So you just bought a Jeep are are itching to test it off-road. Before you chunk that thing into four wheel drive, there are many things that you need to know in order to not only be successful on the trail, but to keep your vehicle and even yourself from being damaged.
While this article is catered to mainly beginners, veteran wheelers may also want to lihat it and re-visit some of the basics of rock crawling that many seem to forget.
Don’t think of this as a “tips” for off-roading article; a tip is something extra to help you out. These are more like commandments, they are the basic things that all off-roaders should know.
Know where you are wheeling
Yeah, I realize that title at first sounds dumb, but it is not. This is where nearly every new Jeep owner makes their first critical mistake, especially the younger ones. You are driving down the road and see a lot full of mud, or some dirt road or trail leading off into some woods, and think “Oh! I am going to drive down THAT!”
can’t even begin to tell you how many kids in Jeeps I have pulled out of the mud while they were wheeling on private land. Wheeling on private land is bad, but even worse is wheeling on public land like in a National Forest when you are off trail.
Whenever a land manager (like a Forest Ranger) finds tracks off designated routes and trails, they document it and use that information as ammo to close down even more areas for off roading.
Bottom-line: DO NOT WHEEL ILLEGALLY. All public lands like National Forest have a “Motor Vehicle Use Map”. Make sure you get one of these maps an stick to the legal routes. You need to stay on the designated routes and trails, don’t just drive anywhere, especially on private property when you don’t have permission.
- Know how to sit in your vehicle.
Rock crawling is much different that driving down the freeway doing 70 mph. You will find yourself leaning forward in the seat looking down directly in front of your vehicle to find the right line.
You will also need to lean your head out the driver’s side window to see your driver’s front tire on the rocks. Vision is key. Move your seat back up, and it can be very beneficial to move the seat higher if you can do that in your vehicle. You want to be sitting straight up and close to the steering wheel like you were taught in Driver’s Ed.