The Basics of Rock Crawling

There are many different types of terrains you can take your off-road vehicle on that are fun and unique in their own way. Some different types are the snow, mud, water, sand and dirt, but I am going to focus on rocks especially rock crawling. Unlike many of the other terrains, you do not want to go very fast over these obstacles due to the severe body damage they can cause. This and some other factors cause rock crawling to be harder to the average driver than it seems, and unlike other off-roading terrains it is more about skill and ability rather than force.

First, you have to have a correctly built vehicle to be able to actually make it through a rock crawling trail. The vehicle has to have enough clearance to make it over the obstacles and you have to have low enough gears to not bounce around causing damage and getting you nowhere but stuck. Without a lift, you would scrape the underside of the vehicle and likely break something or get high centered. Skid plates and Rock Sliders can also be used to protect your vehicle's body from damage if it hits the rocks by adding an extra protective layer of thick metal.

Other thinks you should add to your vehicle to allow you to rock crawl better could be low gears or lockers. Low gears would allow your vehicle to slowly crawl over the rocks without sliding off of them. This can happen by allowing your engine to slow your vehicle rather than using your brakes or clutch. It would also help if you aired down your tires, which would allow yourself to stick to the rock due to having more rubber on the rock and make the whole ride a lot smoother. Eventually, the price will continue to rise if you get lockers, but this is an item that would benefit your vehicle because it would allow you to climb rocks you couldn't have before by making both axels spin at all times. To avoid things like this you have to have a built vehicle and have some skill (not luck).












Second, you have to have the skill to go off-roading and it is even more important to have  the skill to go rock crawling. One huge difference between easier trails and rock crawling is that in rock crawling you want to go over the rocks instead of trying to squeeze around them. Rock Crawling is all about the flex in the suspension and knowing how big of a rock you can climb before you roll it. Rock crawling is not something you can ever hope to learn in a few minutes but is more like a skill you continue to develop and try to improve on after many years. Some simple tips you would want to know before wheeling is to try to always keep your vehicle balanced, go slow enough to avoid spinning, know how to pick a line your vehicle will make, and like I have always been told, know your vehicle and its limits.

Overall these are the most basic steps to rock crawling:

1. Build your vehicle
2. Pick the right line
3. Stay on top on the rocks
4. Go Slow
5. Have fun

Summer of Rock Crawling up at Dinkey Creek

My last post was a few months ago, so for those who do not know me I am a fifteen-year-old Sophmore at Windsor High School. This blog is about the trips me and my family take to go rock crawling with our friends. During this year and the beginning of next year, I am going to be building my 95 YJ jeep wrangler. So far I have most of the parts to build it, but I still need some parts that I'm going to get this year. 

This summer I have been very busy, one of my trips was to the Dinkey Creek Wilderness area to go on some of the trails. On this trip my uncle went and he only had a stock 07 JK jeep wrangler. We took him up to Bald Mountain, part of Dusy Ershim, Brewer, Mirror and Strawberry Lakes. The last time I went to this area was two years ago and many of the trails have changed slightly. Bald Mountain had many new trails off of it that we have not gone on before that were marked. This trip was fun and my dad let me drive his Jeep (in the pictures above) on most of the trails. One of the best parts of this trip was that no one broke anything.

Soon I will start building my Jeep, so hopefully next year I will be driving my own vehicle and going on more trails. In a couple of weeks, I will be going on the Rubicon and then I will hopefully have my Jeep done after that, but before the next trip.

Building a Custom Roll Cage

 

First I got forty feet of one and three quarter inch hollow steel pipe that my dad had at our friend Richs' house. We then bent the pipe using a pipe bender for the main supports. We had to make two identical pieces and two cross bars between to support the jeep if it ever rolled. It took us multiple tries to bend the pipe to the correct angle the first time, but the second time it only took a couple of minutes.

 

 

 

We then put small tack welds to temporarily hold the pipe in place. I wanted extra support so we added two bars from the support at the windshield to the main support in the middle. We had to make sure the angles left enough room for passengers and drivers head, but not too much to stop the soft top from fitting. It took us multiple tries to get the pipes lined up perfectly and clean off the paint and rust so the welds would hold.

 

After the front was held together we cut two pieces for the back, making them line up with the center supports. They hole had to have the right angle to fit the steel supports and still provide support. We added one more bar across the back behind the back seat but had to angle it out to avoid hitting passengers heads. We then welded everything in and created two small handles on the roll bar for the front driver and passenger seat.

It's 2015: What am I going to do this year

 
 
 
 It's now a new year. Time for a resolution. Why not make a plan for what I'm going to try to accomplish this year on and with my Jeep. It's time to start building, time to make my imagination a reality. It's time to put money into the car. Anyone can accomplish anything if they put their time and effort into it so why not lift a Jeep. If you know how to you could even build it from parts like I am. It is 2015 a new year, a new start anything could happen and anything could change.