For this episode of the passion blog, I’d like to talk about some basic off road driving techniques. I am by no means an off roader and I don’t really do it very often, but over the years I think I have acquired some technique for driving off road without getting stuck or breaking anything.

Even if you consider yourself a pavement pounder, practically everyone must drive their vehicle off road every once in a while. Often, larger venues like a stadium or something of that nature will have a grass parking lot, which could become hazardous under certain conditions.

I’d just like to tell a few stories about some interesting experiences I’ve had. When I was around 14 or 15 my dad started letting me drive trucks around the orchard just to practice driving and also to make me more productive. One of the first vehicles I drove was a 2001 Chevy S-10, 2 wheel drive truck. One afternoon after school I was hauling a load of scrap metal to sort into collection bins. It had rained for the past few days and consequently, the grass I had to drive over to get to the pile had become quite slick. Unfortunately, I slid the truck down the hill and got stuck at the bottom. After trying in vain to gain traction I had to make an embarrassing request to my dad to pull me out. He attached a chain to the hitch of his truck and to the front bumper of the S-10 and pulled it out with ease. There were a few teachable moments for me that day. The first thing I learned was that slick hills are very difficult to traverse. Never go down a slick hill if you don’t have to. (Ironically, the other time I had to call my dad to pull me out was at the bottom of a snowy hill.) Although this may be intuitive, it is very easy to go downhill, even if it is slippery, but it is not so easy to climb a slick hill. That being said, always try to stay on the uphill side of any off road situation, be it parking lot or otherwise.

Another off road story of mine happened last summer while I was driving a dump truck towing a chipper. The truck was a 2000 F 550 with a stake body and four wheel drive. Since I was pulling a trailer, I had a much larger turning radius, meaning that I needed a lot of room to make a u turn. I turned the wrong way down the road and so I attempted to make a turn in a grass parking lot at a church. I start my wide turn and quickly begin sliding sideways, chipper and all. I stopped as soon as I could and locked in 4×4. After going forward and backward and working the steering every which way, I finally got out of the mud but of course I completely tore up the parking lot and made huge ruts. The big thing I learned here was that it never hurts to check the ground you are about to drive on because it could be very soft, even if it does not appear to be muddy. Also, I learned that even if you have four wheel drive and don’t get stuck on soft soil, you are liable to leave unsightly ruts.

Although driving off road can be quite the adventure, my best advice is to stay on top of hills and avoid soft ground because both are major contributors to getting stuck.