Forum Activity and Wheeling Thoughts

#1
Doing a little web wheeling while I was waiting on a few drawing packages to download this lovely Monday morning and started thinking about wheeling trips for the rest of the year. Led down a rabbit hole to SFWDA website looking into Dixie Run... then to the membership page (which mine has lapsed)... and here was JohnG's quote when Hardline Crawlers did a group membership (which a lot of us contributed to). I always appreciated his outlook on four wheeling and enjoyed Shamrock Run's and the other rides I was fortunate enough to wheel with them. It's unfortunate that the forum activity is so low these days as it is a great connection for people who don't love Facespace.

"There are a lot of active people on the forums, but really not sure how many see a value in group membership. At age 57, I grew up in an era where you had clubs. Now with social media, that playing field has changed. Fraternities and many other organizations are affected the same way. Kids today, just do not see the need to group together and socialize the way mine and my parents generation did. That is one of the main reasons I like seeing SFWDA roll toward the newer platform."
-John G

With all of that said and my trip down memory lane....we all need to push harder to keep this forum and this group alive.
 

LBarr2002

LIFETIME
SUPPORTER
#2
I dont remember what group it was in now, but we had someone join here and then say yeah I joined but there's not much activity. My response was something along the lines of yeah, so go add content. It's not going to grow if we're not attracting new people, and they contribute.

I probably post things that nobody else cares about, but just trying to get content.

I feel a big part of the problem is the instant gratification of FB. Where the same question can be asked daily and get 50 responses, instead of searching for the answer in a forum that was answered in 2007 when the JK came out...
 

LBarr2002

LIFETIME
SUPPORTER
#3
We're also a very small portion of the offroading community. We're computer savvy, but were around before social media blew up. We remember the times when the only ways to share pictures/videos of trips was a forum or burning a CD.
 

LBarr2002

LIFETIME
SUPPORTER
#6
I still have CD’s labels River Rock pics and Harlan pics🤣
I'm sure I have a CD @Twilliamson made from Uwharrie, circa 2007. We met a group from ExplorerForum up there. Tripp took everybody's memory cards, compiled on the way home from the back seat, and mailed CDs out to few people.

The same trip that Tripp had this new fangled GPS navigation technology and insisted we use it instead of my printed Yahoo directions. It said to make a turn the print didn't, we turned, then lost signal. After a scenic trip, we somehow ended up at the Outpost.
 

LBarr2002

LIFETIME
SUPPORTER
#8
Those were different times for sure, I remember driving to Uwharrie, Tellico, River Rock, all with Mapquest printed directions in the jeep.
I remember meeting up with you at the apartment in Clemson to go somewhere (Windrock maybe?) and you ran back to print directions but forgot to print the inverse.
 
#11
I'm sure I have a CD @Twilliamson made from Uwharrie, circa 2007. We met a group from ExplorerForum up there. Tripp took everybody's memory cards, compiled on the way home from the back seat, and mailed CDs out to few people.

The same trip that Tripp had this new fangled GPS navigation technology and insisted we use it instead of my printed Yahoo directions. It said to make a turn the print didn't, we turned, then lost signal. After a scenic trip, we somehow ended up at the Outpost.
That was a good time for sure.
 
#12
I lurk around multiple forms these days. I don't have a dedicated wheeling rig anymore, and don't get out much. I know with a lot of other guys our age life has happened. Kids, marriages, moves, new hobbies all seem to get in the way. I never thought I'd give it up, and I haven't completely, but living at the coast now its much easier to hop in the boat, and go explore. I get the same feeling on the water as I did the trails. My biggest complaint was always dreading that 4-6 hour drive to Kentucky or Tennessee. I sure do miss that 3 hour ride to Tellico.

I still read my forums every day, and I learn new stuff about vehicles I never had any interest in. But life has changed drastically for me between career changes. I'll be back on the trails one of these days, OSCAR X would be a good homecoming for me, considering I haven't been on one since OSCAR 1.
 
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