Hi. I MIGHT be going this friday next to the iraqi border, since iheard there is some nice desert lands. My freind who has a farm there said that there is a hill that the jk can't climb. He said a cherokee had to come to it with speed and still got stuck at the end. And i love challenges and believe in my jeep, but am a 4x4 newbie. He said its steep and soft sand and his foreman(atv) got stuck tryng to climb it. The question is how steep incline can i go up without risking rolling over? Also should i get some speed in 4hi? 4lo? how much should i air down? Any tips? If iam gona go am sure there will be a lot of pics, that il post. I have never seen this hill and am not sure if my freinds explanation is 100% correct since hes not a 4x4'er so he might be exagerating, so please if its a peice of cake don't blame me of making a big thing out of it. hehehehe

 

I'm by no means an expert but if I approached this hill and thought I could make it I'd do the following:

- First off, if the hill has a reasonable incline don't worry about rolling backwards. Keep in mind the heaviest part of the vehicle is in the front. Furthermore the JK doesn't have enough power even if you floored it to pop up the front end.

- If you are running stock tires you'll probably want to air down. Again I'm no expert but I'd say around 15?

- Approach the hill at its flatest part, pop it in 4LO and first gear and just crawl up it. If it's really loose dirt/sand you'll get stuck really fast if you just floor it.

- If its a straight up and straight down hill don't slow down at the top you may get stuck (especially if you're a 4 door).


Try it and have fun. Lets see some pics of the hill even if you decide against it, I'm curious

 

I am no expert by any means, but from my experience on sand, you want to air down as low as you can, (12-14) and use 4hi.....4 low will just dig in. You don't want to floor it, but start in 2nd gear and pick up as much speed as you can without digging.

Again, I am no expert, just from my experience......what little it is

 

Steep, and soft sand...yeah, that's pretty tough.

Frankly...if you're a newbie...it is probably a bad idea...there's an excellent chance that you'll get sideways and roll....and, if its steep enough, the JK DOES have enough power to pop the front up.

The thing with soft sand on a steep hill, that different from sand on a beach, etc....is that the grains just give under you, so its almost more like a fluid than a solid you're driving on.

If its harder/packed sand...a lot easier....if not so steep, a lot easier...put the two to gether, and you would need the right experience, and equipment, to make it.

That's assuming its REALLY steep, and REALLY soft....that might be an exageration, etc.

Basically, if going for it...momentum is your freind....you need speed, you can't slowly crawl up a soft sand pile unless you have balloon tires....you are going to dig in.

If you have open diffs...as soon as one tire slips and goes faster...the other tire is taken out of action, except to watch you dig the other tire a hole, etc.



You'd want to mostly stay nose up the hill, tail down...and not go sideways to the slope, unless you have a good head of steam on....and if you lose speed, steer DOWN, immediately, with gas, to avoid a roll.


If going up at speed, and the nose goes light on you, like it feels like you might flip backwards .....Hit the brakes, and if still going back, slam it ito reverse and gun it........(Do Not panic, and brace your self for the roll with your foot floored on the gas)

If going up ok, but loosing momentum...giving more gas will tend to dig you in and you'll bog down...instead, veer a litte at a time off vertical, to let the engine stay with the ground speed, but pick up some traction due to the lowered resistance of the less steep route.

If you DO veer - do not forget about rolls from being perpendicular to the slope.

If you screw up...typically as the ass end comes up from unde you on the way up and you are suddenly sudeways.....STEER TO THE DOWNHILL with gas.....

That's how you save yourself...even if you have to BACK down in reversse from a sideways stall....ALWAYS beprepared to give up on a bad run, and save your ass for the next run.



So - walk the hill, see whats up there/on the other side (Run off area? Lake? Trees?, etc...)

Look for parts of the terrain that might give a little ledge/grip/path of least resistance....look for the place on top you think you'd have a chance of popping over, etc.

If you look at it and just can't think of a damn way to do it...don't do it.

It takes more balls to admit you are not ready to do something yet, than to be so afraid of being thought less of, that you do it anyway.



Lets say it looks doable....get a running start, and try to maintain, not gain, speed, once on the hill...saw the front tires for traction like 1/8 turns or so, and watch the speed, veering back and forth like a slalom if need be, etc....follow your path to that place you wanted to make it to...and pop over it.



If you go part way and bog...its some combination of wrong line/too much psi/too narrow a tire, too low a speed.

If you have the opportunity....just keep making runs....make your recoveries as described above as needed...and see how it goes...the feel for it is the hardest thing to teach...

Experiment, see what goes the furthest, and do as many runs for fun and practice as you can....

I don't know what tires/ and so forth you have....so the "correct" psi, etc...will be up to you to trial and error.......start with a nice big sidewall bulge....and go from there.

With the right equipment and experience, you can do a lot more than you'd think.



Here's a steep climb, with a recovery like I described, to the downhill, and on the gas:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5FGGI2...eature=related




Here's a guy using about all there is you can use to keep going, and making it:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ysQ9Tp...eature=related




Have Fun!

 

Wooow i need to take notes. hehe Thanks for the effort appreciate it. The weather report is that there will be dust on friday and if so i will go maybe sat. because my jeep is black and an hour and half of 120km/hr and sand hitting the car could turn my jeep into silver. hehe, wel c what weather there is because i really want to take that hill down with my jeep. The guy says that one side of the hill is not to steep and the other is. The challenge to me is the steep hill. Also am afraid since its soft sand that if i get stuck near the top no one will be able to pull me out even though there will be my nephew with me in his jk, but if he tries to pull me out and gets stuck i think that will be funny heheh. My jk is stock all around. And i have a sport (X) with 16inch steelies. So i need speed in 4hi and once am climbing to not let go off the gas until its starts digging. Also i should turn the steering right left right left to catch traction. I should also not let it go sideways, but do you think with soft sand the jeep can go sideways? and if i feel am going to roll i hit the brakes and reverse? and going down i should be in gear not let the jeep stroll down? Do you think while going up if i get stuck i will be able to reverse down? or there is a possibility that i can't?

 

Do you think a stock jk can climb a hill like in that first vid? and no the hill is not that high for sure and if it was am telling you from now i aint even tryng, hehehe. If i roll down and destroy my jk il hate myself for the rest of my life and offcourse i won't have the money to fix it or get another. heheh. he said its about 15meters high. But am a real newbie so thats a new experience to me. The only 4x4ing i did was a bit of mud (posted in trails and tails) and some soft sand but no inclines.

 

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=CjLVem...eature=related

i think its about that high but offcourse soft sand. Do you think i can make it? offcourse there is a possibility its a peice off cake and my friend is exagerating but just in case. The more info the better.