Our History...

The All Terrain 4WD Club (AT4) was first established in 1998, formed from the desire of its' founding members wanting to take part in competitive 4wd events.

Phil Hammond (the club’s first life member) was the man who got the ball rolling by getting all of the official paperwork and associated forms completed and lodged. Those founding members were;

Phil Hammond, Duncan Scott, Frank White, Alan Paviour-Smith, Stuart McIntosh, Glen Marshman, Rob Turner, Mal Rea, John John Robinson & Bill Lai.

The AT4 club quickly became a force to be reckoned with on the competition scene regularly taking out individual and teams honours at events such as the combined clubs Jamboree, the Woodpecker Gully Challenge (as a point of interest, the Woodpecker event started as an inter-club competition between the On All 4’s Club and the All Terrain Club!) and the Nissan Trials. With drivers like John-John Robinson, Duncan Scott and Mal Rea, it was little wonder they cleaned up!
 
As the club began to grow so did its' profile and soon its' position as one of Australia’s premier 4WD clubs would be cemented in history. The AT4 club was invited to run an event in the annual NSW 4WD Clubs Association’s Jamboree. This event would be known as the All Terrain event, a very appropriate title indeed! The All Terrain event soon became the most hotly contested event at the Jamboree’s and it usually provided the highlights for not only the competitors but also the spectators. The natural progression for the club then was to stage its own competition...

TUFF TRUCK was born!!

In 2001 the All Terrain 4WD Club held the very first Tuff Truck Event which was loosely based on the American Top Truck Challenge. As you all know Tuff Truck was a wild success. The club had estimated that around 1500 people would be required to make the event break even but approximately 5000 paying customers attended the event!! The success bought about the need to form a company and Tuff Events and Promotions was born. Tuff Events ran the 2002 Tuff Truck (with of course AT4 playing the major role) which again, was a huge success. Unfortunately it was insurance issues that forced the 2003 and 2004 TTC’s not to go ahead and in late 2004 Tuff Truck Events and Promotions was sold to the consortium that ran the 2005 event.

The Present & Beyond...

Over time AT4 has experienced a healthy and positive change in the demographics of it membership and, even though we still proudly maintain a very strong participation in 4wd competitions and events, we have evolved into a very friendly, social, family orientated club with the bulk of our membership now made up of young families.

The club trips that we undertake are a reflection of this and we strive to run as many trips as possible throughout the entire year. This is what joining the All Terrain 4WD club is all about. Be it driving challenging 4wd tracks with fellow club members in a safe and proper manner as you constantly test your ability as a driver and fine tune your recovery skills or just simply camping out with fellow club members, family and friends on an enjoyable and scenic 4wd trip around the local area, state or country.

At least once a month club members will run a trip which can be anywhere from just a single days' drive right thru to overnight trips which can be anywhere from 2 days to 3 weeks! We enthusiastically run B and A+ grade trips for the many of us who enjoy the harder type tracks which can sometimes promise a good deal of panel damage combined with plenty of winching and the odd mechanical breakage. These are trips on which the AT4 club and its' traditions were built on and there are always plenty of club members keen to come along whenever they are run.

However, we also run a large number of easier grade trips where a good degree of 4wd skill is still required but where you and your family can easily take your off-road camper trailer in tow and enjoy the historic sights and natural wonders of whichever trip you're on, relishing in the fact that once you've setup camp you can sit back and relax with your fellow club members, drinking, eating and chatting about the days events whilst the kids all happily play together.

As a responsible 4wd club, we strongly believe in the welfare of our wonderful native bushland and, as such, we are proudly working with the NPWS by voluntarily assisting in the mass removal of Lantana weed in the Maroota Ridge State Conservation Area in north west Sydney. Click here for more information.

AT4 is an active member of the NSW & ACT 4WD Association Inc and we partake in the many events that they run to help raise awareness and educate people on the benefits of joining a 4wd Club. Some of these events include the Greater Sydney Region Combined Clubs Annual 4wd Expo held at Penrith, Kids Race Day where underprivilieged and disabled kids are taken for rides in 4wds and donations and made to raise money to assist with their needs and 4wd Association Fundraiser Weekends where clubs come together for a social weekend of camping, 4wding, kids activities, triva nights and fundraising for charities.

AT4 pride ourselves on our laid-back environment and ensure that the principals the club was built on, remain. That is, everyone gets a fair go. If you are looking to join a club, are new to the scene and wish to improve your skills, or are just looking for a bunch of like-minded folks to go driving with, come check out the All Terrain 4wd Club.

Our General Meetings are held monthly (except January) on the first Wednesday of every month at Windsor Bowling Club, located on Tebutt St, Windsor (carpark entrance off George St). See the map below for more info. The meetings kick off at 7.30pm. All are welcome regardless of vehicle type and your own level of experience as the club caters for all levels of ability. We recommend you come along to a meeting and have a friendly chat with us and if you like what you see then come along with us on one of the many trips that we run. Also check out our Photo Gallery which shows all our trips, 4wd comps and 4wd events that we do.

Please note that vehicles classed as "soft roaders" like Toyota Rav 4's and Nissan Xtrails etc are not Four Wheel Drives and, as such, are definitley not suitable for our club trips.

Before you can join the AT4 club we ask you to attend three (3) General Meetings and three (3) Club Trips (one of which must be an overnight trip), just to see if what we are all about is going to suit you and your idea of a good time off-road. Our club fee is $75 per annum, and an initial joining fee of $175 which includes your partner and kids too. For your money you will not only be a part of one of Sydney’s most successful 4WD Clubs, but you also receive two AT4 Club shirts and AT4 Club stickers for you to proudly display on your vehicle. We also sell club hats, stubbie holders and often do ordered purchases of club hoodies, beanies, jumpers, comp shirts and the like.

We hope to see YOU at our next meeting!

Charles Bottemanne - President