offroading/mudding questions

[gdhillon]

Couple questions about mudding/4x4ing. When you guys start in 4lo (before a steep grade or some big obstacle) do you guys start in 2nd and just give her? Would it be ok to start in 3rd to get going faster or is that to ******* the clutch?

I got a buddy who just got a 91 chev halfton and he's been talkin trash about how my truck wouldnt do good offroad b/c its a diesel and standard. But I beg to differ especially after watching those videos of the guy with the ih scout (forgot his name and cant find the thread). So naturally i want to put up a good fight, for my trucks honor.Do you guys have any tips like airing down the tires etc? Around here we mostly have clay and some soupy time stuff.

O and my flywheel does make a chattering/rough vibrations once in awhile, would that affect my trucks offroad capabilities?

 

[jasonhughes]

It is indeed more difficult to off road with a manual. At least in my crawling experience. In terms of gas vs diesel. Neither one really have that much of an advantage over the other. Ideally I would like to run a 6.9 idi in my crawler once this gas engine blows. Gas will occasionally not build enough torque (been there) while diesel will sometimes build too much torque (been there) sometimes you want the extra weight of the diesel in the front sometimes you want the lightweight gas block in front in terms of brands you can tell your friend hes a bonehead for really thinking a chevy is better off road than anything else. They all have ups and downs and anything can be made reliable with enough money. I firmly believe your off road capability starts at the tires. You can have a 60k brand new truck but if your running bfgoodrich m/ts you arent going to be doing anything serious. Now you can have a 3000 dollar truck with some pitbull rockers or some swamper iroks and youll surpass that new trucks off road capability any day of the week

If you can master crawling in a manual with a low rpm engine like a 6.9 then you will be one of the more experienced operators out there. Ive tried it several times and im perfectly content sticking to the e4od in my bronco. In terms of mud/clay. Id stay out of low range on the tcase. You want momentum to carry you through soup not tons of power once your already stuck.

ANd personal input. Dont go into the clay until you ditch your lift blocks. Sooner than later your going to wrap your axle. Seen it done plenty of times. And id hate to see it happen to a member on here

When crawling and approaching something steep may put it in 2 lo but oftem times im sticking to 2hi I say 2 becausw it comes down to the tires when I was on wranglers I was 4hi for everything. I just wanted barely enough power to get the tires rolling any bump in the throttle and id lose traction. Since I got my pitbulls its pretty much 2 lo everywhere ive only had to lock one of my front hubs once with the pitbulls.

Airing down can be damgerous without beadlocks but not alltogether unsafe. You run a high risk of debeading a tire or bending a rim but it comes down to your tire again. I usually run the pitbulls at 5 psi and they hardly flex the sidewall at all but im beadlocked and im careful about it it provides a bit better traction. With the wranglers at 7 psi they were almost flat so they were usually run at 15 or so.

Hope this all helps and remember its just my input everyone has there own approach to off road.

 

[riotwarrior]

I'll add my few pennies of thoughts here too Gavin

Clearly these trucks can wheel that's NOT an issue

Knowledge and skill is

So I for one with my M55 Toyo's only drop down to bout 26 PSI compared to stock

Gearing is something you will learn 4L or 4H

Now how about some advice...OK

LET the others go through water crossings first...get an idea of depth by them going through!

MAKE SURE YOU KNOW where your AIR INTAKE is at and DO NOT go over that what so ever..hydraulic an engine BAD

Our heavy ass diesels do weigh front end down lots so be prepared to sink!

Don't go wheeling alone..EVER! Or SAR will be looking for you .... that won't go over well now will it????

Make certain that all your vent tubes are clear of obstructions and up high

Make sure your seals are good / trans/tcase/diffs etc

DO NOT wheel without good solid FRAME MOUNTED TOW POINTS at least ONE on front and ONE on rear...

DON"T be afraid...but be respectful of your skillz and experience and of the truck. Don't expect it to go where big tyred built trucks with lockers can go!

DO GO wheeling and learn your truck

INVEST in a WINCH if you are going to go frequently and invest in recovery gear. shovel, Straps, shovel, shakles, shovel chain, shovel, chain saw....did I mention shovel?

I think you'll be fine! I know my trucks good to go! But wait...DILLIGAF what it looks like what so ever?

Al

 

[79jasper]

You should look up what other people do with whatever tires you choose/have.

Some need to be spun fast to keep the lugs clean, some don't.

With 4.10's and stock sized tires, I hit 4L and start in first, then hit second once I'm rolling.

Which reminds me, I need to replace both u-joints in the cardon on my front shaft. (So for now, I avoid mud if I can)

 

[Ruger_556]

Manuals do just fine in the mud you just need to get the feel for how to drive it. The E4OD in my truck likes to shift up into 3rd (Auuughhhh!) when I'm off pavement. We have real heavy sticky mud over here and once you get the tires spinning fast enough to clean out it'll shift and run out of oomph to keep it going. Sure wish I could lock it into 1-2 instead of just either or. Word to the wise though... That 1,000 lb diesel will sink your front end if you don't keep moving. I spend a lot of time in farm fields over here (Packing tools out to fix the tractor).

When in doubt and no buddy to get you out, I either go around or flip it around and back through the hole in reverse. If you feel the back of the truck sink you can drop into first and the weight on your front end will "usually" get back you out.

 

[gdhillon]

thanks for all the info guys. I like the tip to go with the back end first...actually I like Al's 'let the other guy get stuck first' logic more haha

From what I can tell axle wrap is when the axle tilts? That must be ******* the driveshaft is there a way to know if it has already happened? I kno the blocks need to go, what i want to do is get a full suspension lift (4'' maybe) from fleebay or something to have a legitimate lift but that will have to wait until I have the extra cash for it.

On the rear it has one of those hidden hitch deals and i have a trailer hitch on it, but for the front i do not have anything. So I was thinking of using two slings i think there called(loop looking things rated a t 6000lbs) and putting those around the front bumper mounts, then I have a tow rop with loops on both ends rated at 10klbs that i would feed through those loops. What do you guys think of that?

As for the tires i have 33" bfg km2s i am told they are good for 4x4ing. Right now i have fronts at 50 and rears at 80 as per the door sticker.

Jason, what do you mean by lock one hub? Does that give you 3wd?...thanks for your input I personally am a fan from learning from other people who are more experienced in whatever it is im doing then trying it myself and using there input/

Al, I have seen pictures of people going bals out through water and making massive waves, ive always wondered how they dont get water in there intake like that.

I hear ya on that one I never go quadding or snowmobiling myself either. haha ya thatd make the wrong first impression lol

Are these vent tubes just like vent tubes on a small engine carb? Ill have to look that up in my manual to see where they are...what does dilligaf mean?. That reminds me ill have to learn how to use my old mans come along! lol I will bring shovels, gum boots (anyone else here not able to drive stick with gum boots?)

Thanks for the tip jasper i will google that

And thanks again guys....earlier when ob was down i had to resort to youtube videos of idis haha

 

[Leeland]

Just go have some fun, not sure why you'd listen to a guy wheeling a 91 gm half ton. You N/A, ratio?

***Didn't see it asked or covered: Tread Lightly- Stay on legal lands, not sure if you guys have all the Eco ****'s up there. Here it's pretty important to do the right thing, all the retards that just go bombing through mud holes where ever they please just gives the eco nuts ammo to take away legal trails.

 

[jasonhughes]

axle wrap is when the axle wraps itself from torque flowing through the driveshaft. it can be avoided by the use of tracbars and by avoiding liftblocks. really trac bars are the only sure way to avoid it but ive never seen an axle wrap itself when using just leafpacks. im sure its been done before on many occasions though, i just havent been lucky enough to see it.

in terms of the km2 ive heard they used to be good (from a buddy in alaska that drove over a roadspike and it never leaked air. from what ive seen lately, i wouldnt pay 50 bucks for 4 of them.

locking one front hub will only work if you have a locker in front. it works for my rig because im locked front and rear.

i agree with letting other people go first. especially people that like to run their mouths and show off. the only problem with this is your usually going to end up stuck going one way through the mud, and thats the way they just carved through it. it creates an issue when they have taller and wider tires than you...

snorkels are great investments and can be homemade with a great effect just out of pvc and silicone. just make sure to put some kind of netting at the inlet to prevent critters from nesting in your intake

youll find a vent tube at the top of both differentials, and at the top of your tcase and your transmission. all of mine have been extended up into the cab about a foot off the floor boards (i have a habit of flooding the cab....)

as mentioned safety first, dont trespass all that good stuff. basically use your common sense. and make sure you can get home without having to call a tow truck (thats a hefty bill)

id find a wheeling club in your area and try meeting up with them a couple of times. some will be picky but the good ones wont. reno4x4 is a classic example, when i went snow wheeling with them there were about 30 of us with all different makes of vehicles. jeeps to broncos, a nissan xterra, an old toyota land cruiser, a toyota pickup even a dodge ramcharger and an old blazer. all of them were very modest and complimented everyone on their rigs. try and find a club that does it for the enjoyment of getting out in the fresh air and seeing some good scenery, not a club that goes out to show how badass they think they are and how much the like chevy over any other brand.

 

[gonecrazyi]

Running 38 xmls and no turbo I generally run around in 2wd and use 3rd low when in 4x4. Only get stuck when I do something really stupid like slip into a hole sideways. 3rd low idles slow but still cranks the big tires with 4.10s and a 5 speed.

I could anywhere the Toyota and Chevy trucks were going g except for some of the really steep hills. But I could make those with some momentum. What I liked is I could drive out, run all day and drive home and still have fuel for the rest of the week.

 

[Oog]

Hah. 4.10s, 4low and 5.something first gear make for 2mph at redline in first

 

[Dieselcrawler]

i run 4lo either 2nd or 3rd if it isnt to sloppy. if i need the wheelspeed i go for second high range. as for the vents, i just ran mine higher. the front axle and transfer case are mounted on my firewall. the rear axle is mounted to the back of my cab. 4 speeds dont have a vent tube, they vent threw the shifter as does the zf5. if you end up with water in your cab, you should probly drain the trans....

sawing the front wheels side to side helps alot, even more if you are in ruts. it lets the steer tires grab the sides of the rut and helps pull you along.

all mud is different. clay can be a sonofabitch. i have seen guys get stuck in a half inch of clay, just spinning all 4.

http://youtu.be/WPT63YZWfY4

sometimes momentum is your friend.

 

[6.9poweredscout]

On 39s or bigger locked front and rear corey and my scout do very well. I almost always use low range unless I really need wheel speed. Hi range is tough on a clutch and even worse on am auto. I try to never use hi range in an auto. Search 6.9 powered scout or thunder pumpkin.

 

[crashnzuk]

I'll say this about the manual trans deal and people who think they don't work off-road. The guys who think they don't work well are usually the guys who have no idea how to drive a manual trans correctly. All of my wheelin' rigs have been manual trans. The key to wheeling a manual trans, at least in the rocks, is proper gearing and driving style. I see lots of guys who have no idea what they are doing and they can't leave the clutch alone. They are also the guys complaining that their clutches don't last. My personal rule is that once the clutch is out, you don't touch that pedal again until you want to either stop or shift. I recently took my Ramcharger to the Rubicon trail. It has a 360, np435, stock 203 t-case (2:1), 4.10 gears, and 37" h1 take-offs. It did surprisingly well even though the gearing isn't quite where I want it. Most of off-roading is about experience, get out there and get some. Just don't hammer on your equipment like the other yahoo's do, a good driver is a technical driver.
Travis..

 

[riotwarrior]

DILLIGAF

Do

I

Look

Like

I

Give

A

Fart! used nicely here...figure that one out yerself!

I really don't care if I scratch or dent my ride...it's marks of pride for me!

A come along...hmmm....not going to go so well with a 6000lb plus...truck.

INVEST in a 60" hi lift or Jackall jack they are top dog for recovery! 48"er for your size truck not all that great but better n none! Longer better...used as comealong and jack and and and what ever you need it for!

DO NOT DO THE WRAP ON BUMPER MOUNTS ....DON"T DO IT!

Invest in FRAME MOUNTED quality recovery hooks. Check local auto recyclers maybe Star Auto Salvage for some. Closed loop style like on new trucks are the best! open ones can open more and subsequently loose the hood etc

These would be a minimum for use and I don't like these much...make sure OPEN end points DOWN if hook fails strap etc gets shot to ground!
http://www.princessauto.com/pal/Pintle-Hooks/10000-lb-Tow-Hook/8002273.p


for rear invest in one of these or something similar
http://www.princessauto.com/pal/Pintle-Hooks/3-4-in-Class-IV-Tow-Shackle/8386088.p
or
http://www.princessauto.com/pal/Pintle-Hooks/2-in-10000-lb-Tow-Ring/8063745.p

DO NOT USE TOW ROPES WITH HOOKS...use recovery straps...see this here
http://www.princessauto.com/pal/Tow-Straps-And-Ropes/6-in-x-30-ft-Recovery-Strap/8021892.p

Make sure that if you don't have a winch you have all your own gear to get pulled out and the truck has points to tow from!

Don't rely on the other guys gear, have your own!

Start your collection of recovery gear JIC just in case, get an old Ammo can or some type of tool box to keep it all in and so forth.

Get a tree strap for winching!

Here is a good winch, watch the Princess flyer they go on sale for like 399 or 499 now and then...
http://www.princessauto.com/pal/en/Off-Road/10000-lb-12V-DC-Off-Road-Winch/8289399.p

Check out
http://bb.bc4x4.com/index.php or http://www.crawlinbc.com/forum/ or http://forum.ih8mud.com/

for guys in your area and for deals on some parts, winches etc come up for sale now and then in the for sale sections

Also don't be afraid to come down here and enjoy some fun!

Al

 

[dizdak]

i say take your truck out an learn its and your capabilities, a lot of offroading is drivers skill .. down here in FL mud bogging / racing is huge, everything from small 150hp to huge 1500hp trucks ranging from damn near stock to all out mega trucks... and the funny thing is wether they have $150k in their toys or $1k they still have to have it out a few times to learn how to run it.... i agree with being prepared like others have said with winch, and high lift jack, and tools, if you think you may need it try to have it with you or close at hand if the need arises..