago?
Number one was this...
Escaping the rat race.
You all know I’m a country
boy but with Sydney’s
population of over 5 million
people the constant desire toescape is obviously becoming
more and more prevalent.
Owning a 4WD gives people the
freedom to log off on a Friday
arvo, get in your car and within
a matter of hours be a long dirt
road away from building sights
and industrial areas. Back to
nature and sinking beers with
mates without distraction, and
often, phone reception.
For people that have
families, trading the
commodore wagon for a
capable 4WD also means
upgrading to the flexibility of
being able to take your family
to far more remote and
unique destinations than
most people will ever have
the opportunity to visit.
Aside from the flexibility of
deciding where you fall
asleep and not having to relyon booking a hotel or being
stuck with an itinerary,
another major factor was of
course cost.
Technology these days has
allowed 4WDers to share their
travels, campsites, tips and
budgets on social media,
giving new enthusiasts not
only a brilliant starting point
for their adventures, but a
great guide on how to trek
some tough trips on the cheap.
Another real benefi t of the
infl uence of social media on
the 4WD scene has been the
encouragement it gives to new
4WDers. Back in my day if I
took Shorty out and something
broke, I’d be pretty well
stuffed (not that Patrols ever
break right?). These days
there is so much how-to
information and assistanceGraham’s been thinking a lot lately about how technology has changed the face of 4WDing forever
WORDS BY GRAHAM CAHILLonline from the more
experienced 4WDers that the
newbies are much better
placed than we were to tackle
the hard tracks.
It was really refreshing to
get the perspective of these
blokes, and especially
encouraging to know that
although our reasons for
hitting the tracks are still
essentially the same, the
evolution of technology has
helped these young’n’s get
into 4WD driving and are now
well and truly sucking the
guts out of life!4WD TECHNOLOGYOUTBACK AND BEYOND
WWW.4WDACTION.COM.AU