TRIP REPORT: Death Valley & Surroundings Jan. 2010 (Long)

[Christopher Thwaites]

Thanks Steve,
Next time you head into DV or the surrounding area put a notice in the meetup section.

[BroncoHauler]

Steve,

Would a better technique be once you hit the dirt to engage the front lever on the Atlas and just leave the hubs unlocked until you need 4wd?

Personally, I'd rather be in 4wd and not get stuck at all than to only engage it after I got stuck. Of course being in 4wd does have some drawbacks (e.g. worse fuel economy, reduced turning radius).


Herb

[Ford_6L_E350]

Herb,

I do it the other way around. Lock the hubs, shift into 4wd when I need it.

I hate to be knee deep in water or mud and trying to lock the hubs.

Maybe I should fix the cut vacuum line that stops the 'Shift-on-the-fly' hubs from shifting?

Mike

[BroncoHauler]

Mike,

I agree, but given the situation Steve got himself into, I mean that his spotter's got him into, I can see his predicament. Frequently you need to be able to move a vehicle back and forth a bit to get the Atlas to shift into, and out of, 4wd. Steve couldn't move the van and by then it was too late for the shifter, where I've never had a problem getting the hubs into a Locked position.


Herb

[daveb]

Believe me when I say that there is not one person here that would have attempted to do what Steve did in 2WD. We really didn't need 4WD until we had to regroup and back up a bit. I had to back up further and was able to engage and I thought he did as well. I am impressed on how far he got in 2WD! Early on from my perspective (behind him and watching), I question him and Don whether or not he was engaged. He just assumed he was, but the sand exposed his problem. I carry several long web straps that can be wrapped around big boulders and he pulled himself out of the first dig in. I was able to winch him out of the other dig in’s. But after Robert ran him up the rock, that Hi-Lift saved the day. Between our two winches we could have just ripped our bumpers off. No need for that if you have a better tool. I’m gonna get me one of them Hi-Lift Jacks! Out at the road he spun his front drive line….he wasn’t engaged. Of course we never said anything about that
The fact is, with limited space, if you're not engaged you might put yourself in trouble. So it comes down to this...he thought he was in How would you know?

[Edit] Sorry Steve I just can't resist. In the words of Homer Simpson "Stupid green light"

[cellularSTEVE]

Originally Posted by BroncoHauler

Mike,
Steve couldn't move the van and by then it was too late for the shifter, where I've never had a problem getting the hubs into a Locked position.

Herb

I did have the hubs locked at the start of the trail. Thought I shifted in to 4WD-high but it did not catch. Then when I got hung up I couldn't move to rock back and fourth as you sometimes have to do with the Atlas. I remember Jeffrey or maybe Jeff (I think) saying you should put it in 4WD to spread out the load, right from the start. I haven't done that. I generally drive in 2WD until I am ready for 4WD.

steve