I ran into a situation this weekend that my technique
was questionable.

I was wheelin in the SE AZ desert on fort Huachuca and came upon a hill that needed climbing to get to a place that my wife wanted to go.
The ground was loose with some scattered 4-5-6-7-8-10 inch rocks scattered around naturally. After all it is the desert in SE AZ.

My question became do I stay in drive 4H
or go to a lower gear and 4L?
I finally settled on 2nd gear and 4L.
Then do I trample the skinny peddle or just give it enough
to get up the hill?

Decisions Decisions.

 

Loose stuff, you need lockers and wheel speed. If there were rocks in it 2nd and low was a good combo. In a big pile of sand or dune, you want your tires too stay on top of the sand and sometimes speed is the only way.

 

As much as my wheeling style happens to be a particularly violent one, and I often joke about just mashing the gas...often times a particular stretch involves feathering the gas and technical skill. This is especially true anytime you are running over rocks. Don't think for a second when I'm going up boulder-strewn Firebreak Five in TSF that I'm not as low as I can go and crawling...

 

If you see rocks, you are probably not going to bury your rig. If its extremely loose sand and no rocks digging in could be a problem. Watch out for over heating as well if you start digging in. If you gool around in big sand areas, carry an old boat anchor (not the mushroom type) with you to use with a winch.

Practice is the best thing. I drive by feel.

 

ok, went wheeling two days ago and this very question came up several times. There were tones of deep mud holes to practice both ways. I am an advocate of nailing the skinny pedal, but this time i had my stepmom with me. (last time im ever taking her) Well she didnt like the bumpiness, and kept sying go slow. I told her that you have to keep momentum, but she kept telling me to take it slow, and drive around the big holes. Well after her nagging long enough i said ok. Ill do this one your way. I went to the side of one of the holes and was going to straddle the rut. Well the grass on the left side must have been floating, because it was in about 2.5-3 feet of water. Well the left side sunk in. Water was over both the 31's on the lefts side. And the angle i was on didnt let the right side get any traction. So my dad came with the '79 F-250 (4x2, i know )and tried to get me out. He would back up and try to ****** me out, but it didnt work. He backed up with about 10 feet of slack in the strap and floored it. The back end of his truck came off the ground, but didnt budge mine. So after about 5 hours and 3 trucks (hooked together) we called a tow truck. (2 of them). Good thing the brought 2 (F-250 4X4, and a chevy 4x4) The chevy 2500 got stuck where my ranger had been and had to get the F-250 to winch him out. Well when they finally got to me they hooked up. Started winching and just pulled both trucks towards mine. Finally got some traction and pulled me back enough where i could get out.



Thats a long story, but its a good one. Moral of the story, MASH THE GAS. (at least in mud)

 

one of the many examples 4x2's can only go through so much

4x4 baby!






lol yes I am sure this will get some ppl fired up, but a good healthy debate is good right?

call it lucky or unlucky but my mom won't even get in my truck! (might be the fact that she can't jump that high )

-jason-

 

I dont mean mine was 4x2. 4X4 all the way. My dad's old truck is 4X2. I wish it was 4x4, then i wouldnt have to pay the tow bill. Now if i had 4X2 i wouldnt have even got to where i got stuck.

 

Ryans just barely put that corpse in the grave and you gotta rattle that cage again Somebodies kneecaps are getting paid a visit by mr. rifle butt.

Anyways, there is not an end all strategy for off-roading. Every situation calls for a slightly different approach and the only constant factor that seperates the men from the boys is skill.

 

And skill comes with experience, so you have to wheel to get good at wheeling. Getting stuck is a good chance to learn. Next time I bet i get out on my own.

 

I couldn't agree more. As long as your learning its a good thing, stuck or no.

 

Yeah but id rather be "learning" with someone elses truck.

I learned one thing already... I WANT A WINCH!!

 

sorry Pro

I know 99xlt.....I was just messing with ya! you'll get used to it I love getting stuck, but after a while it gets annoying when you are trying to have fun! It stretches my brain to think of new and inventive ways of extraction! I never had a 4x2 but all I have to do is reach down and push my 4x4 shifter all the way forward and then go get stuck!

-Jason-

 

Yeah, thats would be a good way to practice. Then when you are just about to give the truck away cause your so mad, you kick it in 4x4 and drive home. I dont think a tank would have helped where i was at though. Even the towtruck got stuck. When he started winching me out my truck didnt move, and his was moving towards mine. Finally hit a rut or something, enough to move me out of the hole i dug with the previous extracion attempts.