Reefton 4wd Challenge - Sponsorship by Hampidjan [October 2009]

There were 18 teams of 3 trucks from all over New Zealand, but mostly the South Island with some from as far south as Invercargill, plus all the marshals and their trucks so it was quite an event.  The standard of trucks has gone up considerably since I first took part three or four years ago (with wire rope on my winch) and inevitably it has become more competitive though Andrew Satherley, the organiser, has tried to keep it as a fun event for club trucks by restricting tyre sizes, but it is a losing battle..   I was in a team with the two oldest trucks competing - a 1983 Toyota FJ40 and my 1982 Nissan Patrol, both with the original 4 litre petrol engines.  We had a lot of fun though the FJ40 found one of the river crossings a bit much as you can see from the photo below.  He has one of your ropes but it did not help him here!  The 2nd picture however does show the sort of conditions in which the winches and ropes were used to the maximum though the photo has flattened the slope considerably.  All our team bottomed out here and the winches had to drag the trucks uphill with the differentials and springs dragging on the mud.  Although I am continuously surprised at how well these old trucks go they do have trouble in deep rutted tracks where they get caught up on their leaf springs.  This puts a real strain on the truck, winch and rope during extraction.   There were a few rope breakages, due in my opinion to people running too thin a rope.  The maximum breaking strain is useful as a guide but you need a substantial factor of safety to allow for the harsh conditions such as we encountered at Reefton where the mud and sand seem particularly abrasive.  The last photo shows my winch with one of your ropes which I use for everyday use and which is still in excellent condition after a couple of years of hard use.  This winch can pull in excess of 12,000lbs.  I use the fire hose (turned inside out) to protect the rope when winching over banks etc.   If you or any of your staff would like to see your ropes in action and to drive, or be driven over, some challenging tracks on a property owned by one of the more enthusiastic members of the Marlborough 4wd Club you would be most welcome.   We have hosted several local businesses there and they have thoroughly enjoyed themselves.    Kind regards   David V Selby.