How to drive off road???

90yjwrangler

Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2008
Location
rock hill, sc
Do you guys drive in 2wd until you need 4wd, or just drive in 4hi and switch to 4lo if needed? Sorry for the newb question, but I don't want to tear up my jeep...lol. What exactly happens in 4hi? Same gearing as 2wd, but turns all 4 wheels??? :confused: Can someone please explain to me what ALL the different selections do. Thanks guys, and yeah, I'm new to my jeep...lol. I just want to LEARN!!! So, School me!!
 
2wd High is your road gear.
4wd High is for snow, flogging it in the mud.
4wd Low is your wheeling gear.

I don't know if you have a CJ, YJ, TJ or what but this is what most everyone does.
4wd honestly doesn't get used that much by crawlers. 4wd low is what you should be in while on the trail, you don't need to haul tail so keep it slow and smooth. Be easy turning it full lock while on the gas. If you have locking hubs and a locker up front, roll around in 4wd low with the hubs unlocked and lock them when needed. If you have a auto keep it in low so it doesn't overheat the transmission, Jeep transmissions aren't know for putting up with heat. I'm sure other will chime in.
 
it all comes with experience. you'll get it figured out. hit the trails and start off in 2hi....adjust as necessary.
 
I run my J10 moslty in 4lo even at URE. I guess I don't like swiching back and forth even though I could run most of the trail system in 2 hi
 
Anywhere off pavement, URE, your farm, dirt roads, etc, you can run in any of the gear selections you have available on your rig. In fact that is a great way to learn what your capabilities are in different gears! See if you can get yourself in a spot where you can't continue in 2wd and then see if 4wd will move you along. As you learn how your rig performs under different conditions you will come to have gearing preferences for different situations, hence the varied opinions offered above.

Personally I run in 4lo most of the time. With my 4 cyl motor and large tires I need the torque of the lower gearing to keep moving. Plus the 4 cyl likes higher rpms anyway. If you had a rig with lots of HP you might need to be in high range to allow the motor to not over rev. Each rig and each situation is different. That's one of the cool things about wheeling. The 4x4 Guru says; "Be one with your rig" :)
 
JC said:
Anywhere off pavement, URE, your farm, dirt roads, etc, you can run in any of the gear selections you have available on your rig. In fact that is a great way to learn what your capabilities are in different gears! See if you can get yourself in a spot where you can't continue in 2wd and then see if 4wd will move you along. As you learn how your rig performs under different conditions you will come to have gearing preferences for different situations, hence the varied opinions offered above.
Personally I run in 4lo most of the time. With my 4 cyl motor and large tires I need the torque of the lower gearing to keep moving. Plus the 4 cyl likes higher rpms anyway. If you had a rig with lots of HP you might need to be in high range to allow the motor to not over rev. Each rig and each situation is different. That's one of the cool things about wheeling. The 4x4 Guru says; "Be one with your rig" :)
Click to expand...


Excellent post!
The only thing I want to add.
you asked

90yjwrangler Okay, cool, so I'm good just driving around on trails playing in the woods and in mud in 4hi then? 4lo if I need to get out of a hole.....right?

I assume by out of a hole you mean a mud hole *shudder* if so this is actually pretty wrong. 4lo allows you to put more torque to the ground, say if you are climbing a hill and are at a point that hammer down the tire is bound and it just wont go an more forward, 4lo would help. As a direct result 4lo slows the tire speed down for a given engine rpm. For unsticking from a mud hole you need tire speed not more power to the tires, hell its likely the tires are spinning and breaking though their traction already.

And finally for a stock set up, 2wd only turns 1 wheel and 4wd 2 but thats another story for another day.
 
90yjwrangler said:
Is that what lockers are for?
Click to expand...
Grasshopper learn quickly.....I'll throw him a cookie, atleast he's asking questions and in the correct places.
:driver:
 
snappy said:
Grasshopper learn quickly.....I'll throw him a cookie, atleast he's asking questions and in the correct places.
:driver:
Click to expand...


yep
 
Have you thought about tire selection yet?
 
I've got a XJ with 35" MT's, Aussie locker in the front and a welded rear, running 4.88 gears.

I drove 90% of the trails at Uwharrie in 2wd high.

It's all about what your personal rig is capable of.
 
best recomendation I can give is to go out with some experienced offroaders and have them take you on some beginner and medium level trails so you can do things with your jeep ask questions and have people there to help you with situations that may come about.
 
Refresh my memory, you can shift on the fly from 2wd to 4wd HI in a 5spd as long as your on the clutch if you are in gear right? Otherwise, neutral rolling will work as well. You must be at a complete stop and in N for 4wd LO.
 
Ive got some private land with a few little holes here in town if you want to get your feet wet. I drive a green TJ with a black top, brown windows, and red beadlocks. Im kinda hard to miss. Flag me down some time. Or just send me a pm.
 
I drive mine in 2 hi until my jeep doesn't move anymore... thats when i put it in 4 hi. My 4.88's really help here, when i had 3.07's if i was off-road it was always in 4-lo. If I'm in URE i will run in 2wd until i get to an obstacle and then it goes to 4-lo for better control. in mud, i will run 2wd or 4-hi (again my 4.88's help here). Any time you are off road (not on pavement) you can have it in 4wd with no issues to the t-case or axles. As most have already said it comes with experience and how you have your rig set-up. Just wheel it, and figure out what works for you and your rig.
 
y2kcrawler said:
Refresh my memory, you can shift on the fly from 2wd to 4wd HI in a 5spd as long as your on the clutch if you are in gear right? Otherwise, neutral rolling will work as well. You must be at a complete stop and in N for 4wd LO.
Click to expand...
The 231 is a shift on the fly t-case. as long as both of your axles are turning at the same rate you can shift it between 2 and 4 hi with no problem while in gear (under 50mph). for low range a slight roll (1-2mph) or dead stop and neutral or clutch it should slide right in.
 
You can shift a NP231 on the fly between 4hi and 2hi up to a reasonable speed, I think it is 40-45 mph. Auto in neutral or manual clutch in or out of gear for 4lo.
 
I use 4 lo, as soon as I get off the road. It is easier on the drive train, and I like for all tires to pull even when I go over smaller obstacles, just to be easy on the drive train, and not push the front tires into and over rocks and mud.

I like the bfg mt's, good mileage, and reliability.
 
4 low 99% of the time. 4cyl doesn't like high gear
 
Back
Top