Best way to handle ruts?

[euler]

I was out on a trail while raining and there was quite a bit of rain. The path had significant ruts, up to ~1 ft deep. What is the best practice for traversing? I was trying to avoid them by straddling them. This worked out OK, but traction was an issue and at times I had to cross them.

Thoughts?

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[Reinen]

You're either in the ruts or you're straddling them. There's really no other way.

Which way is better depends on the terrain. Sometimes you want to be in the ruts for lateral stability, sometimes they're too deep and you risk getting hung up on the center hump. Knowing which line is best to take comes with experience so do what you think is best for the situation. The more you do it the better you get at it.

When you have to cross them try to pick a spot where the rut walls are the least vertical. As I'm going down a rough trail I envision two lines ahead of me the width of my tire track and where I'm going to put my tires when I get there. Everything in between those two lines can be ignored until there is something large enough there that can't be ignored. Then you pick another line.

 

[dragoneggs]

Learning exactly where are your tires on the terrain is your quest.

 

[chevymitchell]

I think if you look on page 60 in the manual it'll say something about using the rev limiter for ruts. Might be page 61. Lol

 

[John VonJeep]

Well, for one, how about not making ruts worse by driving in them when they're wet (if you can avoid it)?

 

[Shibadog]

This. You drive in ruts (esp water filled ones) you WILL eventually get stuck when you high center. Best policy for driving in ruts is to avoid them. If that fails, straddle ‘em. If That fails, proceed slowly so you can slowly back out when you eventually high center the front end.

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