mcgaskins
SILVER Star
What's the best mod you can to your 200? Improve your driving skills! Modern 4x4s are usually limited by the driver more than any other factor, and with how busy life gets it can be hard to make time to improve your skills and test your vehicle to see what it can really do. I'm fortunate to be a member of a top notch local Toyota 4x4 club called Rising Sun, and a couple of years ago the president Jackson aka @use2bn83 (also a guru at Slee who has designed some cool stuff that very well may be installed on your 200) put together an off road driver training weekend led by none other than the one and only Bill Burke. When I did the weekend training, I was skeptical I would get much out of it because I had already been wheeling for about 20 years and felt very confident in my skillset, but I learned a ton, made a bunch of new friends (including Bill), and had an absolute blast doing it.
For those of you who don't already know Bill, he is far more than an instructor or guide - he is a mentor and a steward of our hobby who literally spends his life empowering others and working to ensure people can enjoy the outdoors safely and responsibly so future generations can experience the joy we often take for granted. Bill is a humble guy so I won't brag on him too much, but he's done just about everything in the 4x4 world ranging from boots on the ground military experience, representing the USA in the Camel Trophy through Tanzania and Burundi, training some of our country's finest, and telling some of the best campfire stories while everyone enjoys a nice bourbon. I think the word "legend" or "legendary" gets tossed around too casually, but Bill definitely qualifies as a legend in the 4x4 world without a doubt.
I've trained with Bill several times now, and last time I floated the idea of getting a group of 200 series people together to learn how to improve driving skills, recovery skills, situational awareness, etc. He is a very busy guy as OEMs, government agencies, USFS, large corporations, private groups and more hire him throughout the year for training, but he said he could accommodate a group of 200 drivers this December in the Grand Junction, Colorado! I'm very excited to share this unique opportunity with the group, and I know anyone who attends will leave better prepared to spend time in the backcountry doing what we all love.
The purpose of this thread is to see who might be interested in joining, level of difficulty/breadth of training desired, etc., and we can nail down more specifics as it evolves. This will most likely be the weekend of December 4-6 and be in or near Grand Junction where Bill is located. In order to ensure a good experience for everyone (including being covid aware and safe), the event will be capped at a certain number of participants, but I will work with Bill to determine what number he feels comfortable with. There is a cost of course which will be determined by a few factors like event size and desired training topics (i.e. what mix of classroom vs field instruction), but I assure you the value received FAR outweighs the monetary cost. I will be paying the same amount as everyone else, so I'm not getting a freebie or anything for helping put this together. Investing in yourself, your skills and preparedness is far more important than just about any mod you can do to your truck, and regardless of your experience level you should never stop learning and growing. With that said, who is in?!
POST WITH DETAILS ON PRICE, DATES, LOCATION FOUND HERE: 200 series off road driver training
Bill's website: Bill Burke's 4-Wheeling America | Register for training and trips today!
The legend himself:
Bill coaching me through an endless mud pit:
Bill giving me tips on how not to roll his Range Rover (I didn't do it!):
For those of you who don't already know Bill, he is far more than an instructor or guide - he is a mentor and a steward of our hobby who literally spends his life empowering others and working to ensure people can enjoy the outdoors safely and responsibly so future generations can experience the joy we often take for granted. Bill is a humble guy so I won't brag on him too much, but he's done just about everything in the 4x4 world ranging from boots on the ground military experience, representing the USA in the Camel Trophy through Tanzania and Burundi, training some of our country's finest, and telling some of the best campfire stories while everyone enjoys a nice bourbon. I think the word "legend" or "legendary" gets tossed around too casually, but Bill definitely qualifies as a legend in the 4x4 world without a doubt.
I've trained with Bill several times now, and last time I floated the idea of getting a group of 200 series people together to learn how to improve driving skills, recovery skills, situational awareness, etc. He is a very busy guy as OEMs, government agencies, USFS, large corporations, private groups and more hire him throughout the year for training, but he said he could accommodate a group of 200 drivers this December in the Grand Junction, Colorado! I'm very excited to share this unique opportunity with the group, and I know anyone who attends will leave better prepared to spend time in the backcountry doing what we all love.
The purpose of this thread is to see who might be interested in joining, level of difficulty/breadth of training desired, etc., and we can nail down more specifics as it evolves. This will most likely be the weekend of December 4-6 and be in or near Grand Junction where Bill is located. In order to ensure a good experience for everyone (including being covid aware and safe), the event will be capped at a certain number of participants, but I will work with Bill to determine what number he feels comfortable with. There is a cost of course which will be determined by a few factors like event size and desired training topics (i.e. what mix of classroom vs field instruction), but I assure you the value received FAR outweighs the monetary cost. I will be paying the same amount as everyone else, so I'm not getting a freebie or anything for helping put this together. Investing in yourself, your skills and preparedness is far more important than just about any mod you can do to your truck, and regardless of your experience level you should never stop learning and growing. With that said, who is in?!
POST WITH DETAILS ON PRICE, DATES, LOCATION FOUND HERE: 200 series off road driver training
Bill's website: Bill Burke's 4-Wheeling America | Register for training and trips today!
The legend himself:
Bill coaching me through an endless mud pit:
Bill giving me tips on how not to roll his Range Rover (I didn't do it!):
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