but if in 4lo will the jeep bog down or will it keep spinnign the tires in soft sand?

 

4LO 1st gear no clutch, no gas...jeep moves forward without stalling...its amazing and counterintuative.

next time you're out, try it. it will blow you mind.

 

this technique is mainly for rock crawling or after you stall on a steep section of trail.

 

only if you're not on a steep section of trail or attempting to climb a big obstacle. in those situations, gears like those will still stall and even if they didn't, sometime you'll want a greater sense of control especially if you are in a precarious situation. but yes, ultimately, the idea is to get your foot off the clutch and let your jeep crawl all on its own.

 

The hand break is a good method.. More and more though I find I can get away from it.


Couple good things to know.
If you are in 4 low you can crawl pretty well without throttle until you hit taller/steeper obstacles.

If you are in 4lo and do manage to stall it, your JK will start without the clutch.

I drive with 2 feet on the trails.. My left covers the brakes and my right on the skinny pedal. I Apply my throttle to keep her around 2000/2500 RPMS (depending on the severity of the obstacle). This puts me in a decent power/toque range for the JK.

How do you keep from beating the hell out of your rig you ask? I control my speed with my brakes. Once my throttle is where I want it for the obstacle I gradually lift my left foot and let the engine go to work.

The only time I touch my clutch is when I need to move to a higher gear between obstacles.

2 foot driving definately takes some getting used to, and it's REALLY fun when you get back on the highway and have to adjust again. (ask me how I know ) It might wear your brakes out faster too.. but hey, breakage and worn out parts = upgrade opportunity.

 

I will try to get the hand brake tech down. That will probably help me alot.


I never stall on the road but some of the stuff I was doing last Tues while at hench mountain was nearly straight up when I stalled....... I was in 4 lo too.

On flat ground in 4 lo mine does move with out gas.... crawlin..... but up hill its a diff story. Probably cause my 3.21s I would like to be able to afford 4.10s at least - that would be nice.

What about that hand throttle, would that help me out since I have the suck gears?

 

A hand throttle would only help you in a "stop and go" situation on a steep hill or when hanging on a rock, and it should help you out a ton seeing how you only have 3.21s. I use to have an old K5 Blazer with 35s and a crappy gear ratio. It didnt have near enough power to crawl through the brakes, but I was able to make up the difference with a hand throttle. It was a paddle on the dash just like what paralized drivers have and it allowed me to easily brake, gas and clutch at the same time and it was so easy that I could still concentrate on the obstacle instead of worrying about the hand brake, or keeping one foot on both the brake and the gas, or worrying about stalling.

I dont know for sure because I have never drove a jk with 3.21s, but I would seem to think that with 3.21s it would be extra tough to master the hand-brake or the toe-heel techniques, but I dont think I should have a problem with my 4.10s and 4:1 low.

A hand throttle would be the easy way out, but I think we should both try to master these techniques anyways because you never know when you might need them. I would hate to sink a buddies truck at a boat launch just because I dont know how to handle the situation without a hand throttle.

 

EXACTLY what I do.

 

Mark A. Smith's guide to safe, common sense, off-road driving tips says to keep your foot OFF the clutch. If you are on a steep hill and have to stop turn your key off. when you are ready to go again start your Jeep in gear with your foot OFF the clutch. It only works in 4lo, but if you are on a steep hill it should be in 4lo any ways.


Howdy

 

Gearing has a lot to do here. There's been plenty of times that I've stalled on a grade or on a rock and tried to just start in gear and there's not enough gearing to continue upwards. Drains the battery some to the point of taking a few more turns and seconds to start the engine again.