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How do you drive on logging roads ?

noodles

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So i went on my first forest logging road this past weekend. Loose dirt gravel road, TONS of pot holes. Do you guys generally go over the pot holes slowly, or just drive 30-40 km/hr and just take it ? In the beginning i went over it rather slowly, or trying to avoid it. Towards the end of the trip, I just started bouncing right over it. This is my first Jeep so I'm not sure how tough these things are and what the general best practice is when offroading.

Tips appreciated!
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WhatExit?

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How do you drive on logging roads?
Slowly. :LOL:

Seriously, you go as fast/slow as you can comfortably for you, your passengers and your truck.

There are miles and miles of washboard "roads" in Death Valley and you just have to grin and bear it in the Jeep. In the Raptor, which is built for high(er) speed off roading, I can go much faster as the Raptor's suspension actually does better "flying over" the washboard than bumping on it.

The speed is all vehicle and driver/passenger (and safety) dependent
 

ShadowsPapa

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How long do you want your truck to last? Going hell-bent-for-election over tough bumps breaks things. Period. Might be fun, might show how much of a man a person is, but it breaks things.
Ever watch Ice Road Truckers? Ever see when Hugh and Rick were sent out in Canada - with 3 other drivers and loads - they drove like crazed guys trying to get the most the fastest - and broke springs on the trailers and trashed them, and got fired as the other three drivers made it without trashing the loads.
Seriously, don't be stupid.
I'll give another example - up in Alaska, was in a 4 wheeler off-roading on the old logging roads up there with a group. It was unusually dry that year, normally it's MUDDY. So they were kicking up dust like crazy. They were going FAST - hit a big bump/hole and bounced that 4 wheel cart and busted something and lost ability to steer and it the end of a log, really close to going over the edge of a pretty good drop-off. They had to tow it back a couple miles down the logging road.
Even those things built for that can break.
How fast you go is totally dependent on the exact road and conditions. Logging roads mean a bazillion different things! I can say if like the logging roads up there - watch out, but others might say - go for it!
And like Dan said - sometimes "washboards" do better if you sort of float over them - like the railroad tracks around here. I hate it when people slow to 0 and crawl across them because it's actually harsher than "jumping" the hole and landing across over the other side instead of hitting the other edge of the hole head-on.
 
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noodles

noodles

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This would be the Harrison Hot springs East Forest Service roads up here in BC.
Now when i said I went faster, I'm not saying anything crazy fast. I mean around 30km/hr.

The gravel road pot holes look like this in the picture. I'm just wondering what is considered good recommendations in driving this sort of road. Do i just go slow and craw over them slowly, or what do most people do ?

Jeep Gladiator How do you drive on logging roads ? sand-road-with-potholes-during-a-january-thaw-in-central-michigan-HKHR10
 

ShadowsPapa

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This would be the Harrison Hot springs East Forest Service roads up here in BC.
Now when i said I went faster, I'm not saying anything crazy fast. I mean around 30km/hr.

The gravel road pot holes look like this in the picture. I'm just wondering what is considered good recommendations in driving this sort of road. Do i just go slow and craw over them slowly, or what do most people do ?

sand-road-with-potholes-during-a-january-thaw-in-central-michigan-HKHR10.jpg
IMO, with that sort of hole, larger tires will handle them better, faster. Larger will span more of the hole and make them less harsh so a vehicle with taller and/or wider tires will be able to go faster than others.
But it's up to how your truck or other vehicle can take it. I don't think anyone else can tell you - just suggest.........
 

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WhatExit?

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This would be the Harrison Hot springs East Forest Service roads up here in BC.
Now when i said I went faster, I'm not saying anything crazy fast. I mean around 30km/hr.

The gravel road pot holes look like this in the picture. I'm just wondering what is considered good recommendations in driving this sort of road. Do i just go slow and craw over them slowly, or what do most people do ?

sand-road-with-potholes-during-a-january-thaw-in-central-michigan-HKHR10.jpg
Do what Stevie Wonder would do if he were driving. Seriously. Go as fast as it feels good for you and the Jeep. Try different lines and find the one and the speed that works best for you.

Easy peasy
 

MarineHawk

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This would be the Harrison Hot springs East Forest Service roads up here in BC.
Now when i said I went faster, I'm not saying anything crazy fast. I mean around 30km/hr.

The gravel road pot holes look like this in the picture. I'm just wondering what is considered good recommendations in driving this sort of road. Do i just go slow and craw over them slowly, or what do most people do ?

sand-road-with-potholes-during-a-january-thaw-in-central-michigan-HKHR10.jpg
I would drive in the far right lane where there are no holes. Problem solved.
 

ZTMAN

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i think I would find an alternate route if I had to drive that mine field. That has to be unbearable for any distance
 

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This would be the Harrison Hot springs East Forest Service roads up here in BC.
Now when i said I went faster, I'm not saying anything crazy fast. I mean around 30km/hr.

The gravel road pot holes look like this in the picture. I'm just wondering what is considered good recommendations in driving this sort of road. Do i just go slow and craw over them slowly, or what do most people do ?

sand-road-with-potholes-during-a-january-thaw-in-central-michigan-HKHR10.jpg
You go as fast as you can handle while trying to straddle the holes in order to miss as many as possible. You can see the line taken by the previous vehicle- follow that if you can. Sometimes it’s smoother if you hug the curb. Sometimes there is just no good line and you have to slow it down and hope they grade the road sooner rather than later.
 

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ShadowsPapa

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You go as fast as you can handle while trying to straddle the holes in order to miss as many as possible. You can see the line taken by the previous vehicle- follow that if you can. Sometimes it’s smoother if you hug the curb. Sometimes there is just no good line and you have to slow it down and hope they grade the road sooner rather than later.
Looks to me like an Illinois toll road.
 

mr_bots

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I haven't had my Jeep off the pavement in the almost two months I've had it (sacrilege, I know...). But in previous vehicles I've gone as fast as it feels comfortable going. Usually fairly slow but two trucks ago I had a Pro4X Frontier and that thing ate up washboard roads and would just glide over the bumps at around 35-40MPH. With the firm ride of the JT, I feel I'll be going much slower than that.
 

ATLalien

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I take it way slow, 15-20mph max usually. Also want to minimize slinging gravel into the paintwork as much as possible
 

jurfie

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So i went on my first forest logging road this past weekend. Loose dirt gravel road, TONS of pot holes. Do you guys generally go over the pot holes slowly, or just drive 30-40 km/hr and just take it ? In the beginning i went over it rather slowly, or trying to avoid it. Towards the end of the trip, I just started bouncing right over it. This is my first Jeep so I'm not sure how tough these things are and what the general best practice is when offroading.

Tips appreciated!
Air down a little and, as other have already said, adjust your speed to what is comfortable for the conditions. I've driven that FSR many times before in my JKR.
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