4x4 Newbie Question

Ronny Dahl has a lot of good videos for people new to 4x4!

But to answer your question, it depends what the road is like. 1st gear lo is really for when you need the most torque (say, rock climbing) or if you need to descend a solid ground hill (as opposed to a sand dune) really slowly. You really don't want to use the clutch or the brakes going down, so 1st gear low allows you to go extremely slow.

 

I use 1st, 2nd and 3rd in 4lo all the time. Yesterday we were on a trail out here in Southern California (Drinkwater) that was pretty rocky and steep. 4lo in 1st for the really steep parts, then 2nd gear and occasionally third for the less steep parts where I could go a little faster (6-10mph) rather than needing to crawl along in 1st at < 5mph. Sometimes, depending on the terrain and circumstances you can switch back into 4hi...but I only do that if it looks like it's leveling out for awhile. Switching back and forth from 4lo to 4hi constantly is a bigger pain than just using higher gears in 4lo.

Shifting in 4lo isn't very easy though and takes some getting used to, especially shifting out of first and into second. It brings you to a stop but as long as you give it the right amount of gas it'll get going again from a stop while in second. It takes some practice and getting used to especially when you're doing it on a rocky, steep hill. Whatever you do, be sure to be mindful of how you use your clutch and try not to ride/burn it. That can happen quick if you aren't careful.

4 wheeling with a manual trans is an art, lol.

 

My Tacoma has a switch to disable the side curtain air bags for off roading so apparently the truck won't roll before the air bags deploy. Side hills make me nervous, 15 degrees is probably enough for me.

One classic roll over scenario is going up a steep hill, loosing traction and the truck fish tails sideways and rolls.

 

I would because it's so difficult to shift in and out of 4Lo, I've used 3rd gear in low range.

 

Mines an SR5 and I haven't seen that while scrolling through the menus on the instrument cluster. Ill pull out the manual and see what I can find. Thanks.

Any advice/words to the wise on my stuck/recovery questions?

 

Looked for the pitch/roll meter on my truck, its not there. Guess its not available on the SR5.

 

I found this inclometer app through iTunes, I guess it works with your iPhone?

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/4x4-app-inclinometer/id387692074?mt=8

Honestly, most of the time someone rolls their truck it's either because they weren't paying enough attention to picking the right line or they were going too fast. Usually it's probably a combination of both. Take your time on the trails and you won't have to worry about it.

Edit: also like someone above mentioned, if you lose traction especially on a hill...don't keep gunning it and make your back end swing, because that could lead to a rollover. Stop, roll back a bit and pick your line again. This is where having a rear locker is especially useful, you're much less likely to lose traction in the rear when it's locked.

 

IIRC, it won't actually disable it. It just changes it from 15 to 30 degress when they'll deploy, so in the event of an actual rollover, they'll still work.

 

Where is this button? I haven't seen it on the 2016 models.

 

Lower right hand corner.

 

Soo neutral ?

 

Sorta. In reference to a manual transmission, you can have the truck in neutral and the clutch depressed, or the truck in gear and the clutch depressed.

 

Yeah, you can shift into 4lo with the clutch in even if you're in gear. Or put it in neutral and do it. Either way works, but you want to be at a complete stop.

 

+1, I have a manual too. I generally run trails in 4lo, 2nd gear, probably 90% of the time. Larger tires made a HUGE difference in how fast I can get off the clutch.

 

Out of curiosity with the ever increasing technology in full time awd systems does anyone else feel that 4x4 systems should maybe follow suit so that you can run 4x4 when ever you want without worry of binding? I dont really see how it would be a disadvantage in anyway and its obvious that awd is much better than 2wd on pavement where most of our vehicles are 99% of the time. Besides not having to manually lock hubs there really hasnt been much of a change in 4x4 systems in decades. Just seems like having an awd truck would be great for that 99% of the time that your on pavement, its too bad the honda ridgeline is most likely going to fail miserably once again since its so dam ugly and expensive and doesn't have a stick shift or else maybe we would see more awd trucks in the future.

 

Full time 4wd already exists, safe to use on pavement. It's the same thing as AWD but you have the ability to use 4lo still.

 

I think Toyota made some Landcruisers with Full Time 4WD, maybe they still do I'm not sure.

 

So took the truck off roading for the first time today. Nothing extreme, just some trails with a little mud. Nothing 4hi can't handle.
Got to a little mud pit right before a little small "hill". Thought I'd try the craw control, so switched to 4lo, and engaged crawl control. It works like a champ, got me out and up, but what the hell is up with the noise? It was honestly weird not having to step on the break or gas while the truck is moving.

 

I don't have a 2016 but I've wheeled with a few guys that do, and they all talk about how loud crawl control is...one of them said he refuses to use it because of the sound lol.

 

You are kidding, right?? There are buttons.

How the fuck did I miss this?