There are many times you can encounter steep and tough sections of track that will challenge you and your vehicle, so we’ve put together a few things you can do to make your attempts a little more successful.

TYRE PRESSURES

This same old trick still applies, when you are hitting the tough tracks, there is one universal trick that will help you get further offroad, and that is by letting your tyres down to offroad pressures, this rule of thumb should be applied any time you feel like you will need low range.

By using carrying both a compressor like the Thumper MKII and a purpose made tyre deflator like the Kwiky Tyre Deflator, you can comfortably deflate your tyres knowing that wherever you end up meeting the bitumen you will be able to air back up!

WALK IT

This trick is the same as setting your tyres to the right pressures, if you cannot walk the section of track, it is highly unlikely that your vehicle will make it to the other side. So get out and do the leg work to make sure you won’t get stuck!

GEAR SELECTION

This one is important, when tackling a steep hill, selecting the right gear can mean the difference between getting to the top or having to do a hill stall recovery (Described below). When on steep hill, using your clutch can result in your vehicle loosing control and rolling backwards down the hill, not a good outcome in our books. Which gear to choose is absolutely up to your judgement but we recommend picking a lower gear in low range (either 1^st or 2^nd) so you don’t have any issues if you have to slow down.
PICK A LINE and stick to it!

The biggest mistake many 4WDers make is choosing a line on the track and then changing their mind half way through, trying to alter course midway along a line can result in getting hung up on unforeseen obstacles.

By picking a line you can also plan ahead and lay down your MAXTRAX MKII or prepare your Domin8r X winch line for undrivable sections.

By knowing you may need to perform a recovery you can avoid damaging your vehicle and already have the gear ready to go when the time comes to use it!

MOMENTUM

When hitting any hilly section with momentum will definitely help you hit the top, however too much momentum will mean you risk breaking bits of your 4WD, and possibly bringing your vehicle outside of its centre of balance –  this could mean A ROLLOVER!

So keep the momentum up, but don’t just give it the berries, a good method is to go fast enough to maintain traction without spinning wheels but fast enough to bounce up and over obstacles in your way.

TRACTION AIDS!

If you have lockers fitted from factory or even a set of those aftermarket jobbies, now is the time to switch them on along with other traction aids your vehicle may have, such as traction control, ascent control and any other bell or whistle that will prevent you from losing control or traction.

If you don’t have any of these fancy newfangled traction aids you will be fine, just keep your 4WD moving along stable and smooth, which leads us to our next point….

HOW TO PERFORM A HILL STALL RECOVERY

This procedure is designed to give you the most safety possible exit strategy when you have to bail on your hill climb attempt. The procedure is slightly different for automatic and Manual Transmissions but can save you from losing traction and potentially sliding backwards downhill.

If you need to head back to tackle the climb again, the process is simple, simply apply the brake pedal slowly and firmly, do not use your clutch and do not put your vehicle in neutral.  This will stall the vehicle and hold you in place on the hill (if you drive an automatic place the vehicle in park as your torque converter will prevent you from stalling) the benefit of being stalled out(or in park) will be that your gearbox is acting as a  secondary method for holding your vehicle on the hill and preventing it from rolling or sliding backwards.
The next step with this style of recovery is applying a generous amount of handbrake, this will lock your wheels and give you a third point of preventing slides or any other rearward movement of the vehicle, once your handbrake is applied turn your key to off, this will remove any chance of ignition in case of your vehicle starting to roll.

Now you are stationary and secure, don’t remove your foot from your brake pedal, if you have a passenger or a spotter from another vehicle that can help you see which way you need to reverse, now is a good time to get them to reconnoiter the track behind you to give you a bit of an idea of what you are up against.

If Driving a manual vehicle slowly and carefully engage your clutch and put the vehicle into reverse do not use anymore clutch until you are at the bottom of the hill.

Release your handbrake slowly, and release your foot brake until your vehicle’s weight has been taken up by your engines compression, cover your footbrake and turn your key to start the motor (yes whilst it is in gear) this will begin your decent, so make sure you are covering your foot brake to meter your down hill speed.

If you are in an automatic, pop your vehicle out of park and into neutral first to prevent gear engagement from rocking your vehicle loose from its stable platform. You can now start the motor, and engage reverse gear. Slowly release the handbrake and use your foot brake to control your descent. DO NOT TOUCH YOUR ACCELERATOR gravity will assist you all the way down!

Now you are safe at the bottom of that section of track, you can reassess your chosen line and hit it again until you make it all the way to the top!