lets start a new owners guide

[mindaugas]

This is the thread to form a new owners guide. Being a new owner, I came across several questions and to be honest, it's tough using search because of all the threads regarding the same issue. Here is the beginning of a list of topics we should include.

• Post known issues
• Mods and where to get them
• Specifications and other basic stuff, motor and maybe some history on it, TOD, oil capacity, sockets needed for a change, gas you should use, leather cleaner, etc
• Maintenance parts - pcv, filers, air filters
• Offroad stuff - tires, wheels, lift kits, boots, moab, all that jazz (videos of VX's doing awesome things)
• VX Terminology - "Search for ____"

I know I'm missing some stuff so I'm counting on you guys to fill it in. Why don't we post an outline of what we're looking for first. Then we can start arguing on the answers hehe, and gathering posts (ie vxkat :P )

So come at me with your suggestions to add to that list and I'll edit it. After all is said and done, we should be able to create a nice sticky for new owners, and obviously potential owners. However, I want to focus on people that have decided to purchase a VX, and what to do next

[atilla_the_fun]

http://vehicross.wikia.com/wiki/VehiCROSS_Wiki

[circmand]

This is the thread to form a new owners guide. Being a new owner, I came across several questions and to be honest, it's tough using search because of all the threads regarding the same issue. Here is the beginning of a list of topics we should include.

• Post known issues
• Mods and where to get them
• Specifications and other basic stuff, motor and maybe some history on it, TOD, oil capacity, sockets needed for a change, gas you should use, leather cleaner, etc
• Maintenance parts - pcv, filers, air filters
• Offroad stuff - tires, wheels, lift kits, boots, moab, all that jazz (videos of VX's doing awesome things)

I know I'm missing some stuff so I'm counting on you guys to fill it in. Why don't we post an outline of what we're looking for first. Then we can start arguing on the answers hehe, and gathering posts (ie vxkat :P )

So come at me with your suggestions to add to that list and I'll edit it. After all is said and done, we should be able to create a nice sticky for new owners, and obviously potential owners. However, I want to focus on people that have decided to purchase a VX, and what to do next

with learning the search function before trying to start anything that is already done or considered and opted against. It appears with all you want in there everything on the site would be under one thread and be very tedious to use. If you like you can do as others start a thread about your VX and keep a running list.

[Riff Raff]

This is the thread to form a new owners guide. I want to focus on people that have decided to purchase a VX, and what to do next

In regards to starting a New Owner's Guide-- LET'S NOT!!! Learn to use the search engine, and read as many postings as you can on VX.Info. This method will most likely answer all of your questions well beyond your expectations; and in addition, will make you a more educated VX'er overall.

I see you are brand new to this forum since only joining in Jan 2011. Initially as a new VX owner, you should focus on enjoying your newly acquired VX and checking the Oil Level often (preferably "cold" after sitting overnight to get the most accurate reading on the Oil Dipstick). Additionally, check the Oil Level each time when re-fueling and during long road trips.

As far as what to do next with your VX-- well, that will just come naturally over time. If you are trying to make the most mod's in the shortest amount of time; good luck. That record is held by fellow member "MARLIN"; and will likely never be broken, ever.

[mindaugas]

why is anyone against an organization of information? do we not catalog libraries and index books. come on...

the wiki is good!

[VXorado]

• Specifications and other basic stuff, motor and maybe some history on it, TOD, oil capacity, sockets needed for a change, gas you should use, leather cleaner, etc- already exist in one of the side tabs
• Offroad stuff - tires, wheels, lift kits, boots, moab, all that jazz (videos of VX's doing awesome things)- most of this is in the lift wiki

I'm not against your idea but I have to agree the search function works great. For specific information I think its a great idea to collect info & consolidate it...like the lift wiki in the how to section. I think an individual member researching & posting a thread of specific info is helpful, I don't think every member adding random info to a single thread will help new members very much.

Check out the lift wiki, all of that was posted & researched by one member and its very helpful.

[VX KAT]

I'm an organization freak, and I totally understand your desire to have some categorization & organization. But what everybody has said already is really pretty accurate...most everything is already on this great site.

Take some time to plunk around the site to get more familiar with what "How To's" and specs, manuals and other details are already categorized (not threads, but actual reference material/documents). Most are listed on the left or right column on the home page. I've been on this board for over 2 yrs....and LDub still keeps pointing out some reference info that I missed when I post certain things....so there's a ton of info and a lot to take in....

What I did might help you....
First, I set up an email folder for VX info. I copy and past the URL for each thread (or indiv. post) that I want to keep for reference. I send it to myself on email and put it int he VX mailbox folder.

I then further group things together or add more threads, and again send the collection of threads to myself on email. (Have you seen my posts where I list 8 or 10 threads about the the oil consumption issue? That's all neatly stored in an email folder I keep for the VX. I can pull it up in a few seconds.)

Secondly, I bookmark any thread or post I want to save. So I have a boatload of individual bookmarks by topic.

Thirdly, I print a TON of posts, put them in a 3-ring binder...usually pretty helter skelter, but sometimes I take the time to group them.

Yeah, there's some redundancy in what I do, but I end up using all three sources at various times.

Another piece of info that may help you...have you seen the VERY LONG 100+ questionnaire I put together about 2-3 weeks ago? It's not "finalized". We do have the shorter version we created last year, and Moncha just put that in it's own thread last week to make it easier to find & utilize. Going thru either of those questionnaires will help you identify areas you may want/need more info on. You can probably find the info, but doing a search on some of the words used in the questionnaire.

The ginormous questionnaire may never get "finalized", but it's still on the site in that thread in case some want to reference it. I call one the "short" version and the other the "long" version.....and see a different use for each.

When all else fails,....post a question, by all means, or send a PM.

[circmand]

why is anyone against an organization of information? do we not catalog libraries and index books. come on...

the wiki is good!

Putting everything in one thread is not organizing it. Like a library this site is well designed and organized. And like the library dewey decimal system you have to learn how to use it and not expect it to be reorganized to your particular preference. After all do you go the library and expect them to reorganize it as well?

[Grif]

The new thread idea is definitely bad. It will eventually get jacked and watered down and lose focus and then get lost in obscurity or the bowels of the archives just like every thread in every forum ever does.

A Wiki however is a totally different animal. Its a living web document with a simple rough outline that is easily navigated cross ref'd. It is concise and easily updated with new info without having to wade though prior posts that may be old info, corrected later or even corrected in different threads. The search function of most forums are horrendous, yes, eventually you may find your relevant info but only after reading far too much irrelevant, outdated or erroneous info. The how-tos, pics, grpahics and documents here are top-notch info, however those could be easily indexed and linked in the Wiki as well. Also any relevant forum posts for a given topic.

Wiki's are generally open for anyone to edit and correct, and while that policy can be a bone of contention, the consensus of the masses generally works out to provide accurate info. The Wiki serves as a quick index to information rather than a full forum site full of chatter, sob stories, smileys and witty banter. I think it would be a welcome addition.

And Kat, I find it amusing that the OP is asking for a creation of new user manual, and you protest by then describing the efforts you have gone through to do essentially the same thing for yourself.

Might it not be a good idea to put those organization skills to use for us all? Sounds to me you'd be a great Wiki editor.

[RickOKC]

Well, I'm a newbie of less than a year so I think establishing some kind of starting place is a terrific idea. My lack of knowledge regarding this site when I first joined vs. what it is today is still fresh on my mind. I also had the worry of parts availability and also just needed basic, general information about the VX. I'm the first to admit I really stink when it comes to picking the right keywords to get good results when I use search features. However, even when I did pick the right words, it was quite overwhelming due to the numerous results (plus having to wade through chit-chat and results that were simply referencing how information could be found in other topics after searching - kind of an information "loop"!)

I think having a concise, sticky-note primer would be very helpful. I agree that making it an encyclopedia is probably the wrong direction. Maybe have 15-20 root questions/topic that would also include how to find other information. Examples:

* 89Vette's topic I got the bug! contained MOST of the questions / concerns and answers I had when I seriously started shopping. Maybe some of the main items could be condensed.

* Links to the Owner's Manual, Parts Book, Workshop Manual and making people aware of the Download's section in general. Example of what that part of the tutorial might look like:

Various manuals can be found in the Downloads Section (shown in the left-hand column):
Owner's Manual
Parts Book
Workshop Manual
& more

* Absolutely MUST contain a link to The Questionnaire!

* A link to the "How To" section with a sentence describing what kind of things can be found there.

* A few contacts for parts: Merlin & the Isuzu Parts websites for example.

* "The Wheel" wouldn't necessarily have to be invented, so maybe just have a link to an oft-repeated, popular topic. Probably most of this should simply be a link to the most informative topic or post.

Like I said, building a complete encyclopedia is just "too much" but having nothing is "too little" considering how helpful it could be and that we would only have to do it once.

[vt_maverick]

Grif is right, if we're going to attempt this it makes much more sense to use a hierarchical wiki rather than a linear thread. I do worry that the time required to build something this significant (even if it's not an encyclopedia) might far surpass the amount of time it takes a new member to learn to use the search engine (even by trial and error).

I'll contribute to whatever we do, but maybe some historical research is warranted before we go off in any one direction.

Testing Waters: VX Wiki

VX Knowledgebase

How To's

Vehicross - Planetisuzoo Wiki

VehiCROSS Wiki (mentioned above)

OT: Information Stickers

Wheel Spec Wiki

Lift Wiki

[VX KAT]

And Kat, I find it amusing that the OP is asking for a creation of new user manual, and you protest by then describing the efforts you have gone through to do essentially the same thing for yourself.

Might it not be a good idea to put those organization skills to use for us all? Sounds to me you'd be a great Wiki editor.

Thanks Grif. OK, busted! I've been "outed" .... I have a degree in Health Records Administration...keeping all hospital records & data organized & retrievable. I feel I definitely matched my calling up with the right degree/profession. But honestly, I didn't actually protest, I don't know enough about the technical side of forums to protest. I do know the user end of managing data pretty well though, as I was in charge of a large database of health/malpractice claim data for over 20 yrs.

I just described my "work around" solution in case it would help the OP.

[mindaugas]

Grif is right, if we're going to attempt this it makes much more sense to use a hierarchical wiki rather than a linear thread.

I agree as well, Wiki is a great way to go. Is the wiki in a sticky, or could we possibly make it a sticky? Along with the KB, I never knew about this.

http://www.vehicross.info/modules.php?name=Encyclopedia

It helps to just have a post that says "New owners start here" or "Read this before posting"

Also, does the search, search the KB? I'm a new owner so I want to try and get something going while I'm still excited and not jaded like the rest of you old fart VX owners. In terms of how long you have owned, not actual age. :P

[vt_maverick]

I was thinking that the site encyclopedia would suffice as a wiki of sorts. You can't contribute to it once it's posted, but we could start threads then ask Scott to copy/paste the content into an encyclopedia article once we're done. It's also nice that it's hosted on the same site as the forum, so we know it's getting backed up regularly, being moderated well, etc.

I've been thinking about creating several comprehensive mod threads that would summarize info drawn from the many threads about such things as roof baskets, cladding treatments, aftermarket exhaust components, etc. Info would include a general overview of what's available, links/pictures/descriptions for available options, synopsis of various members' experiences, and links to pertinent threads discussing the topic. We'd create two threads per topic, one for final info and the other for discussion on the content, to simulate the Wikipedia content and edit/discussion tabs.

Thoughts? It would obviously take a substantial amount of time but I think it could work.