Techniques

[Griffdowg]

thats a mouthfull. im running 265/75 Bronco Grizzly claws. i hardly ever get stuck when im out. i put it down to the low torque of my n/a

G

 

[Boner]

Awight guys

Good wee thread this is getting loads o god advice and info.

See now i run those greenway macho fellies and unfortuantly the numties at the garage fitted 3 the wrong way around and left 1 the right way so i thought disater but as mentioned they did pull me oota a very sticky situation no problem. My thinking is their directional and nowt to do with 4x4 but back in the day if you were a mountain biker the old trick was to switch the directional tyred backwards to gain mega grip on climbs etc wth a small loss of directional control on fast sections you reakon this would be the same with me alndy tyres or am i gona fall of the side of a hill?

Also how low shoulkd you run the tyres when you hit the soggy stuff.

Cheers

 

[Griffdowg]

down to 5or10psi if your running beadlockers i reckon 20psi to be safe. make sure you have a good compressor to pick em back up when you finish. not only do you gain grip tenfold but you also reduce lane damage.

G

 

[Boner]

down to 5or10psi if your running beadlockers i reckon 20psi to be safe. make sure you have a good compressor to pick em back up when you finish. not only do you gain grip tenfold but you also reduce lane damage.

G

cheers man now i know i wasny sure how low to go with em.
Other wee things i ahve done is to get a diff guard up front as i been told the sailsbury rear can take a fair bashing. Has a steering guard fitted and well tested recently on some very deep ditches . In the back along with the dogs lives a spade a fork a sledgehammer a full toolkit and some basic service itmes namly fan and alternator belts jubille clips and gaffa tape. oh and a nato NBC suit incase war breaks out or yin of the 2 dogs lets ripp in the arse reigon. I will now add to that a good compressor.

 

[Griffdowg]

paddocks do a single and twin Tmax compressor for reasonable $$$. while your there pick up a rear sliding diff guard for your salisbury. not worth risking a diff smashing for £25 is it?

what can happen, is your front diff/steering guard will dislodge a rock (while your in them ruts and your axles are scraping the surface) which will then lay in wait for your unprotected rear diff. i wouldnt take much to splice a small hole in your diff casing.

G

 

[Vambo]

Thanks for getting on board guys (n dolls?) I'm glad some good tips are coming through

I'm off at a tangent from tyres sorry.....a bit about tackling inclines :
Some of this comes from my trials riding (not Trail, Enduro - Trials!)
Not quite as relevant on the way up with a 4x4 but definitely on the way down !

Down: Usually the idea is L1 (low first gear) and let engine breaking bring you down. There is one danger though. Especially in a vehicle. That is if you find you are slipping. Especially if you find the back end coming round on you ! If you do feel the back end coming round at all. I suggest one of the following.
1/ Dip the clutch - this lets you run ahead and straighten up, feed the clutch back in slowly. The problem with this is L1 may be too low a gear now - So try and grab a higher one.
2/ If you think there is any danger of slipping, start in a higher gear, L2/L3
If I feel the back end coming round at all, or starting to slide I will do something most people still find counter intuitive - Immediately Boot It ! Really, get some quick speed up.

You do not want to risk a roll in a vehicle. Now, usually your slope is easing out onto an area of runoff. So swap a potential rollover, into a question of how to slow down when you are at the bottom. At the worst you will ding a tree !
Now I realise there is an argument that hurtling downhill, you may strike other ruts or rocks that may slew you or flip you. Well. You gotta check the section before you go down. Try and identify the best line. Try and identify the danger area in advance. Tell yourself "I will probably be in trouble at this bit - What will happen and what line do I take when it goes wrong......?"

Going up : well not a lot to say really. Ever rolled backward on a motorcycle/quad bike and hit the brakes? So same thing in a way applies in a Landy. If you feel the nose come up - dip the clutch. If you start sliding backwards..... well either find reverse (tricky) or dip and feed the clutch back in. You might manage to actually stop on the slope. Giving you time to select reverse. Then find out how good you are reversing down a scary slope ! If you ever feel tempted to hit the brake - you had better be as gentle as a little lamb.

Getting up: In trials the idea is to have your closing speed/acceleration as close as you can to allow momentum alone to get you up. With just judicial use of the throttle to find grip. A higher gear is wanted for torque. a low gear means you will spin the wheels and instantly lose momentum. Of course the usual danger applies if you are firing up a rutty slope which may stick a rock out and flip you. So, again, observation observation.
This technique is not always possible in a Landy, but I try and get as much closing speed as I can. If I am not going to get speed - then L1 is as good as anything I seldom use second. If I can't get up in low third or fourth. (sometimes even high box comes into play) Then why not just crawl up in low first ?

That's about it really - some bones of contention I'm sure

 

[stig]

some excellent tips throughout this thread, please newbies read and digest, the only comment that i can make is that when coming down an incline in L1 make sure that diff lock is engaged (Disco/90 etc not Series) as I did not a while ago and got battered verbally by yella!!!! (tis a lot more controlable and the back end tracks better ie; not stepping out and less shunt on transmission)

 

[1dirtylandy]

Good thread, i have to agree with griff's points, you need to be prepared, tyres is a must, i run big tyres now and when i offroad/greenlane i drop the tyre presure right down to increse the footprint and increse grip, i have spent many years laning on my own and only the once just recent have i failed to extract myself, (and all because of being polite to mountain bikers )... i never leave home without recovery equipment, winch, waffels, land anchor, straps, hi-lift etc... and even down to first aid personal and mechanical types... i never leave home without tea making facilties mind you come to that.... but the way i look at it whether i have to winch, dig or cut my way out i'm prepared for the conditions ahead whatever they may be, i hope.... as for tips on driving trust you vehicle, keep calm, there's no better way than to get some good info to learn... i've got a new lad into laneing and because he was a dick!!!! i now refuse to take him anywhere.... advice to this point, listen to what others say and don't become a dick.... there is good info out there you just need to sift through the crap first.... amen...

 

[Griffdowg]

yer i agree with me its not difficult nubs, i only been doing this 12months. common ****ing sense will always prevail...

G

 

[The Mad Hat Man]

just a quick Q - all this talk of driving thro and getting bogged down in ruts - shirley it would be better to avoid the ruts and drive over the ridges, if at all possible - thems likely to be drier, harder and easier to navigate?

 

[yella]

there is a bit of good advise and a load of cock on this thread. the main thing i would like to point out is that by reading this and then venturing off road will not makje you an expert. its easy to talk the job but doing it is completely different. there are a lot of experienced off road drivers around. if you are new to it then go out with one of them. never venture out alone and for a first timer the best advise is to go to a pay and play. ignore the ****s that are steaming arouynd everywhere flat out and talk to the guys crawling around. watch and learn. even park your motor up and cadge a lift around with an experienced guy. the countrside is ours for the use of. lets not **** it up!

 

[Griffdowg]

ai up i concur... i did say in my 1st response, join a club. you learn a hella lot.

good point mad man, but only if the lane width permits. the other downside is, you end up creating more pathways and eventually, over the coarse of a few months/years more ruts. even been down a lane where there are 3 or 4 sets of ruts and they all link together? i wonder how that happened!

G

 

[slob]

If you drive off road blind you will 100% definitely be in trouble.


.
Cheers

bollocks!

i drove through the center of OZ just at the end of the wet season so there was still a lot of water about. never once did i get out of me 2wd van to 'walk through any thing' .

my method involved flooring the throttle as soon as you see any mud., aim for the narrow bit and let the fooker skite over the mud on its belly.

nevva failed once.

now yer can't do that wiff yer 4x4 wiff a 6" lift you'll just get stuck.

so yer can't say " if yer drive off road blind you will100% definatly be in trouble" cause its not true

 

[Pikey]

This **** should have read this thread furst

 

[1dirtylandy]

come on not one of us is the perfect driver, even if we all think it, the most valuable asset is common sense, no shame in turning back if the obstacle cannot be crossed or you know you will do serious damage to your truck or the LANE, we all make mistakes, but only the wise learn from them....

 

[GRUNT]

we all make mistakes, but only the wise learn from them....

Nah you've got it wrong. A clever man learns from his mistakes, a wise man learns from someone elses mistakes.

 

[1dirtylandy]

Yeah ok, but that was aimed at those going it alone, i said only the wise learn from them, i did'nt say how...

 

[G-man]

i'f your going alone, 1, have self recovery gear i.e. winch, anchor etc 2, take along a friend in another landy 3, do't take risks with deep mud 4,don't drive thru that river you haven't fitted a wading kit and snorkel

 

[1dirtylandy]

Here Here

 

[Griffdowg]

...its all been said before