TwoTrack Events — User & Organizer Guide

Free overlanding groups and events. Find a trip. Join a trip. Or organize your own.

This guide explains everything TwoTrack Events does, in full detail — for trip-goers and for organizers. Short answers are on the FAQ; this is the whole manual. Sections 1–12 cover using the site as a member; Sections 13–21 are mainly for organizers and group admins; Section 22 covers guidelines, safety, and help.

1. What TwoTrack Events is

TwoTrack Events is a free community site for overlanding and off-road groups. It handles the trip logistics that Facebook groups handle poorly:

Rig-aware RSVPs — organizers see who is actually showing up and in what
Waitlists that promote themselves when someone cancels
Requirements (drive type, tires, winch, GMRS, recovery gear, experience) checked automatically at registration
Trip chat and private organizer messaging in one place per event
GPX track downloads
Anonymous post-trip ratings for groups and organizers
A permanent home for each group: upcoming trips, past trip reports, members

For attendees, it means: no phone-tag to claim a spot, no scrolling a Facebook thread to see who's in, and no guessing whether your rig is good enough — the site tells you before you commit.

For organizers, it means: a running list of who's coming and in what, requirements enforced for you, a waitlist that manages itself, one thread for trip chatter, and a reputation trail of your group's ratings. You still keep your Facebook group as the front door — TwoTrack is where the trip actually runs.

There is no membership fee, no app to install, and no login required to browse. You only need an account when you want to register, comment, message, or organize.

2. Browsing without an account

Every public page works with no login: search results, event pages, group pages, member profiles, and the FAQ, manual, and Community Guidelines.

Find a Trip (the home page) is the main search:

Location — type a city or trail area (e.g. "Seattle, WA"). Typing a location overrides any saved device location.
Use my location — a link in the search bar. The first time you use it you'll be asked "Find trips near you? We'll use your device location — it's never stored." Choose Use my location or Not now. When on, the bar shows 📍 Location on; click it to turn it off. Your coordinates are used only for the search and are never saved.
Within — search radius: 25, 50, 100, 200, 500, 750, or 1000 miles, or Nationwide (every upcoming public event, no distance math). The default is 100 miles.
Timeframe — This Weekend (the coming Friday through Sunday), This Week, This Month, or All Upcoming. Default: This Weekend.

Hit Search and you get a card list in start-date order (soonest first), capped at 50 results. Each card shows: the date and how many days long the trip is, the title, where it is, a difficulty badge (easy / moderate / difficult / expert), trail miles, a 🏕️ camping icon when the trip includes camping, distance from your search point, and the hosting group's name and star rating plus the organizer's star rating (★ 4.8 (5) style, once trips have been rated). If nothing matches: "No events match yet." — and if you're logged in, a link to organize one.

If a typed location can't be found, you'll see: Couldn't pin down "{your search}" on the map — showing the latest events instead. Try a city like "Seattle, WA".

3. Creating an account

Click Sign up free (top right).
Enter your name (optional — add it later), your email, and a password of 8+ characters.
Check the box agreeing to the Community Guidelines (required).
Watch for the confirmation email and click the link — you'll land on your rig profile setup. The link is one-time use: it stops working once it's clicked or replaced. If it doesn't arrive, we email a reminder at 24 hours and another at 72 hours, and there's a Resend confirmation link on the login page.
Fill in your rig details and save. You're in.

If the confirmation email doesn't arrive (check spam), use the resend link on the login page. Accounts only activate once confirmed.

Blocked accounts: if an admin has blocked your email you'll see "This account has been blocked." and you can't log in or re-register with it.

4. Your rig profile

Your account page (Account, top right) starts with the Rig profile card — "Rig details must be filled in to register for events — your rig has to meet each trip's requirements. Used on every registration, no need to re-enter it."

Fields:

Name — your display name.
Vehicle — e.g. "2022 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro".
Drive type — 2wd / awd / 4wd / 4wd-low.
Tires (diameter) — a dropdown from 29" to 42" in whole inches (e.g. 33"). If your tires are metric (285/70R17) or flotation (35x12.50R15), the site understands those formats too when it compares sizes — but the profile dropdown is in inches, so pick the diameter nearest yours.
I have a winch / I have GMRS / I have rated recovery points (front/rear tie-downs) / I have recovery gear (straps, shackles, etc.) — check what you carry.
Experience — Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced.
Notes — optional text about your setup.
Rig photo — optional: JPG, PNG, WEBP, or GIF, max 8 MB. Organizers see it in the "Who's coming" list. You can remove it anytime.

Save rig profile stores it. Vehicle and drive type are the minimum required — without them the site tells you: "Rig details must be filled in to register for events — add at least your vehicle and drive type."

Keep it current. Every registration uses this profile; the organizer sees the rig you listed here.

5. How rig requirements are checked

Organizers set requirements per event. When you register, the site compares your saved rig profile against them automatically, and either lets you in or tells you exactly what's missing — with a link to fix your profile. This happens before you take a spot, so nobody shows up under-rigged.

The checks:

Drive type — the event's drive type is the minimum. Hierarchy: 2wd → awd → 4wd → 4wd-low. If the event requires 4WD-LO and your profile says 4WD, you're blocked: "Your rig is 4WD — this event requires 4WD-LOW minimum."
Tires — your tire diameter is compared to the event's minimum. If you haven't listed tires: "This event requires 33" tires minimum — add your tire size (e.g. 33" or 285/70R17) to your rig profile." If yours are smaller: "Your tires (31") are smaller than the 33" minimum."
Winch — only blocks when the event says Winch required and your profile has no winch: "This event requires a winch."
GMRS — if the event requires GMRS and you don't have one checked: "This event requires GMRS radio."
Recovery gear — required events need straps/shackles on your profile: "This event requires recovery gear (straps, shackles, etc.)."
Recovery points — "This event requires recovery points (rated front/rear tie-downs) on your rig."
Experience — events can set a minimum (beginner/intermediate/advanced): "This event requires advanced experience — your profile says intermediate."

On the event page, an ineligible rig shows a red box — "Your rig can't join this one yet:" — with every missing item listed and an Update your rig profile link. Registering from a rig with no vehicle or drive type at all is blocked outright.

The system only compares what the organizer turned on. An event with no requirements lets any completed rig register.

6. Finding and joining a trip

Search from the home page (location + radius + timeframe — Section 2).
Open the event page and read it top to bottom: the description, the Requirements & logistics table, the meeting point, and the organizer.
Click Register (you'll need an account).

Each event page shows, in order:

The title, the hosting group, difficulty badge, dates/times, and mileage.
📣 Share on Facebook and 🔗 Copy link buttons (see Section 19).
About this trip — the organizer's description.
Requirements & logistics — drive type, minimum tire size, winch required (Yes/No), GMRS required, recovery gear required, recovery points required, camping type, minimum experience, dogs allowed, trailer friendly, and a Download .gpx link when the organizer uploaded a track.
Meeting point — the where/when with map links.
Who's coming — the public list of registered people: name (links to their profile), vehicle, rig photo, and experience, with a registered / waitlist status per person.
When — start and end date/time.
Register — the signup box (see below).
Trip chat, Messages, and Ratings (Sections 10, 11, 20).
Organizer — only the event's organizer (and site admins) sees this card: Edit event, plus Cancel event / Reopen event (and Delete event for site admins).

7. Registering for a trip

On an open event you're not registered for, the Register box shows your rig on file ("Registered with your rig on file: 2022 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro · 33"") plus:

Notes for the organizer — an optional box ("Trailer in tow, spots open, etc."). Anything you type here is visible only to the organizer, alongside your registration.
Register — the button.

What happens when you register:

If the event has room: "You're registered. See you on the trail!"
If it's at its vehicle cap: "You're on the waitlist — you'll be promoted if a spot opens." (Section 8.)
Either way: "You also joined {Group} (leave anytime)." — registering automatically makes you a member of the hosting group.
The organizer now sees your rig profile and your note in their list.

Once you're in, the box switches to your status badge (You're registered or You're waitlist) with a Cancel registration button (or Remove interest if you're only marked interested).

Not sure you can make it? Hit "Not sure yet — mark interested" instead. Interest holds no vehicle slot and needs no rig requirements — it just tells the organizer people are watching. You'll show in the public Interested list on the event page, and you auto-join the group, same as registering. Change your mind anytime: Register now (if your rig qualifies) or Remove interest.

Not logged in? The box says registration is free and offers Create free account. Rig not good enough? See Section 5 — you get the exact problems and a fix link instead of a button.

8. The waitlist, fully explained

Events with Max vehicles set have a hard cap (you'll see "Registered 8/10" style counts). Once the cap is reached, new registrations go to the waitlist — you're counted in the list but don't hold a spot.

You're on the waitlist — badge shows waitlist everywhere (event page, My Groups & Events).
Auto-promotion — whenever a spot frees up, the oldest waitlisted person is promoted to registered automatically and emailed. Spots free when someone cancels their registration, leaves the group, or is removed by an organizer.
Organizers can also promote manually — one click on the event page. This works even past the cap (the confirm dialog says so) — handy when you'd rather let a friend in than hold the line.
You can cancel from the waitlist anytime; your place just goes to the next person.

Your status is always visible: registered / waitlist / cancelled, and cancelling frees your spot for the next waitlisted rig immediately.

9. Trip chat

Every event has Trip chat — the one thread where trip talk lives: questions, updates, GPX links, "bring extra firewood." Comments are public on the event page in a single thread, oldest first, with names and timestamps.

Who can post:

The organizer (event creator) and site admins.
Registered attendees — and waitlisted attendees too (you're part of the trip).
Everyone else gets: "Trip chat is for the organizer and registered attendees."

Anyone — even logged out — can read the thread, which keeps the conversation findable by search engines for future trips to the same area.

10. Private messages with the organizer

Need to tell the organizer something not for the whole thread? Every event page has a Messages card.

As an attendee (or any logged-in member): type in the box ("Message the organizer…") and hit Send. The organizer gets your message and an email notice.
As the organizer: you see one conversation thread per person. Open a conversation, reply in the box, and hit Reply — your reply lands in their Messages card. (Messages are marked read as soon as you open the event page.)
Messages are private between the two of you — nothing else on the site sees them.

11. Changes, cancellations, and updates

You (the attendee):

Cancel registration — one click on the event page. Confirmed free. Your spot immediately opens for the oldest waitlisted person.
If the event is cancelled, the Register box shows "This trip has been cancelled." — no registration, no rating.

The organizer:

Edit event — changes go live immediately, and everyone registered and waitlisted is automatically emailed an "Updated" notice with a link to the page — no checkbox, nobody misses changes.
Cancel event — asks for confirmation, then: the event shows a cancelled badge everywhere, and everyone registered and waitlisted is emailed. Cancelled events can't be registered for or rated.
Reopen event — brings a cancelled event back to life and emails everyone who was on it.

12. Groups for members

Groups are the home base that events belong to — think "PNW Weekend Overlanders" as a club with trips.

Joining is optional. You never need to join a group to attend its trips — but registering for an event auto-joins you to its group ("You also joined {Group} (leave anytime)").
What membership gives you: one place to see the group's upcoming and past trips, its member list, its rating, and (if the organizer set one) its Facebook link. Members who opted in also get emailed when the group posts a new event (opt out in Account → Notifications).
Leaving — Leave group on the group page. It warns you first: leaving cancels your registrations for all of the group's events (each freed spot promotes a waitlisted person). After you leave you get a message telling you how many registrations were cancelled.
Being removed (kicked) — an organizer can remove a member with a reason. Consequences: your registrations for that group's events are cancelled, you get an email with the reason, and you can't rejoin the group or register for its events until the organizer allows you back. If you think it's a mistake, reply to the email or use the Feedback form.
Member profiles are public — click a name to see their rig and their organizer rating.

13. Groups for organizers — why run trips through a group

A group is your trip home page and your reputation, all in one:

Your group page automatically lists Upcoming events and Past trips (as "Trip report" links) — a permanent, linkable history for your group.
Posting an event to your group notifies your members (the ones who left notifications on) — no "who saw the FB post?" lottery.
Every event you post shows your group's name and its star rating, so good trips build a visible track record.
You can point your Facebook group at your TwoTrack group page (optional Facebook link) — Facebook stays the chatter front door; TwoTrack holds the structure.

Roles inside a group (shown as badges on the member list):

member — can join trips and chat.
organizer — can post events to the group (and manage registrations on their own events).
admin — the group's owner-level role: makes and removes organizers, removes members, and allows kicked members back. (Only site admins can delete a group.)
The person who creates the group is automatically its admin and first member. Group admins can also be promoted by site admins as needed.

14. Group management (for group admins)

From your group page, two cards appear to group admins (and site admins): Manage organizers and Remove a member.

Manage organizers — "Organizers can post events to this group." Pick a member from the dropdown (Make organizer) or hit Remove next to an existing organizer.
Remove a member — pick a member (never another admin/organizer, and never yourself), optionally type a reason (up to 500 characters), and remove. Their registrations for the group's events are cancelled, they're emailed the reason, and they can't rejoin until allowed back.
Removed members — the list of everyone you've removed, each with an Allow back button. Until you click it, that person stays blocked from joining and from registering for the group's events.
Delete group — site admins only; asks for confirmation first (it deletes the group and its events).

Event-level powers belong to the event creator (with site admins as backup): edit, cancel, reopen, promote from the waitlist, and see attendees' notes.

15. Becoming an organizer

Two different "organizer" hats, both free:

Group organizer — a group admin promotes you within a group; you can then post events to it.
Site organizer — the general tier that lets you create your own groups (and events). Anyone can request it:
Log in and open My Groups & Events.
Click Request to be Organizer (next to the welcome message).
While waiting, you'll see an "Organizer request pending admin approval" badge. An admin approves you, and you get an email.

Once you're a site organizer you'll see + New Group and + New Event on your dashboard.

16. Creating a group

From My Groups & Events → + New Group:

Name — make it findable: "PNW Weekend Overlanders", not "Bob's Trips".
Location — your home base or coverage area.
Description — who you are and what kind of trips you run.
Facebook group link (optional) — your existing Facebook group's URL. It shows on your group page ("📘 Join us on Facebook") and pairs with the share button (Section 19) so your Facebook members can find their way to your TwoTrack events.

You become the group's first member and its admin.

17. Creating an event

Events belong to a group. Open + New Event from My Groups & Events or the group page. Required: title, group, and start time. Everything else is optional — "The more rig details you add, the fewer surprises on the trail."

Basics: Title · Group (the groups you belong to) · Starts · Ends (optional) · Meeting location (city, trailhead, or address — or paste coordinates like "47.2043, -121.9887") · Description.

Trail: Difficulty (easy / moderate / difficult / expert) · Approx mileage · Minimum experience (none / beginner / intermediate / advanced) · Camping (none / day / dispersed / campground / overland) · Max vehicles (the registration cap; beyond it goes to the waitlist) · Trailer friendly · Dogs allowed.

Rig requirements: Drive type (2wd / awd / 4wd / 4wd-low — the minimum) · Minimum tire size (none, or 29" through 42") · GMRS required · Winch required · Recovery gear required · Recovery points required.

GPX track — upload the route file (.gpx, max 8 MB); members get a Download .gpx link on the event page.

Public event — checked by default: anyone can see and register. Uncheck and the event stops appearing in search and on the home page; it still shows on your group's page, and anyone with the link can open it.

Post event publishes it immediately — the page is live, and members of the group who left notifications on are emailed (the confirmation message tells you how many were emailed).

Set requirements honestly. Every registration is checked against them (Section 5), and the site tells people exactly what they're missing — a realistic "4WD, 33"+ tires" filter saves everyone a bad day.

18. Running your event (the organizer dashboard)

My Groups & Events is your cockpit. It has three sections:

My groups — the groups you're in, with member counts, as chips.
Events I'm organizing — a table of your events: Event, When, Group, Registered (count/cap), and Rigs. Under Rigs, every registration shows the member's name (links to their profile), vehicle, tires, winch, GMRS, experience, a registered/waitlist badge — and, if they left one, their note to you (📝).
Events I'm registered for — your own trip attendances with status.

Groups are listed A–Z; each event list runs soonest-first (past trips show most-recent first).

On each event page (organizer view) you also get:

Who's coming — the same rig intel in table form, with a Promote button on each waitlisted person (works past the cap; it confirms first). Attendees' private notes appear under their row.
Edit event / Cancel event / Reopen event — Section 11.
Messages — your per-attendee inbox with unread counts, Section 10.

The "Registered X/Y" counter updates as people sign up and cancel — no spreadsheet required.

19. Sharing events

Every event page has two buttons:

📣 Share on Facebook — opens Facebook's composer with the event link and title pre-filled. Pick your group in the dropdown at the top of the Facebook window, then post. (Facebook doesn't allow apps to auto-target a group — that one click is the whole trick.)
🔗 Copy link — copies the event URL to your clipboard; paste it anywhere — your group, a DM, a forum.

The flow is built for groups that keep Facebook as the front door: one click posts your TwoTrack event into your Facebook group, and the RSVPs happen on TwoTrack where the structure lives.

20. Ratings

After an event ends, registered attendees can rate the group and the organizer separately — 1–5 stars each — plus one optional comment (max 1000 characters; "How was the trail? The group? The organizer?").

The rules, exactly:

Open to registered attendees only — waitlisted and cancelled people can't rate.
The event must have started ("Ratings open after the event") — and cancelled events can't be rated.
You can't rate your own event.
Both star ratings are required (group and organizer), 1–5 each.
Your rating is anonymous to everyone — organizers and members never see who wrote what, and your name never appears next to it.
You can edit your rating anytime, and there's no deadline.
Everyone gets one rating reminder email a day after a trip they attended ends (you can turn this off in Account → Notifications).

Moderation: ratings that trip the bad-word filter are auto-flagged for the site admin, and anyone can hit Report on a rating (once per person) to flag it. Flagged ratings are reviewed by the admin, who can remove them. The organizer never learns who flagged or reported.

Where ratings show: averages with counts (★ 4.8 (5)) appear on the group page header, the organizer's public profile, event pages, and the home-page result cards — so a group's track record is visible to everyone deciding whether to join your trip.

21. Email from TwoTrack — the full list

Transactional mail, from [email protected] (replies to any @twotrackevents.com address reach the site owner). If something's missing, check spam first.

To members:

Confirm your account — right after signup. If you haven't confirmed, we remind you at 24 hours and again at 72 hours with a fresh link. Resend confirmation is also on the login page.
Confirm email change — sent to your new address; your login switches once you click it (the old address keeps working until then).
You're in! — when you're promoted off a waitlist.
New event — when a group you've joined posts a trip (opt out: Account → Notifications → "Email me when a group I've joined adds a new event").
Event updated — automatically, every time the organizer saves an edit; goes to everyone registered and waitlisted.
Event cancelled / Event reopened — to everyone registered and waitlisted.
New message — when the organizer (or an attendee) messages you through an event.
Removed from group — with the organizer's reason.
Rating reminder — one email, a day after a trip you attended ended (opt out: Account → Notifications).

To organizers:

Organizer approved — when your request goes through.
Attendee messages land in your event's Messages inbox, with an email notice each time.

To site admins: new-member, new-group, and organizer-request notices (toggleable in Account → Admin notifications), plus always-on flagged-rating alerts and feedback submissions.

22. Community guidelines, safety, and help

Community Guidelines — the site's ground rules ("be a good trail buddy"), linked in the footer. Continued use means you accept them.
Report a problem — the Feedback form in the menu and footer; someone reads every submission. Use it for disputes (e.g. a removal you think is wrong) and anything else.
Site admins handle platform-wide issues: spam, flagged ratings, harassment, blocked accounts, and organizer approvals. Organizers run their own groups and trips day to day.

TwoTrack Events — free, no ads, your data stays yours. We never share or sell it.

Something missing or unclear? Send feedback — someone reads every submission.