The place where Land Cruiser enthusiasts meet and share information

The Land Cruiser Club Southern Africa (LCCSA) started life as an offshoot of the Colt Club, which at the time, was using email and Google groups as its primary infrastructure and means of communication.

A difference in vision for this club amongst founding members resulted in the establishment of the LCCSA at www.cruiserdom.com – with the first version of a ‘forum’ (very similar to what is presently the forum that we all love and use daily) was set up and hosted.

From the outset, the focus of the club was like-mindedness – most people that joined shared a love of Land Cruisers and the outdoors.

The forum was (and still is) a central meeting place for the Club.

When the new version of www.landcruiserclub.co.za was launched, a change was made to the make-up of the Club to create a management team that is known as “Custodians”.

This was a deliberate process with a view to the Club not being controlled or “owned” by any one person or group of people – but rather a process which led to the Club belonging to the members as a group - represented by Custodians who are elected by said members from time to time.

A Constitution was drawn up and published, some positions were created and the LCCSA has continued to thrive ever since. As the Club grew and went from strength to strength it evolved and while in the early years funding was ad-hoc and voluntary, it became a necessity to change to some sort of paid membership to cover the costs of web hosting, software development and other related running costs. The Club is still managed of behalf of the members without any paid positions – all the admins, moderators and custodians are unpaid volunteers.

• “One of the things about the LCCSA that struck many members after their first few months of membership here, is the underlying culture of the Club that slowly emerged from the initial overwhelming myriad of technical Land Cruiser related, off-roading and overlanding information that intimidates the newcomer.

  This culture is probably best described by the term “Club Ethos” that is often used on the forum. Wikipedia says the following about the term “ethos”:

  Ethos forms the root of “ethikos”, meaning "moral, showing moral character". To the Greeks ancient and modern, the meaning is simply "the state of being", the inner source, the soul, the mind, and the original essence, that shapes and forms a person

  We see the manifestation of the LCCSA ethos every day. Members that rush to the aid of fellow members in distress, no matter what time of day! The general spirit of friendship and camaraderie that filtered through our entire association. And it runs much deeper than what meets the eye. The forum is more often than not oblivious to the hands behind the screens that are reached out in anonymity to support fellow members or objectives of the Club. This goes on as we speak here.

  The Club ethos is therefore the inner source, the soul of the LCCSA. I want to stick my head out and claim that our Club ethos, more than our beloved Land Cruiser vehicles, it is the glue that ultimately bonds the LCCSA into the unit of friendship and camaraderie that we experience today. I also believe that this is the main reason why so many non-Cruiser owners so easily find a comfortable home here.

  This is however not something that one can create at will. The wonderful thing about it is that it comes spontaneously from the soul of our members. It is a manifestation of the moral fabric of our member corps. This is the true character of the LCCSA and is a trait that is very dear to us. Although it is not something that one can create, it needs the right environment for it to thrive. It can so easily be destroyed if the environment is not right.

  We can however influence our environment. Therefore, we seriously frown on any condition that threatens this environment. The Constitution and Club rules are designed to help create and maintain the environment conducive to our ethos. Where the Club rules are recklessly or intentionally contravened, or where the general goodwill and trust that exist between members are abused or violated with disregard, we cannot remain idle. Such instances demand decisive action to preserve our environment, even if it requires termination of membership(s).” - Heinrich Calitz, Member 1713

Today the Club has around 1100 bona fide members, with some of the earliest members of the club still being active members that contribute daily.

The LCCSA continues to be a place where Land Cruiser enthusiasts meet and share information.

Learn more about joining the LCCSA here