How not to off-road

This sort of thing makes me completely nuts. A lot of groups - some that I'm a member of -are up in arms about trails getting closed down, but when I see stupid crap like this (and worse: last summer I witnessed a side-by-side doing donuts off trail on the tundra above timberline) I want to close the trails too!
 
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Is it necessary to hang an arm out the window while "wheeling" or "overloading"? Serious question, I'm new to this.
 
Is it necessary to hang an arm out the window while "wheeling" or "overloading"? Serious question, I'm new to this.

Honestly, it helps hold your body out for visibility.. these trucks have hideous visibility. I've been known to stand up and practically be sitting on the door from time to time. The drivers side is all you get to see.. the passenger side just has to be predicted in your head or called out by a spotter. And NO, cameras don't help much. I've got them. no depth perception. Maybe one of the fancy 360 stitching types....but I still doubt it.
 
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Although these guys need to get the message of "not a smooth move"... I don't think we need to be going with personal attacks and name calling.

Lets not turn this into another chalk tagging scenario... For those who remember that, the reaction was much worse than the offense.

They did something stupid.. and broadcasted it.. hopefully they will learn from it. I like to poke fun and shame a bit, but the name calling and what not seems a bit over the top. I'm sure they are decent folks. We have all done stupid shit, that is how you learn.

calling them a bag full of douches or whatever... Is not going to teach them a darn thing. Giving them a logical explanation of why you try to tread lightly on public land.. will most likely make them realize it was bad form. Heck, they might even broadcast a tread lightly message next time around.

I think the tread lightly thing can be taken too far too. Common sense goes a long way.. unfortunately, people don't seem to have much of it anymore.
 
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Any and all messaging is taken too far by someone, there are always zealots.

In a general sense though, it is not, Tread Lightly is a good ethos, it is two words that simply tell you to be conscious of what you are doing, to keep doing what you doing maybe a little more responsibly and to be mindful of the mark you make.

Exact things mentioned in that article are being talked about here. We were all beginners once, we've all made mistakes, it is not us versus them, even small things done by everyone help the community as a whole.
 
I’m completely novice when it comes to off-roading, so I appreciate posts like this that help me not make an ass of myself when I go.

I don’t wanna troll on anyone, but rather than driving over the natural vegetation, couldn’t they have used the tracks to get up this too?


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Had to post and run this morning, so I'm glad to see this thread blew up and they took the video off their page. Was thinking the same thing about the maxtracks. I think one of the vehicles I saw in the video had some (if not, they loose 10,000 instagram overland points LOL). Maybe they should have actually put them to use; then they wouldn't be $200 decorations anymore.

Seriously though, he could have easily made that ledge. He had full skids; just Moab bump up that shit.

Edit. wf09 correctly posted below that maxtrax are not good for bridging. I agree and was somewhat kidding. But they could have been used in this instance with a few rocks underneath if they really needed to. At least they didn't cut down a tree to use as a bridge.
 
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Had to post and run this morning, so I'm glad to see this thread blew up and they took the video off their page. Was thinking the same thing about the maxtracks. I think one of the vehicles I saw in the video had some (if not, they loose 10,000 instagram overland points LOL). Maybe they should have actually put them to use; then they would be $200 decorations anymore.



Seriously though, he could have easily made that ledge. He had full skids; just Moab bump up that shit.



I also saw them in the opening part of the video and the guy talking even says they have them!

I bet it would have been faster to use them than go through the whole process they went through.


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Had to post and run this morning, so I'm glad to see this thread blew up and they took the video off their page. Was thinking the same thing about the maxtracks. I think one of the vehicles I saw in the video had some (if not, they loose 10,000 instagram overland points LOL). Maybe they should have actually put them to use; then they wouldn't be $200 decorations anymore.

Seriously though, he could have easily made that ledge. He had full skids; just Moab bump up that shit.

Probably didn't even need a bump, could have just taken it at a bit of an angle.
 
Just by chance, should these individuals happen to come to this post, and for those that are unaware and are new to the sport, please research offroad etiquette. There are many great site with info on proper use and care for land use.

"Tread Lightly" has been a term and a had meaning for a long time. Because of the lack of this, we have almost lost the Rubicon. We have lost many other great trails. Some people are going to be disrespectful mo matter what, but please, don't you be one of them.

Let this be a starting point for your education.Tread Lightly
 
I’m completely novice when it comes to off-roading, so I appreciate posts like this that help me not make an ass of myself when I go.

I don’t wanna troll on anyone, but rather than driving over the natural vegetation, couldn’t they have used the tracks to get up this too?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There are about 20 things that could have been done differently... to highlight a few

1. Air down. this is critical and should be step 1. It lowers ground pressure, improves traction and takes stress off the truck and environment. I see people not airing down all the time. Instead of investing in all that crap.. get a $150 air compressor. The only downside is it takes away a little ground clearance... So, don't go too low.

2. Don't attempt trails your rig/skills are not capable of. (admittedly difficult to gauge) This is not only an environmental thing.. but also a courtesy thing. Some 5th gen trying to bounce up a trail it is not capable of is hard on the environment, the truck, and other trail users. But it is also the only way to learn... So it is OK to push limits. Just not too far. Try to experiment in an open area like an off-road park vs public trail.

3. Angle of attack. In the start of that video he is getting hung up for break over clearance (the Achilles heal of the 5th gen is the gas tank and rear LCA mounts). You can often improve the clearance by shortening the effective wheelbase with a better angle. However, this will also impact stability and you could flop. So you have to balance that out and get a feel for where the limits are. Having that RTT on the top is BAD news for this approach... best to have as little weight up top as possible. So you have to adjust based on a lot of factors.

4. better bridging. Max track is really not good for this. Rocks, wood, tires... are. I carry a home made bridge along and have gotten my truck up ledges that big rigs on 40s struggle on. You really only need to get one rear wheel to start going up to get the needed clearance. MaxTrax are not really a good bridge. Just a traction aid. A 2x12 with some old mountain bike tires glued and screwed on works great for me. Another one that can work is to throw your spare down.. but most are too lazy to do that.. But it would have been a proper tread lightly demonstration.
 
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There are videos of JK tards doing shit like that on the Mt. Herman off road trails near where I used to live, then they wonder why they close them.
 
I'm new to off-roading as well, thanks for posting this. I didn't think of the damage our vehicles can cause the environment just by being careless...it all seems like a "giant playground" but that's a childish way of viewing it. We def. should play our part as caretakers. "Tread lightly" is something I'll take with me.
 

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