First time off-road tips

My attitude changes depending on the thread.

 

What is a guy with a stock truck gonna do with a hi-lift?

 

Jack it up by the hitch and tip it. But seriously, with the wheel attachments you can lift your wheels up to throw traction boards under the tires. Or if your frame gets too low for a regular jack, you can lift until it'll fit.

 

I feel like there are better first pieces of recovery gear than a hi-lift. Haha

 

I definitely agree. I would go with a set a traction boards if you plan on mud or sand. If you plan on being in a forest with a lot of anchor points, a come-along. Or if you're with other people, tow straps and a snatch strap.

 

They work great in a pinch and are good to carry if only to pull a bent bumper or fender away from a tire. Farm jacks are pretty versatile and can be used as a winch too. Both are slow, but a lot cheaper than a decent electric winch if you’re on a budget.....

 

Stay out of the LED headlights and raptor lights threads, as well as the shitpost threads. Once youve got your ignore list well padded you'll have weeded out most of the stupid.

 

I did "hit and run" with that comment. I was in a hurry.

I threw it out there because he didn't seem to have a lot of time to prepare. I was thinking about him using it as a come-along, or to lift one wheel if he gets stuck. I have a stock truck and I use my hi-lift under the trailer hitch, since that is attached to the frame, no problem lifting off it. There are a lot of good articles and videos showing people winching with them. Slow, yes. Cheap, yes!

These guys demo a kit.
https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/hi-lift-jack-jack-accessory-kit-ork/_/R-BJDH-ORK
https://youtu.be/I-8gFSOTxxA

Stock wheel lift adapater
https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/hi-lift-jack-lift-mate-lm-100/_/R-BJDH-LM-100

I'd get a base plate, or like me carry short piece of 2 x 6 because I'm cheap anonymous or it may not be safe to lift.
https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/hi-lift-jack-off-road-jack-base-orb/_/R-BJDH-ORB

 

Definitely some good hi lift accessories if you are limited on mounting points. I kinda figured you may have implied also getting those pieces.

 

Those are sometimes a guilty pleasure.

 

I definitely don't agree with point 3. There have been plenty of holes that I've gone into and lost momentum due to 2WD, and 4WD wouldn't pull it out. Had I been in 4WD, momentum would have carried me through.

With this mentality though, 4WD into a hole, 4-lo and lock up if you get stuck.

One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give as someone who's wheeled a Jeep with not the greatest ground clearance, is keep your wheels on the high points of the trail. Stick your head out the window if it helps aim for something. That's what gets the underbody over the parts that might get you stuck. If you're going over a hill that drops off right away, these trucks don't have a great breakover angle so try not to go at it straight on. Also since it's a stick, take advantage of the crawl ratio of 4LO to pull you along without forcing you to feather the clutch as much. DEFINITELY use 4LO on steep grades up and down. It helps pull you up, and hold you back on the way down. This is helpful with automatics as well, so you don't have to ride the brakes.

Don't over think anything. You'll be fine.

 

I don’t agree or disagree with any of the tips or advice given here, it’s all good!

I gave the OP the same general advice I was given by my safety manager when I first started driving and working in the woods, 40 yrs ago. Basically, they didn’t want us to 4 wheel drive out into the woods and become stuck. They preferred us to 2 wheel drive out into the woods and if we got stuck, we’d have 4 wheel to get ourselves out. This input was given from a working mans perspective, not a weekend warrior’s.

Happy Trails!

 

Totally makes sense and I get it! Was really just saying from experience that I've had this become not so much the case lol. Looked at a puddle "ah yeah 2wd is fine." The moment I got hung up and lost momentum it was over. 4WD wasn't moving me forward, nor back. Recovery was my only option.

That was also a completely different vehicle. 4WD IFS Jeep with open axles.

 

Yep, me too. I’ve always believed the 2wd-until-stuck philosophy and always told my employees the same. Using 4wd because you know you’ll need momentum to get through some deep water or mud does make sense though.....Although I always told my drivers to never risk going through anything like that too....Maybe it is a Work vs Warrior thing...

 

Could be. I also would never go into something with the remote chance I'd get stuck if I was alone. I'm never afraid to try something if there are other vehicles/people there to help me out of it.

 

Thank you all for the suggestions and tips! You definitely helped me out! Now I just need to try to get hooked up with some VA/MD groups.