Driving your gladiator off the paved road

[93civej1]

So I took the sport (max tow) on a ride this past weekend on some trails. Nothing too crazy. Kept it in 4H the whole time. I noticed that I preferred to put the jeep in Manual mode and never got out of 1st gear. We were moving pretty slow along the trail. Is this a pretty common process, or do most of you just leave it in D and just go at it?

For those who have the rubicon, what does the 4:1 give you on the trails that the others do not?

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[JAVIERGONZO]

Lower end torque to crawl over stuff slower like parking curbs at the mall.

 

[ecidiego]

Lower end torque to crawl over stuff slower like parking curbs at the mall.

Since I have a Mojave, I just floor it at the mall and run over curbs, shopping carts, pedes.....

nevermind.

 

[JoseQ_80]

If you are going less than 25 mph, forget 4h and go straight to 4 low next time.

It slows everything down. Slow is good off road.

The low gearing keeps you from going too fast and damaging truck or yourself if you hit an obstacle too fast.

For example, climbing off a rock, going slow keeps damage to a minimum because you don't bounce the back of the truck on the rock you just got off.

In addition, 4 low allows you to use the select speed control button, a.k.a. the off road cruise control, which is not available with 4h.

Have fun out there.

 

[Wyofuy069]

If I’m running fast through dirt I prefer offroad+ and select trac on mine. Our first potential deeper snow is coming tomorrow {about a foot] , so I’ll see if I even need 4hi for that. The rear traction in the Gladiator works 99% of the time even on dirt roads. Now if you are going over large rocks well that is another story.

 

[bleda2002]

Try offroad+ in 4h it will keep gears a long time compared to just regular 4h.

 

[93civej1]

If you are going less than 25 mph, forget 4h and go straight to 4 low next time.

It slows everything down. Slow is good off road.

The low gearing keeps you from going too fast and damaging truck or yourself if you hit an obstacle too fast.

For example, climbing off a rock, going slow keeps damage to a minimum because you don't bounce the back of the truck on the rock you just got off.

In addition, 4 low allows you to use the select speed control button, a.k.a. the off road cruise control, which is not available with 4h.

Have fun out there.

Thanks, ive used select speed control, but not on trail. Only at home so far.

 

[93civej1]

Try offroad+ in 4h it will keep gears a long time compared to just regular 4h.

No offroad+ here.

 

[rharr]

I run it in 2wd until I get wheel spin. Just cause you are on dirt doesn't mean it needs to be in 4wd hi or low. I use 4low to crawl over obstacles where wheel placement is important or go down step grades where I need slow control.

Use manual mode to leverage engine breaking when possible.

 

[MaysvilleStig]

I use 4LO quite a bit here in CO. Lots of rocks and technical stuff on the trails I visit. 4HI can get annoying when trying to carefully pick a line over stuff with your head hanging out the window lol.

 

[Jocww]

At Rubicon and Moab andddddd Windrock 4L 3rd gear. otherwise 4H D if I sense its gonna slip on my ranch.

 

[AZCooWhip]

4LO all day long.

None of this crap .....you will know how it ends.

 

[Gvsukids]

Thanks, ive used select speed control, but not on trail. Only at home so far.

Won't really need select speed on forest roads, just use the manual mode to limit speed.

 

[dcmdon]

I like using manual mode in an AT vehicle for the same reason that many people like MTs.

If you lift off the gas momentarily, it stays in the lower gear and power is available instantly without the need to wait for a downshift.

If you need to be gentle because of poor traction you can select a high gear and keep the engine revs low.

If you want to use engine braking to descend, it stays in gear.

I've got about 2 hours in driving a Gladiator on test drives. (waiting for mine) and I can tell you that learning to use the manual mode can help make up for the low torque of the engine by allowing you to hold it in a lower gear at times.

 

[calicorks]

I have a Rubicon JT and noticed if I drive on a dirt road in 4H it’s EXTREMELY bouncy and everything rattles. I know airing down will help, yet sometimes I can’t.
Let’s say your driving for a few mins on a dirt road but are back to pavement, how would you guys drive on the dirt road, and what settings would you use if you can’t air down? I was seeing Mini vans and Prius take the same road and they had no issues. What am I doing wrong?

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