Although golden beaches and wide open oceans are the ultimate holiday destination for some, the call of the bush is often the first choice of Limpopo residents who then seek to explore its off-road offerings.
Going off-road bonds people with nature but also with their vehicles and sometimes both the driver and vehicle’s abilities are tested into the red. Limpopo indeed offers some challenging outings especially when you want to get to sceneries where the road is marked – 4×4 only. 4-wheeling is about finesse. Other features and driving techniques assist in the overall safety of your off-road outing, but finesse is the first and most important portion of your driving repertoire to acquire.
Tips
• It’s important always to drive within your ability. There are times when in soft sand, like beaches and washes, speed needs to be moderate and flotation through mud and snow needs to be kept up, hence “within your ability.” Usually taking your time on the trail will allow you to pick a smooth path and allow you time to react to the varieties of terrain you can encounter like moving rocks and logs under the tyres. If you have a ground clearance deficiency, going slow helps here, in that, if you do hit a rock with the differential or another rock grabber, it will usually stop the vehicle on impact or you will lightly scrape over it.
• Avoid surprises by surveying the road ahead before you encounter it. Make sure the trail goes beyond the obstacle, doesn’t become a bottomless quagmire and has no backside to the hill or just plain ends.
• Driving diagonally = Rollover. Always drive straight down hills or steep terrain. Know your approach and departure angles, the bumper to tyre distance. Some trails will require off-camber driving. In situations like this, it’s best to go slow, keeping the tyres on the tracks. Make every attempt to avoid losing attention and ascending up a rock or stump on the upside of the hill.
• Reducing tyre pressure will increase traction on gravel and sand.
• Cross ditches or logs at an angle so that one wheel at a time goes over the obstacle; the other three help the one wheel to climb over. Dropping the tyre into a ditch or crack in a rock can put you and your vehicle in a vulnerable position. Sometimes the vehicle pitches and one or more tyres will catch air. Be very deliberate and careful when approaching this challenging section of any trail. Logs can bounce up and catch the undercarriage, so come off these obstacles slowly and carefully.
Story: RC Myburgh
>>rc.observer@gmail.com
