4WD concerns ... some basics questions ..

[TWynia]

Not a big 4x4'r but knew I would want it as I tow my 5er into the sand dunes.



Anyways, got stuck this trip as I thought I was ok as usual and did not put it in 4wd and got led into some soft stuff by someone else (my bad ... should have been in 4wd by default since I have it). I stopped in 2wd as I knew I was just about stuck and put in 4wd high. I just dug in a bit and then stopped before getting too deep. My concern is in 4wd high something was spinning when reving the engine once I was stuck and it was not the tires. What was spinning ??? Is it just too high of gearing and the transmission/transfer case was slipping ??? I am sure it was engaged as it helped a little initially. I then tried 4wd low and was able to do a little back and forward action but it was too late and I was digging in deeper and deeper with the ~2. 5K pin weight of the 5er and the angle I was at and slight incline.



Also, in general, would you use 4wd high or low in sand ??? It seemed to me later that 4wd low much be a little too low as it seemed to kinda want to dig in but on the other hand I am not sure how much 4wd high will help with the weight of my 5er (about 12K# with 2. 5K#pin weight). The 5er does not dig in itself as its triple axles.

 

[GWBourne]

if your tires were not spinning but your engine was and you were in one form of drive or another then your torque convertor was slipping. its supposed to do this, but the more it does it the more heat is made and thats bad. that leads to the clutches in the transmission slipping.



Grant

 

[Grizzly]

You don't use 4WD to get into a situation, You use 4WD to get out of one.

 

[JFaughn]

Some times you do not get the shifter all the way into the high postion , seems comin,get under truck while someone shifts the transfercase and use some spray lube and watch for hanging up .

 

[JMingledorff]

4 wheel hi as long as you are still moving would be better, but like you found out, that much weight from a dead stop in sand is alot for the stock trans and caused it to slip more than usual. Next time just try not to stop. I've seen people get stuck only because they stopped and lost their forward momentum then couldn't get that weight going again.

 

[MCrossley]

Been there done that...

with my 01 I got stuck on several occasions I say 4 low, because with that much weight you will just spin the tires where in 4 low you can very gradually increase the throttle and let it slowly work its way out, I have never actualy been stuck at that point to where I could not get out. I bet you were not completly engaged as I would have to pull hard on the 01 to get it to engage... .

 

[HoofinSoot]

A triple axle 5th wheel in sand ? You have bigger gonads than me ... ... ...

 

[TWynia]

Should have clarified a little ...



I knew I was going to get stuck in 2wd as I was already hoping the rear wheels and I was on a slight down hill and about to transistion into a slight uphill and thus stopped to engage 4wd in last ditch effort. I am pretty sure I would have been stuck regardless as I was following a sand rail to camp and he was lost and putting along too slow for me to gun it and of coarse had 65psi in tires for highway pulling.



I was pulling it in the washes below the sand dunes at Gordons Wells which is sand but its not like I am duning the 5er :-laf ... . thousands of other 5ers, Class A, etc. out there on a holiday weekend. Three of the 15 people in our camp also got stuck and people were being pulled out left and right all weekend long ... it was just unusually soft and most people were lost and thus going slow and thus getting stuck. The next day I drove the quads to the same spot and found evidence of atleast 5 other people getting stuck in the same spot.

 

[milehigh.o.]

I was on a slight down hill and about to transistion into a slight uphill and thus stopped to engage 4wd in last ditch effort.

Why would you stop to engage 4WD? You can put the truck in 4WD up to speeds of 50 or 55mph.



I would have slammed into 4WD and hammered down. Oo. :-laf

 

[BHolm]

Lower tires pressures would help but that 5'er is obviously pretty big. I would have used 4-low from the beginning. That multiplies the torque so you need to use less throttle to keep moving but have big reserves if you start losing speed.



The addage about using 4wd to get out of situations not into them has some merit. Using 4-low will increase your chances of digging in if you are to heavy on the throttle. Then 4wd gets you extra stuck. However if 4wd keeps you from losing the MO you need, it is the way to go.



The torque convertor will let the engine rev like crazy if the truck is stuck like that. Be careful to avoid doing this as it can only take a few seconds of sustained full power like that before something melts down or snaps. 4-low was the right choice, at least to "try" and get it out.

 

[JTryles]

Why would you stop to engage 4WD? You can put the truck in 4WD up to speeds of 50 or 55mph.



I would have slammed into 4WD and hammered down. Oo. :-laf

Correct me if I'm wrong here guys but that "shift on the fly" only works right if the front tires are spinning at remotely the same speed as the back? I have a real bad feeling that throwing the 4WD lever with the rears going 50 and the fronts going 10 that something is bound to go POP in a very, very bad way.

 

[MCrossley]

good question?

I dunno about the wheels speeds, but I do know that pulling a rather large boat out of the water on a rather scary steep boat ramp that I was in 2wd and loosing traction as I was going up and started to loose it you better believe I grabbed the magic stick and all was well, and I had a rather heavy foot into it at the time; I am sure it was not the wisest move but did not break anything... .

 

[GaryCarter]

That's right- engaging 4wd while spinning would be expen$ive.

If it's bad and getting worse, then best tactic is to let off the throttle while you still have some momentum; grab 4wd & romp on it again before you stop.



Quick shifts not recommended on earlier trucks with center axle disconnect or electronic shifters. Keep mine manual!



Gary

 

[HoofinSoot]

We always have a get-together at my house for my racing buddies during Christmas and New Years. Last year, one of my buddies with a 4x F150 was parked on the property next to me. Low ground. He got himself good and stuck trying to leave. Like buried to the rockers stuck ... . He had a push bar on the front, and because it was so buried he hooked the tow strap to that. Of course there was no way to really get in front of him without going thru a "sippy" hole ----- lotsa mud and water. I fired up the Dodge and put it in 4-Lo and put it to the mat. Spool up ..... and bouncing off the limiter, I made it thru the sippy hole. Cool -- hook up to his stupid push bar. Back up close to his truck to do a "clean-n-jerk" --- 4-Lo -- put it down hard again and proceed to rip off his push bar ---- OOOOPS. So now he decides to finally hook up to something of "substance" on the frame. Well of course, I've gotta go back thru the sippy hole to get lined up again. Again -- to the mat, bouncing off the limiter in 4-Lo. Back up again. Do a HARD clean-n-jerk and yanked him out. There was mud from head to toe in, out, and around my truck. I probably still have remnants in the cab from where I had the drivers window open and the front wheels were spinning.



Besides it costing me $10 in quarters at the car wash to spray off the truck, it was kinda fun ... ... ...

 

[wcjp]

I haven't towed on the sand. But, would recommend engaging 4wd before you need it. Otherwise the loss of momentum is bad. Can't answer the 4lo question. However, both of my 4wd manual transmission's do better in the sand in 4hi.

 

[Nate]

NO... . you use a winch to get yourself out of a situation.

You don't use 4WD to get into a situation, You use 4WD to get out of one.

 

[Grizzly]

NO... . you use a winch to get yourself out of a situation.

I don't have a winch not have I had the need for one.

 

[MMiller]

*I* prefer using low 4x when pulling my trailer off the beaten path usually with the hubs unlocked. I do this mainly to take strain off the trans and clutch. If I were auto I would definatly use low 4x to protect the convertor and trans. FWIW I have never had any luck pulling a trailer out of anywhere it 2wd won't do it. Usually the trailer will cause too much drag for a 4X4 to pull out. In those situations there usually is not enough traction under the truck to pull an even slightly sunken trailer. When in those situations, I figure out where I'm going, how I'm going to get there, get a path opened up, and use momentum. Kinda like the old 4wheeling addage- "as slow as possible and fast as necessary. "



Michael

 

[rbattelle]

That's right- engaging 4wd while spinning would be expen$ive.

If it's bad and getting worse, then best tactic is to let off the throttle while you still have some momentum; grab 4wd & romp on it again before you stop.

Gary

That's a great piece of advice right there. I've always handled it that way.



-Ryan

 

[MMiller]

You don't use 4WD to get into a situation, You use 4WD to get out of one.

Nah, you use 4wd to get further into the situation, then lots of rpm and wheel speed to get out. Then when that fails, you get the yank strap out, and another truck. You probably wouldn't like following were my friends and I take trucks. :-laf



Sorry for jacking the thread.



Michael