Where to exercise your 4wd in the off season.

[Mudhorn]

I need ot find such service roads, being in NC.. can't just drive on to any dirt road even if it is not private.

TransAm Trail – with Sam Correro

Off road trails that will take you coast to coast. Suppose to be legal roads/trails that are updated regularly.

 

[RedRunner_87]

Yeah but it.....snows......

Lol this is very true. To be honest I drive in 2wd a majority of the time in the snow, so I kind of overlooked that. I am dumb ><

 

[pointman]

any straight road

Paved is ok?? Even when dry? Thank you.

Straight away, wet or dry is fine. I do mine on the highway...

Oh. I thought that it had to be somewhere you lose traction. Dry pavement is ok as long as its straight? Thanks.

Kinda location-dependent.

Here in so cal, I can always go off pavement.

Where are you?

New York City.

Should be able to find some service roads. Most are unpaved, especially in state and national parks. Or if you find some backroads/farmer that doesn't mind.

Straight road works too according to the manual, just not as fun.

Thanks. I thought it had to be unpaved roads.

When is the "off season" for 4wd?

Figure it out. Good luck.

In CO a lot of trails are closed during winter due to snow levels.

Thanks for the understanding.

I use an old closed up/abandoned KMart parking lot to exercise 4LO. Straight roads for 4HI and gentle curves and lane changes are no problem.

Paved too? Thanks. I was under the impression it had to be where losing traction was possible at the very least. Gravel, wet, etc.

 

[pointman]

I need ot find such service roads, being in NC.. can't just drive on to any dirt road even if it is not private.

Exactly.

 

[nb rob]

just put it in 4x4 already. Holy moly

it doesn't need to be in a giant tray of wet marbles. You're not going to break anything. If you don't believe me, check out some videos of guys chirping up rocks at moab.

I've been in 4x4 for the past week. There's even been some dry pavement in there.

5 years of using it like it's a toyota 4x4, and everything is fine.

 

[nb rob]

I didn't mean to be disrespectful,

for the sake of exercising 4x4, just engage it. On pavement it will be fine through turns, intersections, etc. You will feel binding in tight turns like parking etc, so you may want to switch back to rwd. It feels bad, but it's unlikely to break anything.. so avoid tight turns like parking, and anything on the road is fine in 4x4.

For 4lo, anywhere where you can roll relatively straight and not be a nuisance with slow speeds.

 

[pointman]

I didn't mean to be disrespectful,

for the sake of exercising 4x4, just engage it. On pavement it will be fine through turns, intersections, etc. You will feel binding in tight turns like parking etc, so you may want to switch back to rwd. It feels bad, but it's unlikely to break anything.. so avoid tight turns like parking, and anything on the road is fine in 4x4.

For 4lo, anywhere where you can roll relatively straight and not be a nuisance with slow speeds.

Thanks for the help. I honestly believed it wasn't supposed to be used on dry pavement. I was told that here actually. Thanks for the confirmation that it is ok. Appreciate the help.

 

[TommyG]

You can check your smaller local parks for dirt parking lots.

Do a drive through at a time when few people are there. After a rain is great.

 

[delloro]

Thanks for the help. I honestly believed it wasn't supposed to be used on dry pavement. I was told that here actually. Thanks for the confirmation that it is ok. Appreciate the help.

It should not be used on dry pavement.

Why needlessly bind and stress components?

Wait for rain, snow, gravel, or dirt.

 

[Argyle Edison]

I don’t.

If I need 4wd, I use it. Other than that, it’s not used. I’m @ 198k miles and it’s fine.

I’ve owned damn near 20-25 4x4 vehicles in my old age. I’ve never “exercised” them, and have never had an issue.

Bleh

 

[RockyM]

Actually a good topic since this is my first 4WD, and I've heard both sides of the coin (i.e. go for it.... not a problem, or your wheels will fly off into the weeds). There is a local park nearby with a good sized gravel parking lot in the back. I drive around that in 4LO every 2-3 months. It gets muddy but.....4Runner. Also throw it in 4WD occasionally on pavement if it's a straight line.

 

[kenwilliams0803]

Thanks for the help. I honestly believed it wasn't supposed to be used on dry pavement. I was told that here actually. Thanks for the confirmation that it is ok. Appreciate the help.

It's not. But the reasoning behind that only kicks in if you are, say, making a 90 degree turn from a stop sign or into a parking space. Straight roads and/or gentle curves are fine.

 

[Mantilgh]

You can simply do it in a parking lot. All you are “exercising” is the actuators and the parts connected to them.

Also, I assume it’s the V6. You can put in 4h and drive around forever, you’re in awd mode. It’s only with the center diff locked that you have to worry about being on dry pavement


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mudhorn]

I’ve owned damn near 20-25 4x4 vehicles in my old age. I’ve never “exercised” them, and have never had an issue.

Bleh

Haha, this man in ND told me the exact same thing.

 

[Blue 4ever Runner]

You can simply do it in a parking lot. All you are “exercising” is the actuators and the parts connected to them.

Also, I assume it’s the V6. You can put in 4h and drive around forever, you’re in awd mode. It’s only with the center diff locked that you have to worry about being on dry pavement


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

4H is not AWD. An AWD system has slip built into it, on our trucks 4H is a different animal.

 

[Space King]

So from what I gather using 4WD on dry pavement is like masturbating in public.. sure you can do it, but you're not supposed to.

 

[tjnptel1]

Actually a good topic since this is my first 4WD, and I've heard both sides of the coin (i.e. go for it.... not a problem, or your wheels will fly off into the weeds). There is a local park nearby with a good sized gravel parking lot in the back. I drive around that in 4LO every 2-3 months. It gets muddy but.....4Runner. Also throw it in 4WD occasionally on pavement if it's a straight line.

I should meet you there next time lol

 

[RockyM]

I should meet you there next time lol

Elon Park. It's quite boring. No hills, no nothing. Just a gravel lot with some muddy puddles. We can conquer this thing easy. :lookout:

 

[pointman]

You can check your smaller local parks for dirt parking lots.

Do a drive through at a time when few people are there. After a rain is great.

Thanks for the tips.

It should not be used on dry pavement.

Why needlessly bind and stress components?

Wait for rain, snow, gravel, or dirt.

I guess other people should have had the question too. Thanks for chiming in with good information.

I don’t.

If I need 4wd, I use it. Other than that, it’s not used. I’m @ 198k miles and it’s fine.

I’ve owned damn near 20-25 4x4 vehicles in my old age. I’ve never “exercised” them, and have never had an issue.

Bleh

Thats actually really good to read. Thanks for your sharing your experiences. I hope that is still the case with our 4Runners.

 

[pointman]

Actually a good topic since this is my first 4WD, and I've heard both sides of the coin (i.e. go for it.... not a problem, or your wheels will fly off into the weeds). There is a local park nearby with a good sized gravel parking lot in the back. I drive around that in 4LO every 2-3 months. It gets muddy but.....4Runner. Also throw it in 4WD occasionally on pavement if it's a straight line.

As long as no turns are involved its ok on pavement to be in 4H? Thanks!

It's not. But the reasoning behind that only kicks in if you are, say, making a 90 degree turn from a stop sign or into a parking space. Straight roads and/or gentle curves are fine.

Hey, thanks for your input. Are you sure about the 'straight ok, turns are the bad part' reasoning? I hope that is the case.