Offroading for Noobs! Help? Tips? Suggestions?

[Sazabi19]

This is my first Jeep or real 4x4 and I'd love to go offroading in it. The trouble is I'm not exactly sure where to start. I know there are dangers of damaging the vehicle and you can get stuck so you should always go with at least 1 other person to help out in situations (much like SCUBA diving). So, for all of you experienced people out there, I'd like to know if you'd be willing to drop some of your offroading wisdom in here for us newer people.

Personally, my Gladiator Sport S w/Max Tow is bone stock and I plan on keeping it that way (leased). I know this will limit me a bit on trails that I will be able to do and that's fine, I don't have a Rubi and don't expect to do anything monumental with mine, just have some fun offroad. Honestly being sure I'm not sure what questions to really ask so maybe others can chime in and some answers can bring up new questions. If anyone writes a dissertation on this I'll be reading it lol.

Thanks to any possible replies in advance!

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[PyrPatriot]

I have done some great wheeling in my stock JT Sport Max Tow. I only swapped out the tires (bought an extra set of rims takeoffs and keeping the oem tires/wheels in the garage) for 32" mud terrains and now 35" mud terrains.

Without knowing exactly how leases work in terms of the return condition: you will get scratches off roading unless it is on specially designed trails. I drive on county roads that are ruts, mud holes, and rocks. They are sometimes narrow and I have several hits to the clearcoat. The belly has been scraped repeatedly due to breakover angle issues, and that has been mostly through rocky silt mud, but it does show. Hence I upgraded to 35s. No lift, not spacers, no leveling kit. I'll swap out the fender flares for Rubicon ones to help with the occassional bottoming out on greater articulation. But everything I have put on, I can take off and replace with the original equivalents if I need to suddenly sell this truck. The same might be important for your lease if you do not intend to buy it afterwards.

 

[Klutch]

Hey, I'm in the same situation. I have the same truck, but I own mine and expect to do a few mods. I've been doing a LOT of research and, dude, check out the TrailRecon YouTube channel. Seriously, a retired Navy Corpsman runs that channel and I have learned just so much from his videos. (Unlike other off road video people, he's very laid back and HUMBLE which I like.)

I also talked to a good, local 4x4 shop. That was helpful because the rep there wasn't pushing a bunch of unnecessary mods on me. He also pointed to my Gladiator parked out front and said, "Truth is, that's a very capable off-road vehicle as it is". And he's right.

I bought a great book with local trails. It has detailed descriptions of each trail and breaks them up into "Green", "Blue" and "Red". I'm doing some Green trails and will then do some Blue. Eventually, I want to try maybe some of the Red trails, but no serious rock crawling.

Basically, here is my plan:

- Recovery strap (Check)
- Bow shackles (Check)
- Good portable air compressor (Check)
- Fire extinguisher (Check)
- Road tool kit (Have one, but just realized it's standard and JT is metric)

Things I still need to get:

- Good first aid kit
- Radio
- Steel front bumper with winch (I would feel a lot more confident wheeling knowing the winch is there if I get into a jam)
- Rock rails

I would also like to do some overnight camping so I want to get a good quality bed rack and rooftop tent. (I just don't like sleeping in a ground tent.)

 

[PsyRN]

Depending on your terrain, more aggressive tires, like all-terrains, will make the biggest difference. Then look for forest service roads near you and start cruising around. A lot of service/fire roads are not going to be too technical you'll get stuck. See if there are any books describing some local roads and ratings. Also YouTube has a lot of good vids. I've learned quite a bit from Ronny Dahl's videos. And then go from there as you figure out what you want/need, and fun.

 

[Sazabi19]

Hey, I'm in the same situation. I have the same truck, but I own mine and expect to do a few mods. I've been doing a LOT of research and, dude, check out the TrailRecon YouTube channel. Seriously, a retired Navy Corpsman runs that channel and I have learned just so much from his videos. (Unlike other off road video people, he's very laid back and HUMBLE which I like.)

I also talked to a good, local 4x4 shop. That was helpful because the rep there wasn't pushing a bunch of unnecessary mods on me. He also pointed to my Gladiator parked out front and said, "Truth is, that's a very capable off-road vehicle as it is". And he's right.

I bought a great book with local trails. It has detailed descriptions of each trail and breaks them up into "Green", "Blue" and "Red". I'm doing some Green trails and will then do some Blue. Eventually, I want to try maybe some of the Red trails, but no serious rock crawling.

Basically, here is my plan:

- Recovery strap (Check)
- Bow shackles (Check)
- Good portable air compressor (Check)
- Fire extinguisher (Check)
- Road tool kit (Have one, but just realized it's standard and JT is metric)

Things I still need to get:

- Good first aid kit
- Radio
- Steel front bumper with winch (I would feel a lot more confident wheeling knowing the winch is there if I get into a jam)
- Rock rails

I would also like to do some overnight camping so I want to get a good quality bed rack and rooftop tent. (I just don't like sleeping in a ground tent.)

I'll look into his vids, thanks man. I'm honestly not sure what I'll do with my truck when it's time to turn it in. I would love to buy a Rubi after that, but I'll see what happens over the next 3 years. It's 2 months today lol.

@PsyRN Sport S w/Max Tow comes with ATs Or are you talking about 'better' after market ones?

 

[PyrPatriot]

Hey, I'm in the same situation. I have the same truck, but I own mine and expect to do a few mods. I've been doing a LOT of research and, dude, check out the TrailRecon YouTube channel. Seriously, a retired Navy Corpsman runs that channel and I have learned just so much from his videos. (Unlike other off road video people, he's very laid back and HUMBLE which I like.)

I also talked to a good, local 4x4 shop. That was helpful because the rep there wasn't pushing a bunch of unnecessary mods on me. He also pointed to my Gladiator parked out front and said, "Truth is, that's a very capable off-road vehicle as it is". And he's right.

I bought a great book with local trails. It has detailed descriptions of each trail and breaks them up into "Green", "Blue" and "Red". I'm doing some Green trails and will then do some Blue. Eventually, I want to try maybe some of the Red trails, but no serious rock crawling.

Basically, here is my plan:

- Recovery strap (Check)
- Bow shackles (Check)
- Good portable air compressor (Check)
- Fire extinguisher (Check)
- Road tool kit (Have one, but just realized it's standard and JT is metric)

Things I still need to get:

- Good first aid kit
- Radio
- Steel front bumper with winch (I would feel a lot more confident wheeling knowing the winch is there if I get into a jam)
- Rock rails

I would also like to do some overnight camping so I want to get a good quality bed rack and rooftop tent. (I just don't like sleeping in a ground tent.)

I have all of those checked! I would keep some metric items on hand as accessories such as winch plate and winch use US sized bolts. Add a couple of torque wrenches and a breaker bar to loosen and tighten things as they are worked on. And keep a small laptop with the portable factory service manual usb to find all the voltage/torque specs needed for trail repairs. Spare bolts washers and nuts for the stuff likely to break is also a good idea.

Dont forget rags, towels, and a gal of water.

 

[PsyRN]

I'll look into his vids, thanks man. I'm honestly not sure what I'll do with my truck when it's time to turn it in. I would love to buy a Rubi after that, but I'll see what happens over the next 3 years. It's 2 months today lol.

@PsyRN Sport S w/Max Tow comes with ATs Or are you talking about 'better' after market ones?

you should be fine with those as you're getting into it. I was thinking they came with the all-seasons or highway tires. just start driving around. not "needed" unless you air down is a portable air compressor like from Viair or smittybilt is nice. airing down will give you more traction, but it will also improve comfort, even on fire roads. smooths out the chatter a bit. for years I never aired down and just rolled with it. now I air down if I'm going to be on a road for a while.

 

[PyrPatriot]

you should be fine with those as you're getting into it. I was thinking they came with the all-seasons or highway tires. just start driving around. not "needed" unless you air down is a portable air compressor like from Viair or smittybilt is nice. airing down will give you more traction, but it will also improve comfort, even on fire roads. smooths out the chatter a bit. for years I never aired down and just rolled with it. now I air down if I'm going to be on a road for a while.

I saw a 2dr JL on the Bridgestone A/Ts do some pretty cool stuff. But, it lacked traction, and as such needed momentum to get up stuff or over stuff. This is very hard on suspension and axles, so mud terrains in the same size as your oem tires would work better

 

[TREDpunk]

Great thread. New to offroading as well and plan to ease into it learning the right way.

 

[Walldo]

Find a local club, go on a few trail rides with local club, join said club, spend all your money trying to keep up with built rigs in the club......... There is allot of local clubs and members that are more than willing to help you along the way and pass on any information that will help you become a better off road driver.

 

[trust]

Im no expert but I have been wheeling a while, since it was called jeeping, and one axiom that is qalmost always true regardless of the terrain is this go as slow as possible but as fast as necessary, when in doubt slower is always better. Far less breakage/damage even if youre stuck at the end of the try

from Granville King: Never slip a clutch, never spin a tire, never kill the engine, always drive elegant...

 

[Mark Doiron]

Location: USA

It would be helpful if you specified where you live since the opportunities to wheel vary widely depending on that. Florida and Colorado are going to net you different answers. You may also find that someone responds, "Hey, I live there, too and we're headed out on an easy route next weekend. Interested?"

 

[wvyankee2]

Know where your going and check permissions. This APP is great with a tablet, for TOPO GPS.

https://www.gaiagps.com/

Research and stick to easy to moderate trails, especially if going alone.

 

[Sazabi19]

It would be helpful if you specified where you live since the opportunities to wheel vary widely depending on that. Florida and Colorado are going to net you different answers. You may also find that someone responds, "Hey, I live there, too and we're headed out on an easy route next weekend. Interested?"

I don't post my location on purpose, I like my privacy. For the sake of this though saying I live in IN doesn't hurt I think I specified that in another thread I have on here too, just don't want it posted everywhere or on my profile.

 

[361Sean]

Oh they got you now!

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