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Off-road For Beginners…

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cjellan

cjellan

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Always engage the correct range (hi or lo) BEFORE proceeding into an area of questionable mobility. Engage locker/s EARLY before any loss of traction.

If in doubt, 4LO out. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. You’ll have more control and less carnage.

Lastly, always air down. Lower PSI is always to your advantage as it increases your co tact patch with terra firma.
I need to get used to 4L a little more. It always feels ultra jerky and less controllable, which is counterintuitive.

Thanks for the tips man - always looking to learn more.
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trailless

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Thanks man! Appreciate the insights - before I got this Jeep, I always thought you had 100% control over every feature at any time. Looking forward to get over the learning curve…
No problem! I only learned by trial and error as well.
 
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cjellan

cjellan

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After all the input (much appreciate BTW, waaaaay better than the trollies on FB and such…), I think it’s about time for Jeep to make a “Let’s Fu*%in’ Party” button for on-demand activation of the full assortment of goodies we have :)
 

trailless

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I need to get used to 4L a little more. It always feels ultra jerky and less controllable, which is counterintuitive.

Thanks for the tips man - always looking to learn more.
4L is always going to be more jerky than 4H when just driving. It's harder to modulate the throttle because of how quickly the revs climb in 4L. You have to learn to slowly use the accelerator, hold it there, and slowly release it. If you just jab at it, its going to lurch forward. If you immediately let go of the accelerator, its going to lurch again because the revs are higher and the effect of engine braking.

If I come across an obstacle and it doesn't look like something I can easily glide over in 4H, I drop it in 4L before even trying it. Once I'm across that obstacle and moving down the trail again, I go back to 4H. It's a smoother ride in 4H.
 

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After all the input (much appreciate BTW, waaaaay better than the trollies on FB and such…), I think it’s about time for Jeep to make a “Let’s Fu*%in’ Party” button for on-demand activation of the full assortment of goodies we have :)
You have a button... it called your brain... learn and use it.
 

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Jeep-A-Kneez

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So I assume this will be a trivial topic to most and I’m prepared for the newbie roasting, but I got into a precarious situation this weekend and curious as to what happened and why so I know how to maneuver more effectively going forward.

As I was chugging along my first BOH trail (Peters Mill Run), I came upon the only relatively technical portion. Nothing too bad, but it required a good line to avoid some pretty back diff scrapes. Since the trail was pretty easy I was in 4H the entire time and didn’t “think” I needed it to get over this obstacle. So my brother guides me perfectly and just as I was trying to pull my back end over the rocks, I started spinning my front tires. I stopped, reassessed and tried to give it some more gas. My brother said that all 4 tires were planted, but my backs weren’t spinning, leaving my front tires trying to haul my entire truck out of these rocks. So I stopped, tried to put it in 4L so I could lock my diffs and this is when things got weird. Here is the sequence of events
1) I put it in park
2) I shifted it into 4L (I know you’re supposed to be going 1-3 MPH and drop it in neutral, etc., but I couldn’t)
3) locked my rears
4) gave it some gas
5) my truck dropped out of 4L into neutral
6) I put it back into 4H
7) paused for a few seconds
8) gave it gas and my rear tires engaged and crawled me right outta there with ease.

So one questions are: do you absolutely have to put it in 4L while you’re in motion? Is there any way to lock your diffs while in 4H? why wouldn’t my rear wheels have tried to spin when I was stuck? Did my rear stay locked even though I dropped out of 4L or did my truck finally realize it needed to help me get out?

Worst part of this is that I waited until I got home to proudly request my first BOH - only to find out that you have to check-in while you’re there to get it…lot of stuff to learn, but loving my newfound Jeep life!

Thanks everyone!
Educate me, shifting to 4 low while in motion, what am I missing here? My old a$$ has always had vehicles that requires full stop, shift transmission to neutral before shifting transfer case from 4 hi to 4 low.
 

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Educate me, shifting to 4 low while in motion, what am I missing here? My old a$$ has always had vehicles that requires full stop, shift transmission to neutral before shifting transfer case from 4 hi to 4 low.
The Op is asking for education. That is the point of the post. Do you have info to share with you'r seasoned Knowledge ?
 
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cjellan

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Educate me, shifting to 4 low while in motion, what am I missing here? My old a$$ has always had vehicles that requires full stop, shift transmission to neutral before shifting transfer case from 4 hi to 4 low.
That’s what I thought originally. I went through some Jeep 101 videos from their site and found out that you have to be moving, then shift into neutral, shift into 4L, then shift back into drive.

This came from some Jeep-made content, so potentially there’s a more straight forward way the more experienced guys know, but judging by the feedback it appears motion is key.
 

MoxiesDad

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The 4:1 low range on the Rubicon transfer case does take a little time to get used to, but eventually you'll learn to drive it smoothly. Use 4LO when off-road running below 15MPH, you can manually shift the trans to stay at a reasonable RPM.
 

Jeep-A-Kneez

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That’s what I thought originally. I went through some Jeep 101 videos from their site and found out that you have to be moving, then shift into neutral, shift into 4L, then shift back into drive.

This came from some Jeep-made content, so potentially there’s a more straight forward way the more experienced guys know, but judging by the feedback it appears motion is key.
Something for me to follow up on, thanks for sharing.
 

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Jocww

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We liked it a lot - it’s not technical at all except for this one spot and there are lots of minor obstacles to keep you entertained. The end is super rocky, which was pretty fun. My only problem with it is that it’s very long - it took us a couple hours to get through there. Not a huge issue, but I’m a bigger fan of the shorter routes so you can get a bunch of different trails in the same amount of time. I also had a dog with me that started to get tired of bouncing all over. Ha!
i agree while there is a time and place for everything sometimes i just want a shorter route so i can take a breather and then hit another one
 

Jocww

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JoseQ_80

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If you are stuck/not moving, even releasing the brakes will help to get it into 4lo.

The other thing you have that are not using it appears is Select Speed Control, the "off road cruise control" button which only works in 4l and will show you what the JT is capable of.

I think you also have an off road plus button that does other things that help new drivers.

Take the Off Road Consulting or other class, it will pay for itself.

I only use 4lo off road, I have read/been told 4h puts too much stress on drivetrain. Use that for winter, etc.
 

JoseQ_80

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JoseQ_80

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