San Gorgonio trip to Big Bear - Sept. 20-22

This truck is very fun!!

 

U straight up showed them how it’s done!

 

That was a great description

great pics! That was an awesome day!

 

Dude, great pics on a great day!

 

We need to work something specific on your technical driving... throttle modulation is key, you seem very on / off on throttle... that can be a huge issue if you hit an obstacle and get a wheel stuck, that hard on-off throttle will break stuff. Were you in 4hi or 4 lo here?

 

This was me trying to follow Mike’s recommendation that I use both feet at the same time, letting up on brake to go forward. Clearly not something I’ve practiced much, but I was eager to be a responsive pupil. So far, I’ve done better driving with “one foot”, except at super low speeds... like if I start from a stop to go over an obstacle requiring extra control. Anyway, yes, we can work on it. I was in 4lo.

 

ah 4lo that explains it, much more touchy to throttle response. because of the gear ratios... yeah two footing takes time for tech driving, but that is good advice! just keep wheeling, you are doin awesome! glad to see hulk out the smashing it!!!

 

Lol yep, my advice:
Left foot on brake, right foot on throttle. Modulate them both for smooth and slow control while helping prevent tire slip.
(A little insight idk if I explained well on the trail - holding some pressure on the brake applies a load to the driveline. When your diffs are open/open this means one front and one rear will get the power as the other loses traction. By holding the brake the diffs feel as though both have traction and applies the power more evenly split between the two. aka: poor mans locker.) - this might not be the exact science behind it, but it's how I understand it.

My buddy told me he was told to hold the throttle at a consistent low rpm and use the brake to modulate speed. This works well, but is harder.

Regardless, Sunny did a fucking awesome job up Gold! No issues, we would chat about line choice and I feel wherever she pointed the Hulk it would have gone and made quick and easy work of it. Had some fun choosing lines and making it happen

@Sunnier Like Bruce said, more seat time on this slow technical stuff will yield advantages going slow.
Another time when we can find a nice obstacle (and less people) we'll run it over and over again so you can try different lines, see how the Hulk handles different ways up the same thing, what works, what doesn't, and of course more of the very slow crawling.

My new "fun" is to crawl stuff as slooooooow as possible haha. I'm shooting for as little tire slip as I can.

As i was re-reading this I remembered a nice easy to get to spot you can practice on with or without others.
The heli-pad on the Pine Valley trail, there's a nice little hill going up it -
This one -


It might not be the same with all your droop, but my truck for example will two wheel in some spots (one front and one rear up in the air) but not dangerously or anything.
The dirt is pretty loose, no risk of damage or an accident, but a solid hill where if you crawl slow you'll probably just start spinning (I know I do), but with the rear locker I can go up slow no issue. With your truck without a locker you can crawl up slow and see where you lose traction - then crawl up slow while modulating the brakes and see how it effects your traction. Fun little thing to play on in our backyard.
Might not be much difficulty for you since your tires may never leave the ground

Sorry, long winded, I get excited about this stuff!

 

Haha! No worries, Mike; I get excited too! This is a great idea and I know just the place you mean. That sounds perfect UNLESS droop on one side causes me to stuff the tire on the other side.

I found another cool spot in Pine Valley that looks super easy, but has beaten Hulk twice because of this. I’ll go check out that climb near the heli-pad! Only way to find out.

 

Are you rubbing the bedsides when stuffed? That’ll probably happen... the opposing wheel is really stuffed up in there on this one.

 

we are going to 2" spacers on the hulk which should help with any rubbing issues if there are any, last time i had the truck in for work, i didnt see any rubbing issues

 

Yes, it sucks into the tirewell, so much that it grabs and hold the entire tire = done. I know the answer is new bedsides, but I keep juggling priorities
. Just ordered race brake pads to upgrade next weekend, in time for Anza... because if I see SGU in the distance, I’ll need skinny pedal and brakes more than I’ll need bedsides.

 

No rubbing, were talking about the rear tires getting stuffed in the tire wells when I walk Hulk through big ruts.

 

@Sunnier you don't need new bedsides, you can make yours work for you

 

Hmmn, probably would be fine with this. As long as I can still carry gear....

 

Cut 2-3 inches out of the bedsides and pull them. Just make sure the edge is nice and smooth so it doesn't slice a tire.

I could be mistaken, I know pulling bedsides was/is a big thing with Rangers. Figured on a Tundra you'd be able to do the same with the metal bedsides to get a little more flare out of them.
Cutting the opening bigger is a big thing with Tacomas to clear a 35" on 3" of lift, should work the same on a Tundra but for added room to stuff your tires.
I suppose it really depends what and where you're hitting. I haven't gotten my head under there and looked around like you and Bruce have.

 

Bruce and can look again this weekend, with actual problem-solving in mind. Either way, I plan to get new bedsides... but buying some time might be a great idea.

 

Hello fellow so-cal peeps!

Hoping you all can give me some practical advice on this. I figure this is the right place to ask...

I got a “new to me” Tundra TRD off-road 4x4 in July and will be going up to the big bear/lake arrowhead mountains here and there.

I’m sporting the stock Michelin LTX A/T2s.

Do I need to have chains with me if there is snow? If so, is it required or just recommended?

Thank you in advance.

 

I grew up driving in the snow and I don’t recall having chains. But I did some weird ass stuff that probably wasn’t the right thing, was probably more lucky than good. Chains don’t cost much, if you need them even once. That said, my understanding is that you “can” drive on the paved roads in snow around Big Bear as long as you have 4 x 4. I have read the same on the other thread’s here.

If I had to ask an expert, I’d call on @Snow Patrol.

 

Hope the experts chime in, but I believe that the stock AT2 tires do not have the snow flake rating. So if chains are required you will need chains.
I ask a similar question in '17 for a trip to Tahoe and that is what I was told.

@newguy forgot to tag you

 

Get the chains and start your overlanding gear collection you might need the with the stock tires...it cheaper than a tow...

Ps regarding your user name you’ll always be the @newguy. Even after you you’ve been on here 5 years you’ll still be the “new guy”

 

Which will eventually be pretty funny.

 

Thanks for the advice.

The “new guy” thing is kind of a joke around where I used to work. If you make a mistake, after saying “what are you, new?” everybody calls you “new guy”.

 

Thought I’d share.... an amazing trip to lake arrowhead this thanksgiving. Snow was AMAZING!!!

Glad I had some chains... although I went cheap and they got shredded.

 

I did find that the tires have the “M+S” listed on the tire, but no snowflake. So I guess, technically they are rated for mud and snow. Not sure if they would have really required me to put on the chains, but I did it anyways and was thankful. Cars were sliding everywhere.

At one point I was sliding down a hill and had to pump the brakes to find the right spot on the chains to “grab”.