Off-roading order of operations

[Craig]

Just a brief outline:

- 4h anytime you're not on pavement
- 4l BEFORE you hit anything steep (and take manual control of gears)
- locker BEFORE you get stuck
- drop psi to wheel size off road. Door jamb pressures back on
- slow is a smooth, smooth is fast

To buy:
- real Maxtrax
- air down tool
- boulder tool tire repair kit from Amazon
- ARB Weekender Recovery Kit from our lord and savior Jeff Bezos
- onX Off-road

You've got this.

4h when on snow

Sponsored

 

[JGF]

Just got a 22 xl stx with 4x4 and locking diff. This is my first 4wd vehicle. I’m wondering if anyone that off roads has any advice on when would I use 4hi, lo, and the locking diff. I have had trouble finding good info on this. I want to take the kids out and hit a few easy trails but would like to have a decent idea of where to start if 4wd is needed and how to approach when to use each mode. Owners manual told me how to use each but not much info on when. Appreciate any help for a beginner such as myself.

There are some very good YouTube videos available that could help.

 

[rondowe]

Lots of good advice here I won't repeat. I would add that you should familiarize yourself with the underside of your truck, especially clearance of anything that could be damaged by rocks, bumps, ruts, etc. Then develop your sense of what you can safely drive over and the path each tire will take as you navigate difficult terrain. If you don't have tow hooks, know where to attach a tow strap should the need arise.

 

[scarchild35]

Check out TFL (The Fast Lane) trucks on YouTube. Those guys seem pretty solid and are constantly comparing trucks against each other. The Ranger kicks serious ass in these comparisons, really does. Those guys almost overexplain everything they do and they put these trucks through some pretty serious offroad conditions. I'd check those guys out if I were you. The Ranger is very capable.

 

[mr.wonderful]

In case it hasn't been mentioned (because we're 8 pages in and I have the attention span span of approximately 13 microseco..... Oh look a squirrel), but don't go alone if you can help it, have a plan, and don't be afraid to turn around if you are unsure/don't feel safe. Your skills will improve with time, but you need to make it home for that to happen

On the FX4, the biggest weak point in my opinion is the factory tires. I imagine the factory tires on the STX NON-FX4 are even worse.... This past weekend I had a situation with mud where if I pressed forward, I ran a good chance of leaving the truck off camber with the left hand side stuck in a rut, and my factory tires were packed full of mud..... I turned around.... If I had a little taller/wider tire, I could've anchored the truck a little more and improved stability, but the tires packing full of mud would've forced a recovery. To put it mildly, it took my buddy in his built Tacoma on 37" Mud Terrains to cover that same spot.

 

[9zero1790]

In case it hasn't been mentioned (because we're 8 pages in and I have the attention span span of approximately 13 microseco..... Oh look a squirrel), but don't go alone if you can help it, have a plan, and don't be afraid to turn around if you are unsure/don't feel safe. Your skills will improve with time, but you need to make it home for that to happen

On the FX4, the biggest weak point in my opinion is the factory tires. I imagine the factory tires on the STX NON-FX4 are even worse.... This past weekend I had a situation with mud where if I pressed forward, I ran a good chance of leaving the truck off camber with the left hand side stuck in a rut, and my factory tires were packed full of mud..... I turned around.... If I had a little taller/wider tire, I could've anchored the truck a little more and improved stability, but the tires packing full of mud would've forced a recovery. To put it mildly, it took my buddy in his built Tacoma on 37" Mud Terrains to cover that same spot.

good tires are the easiest / best upgrade! just pricey lol.

 

[Shoran12]

good tires are the easiest / best upgrade! just pricey lol.

Is there a constantly recommended tire that will still ride decent highway? I have a bit of a commute and have seen some AT tires ride better than other hwy but still offer decent off-road ability.

 

[Shoran12]

In case it hasn't been mentioned (because we're 8 pages in and I have the attention span span of approximately 13 microseco..... Oh look a squirrel), but don't go alone if you can help it, have a plan, and don't be afraid to turn around if you are unsure/don't feel safe. Your skills will improve with time, but you need to make it home for that to happen

On the FX4, the biggest weak point in my opinion is the factory tires. I imagine the factory tires on the STX NON-FX4 are even worse.... This past weekend I had a situation with mud where if I pressed forward, I ran a good chance of leaving the truck off camber with the left hand side stuck in a rut, and my factory tires were packed full of mud..... I turned around.... If I had a little taller/wider tire, I could've anchored the truck a little more and improved stability, but the tires packing full of mud would've forced a recovery. To put it mildly, it took my buddy in his built Tacoma on 37" Mud Terrains to cover that same spot.

Any recommendations on tires? I commute about 50 minutes to work so I would like to find one that will ride decent hwy and still be decent off road if possible.

 

[Shoran12]

It was a 4ah battery. Mind you it was -32C outside at the time.

There is some math involved, because lower PSI require lower flow (CFM) to increase PSI. The difference in going from 20PSI to 25PSI versus going from 30PSI to 35PSI. I just checked and see the Dewalt is rated at 0.5CFM. The Viair 400P is rated at 2.3CFM.
While I like the Dewalt for many things, I won’t be carrying it in the truck for airing up after off road adventures. If and when the opportunity arises, I’ll pick up a Viair for the nearly 5x CFM. Still cheaper than the ARB compressors.

I’ll have to check that one out.

 

[mr.wonderful]

Any recommendations on tires? I commute about 50 minutes to work so I would like to find one that will ride decent hwy and still be decent off road if possible.

BFG KO2s hands down.

Problem with mud terrains, is they get eaten bad while road driving, so mileage isn't the greatest. All Terrains get much better mileage, but the trade off is they pack up with crap on the trails.

The KO2s are my personal pick, but the Falken Wildpeak ATs are another good option. I know folks on here have had fantastic luck with the Firestone Destination XTRs as well.

Just remember, going to a more aggressive off-road tire compared to a more highway oriented tire, you are going to sacrifice quietness and ride quality. But, its a truck, not like my last Audi, so in my case, I don't care

 

[Shoran12]

Yeah, I won't pretend to know what magic the servers for this forum do along the way, but the end result is nowhere near what I see on my PC with the original file. You should be able to use the facebook link I provided, which does a reasonable job of reproducing. I think with the FB link you can even see the rain that was picking up as we did this section. A few minutes later it started coming down hard and then didn't let up very much for the next 24 hours. This was a remnant of the same storm that caused massive flooding in Nevada and Arizona. We got off easy with just a single washout. Here's a pic of the section that washed out about 30 minutes after we went over it.

Here we are going over it.

And here is why we went - after 24 hours of rain we hiked up above the lake and got this vista:

That’s an awesome view!

 

[Frenchy]

Is there a constantly recommended tire that will still ride decent highway? I have a bit of a commute and have seen some AT tires ride better than other hwy but still offer decent off-road ability.

Tried K02's before. In general they are ok. The Wet traction is where they are lacking and that is important. I like the Firestone Destination XT. It is lighter than the K02 when comparing same size and load rating. Does very well with wet and winter traction. I do have a writeup on here

 

[jblc]

Same positive opinions with the Firestone Destination XT (it was Frenchy's original recommendation to put these on my list of potential tires). It is a low noise tire, very capable, and stable, with same mpg as stock.
For me, who doesn't offroad frequently, this is a great daily driver much more capable than stock.

 

[LaBalbe]

Throwin' iron!!! Tire chains for the win!

Just make sure that you put them on the right damn tires!

I was in a "funeral procession" up the mountain the other day, led by some guy who couldn't get going much more than a couple MPH; this was in bad weather conditions, and at the bottom of the mountain was a sign saying "4WD or chains required". I offered to bet my wife that this guy was from a state (which shall remain nameless, but has no mountains and is notorious in this area for producing idiot drivers), but she wouldn't take it.

Eventually, we got to passing this guy, and 1) no surprise, I would have won my bet, but 2) to both of our surprise, he actually did have chains on the front tires. My wife (not a mountain girl) even asked why he wasn't moving better since he had chains. Since it was dark, I didn't get a real good look at the car, but the way he was sliding about, I'm pretty damn sure that it was a RWD, not a FWD!

 

[subquark]

Just make sure that you put them on the right damn tires!

I was in a "funeral procession" up the mountain the other day, led by some guy who couldn't get going much more than a couple MPH; this was in bad weather conditions, and at the bottom of the mountain was a sign saying "4WD or chains required". I offered to bet my wife that this guy was from a state (which shall remain nameless, but has no mountains and is notorious in this area for producing idiot drivers), but she wouldn't take it.

Eventually, we got to passing this guy, and 1) no surprise, I would have won my bet, but 2) to both of our surprise, he actually did have chains on the front tires. My wife (not a mountain girl) even asked why he wasn't moving better since he had chains. Since it was dark, I didn't get a real good look at the car, but the way he was sliding about, I'm pretty damn sure that it was a RWD, not a FWD!

Just put them on one side! One front and one rear!

Talk about screw up the rear axle!

I'm just excited to have "self-tensioning" chains!

It's been 40 years since I used chains, so they've improved quite a bit. =)

PS - I would've backed your bet, Lord knows I could use the money for as much as this forum costs me!

Sponsored