Choose your spotter carefully!
- Thread starter Rover Mac
- Start date
Good God, what a cluster.
I've been running that trail for over 10 years and I've never seen any shit like that.
I've been running that trail for over 10 years and I've never seen any shit like that.
p m said:
The Hill is very steep ,not my video but a RR with ARB's on the same obstacle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJGLTdSb-Gc
Surprised no one disconnected the battery on the jeep as the driver was still in the vehicle, or had a fire extinguisher on hand,, maybe thats just a LR thing considering their propensity to self combust.
When I say "servo"? There is NO time in which the driver of a vehicle being spotted should not be prepared to think for him or her self. When that truck adopted the attitude it had on the trail the driver should be prepared to stop progress and re-evaluate the intended line. It is correct that once a spotter is called for you relinquish the great majority of your decision making as pertains to where and how your vehicle negotiates a given obstacle - that's why you better choose you spotter carefully - but it DOES NOT divorce you from your brain!
Just to sum up everything that has pretty much already been said.
First off, establish what hand and arm signals you are going to use and what they mean exactly. When spotting, the driver solely relies on the spotter and essentially trusts him or her to get him through a specific piece of a challenging terrain.
Second, the hand and arm signals need to be precise and not mimic sign language. Corrections, stops, etc. need to be clearly demonstrated to ensure the driver is doing what the spotter wants him to do. If for some reason the driver does his own thing, the spotter needs to stop him right then and there and provide necessary corrections. For casual offroading speed is not of the essence, instead safety and avoiding damage to the vehicle/terrain are paramount IMO.
Third, spotter needs to be visible to the driver at all times and be cognizant of potential danger areas, i.e. truck rolling over him, falling off the cliff himself, etc.
Also, if the driver is relying on the spotter, he is to maintain a given line by the spotter, unless there is another correction made. Too many times you see a driver starting to do his own thing, although no additional corrections have been issued by the spotter.
The biggest issue in this scenario that I see is the total lack of clear cut communication between the driver and spotter, lack of understanding of what hand and arm signals mean, etc.
First off, establish what hand and arm signals you are going to use and what they mean exactly. When spotting, the driver solely relies on the spotter and essentially trusts him or her to get him through a specific piece of a challenging terrain.
Second, the hand and arm signals need to be precise and not mimic sign language. Corrections, stops, etc. need to be clearly demonstrated to ensure the driver is doing what the spotter wants him to do. If for some reason the driver does his own thing, the spotter needs to stop him right then and there and provide necessary corrections. For casual offroading speed is not of the essence, instead safety and avoiding damage to the vehicle/terrain are paramount IMO.
Third, spotter needs to be visible to the driver at all times and be cognizant of potential danger areas, i.e. truck rolling over him, falling off the cliff himself, etc.
Also, if the driver is relying on the spotter, he is to maintain a given line by the spotter, unless there is another correction made. Too many times you see a driver starting to do his own thing, although no additional corrections have been issued by the spotter.
The biggest issue in this scenario that I see is the total lack of clear cut communication between the driver and spotter, lack of understanding of what hand and arm signals mean, etc.
Choose you line carefully:
http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a7/petehanegan/?action=view¤t=MOV00167.flv
http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a7/petehanegan/?action=view¤t=MOV00167.flv
ill be on that trail in a week and a half. from watching all the you tubes of that drop i always thought you could straddle the 1st major rut (which she did well, which is where i thought the roll would be for some freak thing). That 1st rut which you cant see from that angle stuffs the drivers front making the pass rear get SUPER HIGH.
i missed it in real-time, but in SLOW MO she actually DID have her wheels pointed downhill (left) and the spotter convinced her otherwise. Her instincts were dead on.
she WOULD HAVE been fine.
i didnt trust that ass hole from the moment the video started. he was waving his hands like an idiot. CLEARLY not knowing what he was talking about.
from what i read, they're friends..... i hope she can forgive him when she watches that tape.....
i missed it in real-time, but in SLOW MO she actually DID have her wheels pointed downhill (left) and the spotter convinced her otherwise. Her instincts were dead on.
she WOULD HAVE been fine.
i didnt trust that ass hole from the moment the video started. he was waving his hands like an idiot. CLEARLY not knowing what he was talking about.
from what i read, they're friends..... i hope she can forgive him when she watches that tape.....
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Isn't that the hill that Ho drove down with Rebecca Grant when they shot the episode of Truck Stop?
added to my list of must run trails, of which the Z turn in Moab Rim seems to me to be a more worthy place to roll it..that looks well,i see a few lines, and I'll bet its far more doable with the right spotter
did no other rigs make it down?
I've ben on runs where riggs flipped, but that never stopped the next idiot from clearing the obstacle/making it down
atleast not when I am the spotter..
did no other rigs make it down?
I've ben on runs where riggs flipped, but that never stopped the next idiot from clearing the obstacle/making it down
atleast not when I am the spotter..
If there's really a serious danger of flipping, why not rig a few towstraps together and have another vehicle advance behind you up above the obstacle, in case you start to roll, that way you have a safety net?
i dont even know why there is a spotter there. you almost have to be trying to flip the rig to do so there. best wishes to everyone though.
Kris,knewsom said:
you have to see this place in person. Do a search on "heart attack hill anza borrego"
Peter - I agree, next time I'm in San Diego, I'll have to bring my Outback out there and check it out... 