First time off road - advice (manual transmission)

Hello,

I have a 2013 regular cab 4x4 manual transmission. Everything is completely stock and I have never been off road before. I read the stickies about all the items to bring along on a trip like this, and I will make sure to get everything in order before going.

I have a friend who has a 2012 double cab trd off road package. He is also very inexperienced with off road driving. He said there is a trail that he made it half way up in a 2wd before and wants to try to get to the end. It ends at a lake where we would like to do some fishing.

I looked up the trail on the local 4wd club. They said the trail difficulty is easy and even the most inexperienced drivers should be able to complete the trip. They said it's a great trail to try out new 4wd vehicles as well.

I was wondering if anyone could offer any advice on driving off road up and down hills with a manual transmission. Also for something like this would all the add ons be recommended like skid plates, sliders, etc.?

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

stay on 1st gear with 4lo balancing gas and clutch. the lake you mentioned sound familiar to a lake i know also. will require some offroading and end up at the lake. its around shaver lake area?

 

Avoid letting those stock tires fall into deep ruts. If its an easy trail there won't be any real technical stuff but might be some areas to get hung up, in my experience ruts are the most common places to hang up... Some dingdong with 44's already went through there 40 times until his pumpkin was dragging or whatever.

Take it slow, let the other guy go first if you come across water or deep mud. Don't be afraid to get out and assess the situation if you are unsure, picking the right approach can be all GE difference. Look for roots, stumps, rocks ect that can mess up your day.

If you do get into the slippery stuff, don't be afraid to give it some "skinny pedal" to clear the tires, just make sure that your momentum won't make you hit anything that will damage the body or anything under the truck.

These are bigger than the old Toyota trucks, but yours is still light and will more than likely surprise you with it's abilities. I have seem some 1st gen Tacomas and older pickups go through some serious stuff in stock form.

Before you go out, crawl around the truck and get familiar with recovery points. Major damage can occur I you throw a tow strap around the wrong area. Maybe even go get a TRD front hook.

If you are getting towed out, don't do the 15ft of slack and floor it method, something will break. Make a recovery plan, dig, jack, shovel or whatever until to comes out easy.

 

Letting some air out of the tires will help in traction, and ride quality. If you don't have the ability to air back up, then don't go down to less than 20 psi. Then you could air up at the nearest gas station on the way home.

When going over obstacles, like ledges (or drop-offs), approach at a SLIGHT angle, so that both front tires don't have to negotiate it at the exact same time.

Don't take any chances if you are by yourself. Bring a tow strap, tools, spare tire, etc.

I remember my rookie days. Funner than hell.

PS - Do the right thing, and bring trash bags. Pick up after yourself, and others, and keep the trail clean.

 

when going down a hill try to let your transmission slow you down instead of hold the clutch the whole time.

 

Better tires will take you a long way.

 

Pick a gear for the terrain you are about to attempt. Like a climb. If you find any soft sand stay in a low single gear and keep RPMS high until you reach solid ground. Also if you need to stop in sand dont brake to a complete stop. Try to roll to a stop the last couple feet and you wont dig yourself in and possibly get stuck. Just dont change gears if you are into anything technical. unless you need to lower your gear quick if you realize you are too high.

Lowering air pressure will help with sand and such. Don't get too crazy airing down if you have street tires as the sidewalls aren't designed for airing down.

also something to keep in mind is take your spare tire out from underneath your bed and strap it into your bed. Don't want to have a flat spare when you need it.

 

get a crawl box.

 

that is the cheater mode ^

 

dont hate

 

i will hate all day.

 

4lo, 1st gear, use rev-limiter to slow you down!

 

u can be jelly all j00 want

 

I've taken my 99 taco out all over the sierra's with no lift, I now have a 2.5" lift on it with some 4" backspaced wheels and super grippy tires.. Made all the difference when airing down to approach some big rocks. For a stock 2013 reg cab.. just air down to about 20lbs. Go it slow in 4 low. No sense getting all wild when the wild will mess you up.. If you're ever in the area around bear valley shoot me a message. There is a group that I cruise with from time to time. I'll gladly come bring the 99 as an assist vehicle and we can really test out the capabilities. Maybe enlist my father in-laws 83 toyota truck (6" lift, 36's and double low gear box). :-D I'll bring the 2013 DCSB as the air up vehicle with the compressor in the back we can hit all vehicles at once (just in case we get crazy and air down really low).

 

1st gear, 4Lo and stay out of the clutch. It's common for novice drivers to slip the clutch WAY more than necessary and I've even seen guy totally burn up a clutch on the trail. Just stick it in gear and leave it alone. If its just a dirt road, push the clutch in when you are stopping like you normally would on the road. If it's technical driving, don't bother with the clutch. If you need to stop leave the clutch alone and let the motor stall. Particularly if you're climbing ledges etc. The natural tendency when you feel like your slipping etc is to push in the clutch and hit the brakes. Don't do it. Just put in your lowest gear and give slow and steady throttle without being too aggressive and if you need to use the brakes, do it without the clutch and stall the motor. It will keep you from rolling backward on an obstacle that could be sketchy.

Funny story about that. My first trip to the Rubicon we had a guy with us in an FJ40 that was pretty new and would not stay off the clutch and he was getting himself into some dangerous positions as a result. He had a full rollcage in the cruiser so we duct taped his left foot to the rollbar so he couldn't use the clutch. Just stuck him in first gear and let him stall the motor to stop. He even just got going again by just starting it in gear. It's a hard lesson to learn but it's an important one.

 

1st gear, 4Lo and stay out of the clutch. It's common for novice drivers to slip the clutch WAY more than necessary and I've even seen guy totally burn up a clutch on the trail. Just stick it in gear and leave it alone. If its just a dirt road, push the clutch in when you are stopping like you normally would on the road. If it's technical driving, don't bother with the clutch. If you need to stop leave the clutch alone and let the motor stall. Particularly if you're climbing ledges etc. The natural tendency when you feel like your slipping etc is to push in the clutch and hit the brakes. Don't do it. Just put in your lowest gear and give slow and steady throttle without being too aggressive and if you need to use the brakes, do it without the clutch and stall the motor. It will keep you from rolling backward on an obstacle that could be sketchy.

Funny story about that. My first trip to the Rubicon we had a guy with us in an FJ40 that was pretty new and would not stay off the clutch and he was getting himself into some dangerous positions as a result. He had a full rollcage in the cruiser so we duct taped his left foot to the rollbar so he couldn't use the clutch. Just stuck him in first gear and let him stall the motor to stop. He even just got going again by just starting it in gear. It's a hard lesson to learn but it's an important one.

 

Like everyone said: let the engine do the work. Go have fun, you'll figure it out! Everyone here started from the same place.

You're truck is plenty capable stock. Just don't be afraid to turn around if you're not comfortable with a section.

If you have a buddy, a strap and a shovel, you can safely go almost anywhere. Airing down your tires helps immensely with traction and ride. So a pump is good to have for when you're done.

Welcome to the addiction!