Are You an Experienced Driver?
Toyota pickup that slid off Sleeping Princess trail in Black Mountains, Mohave County, AZ. This driver didn’t know where his tires were and it got him in trouble.
Are you an experienced off-road driver?
Tackling roads that are beyond your experience can get you killed- Devil’s Dip road south of Kingman (BLM Road # 7128), Mohave County, AZ, has claimed several ATVs, injuring some drivers and killing one that I know of. Off-road driving is 80% driver and 20% vehicle. You have to have off-road driving experience to be a good and safe driver who stays out of trouble.
If you’re new to off-road driving, start slow. Use guide books, like 4 Wheel Drive Roads of Mohave County, to select roads rated 3 or less. These will give you a chance to gain experience and confidence with your particular vehicle- ATV, Side x Side or Jeep before you tackle difficult ones in Mohave County, such as Moss Wash, aka the Mansion or Sleeping Princess.
Get to know how your vehicle drives and reacts to different road conditions. Does it have highway or off-road tires? How much clearance does it have? Can you go over rocks in the road or do you need to go around or move them? Does it slide in mud or snow? Practice, practice and more practice.
On dirt roads it’s important to know where your tires are on the road to avoid sharp rocks or keep from going off a narrow road. I use a driving exercise to practice estimating where my tires are on the road. I place two pop cans about three feet apart in a desert wash. Then I drive my vehicle in the wash, trying to drive through the space between the cans, first with the driver side tires and then the passenger side tires. If I run over one of the pop cans, the sound will let me know and I’ll have to wash the vehicle to get the soda off. Good reason not to hit the cans! Beer cans works just as well but that would be a waste!
As you get better at estimating where the tires are, make the opening between the pop cans narrower. Once you’ve mastered this, you’ll have the confidence to drive on narrow mountain roads and know where your tires are- great for avoiding going off the edge.
I’ve rescued several stranded people whose vehicle was teetering on the edge of a mountain road - one tire off and the frame sitting on the edge. On one occasion I used a Hi-Lift jack to lift the rear of the vehicle so the tire that was off the road was higher than the road. Then I used my winch with a snatch block to pull sideways on the vehicle, tipping the jack over. In this way, the vehicle moved sideways back onto the road. This is hard on the jack but who said things are always easy?
Passenger side rear tire is off the road. Frame is sitting on the edge and I’m lifting with a Hi-Lift jack. Cable to left was keeping vehicle from rolling over and used to tip jack over, putting tire back on road.
Steep roads can be scary but if you keep the vehicle straight on the road, chances are you’ll be OK. It takes an extremely steep road or goosing the gas at the wrong time to roll a vehicle end-over-end. A side-hill is a different story. If the road you’re on is side-tilted and your vehicle is feeling “squirrely,” you’re in danger of rolling sideways, especially if your vehicle is lifted. Side-tilted hills are where most people bail out. I’ve been on several 4-WD fun runs where a driver got in a sticky situation and asked me to get their vehicle across a particular side-hill. Again, it’s driver experience that counts not the vehicle.
The correct tire pressure for off-road driving is a question that’s debatable. If you have an on-board air compressor- problem solved. If not, you have to decide if lowering the tire pressure for the off-road portion of your trip, which will give you a more comfortable ride, offsets the problems it might cause for the on-road portion, poor stability on pavement. Also, if you lower the tire pressure, the tires will bulge, exposing sidewalls to sharp rocks.
While exploring for gold in Nevada, a friend who always lowered tire pressure, was driving down a washboard road. The vehicle was bouncing because of the low tire pressure and bumpy road. He came too close to a jagged rock in the road and cut the sidewall of a tire. After changing the tire, he continued down the road for a half mile when he cut a second tire. I had no problems because I didn’t air down and my vehicle was not bouncing on low inflated tires.
Which is best - air down or stay inflated? Depends on the terrain, the type of rocks in the road, and driving skill. Unless I’m in sand or on a well-traveled gravel road and want a better ride, I stay inflated. If I get in a situation where I need maximum tire grip, I might air down and then air up again if I get into sharp rocks.