Off-roading Tips

Kinda like this ?
 

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hey all. great thread. it has helped me out a LOT. on e of the pressing issues i have and also have a great fear of, is recovery. winches dont do everything they say they do. there are more forces holding a mired (stuck) rig down than you would expect. PLEASE READ THIS ARTICLE, and take it into account next time you are wheelin and get stuck... thanks,
Jake Engel

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Recovery/index.html
 
i learnt this the hard way..

when driving on dunes, when you reach the crest SLOW DOWN. the laws of physics can really work against your wheel alignment, and may cause severe stress and hardship to unsuspecting passengers :D
 
Very great information for me, someone who is interested in eventually doing some off-roading. Anyone want to post info on driving in snow?
 
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Anyone want to post info on driving in snow?

First, drive slow. Expect some ice on the road. Even tho if you don't see it, you will eventually run into some patches of ice. If you feel that you're about to slide before the whistles and bells ring, downshift one gear or two pending how bad the road is. :nono: DO NOT slam on your brakes, just step on them as you normally would, the ABS and VSC will do the rest. On intersections where you have to run a yellow/red light, RUN thru it b/c you will not be able to stop on a dime. Don't worry, the other vehicles on the other side cannot pull up that fast. :D Best time to practice is late at night when no one is around the road. Once you get the hang of it, driving in snow is easy.
 
Driving in snow

Very great information for me, someone who is interested in eventually doing some off-roading. Anyone want to post info on driving in snow?

OK I learned the hard way and here is some of what I learned:

1. It doesn't matter how capable the vehicle is, driver error can cause problems.

2. Walk the area first before you drive it. Although the snow all looked the same I had the driver wheels on hard ground and the passenger wheels on compacted snow. All 4 tires were spinning in 4-LO with diff-lock. So the ATRAC was trying to help but not enough traction anywhere. Shovelling under the skidplates only caused the passenger side to sink lower.

3. Not being careful can be expensive. $90 for the towing bill.

I know it doesn't look like it's that stuck but believe me it was!

Some people offered to help pull it out but no one really was confident with it so we decided to pay the tow bill and get it out professionally rather than have a chain snap and break a tailgate window or something.
 

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OK I learned the hard way and here is some of what I learned:

1. It doesn't matter how capable the vehicle is, driver error can cause problems.

2. Walk the area first before you drive it. Although the snow all looked the same I had the driver wheels on hard ground and the passenger wheels on compacted snow. All 4 tires were spinning in 4-LO with diff-lock. So the ATRAC was trying to help but not enough traction anywhere. Shovelling under the skidplates only caused the passenger side to sink lower.

3. Not being careful can be expensive. $90 for the towing bill.

I know it doesn't look like it's that stuck but believe me it was!

Some people offered to help pull it out but no one really was confident with it so we decided to pay the tow bill and get it out professionally rather than have a chain snap and break a tailgate window or something.

First rule is to ensure that you can get yourself unstuck before you dive in... :cool:
 
I see this thread was brought back up from the dead by a spammer, but nevertheless it gives me a chance to read it and add some.

1). know your limits as a driver. 9 times out of 10 your vehicle has higher limits than you do.

2). practice in the safest environment you can, with more experience people surrounding you if possible

3). have a backup plan. Maybe you only make it 35 miles in on your 70 mile out and back trail excursion... be sure you can either survive until help arrives, or be able to get back out

4). food and water. I have a fast metabolism, so I am always eating and drinking. I make no exception on off-road trips. Be sure to carry your trash back out, or dispose of it in proper trail head receptacles.
 
I learned this in a 2wd truck but it wokrs with unlocked 4wd trucks as well. if you come to a point where a rear spinning tire is keeping you stuck, try using the e-brake 1 click at a time with steady increase until the other wheel gets power. it doea wear your rear pads fast but in an emergency its a life saver.
 
I learned this in a 2wd truck but it wokrs with unlocked 4wd trucks as well. if you come to a point where a rear spinning tire is keeping you stuck, try using the e-brake 1 click at a time with steady increase until the other wheel gets power. it doea wear your rear pads fast but in an emergency its a life saver.

ive done that before. it actually allowed me to make it up a climb I never should have been able to. it was crazy.


I thought of something recently, and more along an extreme situation.

to use logs/limbs in place of straps or chains.

im thinking more if you're trying to use a high lift or come-a-long to get unstuck, but don't have enough cable to reach a good tree.

you could find a length of tree or branch, and using your belt, shoe laces, rope or whatever else you may have to secure it. it might be JUST enough to get you out the that predicament.


I once used several lengths of chain, and a couple small trees as levers to pull my truck out. not in the way I was describing above, as I had no mechanical pulling devices, nor any other vehicles. it was some full on MacGyver shit...
 
ive done that before. it actually allowed me to make it up a climb I never should have been able to. it was crazy.


I thought of something recently, and more along an extreme situation.

to use logs/limbs in place of straps or chains.

im thinking more if you're trying to use a high lift or come-a-long to get unstuck, but don't have enough cable to reach a good tree.

you could find a length of tree or branch, and using your belt, shoe laces, rope or whatever else you may have to secure it. it might be JUST enough to get you out the that predicament.


I once used several lengths of chain, and a couple small trees as levers to pull my truck out. not in the way I was describing above, as I had no mechanical pulling devices, nor any other vehicles. it was some full on MacGyver shit...

Are you saying that you use a small tree or branches as a catapult....? In that you bend them down, tie them up to the truck and let go of the branches and then the pull back force of the branches might give you just enough of a tug to help you along. Interesting.
 
Are you saying that you use a small tree or branches as a catapult....? In that you bend them down, tie them up to the truck and let go of the branches and then the pull back force of the branches might give you just enough of a tug to help you along. Interesting.

not exactly. i'll see if I can come up with some in mspaint that shows what I did.
it may be a couple days..:D
 
Are you saying that you use a small tree or branches as a catapult....? In that you bend them down, tie them up to the truck and let go of the branches and then the pull back force of the branches might give you just enough of a tug to help you along. Interesting.

this is crude, and the distances arent to scale, but I think you get the idea. :D



leverage_zps7c31e75f.png
 
I thought of something else ive encountered on the trail.

when you get stuck attempting to pull out another vehicle. now both are stuck, and the strap is tight.

hopefully you have a second strap..

connect it to along side the tight strap, and try to do it in such a way that you get as much slack out.

then using a shovel, or high light handle, slide it between the straps start twisting the straps together. as they twist, they will get shorter, ONE of the rigs will move.

use caution, as the shovel will have a lot of tension against it, if you let go, it will spin....violently.

it can be a bit dangerous, but may be just enough to get you unstuck.
at least enough so you can reposition a vehicle.
 
That could work - you'd want the short side of each log closer to the truck for maximum leverage.

yes, it DID work.

agreed, they were a bit closer, like I said, it wasn't to scale.
but, its not like we have a choice where the trees grow tho :D

things worked out just right for it to work that time.
 

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