Okay, we’re finally on the trail!  You’ve smartly positioned yourself behind a more experienced trail rider, one who is driving a similarly-equipped vehicle as yours.  Hopefully, you’ll be able to pick up some useful pointers from this seasoned veteran, and get a pretty good idea of your own vehicle’s capabilities by watching how his/hers performs.  You shift into 4WD, ease out the clutch, big grin on your face . . .   But wait, am I supposed to be in 4-hi or 4-lo, you ask yourself?  How fast should I be going?  Can I drive over those large rocks, or should I go around them?  What other differences between on- and off-road driving do I need to be aware of?  There are a hundred questions running through your head.   You will learn a tremendous amount about off-roading by simply asking questions of the more experienced drivers in the group.  I personally get great satisfaction from passing on anything and everything I can about off-road driving techniques.  People love to be asked about things they know about and have experience with!  To give you a head start on some of your questions, here are several off-road topics and situations that you should be knowledgeable of and prepared to handle on the trail. 

First and foremost, always be in control of you vehicle!  Generally, the slower you go, the more control you will have. Shifting the transfer case into 4-lo will make you go much slower than 4-hi. There’s nothing wrong with driving the entire trail with the t-case in 4-lo. You can still use all 5 transmission gears while in low range, as long as you don’t overspeed the engine (which you will monitor on your tachometer, just like any other driving situation). And any time you feel you are losing control, simply turn off the ignition key and depress the brake pedal.  Leave the tranny in gear and do not depress the clutch pedal. With the engine off and the tranny in gear, the vehicle will not roll unexpectedly. Conversely, restarting the engine with the tranny in gear and without using the clutch, will also afford you added control, especially if you are on the slope of a hill. This technique will not put any undue strain on your vehicle or your starter, as long as your t-case is in 4-lo and your tranny in 1st gear. Also, place both of your feet flat on the floor; no clutch and no gas pedal when starting the engine. Finally, you will have to override the vehicle’s clutch interlock before being able to start the engine this way. The clutch interlock is a safety feature that requires you to fully depress the clutch pedal before the engine will crank.  However, most off-road vehicles have a mechanism to temporarily disable this feature. I do not recommend that you permanently disable the clutch interlock! Instead, install a simple toggle switch so that you can temporarily override it whenever needed. Check out how I did my Clutch Override Switch on my Tech Tips Page.

Always be aware of your surroundings. Unlike highway driving, the trail is going to be full of obstacles (rocks, ruts, trail debris, etc);  otherwise, what would be the point of going off road?!   Look over your hood and memorize the various obstacles approaching in your path.  Don’t hang out of your window in order to accurately place your left tire, cuz your right tire will surely get you into trouble!  In addition to watching out for all the obstacles on the trail, you will also have to ensure your vehicle clears obstacles on either side of and above the trail (rocks, canyon walls, hanging tree limbs, etc).  Also, besides keeping a safe distance from the other vehicles in your group, you may encounter other vehicles traveling in the opposite direction, which you will have to navigate around.  Faster-moving vehicles (ATV’s, dirt bikes, etc) may come up from behind, wanting to pass.  Be courteous--find a place to pull over and let them go around you.

Always keep the person behind you in sight. This is the only way to maintain positive group integrity, especially in large groups.  Not everyone will have a CB radio; or their unit may have limited range.  They might be calling for help, but no one can hear them.  The group becomes separated, the trail leader continues on as if nothing is wrong, and ends up with a big mess on their hands.  If you become stuck or otherwise immobilized, immediately announce your situation over the CB.  Or honk your horn . . . or flash your lights . . . or jump out of you vehicle, franticly wave your arms in the air, and yelling for help (ok, don’t do that last one).  Just get the attention of someone in front of you, so they won’t have to backtrack too far in order to rescue your butt. Hopefully, the person in front of you is keep the person behind him (you) in sight, and will stop if you appear to be in trouble.  BTW, do not be embarrassed about getting stuck.  There are three types of trail riders who find themselves in this situation: those who have been stuck in the past, those who will get stuck in the future, and of course YOU, who’s stuck right now!   ;o)

Here are a few techniques to help get you unstuck, depending on what's got you stuck in the first place.  First of all, make sure that you are in 4-wheel drive (including having your front hubs locked, if so equipped)!  There's nothing more embarrassing, especially for a novice, than to be told by on-lookers to put your vehicle into 4WD!  And believe me, they will know if you aren't in  4WD, cuz neither of your front tires will be turning!  There are so many combinations of situations and circumstances that could get you stuck, there's no way I can cover all of them here.  However, there are a few basic techniques that will get you out of most situations.  Otherwise, you'll just have to take the "strap" or the "cable" (more on proper use of recovery straps and winching techniques are in Lesson 4).  

One of the most common causes of getting stuck is insufficient ground clearance. Your front and rear differentials, and your transfer case skid plate, are your three main clearance-limiting factors.  Let's suppose that one of your differentials is getting hung up on a rock or something . . . back up and try a different line.  It's as simple as that!   Instead of trying to straddle a large obstacle, line up so that one of your tires drives over the obstacle.  You have much more clearance under your rocker panels then you do under either of your diffs.

You will also often find yourself losing traction on all four wheels, especially in slippery mud or loose gravel.  First of all, don't allow the wheels to spin for very long, which will only dig you in deeper.  Instead, try placing one hand at the top of your steering wheel and quickly rocking it back and forth from left to right, between the 10:00 and 2:00 positions, while simultaneous applying just a little throttle.  This may help your front tires "grab" just enough to get you moving again.  Gobs of throttle will only serve to tear up the trail and throw mud all over your fellow Jeepers behind you!  Which may, in turn, result in you finding a gob of something worse on your seat when you return to your Jeep after eating lunch!  :o(

Another situation that will immediately immobilize you (assuming you have "open differentials") is when one of your front tires and one of your rear tires (e.g., your left front tire and your right rear tire) simultaneously become airborne, or otherwise loose traction.  You see, your open-diff'ed 4-wheel drive vehicle is really only 2-wheel drive!  That means that "power" will be directed to the one wheel in the rear, and the one wheel in the front, with the least amount of traction.  So if you have one front wheel in the air, and one rear wheel in the air, those are the wheels that will receive all of the power; those are the wheels that will be turning.  The wheels that are firmly planted on the ground won't be doing $hit.  I know, it doesn't make any sense to me either.  All I know is that if you find yourself in this situation, you ain't goin' no where!  This is why good axle flexibility (a.k.a., "articulation") is so important to vehicles with open diffs.   It allows either both front tires, or both rear tires, to maintain contact with the ground, thereby affording you traction on at least one axle (i.e., "one-wheel drive")!  The alternative is to install locking differentials (a.k.a., "lockers") in one or both differentials.  A locker "locks" the left and right wheels on that axle.  Therefore, if one wheel loses traction, the other wheel will still be able to "drive" the vehicle.  In other words, it won't matter if one wheel becomes airborne, the other wheel (on that axle) will still maintain traction and will (hopefully) keep your vehicle moving.  It's easy to tell whether an axle is "open" or "locked".  Lift the entire rear, or front, (both wheels on one axle) of your vehicle with a floor jack.  If you have an "open" diff, when you turn one wheel forward, the other wheel will turn backwards.  If your diff is "locked", both wheels will turn in the same direction.  There are also "limited-slip" differentials (a.k.a., "posi-traction", or just a "posi"), which gives you something in between an open and a locked diff (much more akin to open than locked, however).  Limited slips are better suited to slippery roads, rather than extreme trail use.  For example, if one wheel is airborne, the other wheel on an axle with a limited slip will act just like one with an open diff--it won't be doing anything!  On the other hand, if both wheel are on the ground, but one of the wheels is slipping, the other wheel will receive some power to help keep the vehicle moving.

Okay, despite all of your efforts to free your vehicle on your own, you still find yourself hopelessly "stuck"!  Don't fret, it happens to all of us at one time or another!  This is why it is so important not to go trail riding alone (of course, if you have a winch this becomes less critical).  But for the typical novice, it's much better to go trail riding in a group.  You will learn a bunch of stuff from the others in your group, there will be help if you get into trouble, and you will have a lot more fun!  In Lesson 4, we will discuss various recovery procedures, including the proper use of recovers straps and winching techniques.

Please Proceed to Lesson #4