My whole spring was spent building towards one target goal, obtaining my 4 wheel drive trainer certification from the International 4 Wheel Drive Association or I4WDTA. The I4WDTA provides a standards based professional training certification. The organization is not associated with any training company, if anything the Master Trainers are helping potential competitors in the off road training industry. There is also a focus on environmental stewardship so as to help maintain our collective access as off highway users to our public lands.

My preparation started in earnest once I applied for the certification class and was accepted. The requirements for certification include adult teaching experience, a first aid certification (Wilderness First Responder is recommended) as well as extensive knowledge on 4 wheel systems, driving and recovery.

My experience as an adult ski instructor was going to serve me well in teaching 4 wheel drive skills. As for the first aid requirement, I needed to get my Wilderness First Responder re-certification prior to the class. I accomplished this in late April in Moab.

With my acceptance in the certification program came with a list of recommended reading, make that highly recommended reading. This included books on many advanced 4 wheel and recovery topics as well as navigation and survival skills.  Much of my time this spring was taken up reading and re-reading these materials to help build my knowledge base.

May 7 finally rolled around and it was time to pack up and head to Grand Junction for the certification program and testing. Questions and information swirled through my mind as I headed over the Rockies: do I know enough, what are the differences between AWD, Full Time 4WD and Part Time 4WD, what are the parts of the Hi-Lift…and more. Well, I would soon find out.

We started the weekend with a meet and greet BBQ at Bill Burke’s home. We met our trainer/examiners for the weekend; Bill Burke, Chris Chole,  Dirk Nagel, Steven Haughey and Hugh Phillips. Two additional trainer/examiner would show in the days to come; Nena Barlow and Dave Pullin. Wow, what a lineup. I don’t know the combined years of experience with these folks, but I know it is more years than I am old…… We had been vetted by the organization and accepted and I am sure that our evaluation started that night at the BBQ.

After the meet and great my weekend started with getting camp setup in a vacant lot next to Bill’s house. Once ensconced in my tent the studying routine for the weekend began.

Thursday started at 5:00 AM with breakfast and additional reading prior to headed to the venue for the clinic. The training day started at 8:00 AM with class room sessions covering many of the topics from Adult Education to 4WD systems. To start the day we were handed a manual about 3.5 inches thick and informed that every thing we needed to know was in the document and that we needed to know it all! The classroom sessions where a chance for us to gain this knowledge and demonstrate what we already knew.

Once lunch was over it was time to head to the field for some practical sessions. Have you ever tried to change a tire without a jack with the truck stuck in a ditch? Well, it is not that easy, add the watchful eyes of the trainer/examiners, a time limit and the difficulty and pressure goes way up.

Did I mention pressure? Working under pressure is what they wanted to see. When challenged this way mistakes tend to happen and personalities tend to get in the way. Even though we made our share of mistakes, our group of 5 candidate trainers worked as if we had know each other for years. The day seemed to go well even though it was recommended that we continue as a study group after the session was done. This lead to dinner as a group then a study session until about 10:30.

We resumed Friday morning with additional classroom time then off to the field for the afternoon practical’s. Today was not the easy ride that Thursday was, high expectations were placed on us to know more and demonstrate that knowledge. We struggled through many of the practical exercises with on the spot quizzes. At the wrap-up at the end of the day we were bluntly informed that we were falling short and needed to amp up our game. Remember this is not a training session but an evaluation and exam!

Another meal together and a night session until midnight, I then headed back to the tent, dropped the tailgate on the trailer and continued to study all night. The next morning I felt I was ready for them to bring it on. I still had and have areas of knowledge that I need to fill in but I know what they are and did not have a problem stating that. We are not expected to know everything and being able to recognize what we don’t know is a quality that is appreciated. Did I say character is important in this process? Being honest with what you do and don’t know is very important in a training environment, don’t make it up.

We were ready and the final clinic day went much better. Another morning classroom session and then back to the field. Under the constant eye of the trainer/examiners we continued to practice and demonstrate. This included a challenging spot of Bill’s truck up an interesting little wash. The time limits and pressure to perform were still on. The trainer/examiners were clearly happy with our major effort over the last 12 hour to be better prepped for the day ahead.

Back to the classroom and a wrap up for the final day. Then off to study again. Sunday would bring the exams, both practical and written. With one all nighter under me I could not pull another so I studied and got about 4 hours sleep.

Back to the venue, feeling a little like a circular pattern? Like I stated, perform under pressure and show that your know you stuff. The written exam is everything it is chalked up to be, 200 questions, written, multiple choice and diagrams with 4 hours to finish. The studying paid off and I confidently completed the exam, not a 100% but a good score that showed I should be there. The exam verified that I need to continue my education in mechanical technologies and trail repairs.

For the practicals we were pulled from the exam and handed tasks to complete one-on-one with an examiner. The morning finished with a review board in front of all the examiners, more pressure to perform. For me it was a time to relax and be myself, or maybe just act relaxed… No one but me will know.

The pressure cooker is off the stove and wow, its done and I made it. Of the 5 Trainer Candidates, 2 of us were successful in attaining our trainer certification and the other 3 are now candidate trainers with additional time to study and then retest.

Need an I4WDTA trainer? Give me a call.

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