I asked this generally a while ago about what you all run while offroad and got helpful answers

was thinking about how sloppy snow/mud/water ill be getting into tomorrow might benefit from 4h in the mud holes as opposed to 4l where the torque might dig or sink like 4l in snow? i have been using 4l for slow and technical stuff.

the mud/water we go through i dont like going into super fast because of hidden big rocks you cant see

does anyone see benefits to 4h +locked + L range or 2d for these situations?

going to be sloppy out there tomrorow.

thanks...florida and NC SC GA AL members chime in @SHagood

Locked and 4H. The additional wheel speed in mud will help clean out the lugs and keep your momentum up.

I use 4 low for everything.

I remember one instance being stuck in a deep mud hole right below a steep short incline to climb out of. I was in 4low hitting the rev limiter for a couple seconds, a couple inches from making it out. I believe at this point I shifted into 4hi to try it again and maybe manually shifted down to 1st or 2nd gear and hit the incline again. A lot more wheel spin but still didn't make it up, ended up getting winched up the last few inches.

In summary you can try it but I would start out in 4low, should be good enough in most situations. Once you have the obstacle scoped out and like you said no rocks or surprises are in the way 4hi is doable.

L range or 2 in 4h? you just keep it in Drive?

your example reminded me of bypass i did last week. had a 3' embankment after rocky section. wet tree roots on half the embankment back onto a narrow trail. she did good in 4L for that. with the IFS i try not to spin a lot with front wheels. lucky you have the winch (i am going to get one some point) but i am running with 4 maxtrax (xbul))

i want the VR8 or newer version of it and synthetic Warn

Depends on how sloppy it looks, how familiar I am with the the area, how deep it'll be, if there's stuff hiding in it, it depends.

If I know it's not super deep or nasty, I'll just leave it in drive (have a V8 with full time AWD) but just lock the center diff.

Depending on how sloppy it gets, I may drop to a lower gear. Still in High range.

If it's REALLY nasty, or there are obstacles nearby that could grab the tire and stop it in a hurry, I'll drop to low range 2 or 3.

In most cases I've found that keeping the wheel speed up helps clean the lugs out, which helps you to grab more earth to either get out, or dig down to the hard bottom (hopefully its there and you've checked for it).

some perspective. now theres snow too

Never driven in snow so I can't input much on that, matter of fact I've only seen snow probably once in my life lol.

As far as trails go, I rode in 4Lo just about the entire time we were in Uwharrie last month. It dumped rain our first night so all the trails were soaked and sloppy. The way I see it, if I'm driving slow and cautious in sloppy conditions I'd rather be in 4Lo already so I don't have to try to change gears/settings in the middle of a trail when it starts getting hairy. 2/3 year plan is to put a front locker on my 4th gen and keep running Wildpeak MTs so I can eat anything muahaha.

On another side though, if I'm familiar with the area and I can avoid "mud holes" I stay in 2wd and try to spin tires and play around.

If youre ever up at uwharrie again let me know thats my neck of the woods

Im not so sure it matters. When youre on terrain where its hard to get traction, i dont think the torque is as important. If you're on rock or able to grip in some of the wheels, then the torque helps, but if all 4 wheels are slipping in sand, snow, mud etc, I think getting all the wheels to keep spinning until one finds a grip is the key.

Along that same lines, going slow and steady, not digging yourself deep and keeping momentum when you have it is important.

Tires might be as important as anything- having big paddles/ mud tires or snow tires etc

Thanks. Heading out tomorrow w 4th gen v8, 2014 taco w upsize duratracs and a Cherokee... Befpre pats kansas city game. Go pats!!

Ill do some experimenting. and i know a long section out there I'll prob run 4l maybe 2gear for a lot of

I go in 4-high and locked for sloppy stuff. In my case, going through fast keeps it from sinking to the point that it's just sitting on the skid-plates and the tires can't get traction anymore. Wouldn't be as much of a problem if I had bigger tires but I've done exactly that before. I also avoid big holes where I don't know what else 'might' be in them.

Side note regarding getting a winch:
I keep a 5 ton come-a-long and a couple of 2 ton come-a-longs just in case, similer to this one -
Amazon.com: Neiko 02256A Power Cable Puller, Dual Gears | 5-Ton Pulling Capacity: Home Improvement

Only time it failed to get me out was the time I didn't have it with me. Even after I get a winch setup I'll keep them in the recovery kit.

I always use 4H unlocked when off roading. I use 4H locked or 4L only as needed.

thanks everyone. im going to post a new thread showing the adventure from the past weekend...
to the guy above, one picture shows why we want to not have to stop and add 4x4 engagements

got a decent shot of one of the holes we went through lol

i used a mix of 4h locked and 4l locked...couple section 4h unlocked

I know a thing or two about mud, mild stuff you can get away with 4hi, but for gnarly stuff 4lo + L and 2nd are my go too combo.