off roading experience today....

[Shiny Lil Detlr]

so I'm on my way to a doc's appointment when all the sudden I see construction that I didnt know about.... I'm thinking, "oh great, now I'll have to wash my car..." when I see the road drop off. I slammed the brakes (I was the only car within a few miles and the workers had quit for the day or something), and went gently off the road.

I see that 40-50 feet ahead there's about a 2 foot climb to get back onto the road (this was, coincidentally, the case in either direction.) So, after thanking God that I wasnt in a low-profile vehilce any lower to the ground, I proceded up to the climb. I couldn't climb it - the rear wheels just sat there and spun. Oh crap. So, I backed up ~10 ft., and kicked the blazer into 4-LO (thank goodness for 4x4!!) and shifted down into "1" on my transmission. I crept forward until the tires made contact with the edge of the road, and proceded to give it more gas until it had climbed up onto the pavement. I crept forward once again, until the rear wheels made contact. With the same procedure, I gassed it until the rears had made it up onto the pavement. I then switched back into 2-HI and "D", and pulled into the doc's office safely.

I just thought it was funny how I probably wouldn't have escaped that if it weren't for my 4x4. Anybody else have one of those unintended off-roading trips they've taken? Or does anybody do it intentionally for fun?

[BradE]

I have taken my Explorer off road a few times, nothing major but down some "average" trails/hills. It's pretty fun once you get the hang of it. Low gear rules!! Basically the torque of the motor just pulls you along. Low gear rocks for mud, ice or general climbing. Don't let the tree huggers say SUV's like the Explorer and Blazer are not anygood off road, because that ain't the case. True they are not Hummers, but they hold thier own.

What kind of Transfer Case is in the Blazer? My Explorer is a Borg Wagner unit.

[Shiny Lil Detlr]

I believe mine is a borg warner as well... and yeah the low end torque on these engines is a beast - might have to try some off-roading action for real sometime.

[F150BOB]

I take my F-150 off-road all of the time. That's why it has so many scratches & dents!

http://www.f150online.com/galleries/...gallery329.jpg

BOB

[samiam513]

I take my 2x4 all over the place My theory is you only get stuck farther in with 4x4. My 2x4 can take some stuff that people don't give ti credit for.

Man who gradedes the new land desinated for mew home in my neighborhood tried to set a mound up he thought i couldn't get ocver so i wouldn't drive on the land. I went right over it. no sweat!

[PAW]

Heck I use to take my Saab 900 Turbo fishing in the mountains of NC. I wound up in spot where it was only me and the 4x4s. The trick was placing the tires in the right spot to miss the holes. I even forded small creeks. Strange thing though, when I had to replace my muffler there were lots of dents in it. Go figure!

[Ktulu]

Originally posted by samiam513
I take my 2x4 all over the place My theory is you only get stuck farther in with 4x4. My 2x4 can take some stuff that people don't give ti credit for.

Man who gradedes the new land desinated for mew home in my neighborhood tried to set a mound up he thought i couldn't get ocver so i wouldn't drive on the land. I went right over it. no sweat!

Prerunner YO!

You guys make me miss my Cherokee

[Roderigo]

i take my truck off road all the time. And i have a '79 Toyota 4x4 that i take offroad. It has been rolled and bobbed and bondo'd and repainted with spraypaint. lol.
I have done soo much to that. in fact, there is still a big chuck of bondo stuck in a log on a trail from where i almost rolled, but the log caught my fall. :-)

[joed1228]

My buddy used to have a Jeep (the model with the square lights). I never understood how awesome those things were until we wen't off roading. Even in stock trim they can hold their own against some pretty nasty stuff out there in the woods. I would really like to get one if I ever needed/wanted an off-road vehicle.

[84GTV6]

I take my Dakota off road all the time, my kids (3 and 7 years old) love to go "Four-Wheelie". Living in central KY and having access to a couple 100 acres filled with logging roads is a big plus!

No amount of SMR will fix the paint job on the Dak!!!

[jem7vwh]

yeah, so this one time, I went offroading in my civic..... ok, not really. But I did it in a gravel field and bottomed it out in a nasty dip. Oh well... it was a good car, never complained about the rough treatment