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