Sounds like you just found out...

 

Also, on the obstacle course, there was this probably 2.5' straight drop. There were no spotters on this obstacle, so I could not see ahead. I dropped down pretty hard, or what I thought was hard. Again, how do I know when I am pushing my limits?

 

When something breaks.

 

Lowerumble,

Sounds about right. I just want to know when to be worried versus cautious. I always wheel cautiously. I want to have fun, but at the same time, not get nervous.

 

Well, I am still pretty wet behind the ears wheeling, so I always wheel with someone that knows more than I. I would never wheel with someone that would encourage me to get in over my head (or beyond my vehicles limit). Also these same type of people are great resources for repairs and will dive in to help fix something when you break it. So I guess what I am saying, is try to find a good group to wheel with.

 

Great advice.:thumb:

 

Lowerumble, I have a friend exactly like that! He's as good as gold, but he can convince me to do some dumb stuff... And then again, he's always there to help with mods an fixes. Ok honestly, rehmann, if you don't feel comfortable don't do it! There are so many things that if I could go back, I would have done differently because of the outcome and long term damage as far as wheeling goes. Me nosediving (same situation as you) into a pit of mud is one of those mistakes... Actually, heavy mudding in general is something I've always considered a mistake. Gets in seals, in the frame (I'm still finding mud in the frame after two years), all OVER the engine, and breaks things in general. As far as crawling/trailing, forging, wait until you personally find your jeeps limits. You'll get a feel for it after your first few offroading trips. Stuff that you originally felt uncomfortable about starts getting fun, and you just start to know the jeep as it sits right now. That's just my way of putting it:thumb:

 

If you are ever with a group of guys with a good bit of experience and one of them says"hold on let me get my camera" then feel free to wory a bit.

 

Ha ha ha...so sadly true
There is also the pucker effect...which later involves pulling out some of your seats from between your but cheeks and you can always watch the reaction of the person in the seat next to you.

 

maybe start out a little slower... like instead of a 2 ft drop off do a 8" drop off and see how you and your Jeep respond then go bigger from there... watching others helps too.. not just watching but really watching what their jeep is doing and who they drive it... this can help in both ways learning what to do and what not to do.... watch some you tube videos of guys rolling their Jeep etc... you can learn from those as well.
:thumb:

 

Knowing what your rig can handle, as well as what you as a driver can handle are good starting points. Sometimes it depends on how little you care about driving home, or how deep your pockets are.

I wheeled with a guy who wanted everyone to do huge lines every time without any care in the world. In 2 days his jeep was inoperable more than it was driveable because his big lines costed him ripping his front axle brackets off, breaking a Pittman arm, etc. The rest of us took our most challenging lines with respect to our jeeps' build levels and for me the challenge of driving another 4 1/2 hours back home after a wheeling trip made me consider all lines twice as much. Don't wheel mindlessly, your jeep is only as capable as its driver.

 

Knowing what your rig can handle, as well as what you as a driver can handle are good starting points. Sometimes it depends on how little you care about driving home, or how deep your pockets are.

I wheeled with a guy who wanted everyone to do huge lines every time without any care in the world. In 2 days his jeep was inoperable more than it was driveable because his big lines costed him ripping his front axle brackets off, breaking a Pittman arm, etc. The rest of us took our most challenging lines with respect to our jeeps' build levels and for me the challenge of driving another 4 1/2 hours back home after a wheeling trip made me consider all lines twice as much. Don't wheel mindlessly, your jeep is only as capable as its driver.

Or put good parts in your jeep and beat the snot out of it(within reason), then drive it home.

You are right though, lots of people don't take into consideration how a jeep is built when they are spoting folks. Lots of times you have guys with heavily built jeeps trying to spot guys up lines that they have no business doing because they think everyone should be able to do it.

 

Find a good friend and spotter you trust, and do the same for him. You won't let eachother do anything TOO stupid :thumb:

 

wheel for 6 months maybe once a month and all the obstacles you listed will seem like nothing. its a sport, you will learn to be better!

when I just started the smallest drop had me getting worried. now it takes a lot to get me like that!

 

If you ever do something because of peer pressure, or you aren't very confident, chances are, its a bad idea. Until someone pays for your Jeep, peer pressure is irrelevant. There is no shame in backing out, but plenty of shame sinking the Jeep and losing all your money.

 

If you ever do something because of peer pressure, or you aren't very confident, chances are, its a bad idea.

When I was in high school, one of my friends had an old Toyota Land Cruiser. The body shape that was sort of Wrangler-esque looking. Anyway, he was driving a couple of us through the woods when we came upon a big mud hole. He wanted to go around it, but we kept on and on about going through it. He caved and through it we went. Made it about half way and he started slipping. Then the worst happened, a metal Tonka dump truck was buried in that mud and it sliced his rear passenger tire all the way around the sidewall. We tried to rock it out of the hole we were in, but by this time, the tire was coming off the rim. Somehow we were able to jack it up and change the tire. Fortunatly he had shovels and one of those tall jacks made for lifted vehicles. The mud was so thick though, we could not get the jack to lower. Now we were stuck in the mud and on top of a jack to boot. So, there we were, 3 high school kids stuck in the middle of nowhere, consumer cell phones weren't invented yet, and it was getting dark. After a long walk, we were able to flag someone down to snatch him off the jack and out of the mud hole. I would say in his offroad experience, that was the point where he realized he should have said no. LOL.

 

Rock Crawler Finished. Testin It - YouTube

 

For the most part, you should never hit anything (mud pit, rock ledge, etc) too fast. This is especially true if you go first. Sometimes there are railroad ties, cement blocks, sharp stuff buried in that pond or mudhole.

If the rig before is better built and has a skilled driver and he didn't make it, you better have a real good plan if you expect to (and replacement parts)

Also, sometimes that little hole is way deeper than it looks (had this happen to my wheeling buddy a year ago).

You can bend stuff real easy, and if you didn't trailer your rig there, it's a pain to get home if it's broken.

So on this day we ran through a lot of large shallow ponds. We came to this little puddle and I tossed a boulder in and just hear a "kerploop"

It sounded like tossing a boulder off a fishinig pier.

I suggested skimming the edge or bypassing it. This truck is big, it's riding on 42's

Humvee: Post Election - YouTube

 

At this point in my life, if someone tells or asks or dares or teases me to do something, I ain't doing it.

F-them.

I'll only do what I want (or have) to do.

That also applies to wheeling the Jeep, but it takes a while. I don't like mud pits, and I can normally look at a drop off and tell what, if anything is going to scrape or bash a little.

On mud pits, just decide up front if you like them or not. If you like 'em, go on in as long as your engine ain't going to breathe water. Just get a tug. I used to like 'em.

On drop offs, eh, you have to watch others go off 'em if you're not sure. Haha.

 

Mall crawling counts? Lol

When u to crawl does big rocks to get a pic, and u get ticked for distorting private property XD

 

How do you know you should say no?
When the guy beside you can't hang on to your beer because he is busy hanging on to thegrab bar and trying to buckle his seat belt with 1 hand.

 

find a good spotter and be his ride home. in other words, if he lets you break your truck, he walks home. Also, watch a lot, wheel a little until you have learned.

 

Thanks for all the answers.

I thought the mudpit would be a fun idea. I didn't realize how deep it was. I essentially hit it at about 10 mph, and straight nose dived. I went deep enough to not completely submerge the motor, but, I did get some mud in the tub. I wasn't sure what to do since I have never been in this type of situation. I turned off the motor and waited to be pulled out. At this point, I started the motor to put it in neutral and drove off after I was pulled out.

The second situation, the drop, well, like I said, I had no idea about it. The front dropped, and then the rear. I again, drove off. Obviously, I would have taken it a bit slower but that was not the case.

So, I guess the question is, how far can I push my Jeep.

 

So, I guess the question is, how far can I push my Jeep.

I don't mean for this to be a flippant answer, but, the degree to which you push your Jeep is only limited by the funds you are willing to commit to fix it.

Not apples to apples, but when I track my car, I understand the implications inherent in exploring the limits of the vehicle and the limits of my driving ability (which, btw, is almost always less than the limits of the vehicle).

 

If you or someone with you says " Hey y'all watch this" it's probably a bad idea.

 

Hahahahahhaa

 

Read and understand the bottom line in my signature!!!!

Bad stuff happens when wheeling.... even when one has lots of experience!!!
In the picture below, there was more than one person shouting "WHOA!!"; the the driver thought he heard "GO"!!

There is not a "one size fits all" answer for your question. Proceed with caution is probably the best answer!

And as far as far as mud/water go; just remember that it is impossible to tell by just looking at the surface how deep or nasty it is going to be.
Best of all, if you have doubts, just remember who is going to have to pay for repairs or a tow or whatever else may happen to your rig!:thumb:

 

....."experience is what you don't have until just after you needed it"...

....."good judgement is built on experience.....experience is gained from bad judgement"....

don't ask how I learned the truth of these quotes....

 

In a hot day

Go to the car wash, and the worker tells u that your tires are to big for there machine, but that there is a gas station that can handle my tires lol

 

Dont be afraid to bypass something that you dont feel confident you can do.
I use a stick to check depth of mud and water. And if all else fails I let someone else go first to see how they do .Most of our trail rides I follow my buddy in his TJ on 2" lift and 32" open diffs. If he can make it I can too. At least that is what I tell my wife when she starts asking if we can make it.
I have also learned its best not to be first but in a large group it gets worse the more that go through so you want to be near the front of the group just not first. Sometimes the bypass is worse than the mud hole. Last weekend everyone bypassed a mud hole .The bypass was very slick and on an off camber and some hard a very hard time. I got a stick and checked the mud hole and discovered it wasn't bad at all.I went through it and the rest of the group did as well.