Driving
Across
an lncline
Sooner or later, an off-road trail will probably go across the incline of a hill.
If
this happens, you have to decide whether to
try
to drive across the incline.
Here are some things to consider:
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A
hill that can be driven straight
up
or down may be too steep to drive
across.
When you go straight up or down
a
hill,
the
length
of
the wheel
base (the distance from the front wheels to the rear wheels) reduces the
likelihood the vehicle will tumble end over end. But when you drive
across
an
incline, the much more narrow track width (the distance
between the left and right wheels) may not prevent the vehicle from
tilting and rolling over. Also, driving across
an
incline puts more
weight
on
the downhill wheels. This could cause
a
downhill slide or
a
rollover.
Surface conditions can be a problem when you drive across a hill.
Loose gravel, muddy spots, or
even
wet grass can cause your tires to
slip sideways, downhill. If
the
vehicle slips sideways, it can hit
something that will trip it (a rock,
a
rut,
etc.) and roll over.
Hidden obstacles can make the steepness of the incline even worse.
If
you drive across
a
rock with the uphill wheels, or if the downhill
wheels drop
into
a rut or depression, your vehicle can tilt even more.
For reasons like these, you need
to
decide carefully whether to try to drive
across
an
incline. Just because the trail goes across the incline doesn’t
mean
you have
to
drive
it.
The last vehicle to try it might have rolled over.
Q:
What if
I’m
driving across an incline that’s not too steep, but
I
hit
some loose gravel and start
to
slide downhill. What should
I
do?
A:
If you feel your vehicle starting to slide sideways, turn downhill. This
should help straighten out the vehicle and prevent the side slipping.
However,
a
much better way to prevent this is
to
get out and “walk the
course”
so
you know what the surface is like before you drive
it.
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