As someone who loves driving and also loves to be out in the woods it’s only natural that I would be into off roading. Off roading gives you the ability to challenge your vehicle while exploring nature. You would think this would lead me to getting a four wheel drive truck or SUV, but somehow I keep ending up with two wheel drive. My first car was a first generation Ford Escape which was front wheel drive, after that I got a Nissan Frontier which is rear wheel drive, and recently I got a Ford Econoline which is also rear wheel drive.
With the Escape it was a midsize SUV. Every time the Escape would struggle on a trail was usually from ground clearance or traction, it would either sink into sand or bottom out in a rut. The open differential also made it difficult in sand too. With my Nissan Frontier so far it has been more capable on trails. The Frontier has more clearance all around and also has a much wider tire. The area that it struggles in is power with only 171 lb-ft of torque.
My Ford Econoline is not something I plan to push offroad due to its weight, size, low clearance, and small tire size. The most that my van has seen so far has just been national forest roads.
Some tips for off roading with 2wd
These are going to apply to 4wd as well but I feel the importance is much more with just 2wd.
Know the limits
The best thing you can do while choosing a trail or while you are on a trail is know your vehicle’s limits. Knowing when to turn around or when to go around something is going to make bad situations never happen. All vehicles and drivers are going to have a limit, a two wheel drive vehicle is just going to have a much lower limit than others. I would not recommend doing any rock crawling or other serious terrain. For a non 4×4 I would recommend some light trails with no serious obstacles.
Recovery
Being able to get yourself out of a bad situation is often overlooked. The best thing you can do is go with another vehicle that can pull you out of a situation. Other options are a winch or traction boards. It’s good to have a shovel and things to put under your wheels to help get you out if you are stuck.
Turn off traction control
Traction control is a safety feature that helps to prevent loss of traction and this is great when driving on roads. When off road traction control is not what you want to have on. Having traction control will cause you to get stuck in sand, a rut, mud, or other situations. Some older vehicles don’t have traction control so this isn’t an issue, on vehicles with it there is usually a way to turn it off.
Selecting The Correct Tires
The best modification you can do off roading is selecting the correct tires. A good all terrain or mud terrain tire can make all the difference. Your tires are the only part that touch the ground so make sure you have a good set of tires with plenty of traction. All terrain or mud terrains are going to provide way more grip due to the open tread design and softer rubber. Safety is the most important thing when off roading. Knowing your limits and the limits of your vehicle will keep you out of situations but if you do end up in a situation you want to make sure you can get yourself out of it. Also make sure to only go places that you are allowed to be, don’t trespass.