I finally got the chance to take my LC off-road yesterday in the mud. Went to checkout an off-road park in Bedford, KY yesterday and spent some time familiarizing myself with driving off-road and using the capabilities of my LC. I am new to off-roading and 4x4's, in general, so you can imagine how much fun I had. I haven't yet put any AT tires on the LC due to several unexpected home expenses lately so I was out and about in the mud with the OEM All-season Continental CrossContact LX20 Eco-plus tires. Well, let's just say they kept me moving through any nasty stuff I was brave enough to enter. It was so weird to me how much capability this vehicle has even with all-season tires. I was pulling muddy hills at 25-30 degree angles without losing any traction. I tested the CDL and put it in low range a couple of times it went everywhere I pointed it. I was just trying to learn when and where to use what feature. It was really fun and quite addictive. I also raised the height to "H" to help clear any obstacles and never seemed to bottom out on anything. I kept the transmission in "2" most of the time but never even thought about using the 2nd start feature. After I left the park, I gave the LC a good baath but wasn't able to get all of the mud stains off the tires at the quarter wash.
When I entered the park the caretaker looked at my tires and said "You aren't going anywhere in this thing". I told him we had driven about an hour to check out his park so he told me what to avoid and reluctantly agreed to let me poke around. There are a variety of trails in the 270 acre park from Easy to Extreme and he made me agree to stick to the easy stuff. I was more than happy to comply because I did not want to get stuck on my first outing. He has a bull dozer to come pull you out, if needed, but it wasn't on site at the time so he made sure I knew that, plus there is a $40 fee. They have campsites for staying the weekend with showers nearby. I figure I can take the truck and TC up there and have the DW drive the LC behind me to the park and make a weekend out of it sometime.
I'm not as equipped as I would like to be to do any serious off-road driving yet, but who really is? Tires are my next investment and I need to purchase a front skid/splash plate which was removed on mine when I bought it. The underbelly protection is currently sitting in my garage which I took off so I could replace the intermediate exhaust pipe. I left it off thinking I would eventually replace both cats which still plague me to this day. The transfer case protection is still there and doing its job. As for tires, I am thinking about getting a set of 275/70/18 BFG KO2's or Goodyear Duratracs. I have 6 Duratracs on my 97 F350 and they act like cat claws in the snow and mud. I do get a bunch of road noise with the Duratracs so I am apprehensive about putting them on the LC but a 1-ton DRW is inherently noisy anyway so it might be a false comparison.
I don't want an overbuilt trail rig since the LC is my DD but I want to explore the capabilities it has a stock vehicle. I had a ton of fun testing out the LC on hills and in the sloppy stuff and was blown away by its capabilities. I'm sure I could have gone through some more challenging stuff but I have to build my confidence first. I am used to driving in snow and rarely get stuck in 2WD vehicles because I know how to keep moving so that will surely help my progress.
For now, I'd like to get everyone's thoughts on when to use the these features and in what combinations when driving off-road:
http://dirtyturtleoffroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/DirtyTurtle_10_2015.pdf
When I entered the park the caretaker looked at my tires and said "You aren't going anywhere in this thing". I told him we had driven about an hour to check out his park so he told me what to avoid and reluctantly agreed to let me poke around. There are a variety of trails in the 270 acre park from Easy to Extreme and he made me agree to stick to the easy stuff. I was more than happy to comply because I did not want to get stuck on my first outing. He has a bull dozer to come pull you out, if needed, but it wasn't on site at the time so he made sure I knew that, plus there is a $40 fee. They have campsites for staying the weekend with showers nearby. I figure I can take the truck and TC up there and have the DW drive the LC behind me to the park and make a weekend out of it sometime.
I'm not as equipped as I would like to be to do any serious off-road driving yet, but who really is? Tires are my next investment and I need to purchase a front skid/splash plate which was removed on mine when I bought it. The underbelly protection is currently sitting in my garage which I took off so I could replace the intermediate exhaust pipe. I left it off thinking I would eventually replace both cats which still plague me to this day. The transfer case protection is still there and doing its job. As for tires, I am thinking about getting a set of 275/70/18 BFG KO2's or Goodyear Duratracs. I have 6 Duratracs on my 97 F350 and they act like cat claws in the snow and mud. I do get a bunch of road noise with the Duratracs so I am apprehensive about putting them on the LC but a 1-ton DRW is inherently noisy anyway so it might be a false comparison.
I don't want an overbuilt trail rig since the LC is my DD but I want to explore the capabilities it has a stock vehicle. I had a ton of fun testing out the LC on hills and in the sloppy stuff and was blown away by its capabilities. I'm sure I could have gone through some more challenging stuff but I have to build my confidence first. I am used to driving in snow and rarely get stuck in 2WD vehicles because I know how to keep moving so that will surely help my progress.
For now, I'd like to get everyone's thoughts on when to use the these features and in what combinations when driving off-road:
- CDL
- AHC
- Low range
- 2nd start
http://dirtyturtleoffroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/DirtyTurtle_10_2015.pdf
