JKU Rubicon

Dear Lord

First of all, you need to regear. With your 35" tires YOU DON'T HAVE 3.73 ANYMORE.

With all these big rocks, lockers would be a good investment

Also, you need to be higher I would put a minimum of 2.5" of lift, and like the lady said in the clip: "You need sliders"

Red

I think the previous replies sum it up on the need to regear. It will make a difference. Lift, body armor, etc. probably all good ideas as well.

Now, I have two new points to add.

1. Your idea of tipipng the gas pedal is probably not my idea. REAL EASY on the skinny pedal. Its a practice thing. If it does stall out, don't worry, let it stall out. Then hold down on the brake, leave it in gear, (1st gear, 4 lo) and crank it back up, while slowly letting out on the break. What you are doing is using the starter to pull you forward and the break to control the speed. If you do it too much, it will eventually have a negative effect on the starter, but eventually you will get a feel for that pesky skinny pedal on the right.

2. Get a better spotter. "Okay, come on up" is what I think he said. Wow, you could have done without his help. The spotter is the one driving the vehicle, the driver is no more than a remote control. Granted, the video didn't show what happened prior to the attempt, but what should happen, especially with an unexperienced driver, is that they should walk the line with the driver, explaining how they expect the attack on the obstacle to go. Then, prior to, in this case, climbing that rock, the spotter should walk around the vehicle as much as possible and verify that the vehicle is lined up correctly. If it isn't, they need to make corrections to either the vehicle or alter the line. It might also be a good idea for the driver to get out at this point and the spotter show/explain what is going to happen. When it is time to go, the driver should be paying attention to the spotter and the spotter to the vehicle. Using hand signals or verbal commands, the spotter should have said something to the effect of, "gently give gas, your left front tire is going to come up first, when its up I want you to break hard, so watch for my signal to break..." Bottom line, the newer the driver, the better the spotter needs to be, and the more communication you need. The spotter could have also told you about using the starter to get up on the rock. Also, just because someone can drive their rig over it, doesn't mean that they can spot for you.

Hope that helps somewhat.

wolfmanii

Hi, Red:

Thank you so much for your suggestion. I will practice this skill this weekend. But I am
not sure I understand this "starter pull up" tip completely.

I assume this process goes like this

Vehicle stops before rock, engine is off
right foot holds the brake pedal down
switch into first gear
left foot away from clutch pedal
start the engine
slowly lift the right foot to release the brake pedal gently

Am I correct in this process?
If so, since the engine is running and clutch is engaged, why do you say
it is the starter, not the engine pulls the vehicle forward?

DJSJK50

Everyone said what you need. I also think the spotter was not right in this case. Again, we did not see what it looked like at the start (as mentioned), but you ended up with two rocks under your diff. I think the line they choose for you was incorrect to start with based on you being new at this. I think someone mentioned that it looks like you (the spotter really) should had you raise your driver side tire over the higher rock to keep things out of the way. Or had you go around that one large rock that got your side, where you need the rock sliders. Just my

RubiJK

Well, I kind of have to disagree with most of the responses. I dont think you NEED gears, lockers, etc for an "obstacle" like what you were trying to go over... but they do make it MUCH easier to accomplish what you would like.

I know PLENTY of good drivers that can make high-geared, small tires, open diffs do amazing things that better equipped rigs couldnt do. What I saw in the vid is simply that you couldnt control your vehicle precisely enough. The most effective thing you can do is practice. You will begin to feel that "trigger point" in your clutch. You will have to work your brake at the same time. Sometimes you will need to also use your e-brake. The more you do it, the more you will be able to fine tune your abilities. I dont think there is anything more valuable than seat time.

Honestly, you will be a much better wheeler in the long run by learning on a rig that is not setup "ideally." I think a lot of guys can get through challenging, technical obstacles because their rig is built to the nines... but that doesnt mean they are a really good driver. If you were driving a sweet crawler buggy you would have made it over that little rock just fine. But, does that mean you are a good driver? Nope. Practice. You will get it dialed in, and then as you upgrade your rig, you will be even better off for it...

Just my .02!

wolfmanii

RubiJK:

Thank you for your good point.

With manual transmission, how can I control brake while starting vehicle? At this moment
the left foot is on clutch and right one on gas. Do I have to do toe-heel work? If so, it is
quite difficult since gas pedal is much lower than brake pedal

JKU Rubicon

I agree, but not with bigs rocks like in the video
Come on!
Anyway, the OP needs sliders

guitarguy

When in 4Lo (which I'm assuming you were in when you were crawling this rock), you do not need to push in the clutch to start the vehicle.

Therefore, starting with the vehicle OFF, DO NOT press the clutch, and turn the key. As long as you are in 4Lo, the Jeep should start, and immediately lurch forward by the power of the starter.

Now, when I was wheeling my stock JK, I was very surprised by the amount of brake I could use to control my speed in either the rocks or on downhill sections. In other words, 4Lo, 1st gear, crawling, I was able to press the brake quite hard to slow myself down, without the engine stalling out. I'm sure this caused some wear on the brakes, but whatever, brakes are cheap.

The 4Lo, no clutch start is also a good thing to know when you stall out with the tranny submerged in water. You don't want to engage/disengage the clutch, dirt will get in there, and you'll need a new clutch.

Red

Okay, I think it already got answered, but here it is again. The thing is, the JK will start in 4 lo without depressing the clutch. Go out and try it. Put it in 4 lo and 1st gear. Then don't put your feet on any pedals, and start the motor. This only works in 4 lo unless you modified something. The truck will start and move forward at the same time. What actually gets it moving forward before the engine actually starts is the starter, thats why I said it is the starter that pulls you up onto the rock, not so much the engine, the engine catches on as the vehicle is already moving. The point behind this is that if you are climbing something steep, and you stall out and leave it in gear and don't touch the clutch, you will not roll backwards causing potential damage. Since you only have two feet for three pedals, that whole brake - clutch - gas thing can get a bit dangerous. Think long steep hill with drop offs on each side and you are stalled out and have to use all three pedals. So, the solution is that if you leave it in gear and don't mess with the clutch, and you can start it like this, then you will not roll backwards. So, this nifty feature can be used for other things - like really deep water crossings (please do not go out and try a deep water crossing with only the starter, its one of those things that work in a worst case scenario). In your case, learning how to apply the throttle is the real appropriate solution, but, if you keep stalling out, rather than giving too much gas and breaking something, use the starter. That doesn't mean drive up to the obstacle and turn off the motor, that means give it an honest try, and if you stall out just leave it in gear and start the engine and then you won't need to worry so much about the gas until you are up on the obstacle. Granted, this should be used more if there is a risk of rolling back (and will be put in your trick bag for these situations as you get more seat time), but it is a trick that helps new drivers when they keep stalling out on climbs. The foot on the brake thing is more of a control measure. You have no way of controlling how fast the starter will get you moving, that is why you use the brake to control your speed - kind of like a reverse brake pedal.

I know this wasn't the step by step procedure that you were hoping for, but be best thing I can tell you to do is to go out to a parking lot and pull up to one of those parking abutments. Turn off the truck, (it should be in 4 lo and in gear) and then crank the starter. Keep a foot over the break or lightly on the break (its a feeling thing) to maintain control of the vehicle. Start the truck - leaving the gas pedal alone, and see what happens. Make sure there is no car or wall or anything in front of you, because you will go forward.

One more tip, and probably one too many. You can learn to heel toe so that you can work all three pedals at the same time. Not a bad skill to learn. But, in all reality, once you get the truck going, you don't so much need the clutch anymore. Keep one foot on the gas and one on the break. You can apply both at the same time. Use the gas to keep the engine running and the break to control speed. It takes some getting used to and not a good thing to practice on the street. It might help with the learning to go easy on the gas, cause that pedal is, admittedly a bit finicky and the break a bit more user friendly. It will also help you from applying too much gas and slamming into things because you lost control after getting up onto the obstacle.

dlincoln91

not to be mean man but i dont think you really had any business being there.
that trail looks to be alot tougher than your jeep can take especially since you dont have sliders.
i would try to do alittle bit more mods before attempting something like that in your jeep
i would have warned you and reccomended you not take that trail if you were with me because i dont like seeing things get torn up
just my 2 cents