Even if you have a decent driving experience, but you drive exclusively in the city, the first trip off-road can forever discourage auto-travel. During your driving practice, every driver has had to drive off-road and on bad, broken roads. Sometimes part of the way consists of crumbling asphalt surface, gravel, some sections go without coverage at all. The motorist needs to be constantly attentive to avoid unforeseen situations.
Let’s consider in more detail, how the driver must act when driving a jeep on the mechanics on different sections of the off-road.
Preparing for A Trip
Before operating the vehicle off-road, be sure to check the technical condition of the vehicle. Make sure the battery is securely fastened, all hoses are in good working order, and all fluids (including fuel in the tank) are at an adequate level. Check the condition of all four tires. Inflate them if necessary. Try to avoid solo rides over rough terrain. After all, even if there are only two crews in your group, you will be provided with a tow vehicle. It is also very important to check the air intake filter in preparation for driving off-road, namely you need to clean it. Only by following this link https://www.jeepzine.com/how-to-clean-a-kn-air-filter-at-home-quick-rinsing-drying-oiling/ you can find out how to do it properly on your Jeep without visiting the stop and additional materials.
Attention When Driving
Always engage four-wheel drive when driving cross-country if you anticipate that road conditions may require extra traction. It will be more difficult for you to engage all-wheel drive in a stuck Jeep. As you drive, keep your eyes on the section of the road in front of your vehicle, constantly moving your eyes to the right and left. If you watch only what is in front of the left wheel, you risk not keeping track of the right wheel. In addition, it is not recommended to stick your head out of the window when watching the road (the Wrangler has a folding windshield for this purpose!). Many experts recommend not to embrace a steering wheel with thumbs when driving in off-road conditions. Otherwise, at the sharp turn of a steering wheel (caused, for example, by sudden slipping of a wheel from a stone) its spokes can injure your fingers. Of course, thanks to the power steering on all Jeep models, there’s very little chance of a sudden steering turn.
Snow and Mud
If you have to drive in snow or mud, it’s time to use all-wheel drive, or four-wheel drive, which works when you need it. In the case of a vehicle equipped with a permanent all-wheel-drive system, no additional action is required of the driver. In heavy snowfall, towing a trailer, or other circumstances requiring a downshift, select a downshift gear in the transmission and set the transfer case selector to 4-LO if necessary. Do not engage too low a gear or the vehicle’s accumulated inertia will be lost. Avoid high engine speeds as they can cause the wheels to spin and lose traction. If you feel the wheels lose grip when driving in snow or mud, make a few quick left- and right-hand movements with the steering wheel. This usually allows the wheels to catch on fresh layers of snow or mud and prevents the truck from getting stuck. If you lose traction, stop the vehicle. Further slippage will only cause the vehicle to sink deeper into the ground. This is why it is so important to keep the vehicle moving forward.
Important Tips
- If difficult road sections are short, flat, with soft soil, it is better to overcome them from the acceleration, using the inertia of the truck. Usually on a road with soft ground, excluding a marshy meadow, it is best to drive on the trail of the truck ahead. It is possible to drive in a rut when it is not too deep. Deep ruts are recommended to skip between the wheels. If the wheels hit a deep rut and the driver can not take the truck, it is better to stop, to clear the roadway under the driving wheels, put if necessary under the wheels of branches, planks, and drive out of the rut.
- Big difficulties arise at movement on a wet clay road, because wet clay adheres to wheels, closes grunt teeth of a tread, considerably lowers traction of wheels with a road: quite often leading wheels to slip or slide “yaws”, creating the danger of sliding a truck from the road into a ditch. It is better to bypass wet clay areas. If you cannot do this, you should beforehand include the front driving axle, lower gear, and move at a low speed without stopping and braking, not making sharp turns of the steering wheel. In order not to drive into the ditch, it is better to direct the wheels on the trail of the previously passed truck. On particularly difficult sites you should use snow chains or improvised materials (brushwood, stones, rubble). Do not allow prolonged slipping of wheels. It leads to increased wear of truck parts and tires, useless waste of time, and great overconsumption of fuel.
Towing
If you feel that one side of the Jeep is stuck, it is recommended to brake the wheels slightly. In this case, part of the torque from the slipping wheels is transferred to the non-rotating wheels and thus reduces the slipping of the drive wheels or stops it altogether. Sometimes it happens that during movement there is a redistribution of truck weight and engine torque on wheels: wheels loaded less have worse traction with the ground (slipping), and loaded more – stand. In this case, it is necessary to release the platform from the cargo, and the slipping wheel to put under it branches, planks, stones. Then turn on the first reverse gear and slowly remove the vehicle from the slipping place. After that load the platform with cargo again.
Is the Jeep Stuck?
Well, what to do if the Jeep does get stuck? How to get it out? It is recommended to try to get the stuck truck out of, say, a ditch with the help of “rocking”, which is made by fast switching forward and backward speeds: “Forward” – “Backward”, “Forward” – “Backward”. By moving slightly forward and backward, the truck reduces the angles of lift of the drive wheels and acquires some inertia. If you cannot get the truck out in this way, you should cut the ditch or ditch edges with a shovel, make them flatter, and if necessary put under the driving wheels of improvised material (dry branches, bushes, slag, stones, broken bricks) or attract another truck to help. To remove a stuck vehicle from a deep ditch, you may be able to tow it out of the ditch with a rope and support made of logs.
That’s It!
However, it is because of this misunderstanding that many SUV owners are reluctant to use their off-road vehicles, believing that if they go out on a bad road, even an experienced driver will damage the truck. This is one of the most basic misconceptions that discourages many drivers from driving off-road. Also, I advise you not to go off-road alone. When you go on a trip, take like-minded people or friends who will help you pass the difficult sections of the road without damage.