YOUR VEHICLE
Your vehicle is the key to your survival. It is your primary means of transportation through the harsh terrain and climate, and needs to be treated with respect and care. Your aim, whilst driving any of the routes in the guidebook, must be to put your vehicle under as little strain as possible.
To do otherwise, is to increase the possibility of severe problems that will affect you, the group you are with and, ultimately, the success of your trip. What now follows are some considerations, techniques and tips that, if adhered to, will contribute to the success of your off-road driving adventures.
DRIVING
It is assumed that the user of the guidebook has reached a high level of off-road driving competence and has a couple of seasons of off-road driving experience in this region. The intention here is not to describe in detail how to drive off-road but merely to act as an aide-memoire for certain techniques and eventualities. If you do decide to undertake some of the routes in the guidebook but think that you require more experience of some of the driving techniques mentioned, then it is suggested that you gain this experience in more benign, less remote areas and preferably with a club or group who know what they’re doing. Before outlining some of the tips and techniques it is worth reminding ourselves of a pertinent truism: ‘time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted’. If you’re not sure of the viability of the route ahead, and before committing yourself, your vehicle and any followers, get out of your vehicle and go and inspect the way ahead on foot.
Mountain and Wadi Driving. Driving in mountains or wadis usually means following a track, no matter how indistinct it may be. Rarely do we leave tracks, due to the unforgiving nature of the terrain and the damage it can inflict on our vehicles. You may find yourself venturing off tracks in wadi beds, where you encounter deep gravel, or if you cross gravel plains where the surface is more benign. Whilst driving in these types of terrain you should be aware of the following techniques and tips:
Tyres. It is not advisable to use a pure sand tyre for driving in the mountains; they have very weak side walls and offer little traction. Similarly, you need to take particular care if you use standard road tyres. The rock in mountainous regions and some wadis is sharp and the less frequently used tracks are strewn with shards of it. Punctures are very likely, even with standard road tyres. The recommended choice of tyre would be a more robust tyre, such as an All Terrain (AT) or Mud Terrain (MT) tyre; good quality tyres give peace of mind. You should consider deflating from normal road pressures in order to decrease the likelihood of punctures and to gain better traction, particularly on steep ascents and descents – a pressure between 20 -25 psi ( 1.38 – 1.72 Bar) is suggested but you may need to go lower to maintain traction.
Steep Ascents and Descents. Before ascending or descending steep tracks you should engage low ratio, select 4×4, as well as engage your front hubs if in non permanent 4×4 vehicles, and use traction aids such as hill descent/traction control or differential locks (centre and rear as a minimum) if fitted. On a steep descent or ascent you should be in 1st or 2nd gear (depending on the severity of the slope and your gear ratios) and use your engine to brake your descent and NOT the foot brake. Try and maintain a steady, controlled speed in both ascent and descent. You should aim to ascend without allowing the wheels to slip. Slipping tyres means you’re losing traction.
Boulders. If potentially tyre damaging, chassis scraping, sump wrecking boulders are on your intended line and you can’t avoid them, then you should consider getting out of the vehicle and moving them. Heavy, larger boulders may require some effort but if it prevents potential catastrophic damage to your vehicle, you should make the effort. If you cannot move them you should consider building up a form of ramp over them to prevent chassis/ differential/axle/sump damage. Use of waffle boards makes this significantly easier.
If you have no choice but to go over a large boulder or obstacle that may cause vehicle damage, ensure you drive over it with your wheels. It is better to damage a side sill or the under floor of your vehicle rather than to try and straddle a boulder under the centre of your vehicle, which may cause major damage to your differentials, engine sump or gearbox and could leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere.
Trenches and Gulleys. Crossing a trench/gully ‘straight-on’ is not recommended. Engage 4×4, traction aids or differential locks and aim to cross it at an angle so that each tyre in turn goes into and out of the trench. If you have waffle boards these can be used to bridge small trenches/gulleys or be combined to ease the entry and exit angles on larger deeper trenches/gulleys.
Loose Gravel. Driving over loose gravel surfaces or on severe corrugations on the top of a hard track requires care and awareness. Loose gravel can act like ball bearings on the track surface and you can loose control of your vehicle suddenly and with no warning. You should slow down, consider engaging 4×4 or your centre differential lock and take care not to make sudden turns or manoeuvres.
Deep gravel beds in wadis can be as difficult to drive through as soft sand. You may need to deflate your tyres more and consider engaging 4×4 or your differential locks, if fitted.
Fording. You need to know the fording depth capability of your vehicle. If you need to ford a stream or wadi pool you should not drive blindly into it. Get out of your car, walk into the water and check the depth and the quality of the under-water surface. Do this for the whole length of the route through the water. Only when you’re happy that your vehicle can negotiate the crossing should you get back in and drive it. Once you have completed the crossing you need to test your brakes because they are likely to have reduced braking ability whilst still wet. If so, gently apply your brakes several times to dry them out.
Flooded Wadis. Attempting to cross a flooded wadi with fast flowing water can be extremely dangerous and should not be attempted unless you’re faced with an emergency. The water levels usually rise rapidly but can also fall rapidly. Waiting for the water to drop to a safe level to allow a less fraught crossing is by far the best course of action; even if it means waiting for several hours or even a day. It is better to be safe than sorry.
If you have no other options and need to cross, consider joining multiple recovery straps together. Attach them to the vehicle doing the crossing and to another vehicle on the safe bank. That way, if the crossing goes wrong, you can immediately initiate the recovery with the waiting vehicle. It also offers the same security for the next vehicle in line for the crossing. The main problem faced with fast flowing deep water is that your vehicle may start to float and be washed downstream or off the crossing. Petrol vehicles may also suffer ignition problems in deep water; diesel vehicles are much better in these situations.
Deep Mud. Deep mud is not often encountered in the region but can be treacherous due to the, normally, fine nature of the constituent particles. Driving in mud can be similar to driving in soft sand; to successfully get through a section of deep mud you need to rely on two things: traction and momentum. Firstly, you need to assess the situation. If a mud section looks difficult it is easier to prepare for it before entering the mud rather than performing a recovery whilst stuck in the middle of it. The more aggressive tyres such as MT or AT, will make a huge difference to your traction compared to standard road or sand tyres. To aid traction, consider deflating your tyres to increase their footprint but not by too much if there are rocks present because this will increase the chances of suffering side wall cuts.
Engage all available traction aids such as 4×4/differential locks/traction control. Maintaining momentum is critical, so choose a gear which is going to offer good power without the need to change down in the middle of the mud section. Approach the mud at a speed of between 10 – 20kmh and try to maintain this speed through the mud, depending on the conditions.
Photo Credits: Colin Campbell, David Townshend, Albert Mahesh and author’s own.
Published in April 2011
