Wash board roads.

[kingbiscuit]

I have finally been getting my truck out offroad and having a good time in the Anza Borrego desert. Only thing that drives me crazy are the washboard roads. Everyone says you should be able to hit a certain speed where they aren't a bother but they are always extremely irritating. Not only the rattling, but also when I stop it seems to confuse my ABS system I think, and my brakes sort of pulse in a strange way. Seems like it takes longer to stop then if the ABS wasn't on at all. I might have that all wrong anyways.

What are other people's experiences with washboard roads? Any tips?

 

[Mr. Dabadina]

How old is your current suspension? Is it stock? I'm sure a suspension upgrade would help with this. The speed thing is only effective if your suspension system can absorb the bumps properly.

As to the braking problem, it sounds as if your tires are leaving the surface while on a washboard road(caused by worn suspension/wrong suspension setup).

 

[techno]

In my experience the faster you can go the smoother the ride. (Mythbusters tested this theory once and agreed with it!)
Also, since the corrugations give your shocks a REALLY good workout, they heat up considerably and at certain temps the oil in the shocks becomes aerated and the shock basically loses all performance. Shock absorbers with remote reservoirs (like OME LTR's) allow the oil to remain cool for much much longer and hence perform significantly better on those kinds of roads.
And I agree, standard braking works better than ABS on gravel, but who can turn the ABS off?

 

[kingbiscuit]

How old is your current suspension? Is it stock? I'm sure a suspension upgrade would help with this. The speed thing is only effective if your suspension system can absorb the bumps properly.

As to the braking problem, it sounds as if your tires are leaving the surface while on a washboard road(caused by worn suspension/wrong suspension setup).

I just got new shocks/struts 3 months ago. They were monroe brand. Probably not the best choice.

 

[Ron Helmuth]

stay in 4wd to improve ride

We have a lot of washboard roads out here. Even if your suspension is new there are a lot of variables at play.

One is tire pressure, some folks experiment with their tire pressure to soften or firm up the ride. Another that you mention is speed-but for some washboard roads no matter what the speed you pick-the bumps are just going to feel terrible. Another is the tires themselves- some folks swear by a Light Truck tire while others prefer the softness of P metric series.

Try experimenting with using your 4wd while on these roads to spread out your power when applying the gas, if nothing else you will not contribute as much to more washboarding. I would not recommend "shift on the fly" while bouncing around however-drop your speed to almost a crawl to do so.

In my opinion most washboarding begins and is perpetuated by rear wheel drive and the subsequent loss of traction while bouncing around. That's my theory as it seems to worsen when entering a steeper section or curves.

When in doubt-much like ice, you will just have to drop speed to reduce the severity.

 

[Darrin530]

ABS is terrible in gravel, snow, dirt and mud. On a conventional brake system where the brakes lock up, when the tires are in a skid rocks and shit get pushed under the front of the tires to give you a bit more stopping power. thanks to the ABS in my runner i nailed a three foot rock.