Tips for driving on slopes, inclines and angles
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Time to read 3 min
But learning to navigate them needn’t be a steep learning curve if you follow these helpful tips.
If there’s one thing that will test the nerve of a four-wheel-driver, it’s negotiating a challenging situation involving an incline, slope or different angles. In the back of your mind will be the possibility that you might lose traction, and you’ll be holding your breath right up to the point where the ground levels out to a flat surface and you can let out a sigh of relief.
While you’ll encounter plenty of ups and downs on your 4WD adventures, when it comes to driving sideways across a steep slope, the smartest thing to do is to avoid it all together. Any loss of traction on side slopes can result in a sideways slide that can render your vehicle nearly impossible to control and you could be toppling over before you know it.
Check the terrain
Whether up or down — before you commit to a tough steep incline take the time to pick your line rather than jumping right on in. This will mean getting out of the car and checking the inclined surface on foot. Make sure you've got adequate ground clearance. Check for bumps, loose patches or any other troublesome surfaces and try to pick a straight line that avoids the worst of them. If there’s an unavoidable tricky spot, do your best to take the edge off by filling in ruts with rocks, building up ramps of sticks in front of tree roots and so on.
Vehicle set-up
Before you start, engage any hill descent or hill climb settings, make sure you’re in 4WD, and switch into low range and a low gear. If you’re going up, low range will reduce the stress on your engine and allow you to creep up slowly; if going down, it will provide better engine braking for a slow descent. If the incline is particularly lumpy, you might also wish to engage diff lockers.
Traction is paramount so make sure your tyres are deflated to the appropriate level for the track surface and drive to the conditions. Keep a safe distance from other vehicles and anyone who might be standing around to spectate.
Going up
Stick with your line once you’ve picked it. Don’t be tempted to plant your foot on the accelerator, as you’ll risk losing traction, and avoid the myth that a bigger run up is always better. Proceed at a constant speed and let your engine’s torque do the work. Keep your vehicle in gear and resist the temptation to shift up or down; disengaging the clutch will halt your progress and likely render the attempt unsuccessful.
In fact, try to keep your foot away from the clutch altogether. A lot of inexperienced offroaders go straight for the clutch when they fear their vehicle is about to stall. But in preventing the stall they inadvertently allow themselves to roll backwards without resistance. By the time they hit the brakes they’re rolling fast enough that the wheels lose traction and down they go.
If you feel like you’re about to stall, hit the brake, not the clutch, let your engine stall and pull the handbrake. Now you can push in the clutch, put it in reverse and let out the clutch.
Keeping your foot on the brake, release the handbrake, then slowly lift your foot off the brake. At this point, your engaged reverse gear is keeping you in place. Turn on the engine while still engaged in reverse and you should be able to gently back down without using the accelerator or brake pedals.
Modern automatic transmissions may offer a variety of options, including Tiptronic gear selection and hill ascent modes. If it’s possible to select a low gear, then pick the lowest available and climb without changing.
New automatics can determine the appropriate time for gear changes through the relationship between revs and power, which will prevent the transmission from shifting during steep ascents without the driver having to intervene.
On loose surfaces, drive up and roll backward a few times to compact the surface beneath your tyres — that will make it easier to maintain traction.
Going down
A slow, controlled descent is best managed by engaging low-range and selecting a low gear, then simply allowing your gearing to let you down gently.
Hitting the brakes with any urgency will result in a loss of traction. It’s important to pick a straight line down and stick to it, or else you may have to reverse back up the steep slope. If it does come to that, brake slowly until you stop, pull the handbrake, put it in reverse and perform a smooth handbrake start before backing straight up.
THE NEXT STEP
Are you ready to experience the freedom of the open road? Preparation is the key to success. Check out the below articles so you can hit the road safely during your next adventure.
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