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My name is Rhys, a first time dad blogging about my adventures and experiences of being a parent. [email protected]

Technique of climbing hills – off-road driving

Off-roading becomes very popular not only among professionals, but also a great number of amateur drivers become fascinated with the adventure of struggling with the nature. It is a great pleasure to take part in an organized trip to get to know new places and beat great obstacles such as steep climbs, rivers and descends.

But as a driver you have to be aware of the fact that beginners should learn how to drive off the beaten road at first. Many professional drives developed various techniques of overcoming obstacles however, there are some general techniques for beginners presented by bestvindecoder.com.

Over the hill

It may seem that climbing a hill is a piece of cake. You may just press the acceleration pedal to the maximum and you will get to the very top in a matter of seconds. It is not that easy as you may think. Some hills are more tricky that you have imagined in your wildest dreams. A simple cover made of leave may successfully prevent you from reaching the top. Therefore, below you will find some ideas and tips how to climb a steep hill successfully.

The route

Imagine a hill spreading in front of you. What factors do you take into consideration while choosing the route? Do you even think about the proper way to go up, or you decide what to do on the spot? Before taking a struggle with a steep hill there are several things that you have to take into account. First of all, think about the route. You may take into consideration such elements as trees and big rocks. You may need to have a spot to attach the winch or there are areas where trees are too dense to pass by.

You may also think of going up by any existing track. It may be neglected and overgrown by grass and bushes but anyway in means that someone has already gone up but this very route. Take a careful look at the hill and spot places with ruts. They might be more dangerous than you think. If you come across a rut it may prevent you from changing the direction of driving or in extreme cases you may roll over.

Earlier in this article a cover of leaves was mentioned. It may look harmless but actually they are very tricky and dangerous. You have to be aware of the fact that besides the momentum and speed while going up your car is also under the force of gravity. On a slipper ground it may drag you down easier than you expect. Your wheels start to spin and even if you use the full power of your car it is a waste of time and gas. You won’t climb in such a way.

The way up

While on an off-road trip you will encounter slippery hills and this is granted. Now it is time to get some ideas how to drive up a hill. The best way to attack a slope is to take the route that will minimize any sideways sliding of your vehicle. However, there sliding up and down can be controlled in a way that sliding sideways is extremely difficult to control. So one way to go up a hill is going straightforward if the terrain makes it possible.

The ruts that have been mentioned earlier may be of some use. If you have to drive a slope at a given angle the rutted track may act as rails leading you up the hill. In this case sideways sliding is less possible and you will have protection against rolling down the hill.

Tips and techniques

It is advisable to go for a recon mission and check the hill on foot. It this way you get the idea of terrain conditions, that state of the slope, slippery level and what is more important you get the idea of consequences if you fail to reach the top.

The gear is also very important and the right choice may ease your pain while going up. The importance of proper choice cannot be underestimated because different gears give you different kinds of power. Higher gear will be good for slippery terrain. It provides more traction and less torque. On the other hand, if you have a good grip or a surface with a huge amount of bumps you may want to choose the lower gear.

It was already stated that the maximal power is not that important you don’t have to set the engine at 6500 rpm. It is best to find the optimal amount of revolutions per minute to ensure proper power and stability of the vehicle.

It is also advisable to perform a test run. While you are seating in the car you might try to go up a few meters just to determine how slippery the surface of the hill is. It might occur to you that the conditions are very much different from what you have seen on foot.

Summary

The tips and tricks described in this short article don’t constitute the holy grail of off-road driving. These are only tips and you have to have quite a practice to be able to drive well in the terrain. To sum up, be sure to check the track and the level of traction. It might be also advisable to think about the right route before you take up the struggle and be prepared to fail. Failure is inscribed in the practice and hard work to get the best result out of off-road driving. The more you try the bigger the experience the better the results.