Anyone here a member of Northern Califonia Land Rovers?

[1leglance]

I was just contacted through Disabled Explorers by a lady who owns a Rover and her husband is disabled.
They want to go camping and I would to work with their local club so they have a solid support system after I leave.
If you are a member or know someone who is please let me know.
Thanks
Lance

 

[Ultraviolet]

shoot mike mcclung an email at astateofmike at yahoo.com . he is a buddy of mine and a super cool dude. i'm sure he will be willing to help. he is the sec.of the nclrc...

 

[yubert]

Ronct110 is a NCLR member and a member of the Board of Directors.

You might also want to post this request on http://lrrforums.com because it seems there are quite a lot of NCLR members on there.

 

[Ronct110]

Thanks Yubert.

Lance, let me know how I can help. Was not clear to me if this lady is a current member or looking to be a member.

I know of a new club member nick name J** who has a disabled spouse; wondering if it's the same person; she joined our recent 4x4/camping trip for the first time w/kids in tow - however w/o the spouse. Had a great time she said, but my guess would very much wanted to include her spouse next time.

I was wasn't aware of this till she shared with us during camp fire.

We welcome any advice on how our club can be more supportive or what should we be including in our trip planning to be more accommodating.

Our next club trip is a 4x4/snow camping up in the Sierra National Forest/Shaver Lake area in Feb 2011. We also have tentative trips scheduled to Black Rock in NV, Oregon Trail, Rubicon, Baja among others.. next year.

I think J** signed up for the upcoming snow trip, and if it's the same person, I would guess would very much like to include her spouse on that adventure.

PM me if you have any questions. Like Yubert said, LRRForums is a site dedicate to LR owners, forum to post/discuss DIY repairs, keeping our LRs running, etc... and all other topics. But here's our club site: http://nclrclub.org/forum/content.php - if you want to be a guest, let me know and can help grant you access.

Regards,

Ron

 

[DarthBeaver]

I am member of the NCLR Club as well. I have not been able to go on any trips yet due to scheduling issues. However, I will say they are a very supportive group and very VERY welcoming.

I ran in to three members in various places from the LR dealership to camping at our annual guys trip and every time the interactions were fantastic. So I joined!

Now I just need to actually go on a trip!

 

[Ronct110]

I am member of the NCLR Club as well. I have not been able to go on any trips yet due to scheduling issues. However, I will say they are a very supportive group and very VERY welcoming.

I ran in to three members in various places from the LR dealership to camping at our annual guys trip and every time the interactions were fantastic. So I joined!

Now I just need to actually go on a trip!

I like your user name and Avatar! DarthBeaver. Good one!

In my next life, I will use OBDI-Kenobi as my user name. A true Jedi Knight w/a Land Rover error code reader. Lol. Good to hear from you here Michael.

 

[1leglance]

Great info guys...
Ron,
Yes the person in question is the lady you mentioned. She is currently camping with her kids as their rig can't take the husband along as much as he would like to go.
So the easiest way to get things rolling for them is for me to come out there with the Sportsmobile WAVE and get the entire family out with you guys.
I have the Espar diesel heater setup in the van but not sure if the rest of the time might not be too cold for him in Feb at Shaver Lake....I will ask.
I have learned that a Fri-Sun trip is max for someone's first time out so it might be that we either have to setup a weekend just for them or see what works.

Overtime is way down at the hospital so I would need some fundraising help from your club if possible. I try my hardest to never make the disabled pay for an outing.
If we joined you guys at Shaver Lake maybe we can raffle some stuff off or come up with some idea. I could reach out to some biz folks in the Rover world for raffle items if that helps.


What is better from your perspective? To have a planning thread here, on your club forum (less overall attention) or on the LRRForum?

Once I have gone out with them on a short trip it is easier to help them figure out a solution that fits their needs. Be that trailer, new vehicle or ???

Looking forward to any and all ideas. I will ask the lady in question & her husband to join here so they can learn from what is already in the Disabled Explorers section and join in the planning.

Thanks for all the help, and there will be a need for more, even if it is just moral support to help encourage them to get outdoors.

 

[astateofmike]

Lance,

Sorry I am just chiming in....been rather busy I admit. Glad to see Ron on as well, as he is the NCLR VP/Director of Affairs and I am only the Treasurer now.....haha. J** and I (she is a new member) spoke at length about her camping/husband and the idea of bringing him along (as the NCLR is a great group of people that would make that happen) during our last little swap meet. I mentioned reading about you/your group and all the wonderful things I read and suggested she contact you all for some advice/help/ideas. Glad to see she did.

I mentioned that we need to get him out for a local wheeling trip (like to an OHV park Hollister Hills) to find out if the vehicle they currently own (LR3) is comfortable enough for him to ride in for some time and this location would also allow for the needed Hoyer lift to be brought along to attempt entry/exit. If the vehicle won't work, then other considerations must occur. The thing J** and I talked about was the amount of equipment and if a trailer or a new vehicle was the way to go. I am not positive, as I have yet to do the Shaver snow run, but after talking with J**, the snow may create issues with cold/equipment that would really limit the ability to see how possible the whole endeavour will be. Now, I am just thinking out loud.....glad to hear all ideas to help a fellow adventurer get out into the wilds!

My part was passing along what info I had to help one more family get out and do things they love...let me know how I can help. Ron, whatever it is, I or we are in! As for fund raising, I think we could find a way to make that happen!

 

[Disco2Guy]

Hi Lance, my name is Brenton, and I'm a Director with NCLR as well. I'm also the trip/trail leader for the upcoming Shaver Lake snow run this February. Let's talk some more and work out what's needed for you and our new member to make the trip possible for everyone. I've been on the Shaver trip for the past couple of years and can answer any questions as to what can be expected. We do have a thread on NCLR's site. Currently the trip the is in the gauging interest stage, and will move to the official signup stage after the New Year.

 

[RoverJen]

Hi,
I'm so impressed by everyone's willingness to help, a little overwhelmed even.

I do plan to come on the Shaver Lake trip, but I don't think this is the right trip for Paul. He got massively stuck in the mud on his wheelchair at our boys' soccer tournament in November and it was not fun for him. I'd rather have him join us on a trip where it's a little more dry. He has a 'sport' wheel chair (power chair) for playing power soccer that does better on packed dirt or roads. I know he would want to be part of the whole camping experience, and I fear a campground that has snow, or melted snow would end up with him getting stuck.

I'm currently trying to coerce one of my friends into coming with me for Shaver Lake (and coerce Paul into watching the boys by himself for the weekend- that's the tougher sell!)

I'll take a look at the NCLR year long trip plans and my school calendar and see if we can't find one to start planning for. Thank you to all who have responded with their willingness to help, I really appreciate it!
Jen

 

[1leglance]

You guys rock!

I invited Jen & Paul (names are ok at this point) to join here on expo and read all the Disabled Explorers post and those by other disabled overlanders....

Just so everyone knows how DE normally works when someone is local:
1) Someone makes contact & we talk a bit by phone/email so I understand their disability, their travel desires, and their families feelings about it all.
2) I visit them at home so they can try moving around in the van, we can check out all the equipment, and make sure they have realistic expectations.
3) We do a short day trip so they can test out the rig & their stamina (it is a lot more work for the disabled usually)
4) If they like the day trip then we go to easy overnighters
5) Then comes multi-day trips.

BUT this is a unique situation, our participants in this case are 800 miles away.

I like the idea of something local to them, I don't know Hollister or any of the area at all.
But if there is something like that where we can do a day trip that can turn into an overnighter if all is well. That is much closer to them than Shaver Lake.
A little Google Mapping shows Hollister as 2 hrs away from the Bay Area, that could be perfect.

The Sportsmobile WAVE is big enough to allow their family of 4 to all go out together and have a great time, if they enjoy it then we can start bending the creative minds to figuring out long term solutions.

thanks for all the help.

 

[1leglance]

Ha Jen,
You were posting at the same time I was

Just for Paul's sake and everyone else's, I will be bringing this puppy out on a trailer for Paul to play with.
6-8hrs on a charge and we can field charge it each night

 

[RoverJen]

That is one tough looking chair! I will show to Paul as soon as he gets home. I'm sure he'll be stoked.

I'm looking at the NCLR trips in spring, sort of looking for So Cal, as I've lived in California for 11 years now and really have only driven through (on the 5) So Cal, on my way to other places...

 

[1leglance]

One thing I noticed in reading about the Shaver Lake trip, is that there are cabins on site.
Since the Sportsmobile WAVE can transport 6 when a chair user is driving and 7 if they are not driving (riding in their chair) there is an option of attending.

Matter of fact if Jen & Paul really wanted to go crazy on Jen could drive the LR3 and Paul can drive the WAVE so they BOTH can wheel....that doesn't happen often with couples
The kids can hop between rigs and tell each parent how much better the other is

The Action Trackchair was made for mud, snow and ugly stuff.
A cabin would make the family sleeping easy if they WAVE didn't look like it would work.

If there is 1 thing I have learned between my day job as an ICU RN and running Disabled Explorers is to be creative in finding solutions.

It would be great if I could get a userID for the NCLR forum with DisabledExplorers as the username....just to be able to join in any talk there.

As far as fundraising goes....yeah a nasty subject but the reality of it all...
Mileage from Phoenix to San Fran is 800 each way, so 1600 total @ 15mpg = 106 gal @ $3.50/gal = $375 in fuel, plus the mileage either to Hollister (200 mi roundtrip) or Shaver (500 mi roundtrip)
So that brings the fuel part to either $420 for Hollister or $490 for Shaver Lake.

Insurance is around $5000 a year to let disabled folks drive a $115,000 RV, yeah ouch.
So I figure around $500 an outing spreading that across the year.

Then I normally pick up picnic supplies for a day trip or shop with the participant if an overnighter/multi-day. Depending on their income either I cover that cost or they chip in.

Of course this doesn't factor in maintenance, vehicle wear & tear, all those numbers I really should add to the equation. But yeah as the founder I figure I am already the primary donor so I only have myself to argue with

I am leaving in a few minutes for a Disabled Explorers day trip north of Phoenix but I will keep an eye on this thread so we can make cool things happen.

 

[Disco2Guy]

Hi,
I'm so impressed by everyone's willingness to help, a little overwhelmed even.

I do plan to come on the Shaver Lake trip, but I don't think this is the right trip for Paul. He got massively stuck in the mud on his wheelchair at our boys' soccer tournament in November and it was not fun for him. I'd rather have him join us on a trip where it's a little more dry. He has a 'sport' wheel chair (power chair) for playing power soccer that does better on packed dirt or roads. I know he would want to be part of the whole camping experience, and I fear a campground that has snow, or melted snow would end up with him getting stuck.

I'm currently trying to coerce one of my friends into coming with me for Shaver Lake (and coerce Paul into watching the boys by himself for the weekend- that's the tougher sell!)

I'll take a look at the NCLR year long trip plans and my school calendar and see if we can't find one to start planning for. Thank you to all who have responded with their willingness to help, I really appreciate it!
Jen

I agree with you Jen. The campsites at Shaver are on a hill and the snow needs to be packed down to setup tents. We also have to build a staircase down to the firepit. On the trail, a lot of time is spent getting unstuck, waiting for someone ahead of you to get unstuck, and shoveling. Over 8-9 hours you'll travel, maybe, 3 miles on the trail. The whole trip is a different kind of fun, you just have to be prepared for it.

It sounds like Hollister would be the best place for you to test out offroading and camping with Paul. You can get to know the park ahead of time in the LR3 so when the WAVE is there it'll be easier to know what to expect and how far you want to go in terms of difficulty. It's also much closer (in terms of trail conditions) to almost all other trips the club does.