Baystate Jeepers

Hey all it was great catching up with some familiar faces yesterday and meeting some new ones ( Brendan & Gary) Apologies to those I did not have an opportunity to introduce myself to.

There were many good points brought up yesterday regarding membership / waiting list etc. I had a thought last night, and forgive if this topic has been discussed in the past but, have we ever considered a buddy system or something similar for new members / Jeepers?

Having just completed my first year as a member but having had Jeeps for decades I was quite comfortable introducing myself and discussing the various ones and mods I had made. I think if I was new to the club ( although everyone I have met was awesome when I introduced myself) and unfamiliar with my Jeep it may have been a little overwhelming.

I thought that if new members linked up with another member it may add a level of comfort and a familiar face during rides and functions and encourage more activity and attendance. It could be something as easy as similar Jeep models ( JK,TJ,YJ,CJ etc) location or simply level of experience .

I know that we all have different levels of comfort when it comes to meeting people or the first time you get out on a trail. Maybe being that familiar face at a run or the person that answers a question for someone who may not want to post on the forum will lead to another person staying with the club, enjoying more functions and paying it forward to other future members?

Just a thought.

I like your idea.

At the meeting I sat at a table full of either new guys (being one myself) or guys who are second year members. Considering there was 6 members at my table not one person had ever made an event? Their concerns? Their Jeeps weren't built enough or set up to off-road. They really worried about not having lockers, lifts, bigger tires, etc.. and I totally get this. There is so much media out there showing big $$$ builds being thrashed in Field & Forest like settings with no concern for body damage or broken axles. I can see why they feel the way they feel but there must be something in them that drove them to want to wheel their Jeeps? They applied for membership and paid a few bucks to join an off-road Jeep club didn't they? But at some point they became overwhelmed by it all.

I would break it down to a few things I think.
- First (and my own worst enemy) is fear of trying something new with people you don't know. They might not know how to drive off road, they're doing it with a bunch of people who in their minds are all experts, they don't want to embarrass themselves in front of others and they are just not sure what to expect and that causes anxiety.

- Unsure about the trails and requirements to do them. I didn't know what to expect the first time I traveled out to Western MA to hit a couple trails out there. I went with the guys from Offroad Elements and four or five other Jeeps. They were all fairly built and locked. Big tires, coil over lifts, armor like crazy and all had been out to the trails multiple times and that was evident from the body damage. I started comparing my build to theirs and had some concerns. Turns out my Jeep did perfectly fine. Some people use lockers to get up a ledge. Others use momentum and driver skill.. that day was momentum day for me. But when I look back on that day I think about how much I worried about my Jeep and could it do what these other Jeeps could. I shouldn't have because everyone there was ready to drop everything to help you safely get over an obstacle. And those same people are also the first to tell you when to take a bypass. I am locked now but a good spotter and a good line gets even a stock Sport over some amazing things.

-It's too easy to join the club. I've been in a few clubs and still am. They are either more expensive or have a process that you need to go through to become a member. One requires a minimal yearly commitment or they won't renew your membership. I think it weeds out the people who just have a spare $50. I think with some polishing up the probationary period is a decent idea. I also would consider requiring an applicant to make an actual trail ride before accepting membership. There's one other local Jeep Club in MA that you have to make a trail ride and then your membership is voted on. I'm not necessarily suggesting that but it is something another local Club does.

So how do you fix it? How do you create more Community within the club so that more people want to be committed to making events? How do you get people to take their Jeeps off road? How do you ensure that the people that enter the club will actually be an active part of the club?

I think you could use some better trail write ups showing build requirements. Maybe they're there and I just haven't found them. But the people at my table seem to think every trail required a locker or skid plates or big tires or a lot of lift, etc, etc.. It seemed to stop them from wanting to try to make an event.

Make the club more sociable. I don't mean throw big parties or have tons of non Wheeling gatherings but do certain things at events that requires members to get together. Again I like the big brother idea that's going around. If you throw a new member an existing members Jeep for a ride you've basically got an instant friend. You also get experience on what to expect, how to tackle certain obstacles, and how Baystate Jeepers work a trail day. Once you get over that anxiety of what it's like to off-road in the club setting I think people will be more likely to hop in their own Jeeps and participate in the next event.

Just some thoughts about my past experience and what I saw from the members at my table. It seems a lot of them forget they're driving a Jeep. The most capable off-road vehicle in stock form to ever exist. And that's mostly because they're surrounded by people who've taken that capable vehicle and built the crap out of it!

In years past the club use to distribute descriptions of each of the locations we wheel to give members an overview of what the trail was like, trail rating #, it's major obstacles, recommended/required equipment, etc. Also distributed was a copy of the trail rating system so one knew what a generally what "6" rated trail was.
Might be something the club should bring back and post along with the event schedule.

Kurt wrote:In years past the club use to distribute descriptions of each of the locations we wheel to give members an overview of what the trail was like, trail rating #, it's major obstacles, recommended/required equipment, etc. Also distributed was a copy of the trail rating system so one knew what a generally what "6" rated trail was.
Might be something the club should bring back and post along with the event schedule.

The Rating system and Obstacle types on the trail, with a minimum vehicle recommendation, would be great (even put trail ratings on the schedule would be a help). Me being a 2nd year, I still get trails and ratings confused...

I know first hand the new director of trails is working on fixing and improving the information.

MDSRACING398 wrote:I know first hand the new director of trails is working on fixing and improving the information.

Well that deserves a big

One more thing we aren't mind readers, if we don't know what's wrong we can't fix it or atleast try. Please speak up if there is a question. If your embarrassed or don't want to in public please email or pm me and I will try to address it. Mds2450@msn.com or pm here. No question is stupid if it's something that you need answered. Everybody was the new guy at one point. Mark

Richl35 wrote:

MDSRACING398 wrote:I know first hand the new director of trails is working on fixing and improving the information.

Well that deserves a big

Hells Yes!!

Thanks for the props!!! As Mark mentioned, I am working on the property info as well as some other things I hope everyone will like.

Good write up Rich. Thank you.

Thank you Cassandra for the work you are doing.

Just to add to Rich's post. Most of that stuff happens on the runs we go on. But if you don't go you will never find out. How can you judge what it's going to be like if you don't try? Did you buy your jeep without driving it? Just go by what you read or were told? No you tried it out!

This got brought up last year too. "All we see is pictures of jeeps flipped over or wheels in the air." Well who wants to take a picture of a dusty trail? When watching highlights of sports do they show routine plays? or just the spectacular stuff!

Everyone in this club is here to help out. But we cant pick you up and bring you there. At the 101 you will probably see a lot of built jeeps does that mean you don't fit in NO it means they wanted more out of there jeep. Which you may decide you want or may decide you like the way it is. My jeep has been thru Field and Forest but also goes on class 6 roads and so do a lot of others. Its a jeep wheeling club with a little for everyone. Get out there and try it! Stop over thinking it!

This^^^^^^

I rode my first few runs, loved every minute of it, when I was ready to get my jeep out there one of the members offered to help me put some parts in that she needed, and well we found a lot worse. Between the build and life I spent a lot of time riding, I still enjoyed it, and learned from great members while doing it. Made my first time offroad with her that much more enjoyable.

Get out and play, even if that means just being in the pass seat.

Here is proof a stock jeep can do anything! Lol

MDSRACING398 wrote:Here is proof a stock jeep can do anything! Lol

20160820_082618-640x640.jpg

Wasnt that a stock jeep going thru Rausch on some not so friendly trails too?