Driving through the brakes!, in precarious wet conditions!
Submitted: Sunday, Feb 15, 2015 at 18:41
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Axle
Had to retrain myself with the old landy this week!, after
clearing a old track which
went up into a mountain range, steep as! , The first attempt to drive up was ok, coming down had me thinking if it rains to-morrow it will be fun.
Well it poured the next night, and holy moly", what a different scenario!. The landy being a ute lacks weight on the rear,but with a lot of revving and roaring we made it to the top,although a quick exit over the side near happened a few times..lol. Coming back down that afternoon I decided to think a bit more (,don't want to go over that 40ft bank),.so experimented a bit driving through the brakes, and with the right revs and correct gear you definitely get better control of things and can help stop that weight taking over and sending you somewhere you don't want to go!!. All the new Gizmoes on modern fourbies are there to help in these situations,whether they do or don't, I don't know, But in the mean time i'll just carry spare undies,and keep on thinking..lol.
Cheers Axle.
Reply By: Robin Miller - Sunday, Feb 15, 2015 at 19:38
Sunday, Feb 15, 2015 at 19:38
Good to think things thru sometimes Axle - and good to see the old lady can still make it.
Was out at Wandin 4wd show today, they only had one coffee machine in the main food area and it was broken.
I might have suffered bad withdrawl issues however right next door they had a demo of wheel articulation using various landrovers which kept my mind off the important things in life.
The various disco's etc went thru ok but they had an old landy ute like yours which they got bogged everytime and they used it to show how to get unbogged.
You might have had a starring role if you where there !
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Follow Up By: Axle - Sunday, Feb 15, 2015 at 19:51
Sunday, Feb 15, 2015 at 19:51
G/Day Robin,..Not sure about a starring role, when I bog things it usually takes a excavator to get them unbogged..lol.
Cheers.
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Follow Up By: 4wheeler - Sunday, Feb 15, 2015 at 19:58
Sunday, Feb 15, 2015 at 19:58
That old Landy ute was parked in the rut as a demonstration. That little machine and the driver are unstoppable in real life. I think the leaf springs on it have more articulation that most coils.
As usual a great show by the Victorian Land Rover Owners' Club.
The drive through the brake pedal technique is good but in my 2013 Defender, power to the engine is reduced after a few seconds if it detects that the brake is being operated while the accelerator is used at the same time. With a modern vehicle, you need to experiment first in a safe situation to see what modern computer driven control systems will do if they get mixed signals. With older vehicles it is a great technique, especially in an auto.
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Follow Up By: Robin Miller - Sunday, Feb 15, 2015 at 20:16
Sunday, Feb 15, 2015 at 20:16
Yeah good idea to
check out the limits on each particular car 4wheeler.
Works for me Axle - I think my car (4800 GU Patrol) is the first I ever had without fitting a second locker in the rear.
It has a dumb handbrake which only works on the rear in this model but its great to pull it on and drive thru the brakes this way , it has added advantage of being able to induce a slide if required.
Does work
well , but unlike what your referring to you have to be quick else its a new set of drums !
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Reply By: Idler Chris - Vic - Sunday, Feb 15, 2015 at 19:53
Sunday, Feb 15, 2015 at 19:53
Hill decent and other electronic traction aids are very good and the best bet for all but the very experienced. Driving through the brake by and experienced driver and not making a mistake is better IMHO. The chance of stuffing it up are high. Usually when it is required, the consequences if you make a mistake can be quite serious, if not life threatening, so the pressure is great. I try to practise it from time to time so that when I really need to be able to do I can approach the task with some confidence. Having spare undies is a great idea because I cannot think of anything more hairy than having conditions that require driving through the brake.
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Follow Up By: Axle - Sunday, Feb 15, 2015 at 20:08
Sunday, Feb 15, 2015 at 20:08
Scary stuff alright mate, I found in this case left foot on brake cdl engaged low second and a few revs over idle worked ok, when releasing brake the thing just took off.
Cheers Axle.
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Reply By: Ron N - Sunday, Feb 15, 2015 at 22:03
Sunday, Feb 15, 2015 at 22:03
No system, whether electronic or operator-skill-driven - will help you, when you lose 100% traction on all four wheels on greasy clay!
I drove the
Daintree track towards
Cooktown in 1994 in my turbo-auto 80 series, and halfway along, there was a freshly graded steep climb on the track - with nothing but pure clay as the track surface.
It had been showery all morning, and it showered again just before I reached this climb.
I got 2/3rds of the way up, totally ran out of traction, 100% - and could do nothing but hang on in desperation, as I slid straight backwards down that
hill, for over 100 metres!!
There was absolutely nothing I could do - no form of braking, steering or attempted control worked!
I just slid to a halt in the gutter once the backwards momentum was lost - and it was definitely the greatest "brown corduroy trousers moment" I can ever remember enduring - anywhere!!
I definitely lost my enthusiasm for completing the trip to
Cooktown after that episode - so I turned around and headed right back out to where I knew I had surfaces where I could actually exert some control!!
I've never totally lost control of a vehicle in my life, but that exercise sure came close!
Cheers, Ron.
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