Muddy/Snowy hill 4 Hi or 4 Lo?

[usmcss]

Hey guys,

When watching guys climbing muddy or snowy hills, they usually are hitting them hard with high rpms. Are they in 4 Hi or 4 low?

Although they are only going 5 or 10 mph up the hill the the RPMs are high so I was thinking that you can’t do that in 4 lo?

Being that you have to keep the Jeep under 25mph I’m thinking that with the rpms revving you would only attempt a muddy/snowy hill in 4 hi?

Thanks!

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[usmcss]

Would really appreciate hearing something guys. Thanks!

 

[usmcss]

Thanks a lot for the reply. I didn’t even take into consideration Engine RPMs vs Tire RPMs. I think that is where my thinking is messed up. I was thinking that when the tires are spinning so fast they are going way over 25 mph and that is the limit for the 4 low. But that’s the tires RPM not the engines so now I am assuming that you would be ok if you had to get on it to get moving on the hill if the tires were spinning a bit?

Another words, nothing is going to get hurt if the tires are spinning in 4WD Lo for a brief amount of time climbing up a 50 yard stretch to the top of a hill?

It's not a question that we can really answer well. The answer is "it depends," because each hill and situation is going to be different. You mention high RPMs but you don't specify if we're talking engine RPM or tire RPM.

My general theory is as slow as possible as fast as necessary. So with that in mind I tend to crawl up hills in 4 low. If I couldn't get up a snowy hill by crawling in four low I'd be questioning if I really need to get up that hill. If the answer is yes, well I'm probably still in 4 low (so I can have my lockers engaged) but I might just give it more beans. Yes my engine RPM will be high, my tire RPM will be somewhat low. 4 high may be more ideal in some unique situations because you can get faster wheel RPM which may help the tire self clean and potentially get more traction. But in my experience you're just more likely to break things like that and/or lose control and hurt someone or yourself. One thing I've seen with JKUs and now the JLUs is people seem reluctant to use 4 low. I don't understand why, in my view it offers more control while being easier on the vehicle. Unless you're exceeding 25 mph I don't see why a person would prefer to be in 4 high in most situations. I suspect that a good number of the JKU fires we saw were due to drivers using 4 high where 4 low would have been more appropriate.

 

[usmcss]

Thanks a lot for all the info! Really appreciate it!

IMO spinning tires is where you break things. But I off road in the rocks. Generally I see spinning tires when someone is trying to "bump it up" onto a rock. The whole jeep bounces in the air, tire spins in the air up to a high RPM then crashes down, grabs traction, and snap goes the axle from the shock load. Same thing can happen in mud or snow due to tree roots or anything else. But... I know spinning tires is sometimes needed. I still say that in general try to not spin your tires.

But there are huge differences between this kind of hill climbing:


and this kind

 

[usmcss]

And the second video is exactly what I’m talking about. I was thinking that if you had it in 4WD lo and tried to do something like that although not as extreme, you would break something.

IMO spinning tires is where you break things. But I off road in the rocks. Generally I see spinning tires when someone is trying to "bump it up" onto a rock. The whole jeep bounces in the air, tire spins in the air up to a high RPM then crashes down, grabs traction, and snap goes the axle from the shock load. Same thing can happen in mud or snow due to tree roots or anything else. But... I know spinning tires is sometimes needed. I still say that in general try to not spin your tires.

But there are huge differences between this kind of hill climbing:


and this kind

 

[mandrew]

For slippery hills with light mud, I prefer 4lo.

 

[usmcss]

For slippery hills with light mud, I prefer 4lo.

Thanks Mandrew!!!

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