I don't have much wheelin experiance and was wondering if there are any trails close to san jose that would be good for me to get some experiance on. Post the name and location if you could please. Thanks.

The closest place to learn is Hollister Hills SVRA , about 1.5 hours south of San Jose. It's an excellent place for a novice to gain experience and become comfortable with the operation and handling of a 4WD vehicle.

Another place where you can engage the transfer case is Carnegie OHV park in Livermore, but it's rather like a mall parking lot when compared against Hollister.

"I don't have much wheelin experiance and was wondering if there are any trails close to san jose that would be good for me to get some experiance on. Post the name and location if you could please. Thanks."

My suggestion would be to go on Sunday with Huey and the club. I went on this trip as a rookie last year and it was awesome. Huey does a great job of guiding you through the tough spots and teaching you how to have fun and be safe. He will try to keep you out of trouble as long as you follow what he says. Going with a club is the best way to start especially with Huey leading because if you need help, they all pitch in. I would be there, but Church duty calls again.

Ya I've been thinking about going on that trip....it's pretty far away though. I'm also a little hesitant because we've only had the X for about a week, it's bone stock (still stock tires I believe), and I have little experiance. The last thing I want to do is damage it the first week we have it. I definitly want to hit a trip up w/ you guys though.

You'll find that most of the places to go wheeling for us bay-area folk are several hours away. It's the nature of our geography. Short of urban off-roading in parking lots or curbs, there's not a whole lot of places to use 4WD.

The trail that's being run is completely doable with a bone-stock Xterra. Last year we took a group of many stock X's on a trail that is much more difficult. The thing that prevented anyone from getting damaged was that they benefited from the advice and tips that the more experienced members provided.

Getting damage is more frequently caused by inexperience than by the actual trail difficulty.

We always welcome newcomers, and this trip is probably something that you will definitely enjoy. If you get really freaked out 'cause the trail seems too hard, you can always park your truck and hop in someone else's.