Skillz or the rig...
 

I am having troble getting up over this hill.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...5.jpg~original

Thats me running up it to check it out before my first atempt. I had no idea what the top was like and I didn't have a buddy to help me out if I got into any trouble.

Here's a pic from the top

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...9.jpg~original

and a few more

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...4.jpg~original
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...5.jpg~original

The tera firma is sand and clay (thats why it has that redish color). My only mods are OME 2" springs and Bill's HD's. Michlen ltx 275/75/16. I used every option my 96 lmt has to offer and can get right to the top but then I lose momentum and then lose traction and I have to back it down the hill.

Now I am blaming my tires, What do you guys think?

Here's a pic I missed

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...8.jpg~original
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...9.jpg~original

looking at that last pic, you can see the sand has filled in the groves between my blocks, turning my tires into slicks.

I still think I NEED some Wrangler MT/R's:D

I'm not the most experienced off roading, so hopefully someone who is will chime in.

In the meantime... did you try airing down the tires. I seem to remember another thread talking about dropping the psi to 15 or 12. This article is linked to a lot: http://www.4x4now.com/sfjun96.htm

Your tread is definately packed in with sand also. From a lot of other threads I've read All Terrains aren't much better in the mud than street tires because the tread fills in like those pictures. I bet knobby mudders would make it.

TIRES. You need to air them down...to at least 18 psi. More aggressive tire would help, but also increase your chance to digging down if you lose momentum. Get a lot of momentum.

BTW, Wrangler MT/Rs are good on rocks due to their super duper construction...however, their tread design does clog up with mud quite easily. It does not self-clean very well, unlike other mud tires.

Do you have a rear locker on your 4runner?? If not, then get one...it will help in these situations.

My model has the "RR diff lock" button.

I started with 4H. Then turned on the ECT Power, then 4low and finally 4low w/ rr diff lock. On my last run I got the closest.

Its hard to maintain momentum because the top has lots of digs and bumps, so it tosses your rig around and at the same time your trying not to smash into the walls.

Should I air down all my tires or should I start with just the rears?

I carry an air pump with me for that reason, I've just never tryed it and was't sure how much air to drop.

Whats the lowest I could go with out haveing the tire completely deflate and come off the rim?

As for the GY Wranglers, I have read reviews and lots of people complained about the treads not self cleaning. However, I prefer trail riding and rock climbing with the occasional romp through the mud pit. Besides I think they are the Badest looking tires out there!

Air down ALL YOUR TIRES.

As for air pump, do you have one of those $20 pumps that you can buy at Walmart?? If so, then go to PEP BOYS and get yourself a true air pump (for cheap) for around $60. It connects to your battery terminals and airs up your tires MUCH faster than those $20 pumps.

For those tires (LTX M/S), i would air down to around 18 psi without any problems.

As for tires, have you checked out BFG M/T-2?? They are even badder looking than MT-R!!

air down to at least 18, probably less.

Momentum! it is all about the momentum in that sandy hill climb.

As you are getting to the top and have lost most of your speed, turn the wheel back and forth as you are going.


** Where is this area?? Is it large or a small place? I am in Panama City and hard to find places to ride anymore.

1. Air down closer to 12 lbs. You want as wide a footprint as possible. You want to float on the sand.

2. Use low range, and lock your diff.

3. In low range, use whatever gear that gives you enough momentum, but without spinning your tires. Nothing wrong with upshifting once you get going.

Dude, go to this site CLICK HERE

You need to register and its not very 4x4 oriented but go to the Meet's forum. I have a tread in there for the next trip out to that clay pit.

Are you psychic? If you didn't tell me that I would have been out there for an hour filling my tires back up. Look at me, Pro.. haha

I'll have to check out those BFG's

OK, so next weekend I'll bleed down the tires and see how it goes.

Thanks guys

Try it in reverse:D:lmao: :lmao: I couldn't resist. Thai and a few others may get it...





















Really, don't do that. Just kidding. I used to 4wheel in a similar looking place but bigger and posted this: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showth...632#post314632
:cheers:

Smartass!! :D

Here is what you can buy at Pep Boys: Master Flow model Tsunami MF-1050. It should be around $60. Trust me, this is a freaking bargain! It works just as good as my brother's "professional" air compressor for 1/4th the price! :) It connects straight to your battery terminals...so, run your engine while running the unit.

Nice. I am pretty surprised the amount of suport he got.

No pep boys areound here but they have it on Amazon $56.99 free ship :)

The Master Flow-1050 is also sold as the Super Flow MV-50, and Costco has it for $49.

I got mine a few years back when Pep Boys had them on sale for $39.

Ditto

I'd actually say, air down until you make it, but that's just a hint from a crazy Icelander... lol
Sand is quite similar to "salty snow" which is probably one of the harder circumstances in snow drivin'.
I usually air down to 0,5-1,5psi on my 38s and 44s. But when I had the 32s on I rarely went lower than 4psi.
Just be careful when drivin' at that low psi that the tires are not very "stuck" on the wheel, might cause the wheel to spin inside the tire, or make the bead fall inside of the wheel.

Also don't go much over 15mph on that low air, 15-20psi should be okay up to 40mph as long as it's not very hot outside. :) The sides of the tires will heat up when drivin' at that low air pressure.

But also, there is a good rule of thumb, release the air and wait until the tire does not "widen" more. i.e. is turning flat. Air it abit up and that should be the pressure you need for the worst cases on these tires. (The softer the tires are, lower air pressure they can handle)

My few cents! :)

I would probably NOT air down to 4 psi with those highway tires that he has on.

My opinion.

Well, the tougher the tires are, it's more likely that they'll overheat. But one should always pay attention wether the tires are gettin' too warm or not. :)

Some tires are quite risky to BLOW UP if they have gotten too hot too many times.
My ol' mudders could take alot of abusement, once drove for three hours in 3psi at 50mph. :) Never had a single problem with 'em. Some of the tougher tires (like IROK and BFGs, Boggers and SuperSwamper, Pirelli and more...) can't handle that much heatin' :)

6-8psi should be enough for these tires that TopRunner has on, Michelin don't have that very thick sides IIRC.

And of course, it's okay to air down as low as you want, as long as you air it up again after you've passed that little obsticle, or are movin' at very slow speed. I'm yet not sayin' that every tires should be aired that low in EVERY bad circumstances. Just in a sandy hill like that, it's quite okay.

I just ordered my Master flow pump and I am taking down that hill on Saturday:cannon:

:rocker: :driving: :xnuts:

(just found the extra smilies)

Nice. Be sure to be cautious when airin' down. Just small steps. 20psi first, if you don't make it with 'em, try 15, then lower abit until you make it. :) (don't go any lower than 5psi!)

P.S.
I'm not sure if this goes for all electronic air pumps or if it's just the few I've used.
When pumpin' air I usually raise the idle up to 1500rpms or even 1800rpms, 1500 seems to work well, and it goes abit faster as well as the battery's life is extended abit. Because the Alternator isn't chargin' fully at idle. :)

Good luck, hopefully airing down will do the trick - with the rear locker it might just be enough to get you to the top. However, I'm thinking you will need to invest in some more aggressive off-road tires. The LTX M/S are excellent SUV tires for all purpose driving and are great on the highway but I'm thinking you'll need something with more aggressive tread to take that hill. BTW, is that hill at Withlacoochee or Hard Rock by chance? It sort of looks familiar to me.

Good call with the high idle while using the pump.

I was going to start with 25psi but maybe 20 is better. I'm not going lower than 15psi.

Trust me, I want a bad ass set of tires. The bigger the better. But I am not King Midas and the Mitch's still have about 50k left in them. So hopefully by the time they need to be replaced I will have enough save up to get new rims and tires. :)

Heading out tomorrow, wish me luck.

BTW, the spot is on Eglin AFB ranges.

I OFFICIALLY OWN THAT HILL
 

Bleeding down the tires made a huge difference. I went down to 20psi and right away noticed a change on just how it handled on the trails leading out to the clay pit. Some deep sandy parts on the trails that I had to use 4wd to get through, I coasted right over in 2wd.

The E-locker is the balls too. I wish it didn't only work in 4lo though.

I have some more pics and I will post them up later. So I am jocking this one up as "Lack of skillz" because though I knew about airing down the tires, I lacked the experience to realize how much of a difference it would make. Now I know, thanks to you guys.

oh ya, the master flow pump rocks. If I used my walmart pump I might have been there all day.

Thanks again.

Re: I OFFICIALLY OWN THAT HILL
 

Awesome and congrats! I thought you were going to say it was backing up the hill that conquered it for you! Hahahahaha!:lmao::lmao:

Looking forward to the pics.

We were all there at one point ( I am still there on a lot of off-roading stuff) and resources like this site are awesome :bigok:


:cheers:

Re: I OFFICIALLY OWN THAT HILL
 

Hah, well done chap!

There is actually a way to trick the system that the truck is in 4lo whilst it is in 4lo, thus bein' able to use the e-locker in 4hi.

I see it as a waste of time as you never should use lockers above 20mph... (doesn't mean I don't do it... lol)

It's always good to have a good air pump.

I think this master flow pump is 'bout the same airflow as mine... it takes 'bout 30-40 mins for me to air up from 1,5psi to 20psi on the 44s... lol
God I miss havin' the 32s on. only took few seconds. :)
I need A/C pump lol...

Maybe you reconise this spot
 

Here is one of me climbing up a small, near verticle, drop.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...0.jpg~original

The hill. Incase you forgot

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...8.jpg~original

Bit of a running start

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...9.jpg~original

and up and over

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...2.jpg~original

thanks to you guys

Great job!! I am glad that you like your Master Flow.

One more thing...GET RID OF THOSE RUNNING BOARDS!! Your next mods: rock sliders and better AT tires. Those mods should make your 4runner into a great all-terrain vehicle!

The progression of runners is so common, a step by step progress. Those are my exact next steps. The only thing is I don't want to get rid of my RB's until I get the sliders because I use them to get in and out of the truck. I just had the seats reupholstered and slideing in and out was the cause for all the wear and tear on the seats.

I also see budbuilt armor in the futre. I got to get a winch too. Then I'm gonna need some more power after I weigh down the truck with all that extra steel. Obviously.:biggrin2:

yeah, you're going down the road of about 10 mpg! I would make darn sure that you need all that armor and winch. I don't need a winch because i usually wheel in a group. Yeah, winch is real cool & useful to have but you will likely need an aftermarket bumper to carry it. This means that you will need a HD suspension lift to carry the weight.

IMHO, you need to take a step back and look at what you really need. Rock sliders and more aggressive AT tires are mild modifications that won't blow up your wallet and won't change your fuel economy much.

This is me just talking, no time soon would I be straping that kind of weight on or spending that kind of money. Thanks for looking out though.

you need to do the grey wire mod with that locker so you can use it in hi4

Is there a way to use it in 2wd?

Now why in Wotan's name would you want that locker to be used in 2hi?
I understand 4hi but 2hi? WTH MATE?

Drag racing??

:dancin: :rocker: Time to make the DONUTS! Of course... :D:zoom: :driving:

Well, I think there are some other vehicles that suite that better... :lmao:

Pfft, who needs a locker for that! Or just do it in 4hi. Reminds me of how I cleaned my nails out of my tires once upon a time... :lmao: