I

- ----- -_.

Contents

Preface 4

1 About your vehicle 5

Off-road driving 21

What to do when you get stuck 36

4 Equipment for when you get stuck 52

When your vehicle lets you down 59

Talk about tyres 66

A place for everything .•• 70

Navigation 73

Looking after yourself (Dr Chari Laubscher) 82

Appendix 93Conversion tables

Route-planning information

Gearratios of the 4WD

Acknowledgements 96

-_. -~---

- -- -

Preface

ff-road driving mean s different rhings to different peop le.For the intrepid explorer, it is an adventure. For the

curious , it is to experience a new environment. For the novice,it is a test of nerve and character. For the expert, it is a chanceto match skills and knowledge against the forces of nature. Yet;for the more ardent environmentalist, it is an activity to bebanned in the interestsof protecting na tura l habitats.

Off-reading can be as dangerous as it is exciting, though,should you ignore some of the basic safety and environmentalcare rulesstilted in this manual. Americanoff-roaders live by acreed 'Tread Lightly' by driving with care and respect at alltimes and by keeping mainly to long-esrablished tracks in thewilderness to minimise the negative aspects to ecostructures.

This manua l sees o ur to help both novices and experts in theenjoyable pursuit of their hobby. It is an attempt to consolidatealot of useful information in a handy-sized book that can becarried in the vehicle's glove box and referred to as and whenrequired. The suggestio ns, ideas and advice and equipmenrmentioned come from many years o f personal experience, andfrom the wealth of standard knowledge rhar exists inoff-reading circles. I don't inrend reinventing the wheel!

Techn iques and equipment described have been pro ven inthe course of many journeys: in the desem of the Sahara, Saheland the UAE; the tundras of the Yukon and Iceland ; the junglesof Thailand, the forests of Brit ish Columbia, Scotland andWales; the savannahs of Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal, Namibiaand Botswana; the mountains of Morocco, Yemen and Oman,and finally,Dartmoor, in my home county of Devon, England.

jum All Khan

Dubai, 1999

AbDUl your vehicle 5

1AbDul your vehicle

lot of people become very confused by the techn o-wizardswho use automotive [argon with such aplomb . This chapter

attempts to simplify some of the tech nical terms that you willcome across. The techno-wizards will no doubt find it a verybasic and simplistic presentation, bur no apologies for that!

Engine performance

Engine perfor mance is desc ribed and measured using twoindicators: powerand torque, and themaximum of both isstated in revolutions per minu te (rpm). Power is basica lly anindicato r of the speed a vehicle can achieve, whilst torq ue is anindicator of irs hill-climbing abilit y. Power is usually expressedas horsepower or brake horsepower (bhp) , One bhp, in theBritishlUS system, is the force needed to lift 33,000 Ib adistance of one foo t in one minute. One metric horsep ower isthe force needed to lift 75 kg a distan ce of one metre in onesecond, and is generally expressed as PS (the German for hpbeing 'p ferdestarke' ). However, the current tende ncy incountries using themetric system of enginepowermeasu rement is to express it in kilowatts (kW) rather than PS.

1 kW =1.36 PS; 1 PS=0.735 kW1 bhp = 0.745 7 kW; 1 kW = 1.3405 bhp .

The maximum horsepower of an engineis usually generated ata point close to its max imum rpm.

The output of an engine docs not necessarily rela te to irssize, but more to irs design and the degree of techn ology used.For exa mple, Michael Schumac her's 3.0 litre Ferrari Formula 1engine produces over 700 bhp at 16,500 rpm compared to the210 bhp at 4,2 50 rpm from my Land Cruise r's 4.5 litre engine.

6 Aboul your vehicle

Engine

performancegraph: thisshows

torque/hp/speedspecifications fera 4.711treV8LandCruiserengine (source:Toyota Motor

Corp.: newproductbrochure)

Torque, on the other hand, is a 'turning' force . It ismeasured in 'pounds/feet' (lblft) or in 'kilograms/metre'(kg/m). This may be interpreted as the turning force requiredto lift one pound to a height of one foot (12 inches) or to liftone kilogram to a height of one metre in a certain time period.

When stating the torque of an engine, the manufacturer isindicating the force available at relatively low speeds to climbgradients, or when pulling away from a standing start.Off-road vehicles arc often evaluated by the torque availableand at what rpm the maximum torque occurs. For off-roadvehicles, the lower the rpm the better as it is unlikel y youwould be driving at high speeds using high engine rpm whentackling steep gradients or sand dunes.

The maximum torque of an engine usually occurs at alower rpm than the maximum power output. Ideally, themaximum torque is produced between 2,000 and 3,000 rpm- depending on the make and model and the engineconfiguration , c.g. in-line or 'V' type.

Optimum rpm

45----------250

Knowing the points on thetachometer (rev. counter)where the peak power outputand peak torque output occurwill help yOLl to maximiseyour vehicle's off-roadperformance. For example, a1999 model Toyota LandCruiser with a 4.S litre6-cylinder EFI engine achievesa maximum of 240 bhp (SAEgross) at 4,600 rpm andmaximum torque of 41.Skglm at 3,600 rpm.Therefore, keeping yourengine speed between thesetwo peak rpm points will givethe best performance. Whendriving off-road, the

5432

ENGINE SPEED (X10J rpm)

/

41

Max. output (SAE nen: 228 hp/4,800 rpm

Max. torque (SAE net): 41.8 kg.m/3,400 rpm

- 33

i~ 29

i '- ----'

AbDUl your vehicle 7

maximum speed of your vehicle, and therefore rhe poweroutput, is less important unl ess you are co mpeting in theParis-Dakar Ra lly! Torque is another matte r, and deser tdr iving requires a lor of torqu e to maintain stea dy progress.Knowing at which point in rhe rpm ra nge your fou r-wh eeldrive (4WD) will develop ma ximum rorquc helps you ro judgewhen to cha nge down into a lower gca r or change up a gea r; Ifyou cha nge down ea rly eno ugh, you prevent the engi ne rp mfrom falling below its peak to rq ue output poin t.

As the rpm increases to the max imum output point , thepower of the engine rises steeply. It then reduces just as quicklywhen the rpm go es beyond the max imum output point . Th ereis no sense in over-revving the engine as th e power produc edw ill drop off.

High range and low range

All ser ious 4WD off-road vehicles have both Hi gh and Lowranges in the gearbox . A five-speed manual gea rbox thusbecomes effecrively a ten-speed gearbox by changing fromH igh to Low ran ge. Hi gh range is used on the highway and for90 pe r cent o f off-road driving situations . Occasio na lly it w illbe necessa ry to select Low ran ge in d ifficult terrain so tha t themaximum torque output fro m the engine ca n be used to makeprogress. (Knowledge of the gear ratios in both Hig h an d Lowra nge helps in the selection o f the right gear at th e right time!Low first ratio is nearl y twice the ra tio o f Low seco nd, hence, inma nu <l 14\'V'Ds, it is rarely used exce pt in ex trem ecircu mstances; see the rab ies in the Appendix fo r ra tios o f Hi ghand Low range.)

Some people a lways chan ge int o Low range as soon as theygo off-road beca use they know no better! Continua l driving inLow range, especia lly in hot climates, crea tes serio usmechan ical problems as the eng ine revs ar e much highe r forany given vehicle speed; fue l co nsu mp tion suffers bad ly and theengine is subjected to grea ter wear and tear. Driving slowly inLow ran ge a t excessive engine revs leads to overhea ting as thereis insufficient a irflow th rou gh the rad ia to r to keep it cool. KeepLow range only for when it is needed, an d learn to drive inH igh ra nge 3 S yo ur normal o ff-road mode. Most 4WD veh icles

I

B About your vehicle

have a separate lever marked with 'H' and 'L' to enable you to

select the chosen range.However, there are some automatic transmission models

that perform better in soft sand and on steep inclines if Lowrange third and fourth gears are used. Automatic gearboxesusually have fewer gears than a manual gearbox - three orfour as opposed to the five of a manual transmission. Thismeans that each gear of an automatic model has a slightlyhigher ratio than its manual counterpart, which may restrictthe traction performance in difficult situations. It is therefore agood idea to use Low range and the two top gears of theautomatic transmission. From experience, I have found that insoft sand, automatic Jeep Cherokees, for example, will performbetter in Low range than in High range. -

Basic components of a4WD vehicle

Basic set-upof a4WD vehicle

===::{RD

RP

FA- FrontaxleFD- FronldlfferentlalFP- Front propshaftRP- Rear propshaftRA - Rear axleRD- Reardlfferentlal

E- EngineG- Gearbox

CD- Centre differentialT- Transfer case

(forHand Lranges).

NB:part-tlme4WO has nocentredifferential.

Abuul yuurvehicle S

Transfer case

Almost without exception, when a 4WD vehicle is operating in2WD mode it is the rear axle and wheels rhat are driving thevehicle. They take the power from the engine and gearbox via apropeller ('prop') shaft. When 4WD mode is seleered, thevehicle requires a second prop shaft to transmit the power fromthe engine and gearbox to the front axle. A prop shaft takes thepower to the rear axle and the rear wheels from the back of thetransfer case, whilst a second prop shaft at the front of thetransfer case takes the power to the front axle and front wheels.The transfer case also contains the alternative gears for Highrange and Low range which may be selected by the transfercase lever.

Markings ontransfercase levers

Nissan Patrol:part-time 4WD

Toyota land Cruiser:part-time 4WD

Toyota Prado: full-tlrne4WD (small 'L'= centredlfflock isactivated)

On vehicles that have full-time 4WD, the transfer case alsocontains the centre differential that allows the front and rearprop shafts to turn at different speeds .

Part-time, automatic and full-time 4WD

There are basically only three 4WD systems to understandwhen selecting your vehicle . These are as follows:

... Part-time 4WD. In this system, when the vehicle is used onthe road, only the rear axle and rear wheels are driving it(2WD mode). However, the driver can operate a lever or anelectronic switch to select 4WD mode with all four wheels

10 AbDUl yourvehicle

receiving power from the engine an d driving the vehiclewh en o ff-re adi ng. Typ ical examples of part-tim e 4WDvehicles a re Jeep 's Cherokee and Wrangler, the IsuzuTroo per, Ford Explorer, Kia Sportcge and Toyota LandC ruiser Station \Vagon (GXR version ).

... Automatic 4\VD. This is a fairly new system used, forexample, in the Honda CR-V. 1t is a variation of the pan-timesystem, when the 2WD is through the front ax le and wheelsand the sw itch to 4\VD is automatic ra ther than by thed river. A sensor in the tran sfer case picks up any spinning ofthe fro nt wh eels. Wh en this happens, a viscous cou pling isac tivated to engage the real' prop shaft to transmit po we r tothe rea r wheels. When the tw o axles a re turning again at thesa me speed th e syste m will revert au to matically to 2WD.Automatic 4WD has limita tions for serious off-road wo rk,but is suirable for beach work and ligh t off-road excursions.

.... Full-rime 4\VD. H ere, a ll four wheels rece ive power anddrive the vehicle at a ll times. It is the best choice if yo u cana fford it as full-time 4WD will o ffer safe r dri ving on thehighway as well as off-road. One important differencebetween full-time and part-rime sys tems is rhar full-timevehicles are firred with a centre differential. Full-time 4WD isfound in many modern vehicles, such as the Land C ruiserVX R l Range Rover, Land Rover Discove ry, Toyota Prado,N issan Patrol, Toyota RAV4, and the Gran d Chero kee.

The effect ohhe differential gear Differentials

Theoutside wheelsgo round faster in cornering: thedifferentialgear compensates forthis tsource:LandCruisertechnicalreference guide, ToyotaMotorCorp.)

ooF~..",

Or--_~

0 r---.:>:"

0 >0 0 >00 +0 >0+0

A differe ntia l gear is locatedin the dr iven ax le of a llvehicles. \Vhen a vehicle goesround a corner, the wheels onthe o uts ide travel a lon gerdis tance and therefor e ro tateat a fas ter rare than the wheelson the inside.

To compensate for thisdiffere nce in wheel speeds. adifferentia l gear is fitted in theaxle. A 4 WD vehicl e has adi fferent ia l in bo th the fro nt

-About yourvehicle 11

and rear axles. A full-time 4WD vehicle will have a thirddifferential in the transfer case, which allows for the differentspeeds travelled by the front and rear prop shafts delivering thepower to the front and rear axles when on- and off-road. If thevehicle is only a part-rime 4WD, it is not necessary for a centredifferential to be fitted.

Differential locks

With 4WD selected and driving off-road, the vehicle'stransmission transmits power through the gearbox and transfercase to the differentials, via the prop shafts, and then throughthe differentials to the wheels via the half shafts. In normaldriving situations, the power is delivered equally to all fourwheels. However, if one of the wheels loses traction it will spinfreely as all the power from the engine is delivered to thatwheel. This is because the differential is doing its job, but itdoesn't help the driver, since the vehicle becomes stuck. Toregain traction, power must be delivered to at least one otherwheel to get the vehicle moving: this is the role of thedifferential lock (diff lock).

Axle differential lock

A diff lock is fitted to most madera 4WD vehicles in the rearaxle. This locks the differential gear and stops it fromcompensating for the different wheel speeds, effectively lockingboth wheels on the rear axle together, and delivering equalpower to both. The wheel that docs have good traction istherefore able to drive the vehicle forward.

Centre differential lock

As we saw in the axle casing, a diff lock can also be fitted in thetransfer case to lock the front and rear prop shafts together formaximum traction in difficult driving situations. This diff lockcan be activated by the driver using a manual lever or anelectronic switch.

Limited slip differential lock (LSD)

This is a type of diff lock that works automatically. By usingsmall clutch plates, it allows a certain amount of speeddifferential between either the two half shafts on an axle, or the

12 AbDUl your vehicle

How differential locks create traction

E- EngineG-GearboxT- Transfer case

CDL- Centre dlfflockRADL-Rear axledlfflock

(a)Normal drivingwithequalpower toallfourwheels.(b) Left front wheelstartsspinning freely, havIng losttraction; It receIves allthepower.(c) Thecentredlfflock Isengaged toregain tract/on;now 50 per cent ofthe powerIsgoing toboth front andrear axles.(d) This 50 percentgoes tothe front wheelwhich Isspinning: the rearwheels areon good ground, and haveenough traction tomove thevehlcle.

One front wheel startssplnnlngfreely

One front and one rearwheelstart spinningfreely

D.

(a)Normaldrlvlngwlth equalpower toallfourwheels;centre dlfflock Isengaged.(b) Left frontwheelstarts

60" splnnfng: right rearwheelalso spins freely: vehIcledoesn't move even thoughthecentre dlfflock has beenapplied.(c) Therearaxledlfflock Isappliedto tryto regaintraction.(d) Both rearwheels nowreceive power; theleftrear

25.. wheelis on good ground andhas enough traction tomovethe vehicle.

D.

,, D'

(d)

D' IITI==-- sc-,

(b)

60.. 1fU....-"'l....­IUllEl lio..

• CDI.

"."' ~'"

(d)

50.. IflL-,Itl/lE &0"-COL

l00'~' I D'E 100'"

D'

0" . 0"

(b)

".~

(c)

".~I ~I: ".~l~ll"~

lOJr~D'

"'~'"(a)

(c)

"' ~Ii 4 '"Elr;:-lfJ

-r.~~:'"' ~'"

(a)

".

D'

Theseparaleladder·framechau ls

About your vehicle 13

tw o prop sha fts in the transfer case. When the speeddiffere ntial rea ches a pre determi ned level, the di ff lockmechanism automatically starts working so that each receivesequal amounts of power from the transmission.

Ideal set-upOn a modern full-time 4WD vehicle, the ideal set-up is to havea centre diff lock (in the tr ans fer case ) and an LSD in the rearaxle . With this set- up and with a powerful engin e you canclimb mountains!

Overdrive

In an automatic vehicle, 'overdrive' refersto a high-speed gearthat has a ra tio of less th an 1:1. In genera l, the third gear of anautomatic transmission has a ratio of 1:1 and the overdrivegearabour 1:0.8. The lower the gea r ratio , the higher the speed ofthe driven gear, therefore the same speed can be mainta ined burat lower engine rpm. For example, you can be d riving at100 kph in top (third) gear with the engin e turning over at4,000 rpm. If overdrive is selected, you maintain yourroad speedburthe engine revs will decrease to 3,250 rpm. This improvesfuel economy, and less engine noise provides a quieter ride.

Monocoque body

This describes a vehicle whose chassis frame and body arecombined into a single unit, rather than having a separateladder-frame chassis with the body attached. By eliminating the

~~(! =n~[('11 'a a a

,...~ ~ .,..~~ :l \ ,..--;

14 About yourvehicle

separate chassis frame, more interior space as well as areduction in vehicle weight can be achieved. However, forlong-lasting off-road durability and overall strength, thetraditional combination of separate chassis frame and body issuperior. Current 4\VD monocoque examples are the JeepCherokee, Toyota RAV4 and the Honda CR-Y.

Suspension systems and springs

The design and nature of a vehicle's suspension and springingwill to a large extent determine its off-road ability. Furtravelling over rough terrain, the key word for suspension is'articulation ', This refers to the vertical movement of thewheels, as limited by the suspension, whilst maintainingground contact for traction. Different types of suspension offergreater articulation than others. Independently sprung axlesoffer greater wheel articulation than solid beam axles. Thefollowing are the types in common use on 4\VD vehicles.

Leaf springs

Also known as 'cart springs', these comprise a number of steelleaves clamped together and can only be used on vehicles with.1 solid beam axle. They are strong, but are prone to dust anddirt getting between the leaves - the resulting friction makesfor a very jerky and bumpy ride. They offer limited axle andwheel articulation, especially on front axles. They arc rarelyused for front suspensions on modern 4WD vehicles, but areoccasionally used in the rear suspension of less technicallyadvanced vehicles. Leaf springs are also used to locate the axleto which they arc attached.

The basicconstruction ofthe leaf spring

/•

U-bolt

o ~««----- Spring eye

Abculycurvehicle 15

Torsion bars

Upper wishbon e

The barlwlsts as the wishbone (attached lo thewheel) moves up Ind down; II reverts 10 Itsoriginal s rere anereach twist

TorsionbaB{souru : LandCmise,'echn/rolreferenc egufde.Toyota MotorCorp.} Shock absurber

A torsion bar is a straight rod, made uf spring steel, which isso lidly clamped to the cha ssis at one end and attached to thesuspension fra mework (and therefore the road wh eel a t theother ). Th e springing effect co mes from the torsiona l elasticityof the steel ro d, which a llows it to retu rn to its original stateonce it has been twisted. Torsion bars arc ligh ter and mor esim ple than coil springs and w ill last a lot longer beforereplacement is neces sa ry, plu s they are less bulky and the reforetake up less space. Th ey ate used by the 1999 Land CruiserStation Wagon models.

The positionofccn springs(source: t rifidCruiserlechn/co/reference guide.ToyoloMotQf

Corp.)

Coil springs

lower wishbone

Slilblllse r bar

The coli15 ealended and compressed byIhelowerwishbone as the wheel movesup enddown; IIreverts to 115original shape alter eacheXlenslon orcompression

UpperwIshbone

Shockabsorbe,

16 AbDUl yourvehicle

These are the most common form of springs found on carsand 4WDs. The coil spring is a long thin rod of spring steelthat has been coiled into a spiral shape. The springing effectcomes from the coil's ability to expand again after verticalcompression. Neither torsion bars nor coil springs can be usedto locate the axle, so other locating rods, link arms andbushes have to be used for this purpose.

Independent andnon-Independent suspension

Comparative ground clearances: (a) vehicles with solid beamfront axles have better ground clearance than (b) those withIndependent front suspension.

" . ' ,, ', " ' ... .

Nearly allmass-produced 4WDs have non-Independent rearsuspension with thewheels mounted at the ends ofasolid beamaxle.Similar non-Independent suspension systems are also used onmany front suspensions, although many manufacturers aremovIngtoIndependent suspensIons for both front and rear. Independentsuspension IsdefinItely more comfortable for both driver andpassengers, butoffers less ground clearance than asolid axle. This Isbecause with asolid axle. when one wheel goes over a hump, thewhole vehicle willlean over slightly as thewhole axle 15 raised. WithanIndependent suspensIon, thewheel going overthe hump IsIndependent of the differential casing: thecasing therefore does not11ft andIslikely to hitanotherobstacle In Itspath.

About your vehicle 17

Shockabsorbers

Shock absorbers act £0 damp o ur the bouncing of the spri ngs to

offer a more co mfortable ride. Without them, the springs of avehicle would continue to bounce up and down (oscillate) afterhitting a bump in the road. Shock absorbers should last forbetween 12-18 months of serious off-road use. On 4WDvehicles, rhey are often a compromise between the needs ofserious off-ra ading and no rmal highway driv ing, and thereforeco nsideratio n should be given [Q fittin g up rared vers ions moresuited to the off-road environment . Standard items are usuallyfilled with air and oil; more sophis ticated shocks use nitroge ngas and may have larger diameter pistons and doubl e-actingvalves. It is also possible to get shock ab sorbers which ca n beadjusted from within the vehicle to suit th e condition s ('soft'for highway driving, and 'firm ' for off-road).

Automatic or manual transmission?

Th ere are ' pros' and 'cons' for both options, and ultimat ely thecho ice become s one of personal preference. Alth oughau to ma tic tran smission gives smoother gear changes andproduces less shift-shock than a manual transmission , there aresome disad vantages. For example, when driving for length ysections in Low range in soft sand, the autom atic transmissionoil may overheat. Fuel con sumption always increases withautomat ic tran smission, and it is impossible to cow- orpush-starr an auto mat ic if the battery is flat and no jump-leadsare avail abl e. Th ere can also be a danger from lack of enginebraking if you are tackling steep gra dients. Manualtra nsmission offers a greater degre e of dr iver contro l whenoff-reading (it willgive excellent engine brak ing whendescending sreep slopes). Wh en sta rring off in very soft sandusing a manua l gea rbox, I would use Low ran ge second gearfor maximum traction and to avoid havin g to change gear oncemoving. On most automatic boxes, it is not possib le to do this ,as the gearbox will alwa ys select first . Ho wever. the ToyotaLand Cruiser auto has a grea t optio n called 'Znd starr', whichcuts out first gear and allows me to rep licate exactly what I dowith a man ual transmission.

I

1B About yourvehicle

Off· road ability

(.)

(b)

Thereare three measurementswhich indicate a4WD'S ability to traverseterrain in an orderly manner, without causingdamageto front or rearbumpers,or the undersideof the vehicle:(a)approachangle;(b)breakoverangle; (c) departure angle.

The groundclearanceofthe vehicleisalso an importantfactorto take intoaccount.

If you do opt for an automatic, make sure that it is fittedwith an oil cooler which is in line with the airflow created bythe engine fan blades.

Accessories for your 4WD

lights

Extra lights arc an essential accessory for the off-wader, the mostusefulgenerally being driving lights,which in effectprovideintensification of the vehicle's hcadlarnps. Foglights and spotlightsare readily available, although are of less relevance off-road.

Foglights

These provide a wide spread of light horizontally, bur only asmall vertical spread (in order to reduce reflected glare).

Spotlights

These provide a penetrating but narrow beam of light, whichwill illuminate objects a long way away.

AbDul your vehicle 19

Driving lamps

These combi ne elements of barh fog and sporlighrs, andprovid e a wide but reasonably far-reaching spread of light.

Light so urces (bulbs)

Th ere is now a wide ran ge of different light sources (generallystill describ ed as bulbs) available. Sealed beam unirs still usetungsten filaments, although most modern vehicles now usebulbs filled with halogen gas, as these are brighter and longerlasting. A recent development is the High Intensity Discharge(HID ) lamp, which is filled with a Xeno n gas, and useselectrodes instead of a filam ent. T he light produce d isincredib ly bright, although they are not readi ly ava ilable at themoment due to their high co st. A further alternative is aDichro ic lam p. This uses a Dichroi c halogen-filled bu lb, an d isextre mely ligh t and compact.

Safety equipment

Anti-lock braking system (ABS)

Thi s prevents the wheels from locking up under heavy braking.It improves driver control in terms of directional stability,and reduces braking distances. ABS is a majorsafety item foron-road driving, but Ci.1I1 be a nuisance, and even dangerous,when driving off-road. There arc occasions when anexperienced driver will w ish to lock the wheels under brakingto position his vehicle in a certain place or attitude whendriving over difficult terrain; the ABS does nor allow this to

occur. In recognition of this, so me vehicles prov ide a fac ility to

discon nect the ABS system, either via a switch or auto maticallywh en Low range is selected.

Seatbelts

Man y manu facturers now fit 'emergency locking/retractor'(ELR) belts as standard equipment in their vehicles. Whenfitted in vehicles supplied with SRS air bags, these ELR scatbelts have two important function s to perform:

20 AbDul your vehicle

The function of ELR seal belts

t(a)Pre-tensioning: immediately beforeImpact, the seat beltsensor activatesasmallmotorInthe seat mechanism towind it in - thus holding the occupantfirmly in his/herseat.

(b)Force-limiting: to reducethe riskof inJuryto the torso upon suddendeceleration. the seat belt 'gives'a llttle,enablingthe occupanttomoveforward.

iii- Pre-tensioning. As the air bag sensor identifies rapiddeceleration of the vehicle, it sends a signal to the seat belr.This causes it to contract to hold the occupant firmly in hisseat, before the air bag inflates (see (a) above) .

... Force-limiting. To reduce the risk of damage to the torso asthe body is thrust forward, the seat belt releases a smallamount of the belt to allow some 'give' - the 'force-limiting'role of the seat belt, shown in (b) above.

SRSairbags

'Supplementary restraint system' (SRS) air bags provideadditional protection to the seat belt wearer in case of accident.An air bag will deploy if a vehicle has a frontal impact with asolid, immovable object at a speed in excess of about 25 kph(15 mph). Air bags are designed purely for use in tandem withseat belts as a means of reducing the risk of injury to the vehicleoccupants. It is very unlikely that an accident in the desertwould cause the air bag to inflate, as the speeds and rates ofdeceleration would not be sufficient to cause the mechanism totrigger off the air bag.

Leamf romyourmlslake5.Rpractice unlllygu don'lrepeat them

Off-road driving 21

2Off-road driving

IIff-road driving can be a very dangero us business , w ithlIman)' pitfalls for the unwa ry and inexperienced. Thetroub le with many novice o ff-raaders is that as they have beendriving on-road for years, they mistakenly believe that goi ngo ff-road is [usr an extension of wh at the)' can alreadycompetently do. Such extreme off-road behaviour can be calledthe 'red mist' syndrome: reason goes QU[ of the window and isreplaced by a mixtu re of fright and a compulsion to exhibi t amacho attitude. Thankfully, the majori ty of new andex perienced off-road drivers adopt a more rational anddisciplined approach to the task in hand , coup led withcomplete alertness to unexpected hazards. There is no place forthe 'show-off', the 'ha lf asleep' or the 'red mist' merchants.

To become a competent d river, you must learn certaintechniques that you will on ly use when driving off-road . Thebest wa y to perfect these techn iques is by practice, practice andeven more practice . It will take time and patience to become

22 OH-road driving,

competent. Learn from your mistakes! Keep pushing yourselfuntil you get stuck and then analyse what went wrong so thatyou will not repeat the mistake. The techniques of off-roaddriving arc:

.... What to do when you arc moving (and trying to avoidgetting sruckt)

.... \Vhat to do when you do get stuck (which is inevitablesometimes!)

Use local tracks

lookIng forwarden- and off'foad

In the days of camel and donkey transport, the desert-dwellersalways took the line of least resistance for themselves and theiranimals. So, if a track exists and it is going in the direction youwant, then take it, as it will avoid most of the hazards.

As far as possible, avoid destroying virgin desert with thepassage of your vehicles. Desert ecosystems are very fragile,and whilst the wind will quickly cover up the wheel tracks ofpassing vehicles, wounded vegetation takes a lot longer torecover.

.150m

Normal whendrlvlngonthehIghway

100m 50m

MaxImum whendrivIngon elf-read sand tracks

Where to look

Be wary of sudden dips and jumps even when driving on awell-defined sand track - they are often very difficult to see.When driving in the desert, you should be focusing on theground no more than 50 m ahead and be constantly on thealert for sudden changes in the surface. This close observance isespecially important in the summer, when the sun is highoverhead and not casting shadows. I never wear sunglasseswhen driving in the desert, as I find they severely limit myability to 'read the ground'.

(c)

Off-road driving 23

Off-roadsurfaces:(a) country roads

InKenya are amudnightmareafter heavyrain:drive In the centre

of the road 10avoid sliding IntoIhe ditches;(b) typlcallracksInthe sand.momentum and

lyre pressure areneeded 10keepgoing:(elgravel roadsInarcticregionsbecomeveryslJpperywhenwet:(d) the rocky

wadi bed: lovely10photograph,

but difficult tonegotiate

Off-road surfaces*

The ground over which you are driving can vary from a smoothgravel track to a soft dune section in the Empty Quarter; amuddy sabkba (salt flat) plain Ot dry rocky wadi bed to aflowing stream of indeterminate depth. Unlike the smoothsurface of a tarmac road, which only varies according to theweather, rhe variations of off-road surfaces arc endless.

Sand surfaces

Deserts vary from areas of large, flat plains to areas of toweringdunes over 100 m high.

By its very nature - millions of tiny grains of stone - sandis one of the most unstable surfaces to drive on. Perhaps onlymud exceeds it in providing very limited grip for your tyres.The secrets of successful sand driving are momentum and ryre

~ For a greater understanding uf the geographical and topographical nature of desert s and mountains,read GlIlf LlIIdsc<1{Jt's (Elizabe th Collas and Andr ew Taylor, Motivate Publ ishing, 1992 ).

24 Dff-readdriving .

Asyou becomeaccuetcmedtoiI desert terralnyouwill noticethe differenttextures, andgoodobservationwillenable you10read Ihe sand

pressure. Providing that youmaintain sufficientmomentum to tackle slopesand dunes and your eyrepressures arc correct, thenyou will make good progress.Compare walking on firmhard ground to walking onsand - it requires greatereffort and energy to make thesame progress. This also

applies to the progress of a vehicle. Try to imagine that you aredriving on top of the sand, floating along on the surface; loweyre pressures will give you the flotation that allows the 4\X'Dto drive on top of the sand.

Most desert driving will be carried out in High range, withLow range usually reserved for emergency recovery situations.The selection of a gear depends on many factors such as thefirmness of the sand, the power and torque of the vehicle'sengine, the speed at which you wish to travel, the skill andexperience of the driver, the nature of the obstacle ahead, thepressure of the ryres , and so on. The instinctive selection of the'right' gear comes only with practice and experience. Lowrange first gear is rarely used in desert driving as it is too lowand, with the large amount oftorque produced by modern4WD engines, will cause wheel spin. It is more suitable fordriving in wadis and across rocky ground, where slow andcontrolled progress is required.

Heel ofman'sshoe (25 cm2)

lady's highheel (2 cm2)

o

Imaginea manandwoman walkingacross a lawn. Thelady'sheelswillleaveholes Inthe surfacedespiteherweightofless than50 kg.Theman,weighing over95 kg,barelyleavesa mark, as hisweightIsspread overa greater area. Hehasachieved flotation. ItIsthe samewithyourvehicle:as youreducethe tyrepressure,so the area ofthetyreincontactwiththe ground willincreaseandthe kg/cm2 pressureonthe ground will reduce.

Brakegently:Ca) IfVlIu brakehardon a sleepdown slope,thefront wheetsdigIn,and thevehiclebecomesunstable. Neverbrakeonasteepdownslopel(b) sudden stopswill cause thewheels to dIgIn

Off-read driving 25

\Vhilsr it is tempting to drive faster on defined tracks, thiscan lead to bumping and crashing as you desperately brake toavoid a hole, or actually go into the hole itself! In a manual4WD, it is good practice to drive on such tracks in one gearlower than you think you could when driving on twistingtracks. The benefit of this is that you get better engine brakingwhen you take your foot off the accelerator to slow downquickly - as opposed to having to brake hard and riskthrowing the vehicle off balance. The disadvantage of this is aslightly higher fuel consumption.

As you become accustomed to a desert terrain you willnotice the different textures, and good observation will enableyou to read the sand. Sand is firmer to drive on in the earlymorning, especially after morning mists. Traction and flotationare also better at this time than at midday, as the tyrcs are cooland pressures will still be low. Sand with small ripples is usuallyfirmer than smooth sand; sand with vegetation is also firmerthan clear patches of sand; sand on the windward side of dunesis usually firmer than the sand on the leeward side. When sandsuddenly changes colour as you drive, it could be an indicationthat the consistency has also changed; pale yellow sand isgenerally easier to drive on than golden red sand.

(a)

(b)

~ Brake gently!

If you brake hard for a suddenstop when driving on sand,the wheels will dig into thesand. Very often, the sand youare driving on has a fairly firmcrust, which masks very softsand beneath. Break thronghthe crust and you may be introuble. Your first choice forslowing down is to use enginebraking. Try to avoid hardbraking when driving on sandas you could not only breakthe crust, but also lose controlof the vehicle. Never use thebrakes when descending steepslopes, as the whole weight of

28 Off-read driving

Tryto llvoldsudden brakingwhe n drlvlngons and. orYOllwlllge t sluck!

the veh icle w ill be th ro wn forward onto the front wheels. Th esewill dig into the sand and the rear wheels can lift off the groundca using an unbalanced vehicle to slew sideways and roll do wnthe slope. Use engine brak ing only to slow down your descentin these situa tions.

~ Accelerale gently!

Second on my Jist of pet hares, after the ' red mist' merchants,are the 'axle t ramp' dri vers. Excessive accelera tion will alsocause the wheels to dig into the sand - the result is litt leco rrugations several centimetres deep caused by ax le tramptha t shake th e vehicle to pieces . As you accelerate ha rd on asoft surface, the vehicle digs in with the same force as it movesforward, and the axle sta rts bouncing up and down, creatingthose awful corrugation s. Once a corrugation has been created,every vehicle that follows will make it wo rse.

Soft ryre pressures he lp to ab sorb the tramping of your ow naxle, but try to limit your speed to between 40-50 kph . Th etr ick is to find the speed at which the vert ical suspensionmovements are in synch with the cor ruga tions; likely to bebetween 50- 80 kph . It helps if you can keep to the extremeedge o f the co rruga ted track , where the wheels on at least oneside of the vehicle are travelling o n a smoothish surface.

~ Starting in and progressing from soft sa nd

As we will discover, you ca n drive o ur o f very so ft patches o fsa nd in Low range second gear, but after you have achievedflotati on, you need to get back fro m Low ra nge into H igh ran gewhilst the vehicle is still moving . Yo u do this (in, for exa mple.Toyota's Land Cruiser and Prad o, and the Nissan Patrol I by

Oil-road driving 27

moving the transfer case lever from '],' through 'N ' into '1-1'.If you stop to do this, you will lose momenrum and becomebogged down again. Perfect this by practising on firm groundso that you get used to the procedure without getting stuck!

Winddirection

The windward sIde tstne shallow sIde

::::::=-- ---­-------~ -~~f wrnd-btewnsand----J~: fromthe crest ..•

~;/:;: Th' leeward sfde ls the

~~ " : ; steepslopeor'sllp'face

-~: ~ :::

\.>":~\\ ... falls 10the base

( 21) \ }I. of the slope

.'/ 1.,-" '-Dunes

There are two main type s of dunes. The barchan type is acrescent-shaped dune, which varies in size from 1111 to over30 m high. It has a shallow angle face on the windward slope(the side facing the prevailing wind), and a steep drop on theleeward slope which is known as th e 'slip' face. These slip facescan be very steep, often with an angle of about 33° (close to theangle of inertia) and arc notoriously unstable. Th ere issometimes a flat area at the peak of the barchan dune whichdisguises an overhang - a small section of unsupported sandsticking out over the slip face. Never drive your vehicle ontothis type of overhang as it may collapse under the weight of thevehicle. Stop well back from the edge and rake a look on foo tbefore proceeding.

In areas where the prevailing winds come from differentdirections, the crescent shape of the barchan changes into a

continuous, but wavy,knife-edged ridge called a 'scif(sword). Th ese seif ridges canextend for several kilometresin an unbroken line, becominga formidable obstacle to crosseven in a 4WD.

A large area covered by amix of small, medium andhigh barchan and scif dunescan stretch for several

rrcss-sectten of

the classicbarchon dune

Aclil5Slc

example of'sel{s': knlfe­edged ridges

whlchare- formed bya

series ofborchon duneslinking together

28 OU-roaddriving,

:..: :~:. : '~::..; -'

-I~ :'

'-

-=.- '--- . -... .~:;""t:..._':'-&~~ •. ,

' . "- .../ / .

kilometres in every direction,for ming a 'sea of sand '. Suchareas are known as 'ergs'. It isprobably better to dri vearound them unless yo u arelook ing for a goodplaygro und! You will a lso findhuge mountains of san dseveral hun dred metres highin the form of ridges or walls- these are known as 'draa',

Unless you are very brav e, or foo lhardy, it is better to ma rvel atthese masterpieces of nat ure from a distance!

~ Ascending dune slopes

The most important point to remember is that the trees havevery lirrle £0 grip on wh en ascendi ng a slope, so an y forwardmomentum that you can build up befo re reachin g the slope willhelp to successfully carry you to the to p.

Decide whi ch gea r and which range (H igh or Low ) to seleerbefo re st a rring the ascent . Genera lly, in a manual vehicle, H ighrange is better tha n l ow ra nge as you can build up a fas terspeed to ca rry yo u to the to p. As you get near th e to p, liftyour

foor o ff the accelerato r and letthe momen tum ca rry youforward and engine bra kingslow you down. Once there,be very careful if you cannotsee what is on the other side.

Ano ther th ing to reme mberwh en climbing long duneslopes is to take the line ofleasr resistance. Because of thenatu re of the terrain , you mayhave to deviate from thestra ight line approach,especia lly if your vehicle sta rtsto slow down and losemomentum . Turning left andright (Q reduce rhe steepness ofthe climb may just be eno ugh

-' .~ ';

TakIngthe lineolleu treslstant e: lookfor lhe'easy'way up

' E'!1S'; aseaofsan d ueatf!dbysmall, medlllmi1ndhlsh11iJTthan andsr i!dunes,whlchu nstreichforsevtf,alkilometres

Dff-road driving 28

Descending dune slopes

Try to keepthese pointsinmindwhendescending:

• Let the engine do the braking• Don'ttouchthebrakepedal• Drive ina straightline• Selecta lowgear (even Low

rangeifa longsteep slope)• Drive down,don't freewheel.

·Be waryofthebowlsatthebcttcmcttheslope

to take you up. If you do stop and have to try again, selectreverse gear and drive backwards in a straight line - turninground on the slope to go down forwards will lead to disaster!

One of the hazards to watch out for when ascending duneslopes is the bump or little ridge right at the base of the dune asyou start the ascent. If you are going fast, this bump will lift

your wheels off the ground;your forward traction is lostand you may fail to make theclimb. Try to select a path upthe dune that is clear of thissort of hazard.

~ Descending dunesLopes

The most important thing to

remember is to let the enginedo the braking. It takes an act

3D Oil-road driving

Oescendlnga

dune slope: themostImportantthlng tnremember1510let the engine dothe braking

When crossingridges, keep upyour momentumoryouwlllgelstuckr

of faith for a new off-reader to

refrain from braking on a downslope, especially if it is a verysteep one, but braking can alsocause the wheels to lock up andslide sideways, and the vehiclemight roll over.

Keep your right foot away fromthe brake pedal!

Driving across a slope, at anangle, is obviously a mistakeand will lead to problems suchas loss of control and possibleroll over.

For good engine braking, you need to select a low gear. Thatcould be High range first or second or Low range second orthird. Remember that the gear you select must not be too low asthe momentum of the vehicle can become too much for theengine to cope with and yOliwill start sliding down the slope.As the veh icle starts to descend, press the accelerator so that youare actually driving the vehicle down the slope. If it startsmoving faster than you would like, just lift your foot off theaccelerator and let the engine slow the vehicle down. Finally, beaware of the hollows or bowls that are created at the base of theleeward side . The sand that is blown off the top of the ridgeeventually falls down and accumulates at the base of the steepslope. It can be very soft and can catch the unwary driver whowill get stuck in the bowl.

.... Crossing ridges

The photograph clearlyillustrates the dangers of the'ridge trap': I stopped in thewrong place, and now neitherthe front nor rear wheels haveany contact with sand!To prevent this, stop onlywhen you can go forwardandlor back.

Off-read driving 31

Sabkhas can betreacherous: Iry10keep tc avIsible track

Greater experience in theterrain will eventually bringknowledge of 'what is on theother side',

Driving on sabkhas

Sabkhas arc created whenrainfall drains off thesurrounding mountains orergsonto a plain that becomessaturated. As the sunevaporates the water, so thesalt rises to the surface to forma thick crust. During thesummer when the sabkhas

have dried our, they are usually safe to drive on provided thatyou keep to a clearly visible track. Even in the spring, after anywinter rains, it can still be safe to use the well-trodden pathacross a sabkha. Try not to stray from the track as there is noway of telling if the surface is finn enough to bear the weight ofa 4WD. If it is not firm, you will quickly sink up to the axlesand face a lengthy and vcry dirty recovery job. Some sabkhasare very treacherous, and have the consistency of quicksand- there is little chance of recovering a stuck vehicle from this.

Driving in wadis

\Vadis are dried-up river or stream beds. Seasonal rains createtorrents of flowing water which drain off inca the desert,sometimes forming the infamous sabkhas. \Vaclis occur insandy areas as well as in mountainous regions, where realdanger lurks in the form of flash-floods after major rainstorms.Mountain wadis are littered with varying sizes of rocks,boulders and stones, which call for caution and great care to betaken to protect your tyres - use full road pressures to preventthe tyre walls from being cur or holed on sharp stones.

Also, pay attention to ground clearances and the risk ofdamaging the engine sump or other vulnerable mechanicalcomponents. As you steer to avoid the bigger rocks and stones,remember which side of rhe front axle rhe differential is on: ir

32 Off-roaddriving

Crossing ditches

When crossingditches, alwaysapproachthemat a 45° angle to ensurethat three wheelsare Incontactwiththe groundat all times.

will nor be in the centre of the axle! Driving across rocks is oneof the rare occasions when Low range will be your first choice,and in first gear.

Wide sand wadis are nor as dangerous to your vehicleunless you are driving too fast, lose control and roll over whencrossing unseen undulations.

Wading through water

There are times in the Middle East when flash-floods will createobstacles to be tackled. Most manufacturers will state themaximum depth of water in which thei r model can drive safely.Any limitations to this arc caused by the air intake pick-uppoint, irs height above the ground and its location. I once readabout a B!vlWowner who drove his 540 very carefully throughonly seven inches of water, safe in the knowledge that the airintake level was over ten inches above ground. What he hadnot taken into account was the suction created by the engine'sair intake system, which sucked up water from three inches

Howtowadethrough water:nrst walkthewater, then spraythe etectrrcs withWD40. PlaceiI

plastlc sbeetoverthegrille,andIn nrst crsecond gear,drlves[ow[ythrcughthewater; rememberthatycurbrakeswill nolfullyfunctlon unUl dry

Dff-roaddriving 33

below the air intake vent into the engine - a very expensiveengine rebuild was the result! If water does get sucked into anengine, it is 'goodbye' to the con rods, pistons and valves .

Most 4WD vehicles have a fairly deep wading height,typically 70 em. Ignition systems are usually well sealed againstthe ingress of water, with the HT leads and spark plugs alsowell sealed. The only thing to be careful about is the effect ofthe fan blades if they become semi-submerged in water,generating a spray like an egg whisk.

When there has been a flash-flood, the water is usually quitemurky and it is difficult to see beneath the surface. There is onlyone thing to do, and that is to get out and walk across, usingyour shovel or a stick to probe the bottom for unseen hazards.

It is a good idea to tie a plastic sheet across the front of thevehicle to prevent the water from going through the grille. Alsogive the electrics a good spray ofWD40 before you start. To getthrough, it is usually best to select Low range second gear,continue at a steady 4-5 kph and to keep moving withoutchanging gear. Once safely on the other side, proceed withcaution as your brakes will not be working at maximumefficiency until they have dried out.

34 Off-roaddriving

General driving tips

StaY Qr /~05t

:Ism behInd thedriver Infrontwhl!nln aconvoy

Driving in convoyAlways stay at least 25 m behind the driver in franc. If you areroo d ose to the person in fro nt and he gets stuck, he may havenowhere to reverse to and you may nor have time to avo id himor find an alternative route . Faster vehicles shou ld be cowardsthe back of the convoy, rath er than at the front, where they canzoom on ahead and lose the test of the party! Check your rear­view mirror periodically to make sure the person behind you isstill there, and keep an eye out for the person in front of you, oryou will lose each other. Also bear in mind that unless you arethe lead vehicle, you will be driving over sand churned up byprevious drivers , and your progress willbe slower.Whennegotia ting inclines, you sho uld try to avoid this churned-upsand, optinginstead forvirgingroundon eitherside of the track.

.Ilo-som

Clutch controlPerhaps the worst mistake made by inexperienced off-roaderswhen driving in sand is slipping the clutch in the belief that itwill assist traction. Never slip the clutch when driving off-road(or on-road, for that rnatrerl}; the first result will be a nastysmell as the clutch disc starts cooking from the friction heat,followed by a defect ive clutch pressure plate and disc. Whenyou first smell an overheated clutch, stop immedia tely and wa itfor the disc to cool down before trying to drive off.

Thumbs out!

When holding the steering wheel do not grip it with yourthumbs around the wheel. Keep your thumbs out and restingon the rim of the wheel. It is safer to do rhis because if thewheels should suddenly hit an object and the steering wheelspins in your hands, you will not damag e your thumbs.

Clogged treads:wet sand aftertecatraindogslhetyretreads,glvillglo550fsteering controlandminimalbrakingperformance

Off-road driving 35

Air-conditioningconsumes bhp

On full blast, your vehicle's air-conditioning consumes up to

10 per cent of the engine's power. In recovery situationsall available power is needed at the wheels, so switch off theair-conditioning when carrying out recovery techniques.

Clogged treads

\Vhen driving in wet sand or mud, th e tyre treads very quicklybecome clogged up, aod it is like driving on slicks. The result isa roral1oss of traction from the tyres and erratic steering. Toavoid sliding into hazards requiring a major recovery exerci se,get out and clean the treads from time to time . Prevention isbetter than cure .

Mud

As we have seen, mud is an unpleasant surface to drive on andmakes steering and braking an imprecise process. Too muchthrottle in low gears creates wheel spin and lack of control. It isbetter to select High range third geat and use controlled wheelspin to cut through the top surface to the firmer groundbeneath. When on a muddy track with a steep camber eitherside, try to stay firmly in the centre of the track to avoid alengthy recovery process!

_.. _..._-36 Whatto dowhenyou get ~h!gk

What to do when youget stuck

espite all your efforts to the contrary, there may come atime when you involuntari ly stop moving, and when you

try to carryon aga in, the vehicle won't go! There is no shame ingett ing stuck, even though it may be your fault - everyone getsstuck from time to time. A momenta ry lapse in concentration isoften enough to select the wrong gear or take the worst of twoopti ons when confronted by a hazard. Even Greg Normanmisses a 20 cm putt from time to time and Pete Sampras servesthe odd double fault - it happens to the best, so it can happento us as well. Here's wha t to do if you do get stuck!

Reverse back and try again

The first th ing to try is to reverse back along the tracks that ledyou into the problem area. Sometimes your vehicle's weightwill have firmed the sand up so that when you reverse over ityou can get some tract ion. Use a light throt tle pressure or thewheels will spin, which means you go down and not forward.If reversing doesn' t work, get out and see exactly why you arestuck. It may be a hidden patch of very soft san d or you may beperched on a tussock with one or mor e wheels off the gro und(if so, the quickest way off is for a colleague to tow you off).

Check tyre pressures

Assuming you are not stuck on a tussock, the nex t thing [Q

do is to check your tyre pressures. In the desert du ring thehot months, it is not unusual for ryre pressure s to increase by

: .': : . '

Try the 'forwardandback' routineto poweryclU outofD soft patch

What to do when you get stuck 37 i

4-6 psi in litt le over an hou r's driving due ro the heat o f thesand. The 20 psi that was finewhen you started has become25 psi and tha t spells problems . Reduce the ryre pressures andvery gently try again to drive or reverse out, taking care nor to

let the wheels spin. Select Low range second gear for thisexercise- never use first gear as the ratio is far too low andwill cause wh eel spin and no forward movement. Having somefriends to push you during this process hugely increases yourchances of getting our.

Forward and back

, ' .' ', ' ',' • •'." ,#-,"'.!" :;":.' . : ~ :

If reducing pressuresdoesn't work, trythe 'forward and back'routine. Alternately select forward and reversegears veryquickly and try to firm up the sand by the constant to and fromotion. Everytime you go forward, and then reverse, rry to

travel a birfurther ineach direction untilyou build upenoughmomentum to powerour of rhe sofr parch.

Lighten the load

It is very important to check on rhe posirion of rhevehiclerelat ive ro th e lie of the ground . If the veh icle is on a slightdown slope, rhen rhechances of reversing back up areminimal.The opposi te is true if on a slight up slope. If your vehicle isheavily laden with people or eq uipment, then it may helpto lighten th e load - th ose extra bodi es can also pu shwhen required.

38 Whal tn de when yeu gel stuck

Starting ingear

Sometimes it is very difficult to get the vehicle moving at all dueto its position or the softness of the sand. A useful technique touse and perfect is that of 'starting the vehicle in gear ', which canbe used when trying to pull out of soft sand patches, or whendesceoding steep slopes. The procedure is as follows .

~ Switch off the engine after applying the hand brake and/orfootbrake.

... Select Low range and first or second gear.~ Release the brakes and allow engine compression to hold

the vehicle..... Start the engine with gear engaged, but w ithout using

the clutch .iii- As the engine fires, apply gentle acceleration of up to

1,000 rpm .

This will eliminate loss of vital momentum through changinggears when trying to recover, especially in soft bowls. Whendescending slopes it ensures that you are in control at all times.

Pushing

. .~

The assistance of yourpassengers, and those of othervehicles in the convoy, willmake all the difference whenyou try to get started again insoft sand. It is surprising howthe weight of even several slimpeople will give your vehicle'swheels that extra lirtle bit oftraction to get you out oftrouble. However, it is an

energy-sapping business, and, in the summer, an excessiveamount of exertion can cause dehydration and exhaustion.I have a rule during July and August that, if stuck, a tow is thefirst option, foll owed by winching with pushing as a lasr resort.

Even the weIghtofseveral slimpeopletanbeenoughtoget youeurenrcuete

What to do when you gel stuck 38

Creating ramps

Removing thesand fromInfronlofan dbehindallfourtyrescreates

rampstodriveup

If all the ab ove fails, you willhave to start digging. Bynowyour vehicle may have sunkseveral inches into the sandand the build-up of the sand'bow wa ves' in front of eachwheel means you are notgo ing anywh ere. Using yo ur

trusty shovels, scrape away the sand from in from of andbehind all four wheels. This crea res gentl y sloping ramps infront of and/or behind the wheels to ease your exit. If you haveexcess wat er supplies, dampen the sand in front of the whe elsfor add ed tracrion.

(a)

If the vehicle has sunk so lowthat it is resting on its axl es orchass is, digging und erneaththe vehicle alone may nothelp, unless ir is on a fairlysteep slope whereby its weightwillovercome the resistanceonce it starts moving. The

vehicle will have to be physically lifted using the jack or the airjack - a preferred and easier alternative. Lifr each side up sothat the wheels come up out of the holes they are in. Try toplace the jack under rhe axle beam so that the wheels lift more

quickl y. Onc e the wheels areclear of rhe holes, shove l sandback into rhem and thenlower the vehicle. Repear theexercise on the other side . Thevehicle underside is now wellclear of the sand and the

;:;~~":..:~, chanceof forward motion isrnuch better.

Lift and fill

(b)InRaleIh. airJack:whenthewheels haveblH!nlifted, Illl Intheholes wIthnndanddenatl! thelack;fepnl lhlseJtrulseonlheotherslde,andthendriveoul

Lift andnu: (a) thevehlclechanls IsR sl/ng onSilnd:milk!!I spanmidwaybetweenthewheels l ndInsertIhe , [rllc k

40 What to do when you get stuckI

Rocking

With helpersonelther side,pushalternately 10urttbewneetsoneachsIde;asthey lllt, theholeswillnil Inwithsand,untilthevehicleis onlevelground

This is another way to 'lift andfill', but it requires theassistance of at least six oreight others. Line up an equalnumber on each side of thevehicle holding the rain gutter.In turn, each side pushes thetop of the vehicle to get it

rocking sideways. The effort must be vigorous enough to startlifting the wheels a few millimetres on each push. As the wheelslift, so the sand will fill in the holes and the vehicle can ­eventually be rocked to the surface. From there, with a furtherpush, you should be able to drive off again. (This techniqueworks better with vehicles fitted with rigid beam axles, ratherthan those with independent suspension.)

Getting out ofa bowl

The'ferwerd andback' routine 10exlta bowl

The unwary may find themselves stuck in the bottom of a bowlwith sides up to 10 m high. These bowls are a real sand trap asthe covering at the bottom is wind-blown sand from the top ofthe surrounding dunes. It is therefore loose, and offers minimaltraction. It is very difficult to do a tow pull recovery from herebecause of the angles involved - the tow-rope would becutting through the sand at the top of the bowl.

Winching is one possibility, but the towed vehicle will havevery little traction of its own as it climbs the steep sides of thebowl, and the strain on the winch is enormous. Winchingshould be used as the last resort. The best technique to try is the

forward and back routineagain. The objective is to

reverse as high as you can up~ the side of the bowl. Once youJ ' ::iJL have done this, put the vehicle

~~3~~~~11~~~~ in Low second, and charge atthe opposite side of the bowl.You may have to do this

~-

The 'WallofDeath'routlneto exita bowl

Yl'l!allo ~~ l!\!h~ you gelsiuck 41

several times before you canclimb high enough up to giveyou sufficient momentum to

exit. Don't forget to lift offthe throttle as you near therim so you don't go flyingthrough the air! A variationof this routine that alsoworks in these situations isthe 'Wall of Death'manceuvre. Select second gearand once you get traction,drive around the base of thebowl. In a left-hand drive

vehicle (LHD), it is better to drive in a clockwise direction, sothat you are sitting on the high side of the vehicle. Keep goingfaster and faster, and as the speed increases, gradually climb upthe sides of the bowl until you eventually pop out.

Recovery by towing and winching

If none of the recovery techniques described above aresuccessful, you will have to be towed or winched by anothervehicle. In the hotter months, it is better to go straight for thewinch recovery to avoid the unnecessary expenditure ofprecious energy and the risk of serious dehydration.

Tow pulls

These come in a variety of forms - from the gentle tug to movethe stuck vehicle a few metres to firmer ground, to the violentjerk (the 'snatch pull') to unstick a firmly embedded vehicle .The latter, however, should be used rarely and with great care.I recall a friend using a snatch pull on a Discovery whomistakenly attached the rope to the bull bar. The result waspredictable - his 4WD remained stuck in the hole and the bullbar was left dangling on the end of the tow-tope! If you doneed to offer assistance in the form of a snatch pull, then youshould use a kinetic energy recovery rope (a KERR - seeChapter 4 for more details on this).

42 Whatto dowhenyou getstuck

Thecorrectwayto tow

When Uning up to offer a stricken frIend a pull out of his troubles thereareseveral things to remember.

• Both vehicles and the ropeshould be in as straight a line asthe area permits.• The rope should be attached atboth ends by a shackle (seeChapter 4 for types ofshackles).• If your rope Is too short. use asecond rope Joined by a shackle.Do not start tying knots. as theywillbecomejammedsolid becauseof the towingforce.• Place the rope rs) on the groundbetween the two vehicles In an '5 'so that each driver can see whenthe ropeIs about to take the strainof thepull.• Agree what signals will be usedby both drivers to ensure a co­ordinated effort. .• Just before the towing vehiclemoves off, the stuck driver should

Winching

engage gear and await the pullwith wheels turning, so that thetowingvehicleIs not pullinga deadweight.• As soon as the stuck vehicle Ismovingagain under Its own power,towing ceases and the vehiclesstop. Be careful not to drive overthe tow-rope and risk winding itaround the fronthubs.• Remove the tow-rope byundoing the shackles. If the pin isJammed, use a short metalspikeorbar In the hole at the end of the pinforextra leverage.

When the tow Is taking place,helpers can push the stuckvehicle,but they must stay behind thevehicle Incase the rope breaks andflails back.

The person who invented the electric winch deserves amedal! It is without dou bt the single most impor tant piece ofoff-reader 's equipment after the shovel and a recovery rope .Vehicle-mounted winches can be either mechanically orelectr ically powered. A mechanical winch is operated from apower rake-off from the gearbox and is totally independent ofthe vehicle's elecrrics, An electric winch takes its power fromthe vehicle's bat tery. Despite constant charging from thealternator during the winching process, batteries will rundown. This is nor a prob lem with a mechanical winch, burthese are more expensive, and few manufacturers offer them.

~ Selectingand fittingthe winch

If you decide to invest in a bolt -on electric winch, make surethat you select the right capacity version. This is depen dent on

What te diiwhen you get stuck .43

the type of use it will get and your vehicle's weight. Generally, itis wisest and safest to select a winch which has a pullingcapacity that is 2,000 Ib greater than your vehicle's grossvehicle weight (GVW - the GVW is the manufacturer'srecommended maximum weight with the vehicle fully loaded).

Having selected your winch, it is a good idea to let theexperts fit it. DIYwinch-fitting is not recommended unlessyou are properly qualified to do it. The wioch frame must hesecurely bolted onto the chassis frame of the 4WD. If yourvehicle has a rnonocoque construction, the mounting area mustbe strengthened with welded plates. It is usual to mount thecontrol box near the winch and under the bumper or on thebull bar. The control hox has a three-pin socket plug for theremote control cable. However, if you prefer to operate thewinch from the comfort of the cabin, you can mount the three­pin socket here bytaking wires from the control box to thesocket plug mounted on the cabin's facia .

Typical winch recovery situations

Winth recoverysltuatron: vehlcleone lobewinched outbyvehlcletwc

~ Vehicle one to be winched out byvehicletwo

Vehicle two should be lined up with vehicle one. Positionvehicle two on firm ground, and, if necessary, place chocks infront of the wheels. Connect the cable to a solid towing bracketfitted to the chassis of vehicle one. Connect the remote controlunit to the winch control box on vehicle two and starr thewinch to reel in the slack cable.

Once the cable is taut, place a floor mat or blanket over it toprevent the cable from flailing about in the air and hittingsomeone should it break. The winch operator signals to thedriver of vehicle one to start his engine and engage gear: usuallyLow second is the best choice. As vehicle one tries to drive, thewinching recovery pull is started. Operate the winch for

Stutkvetnete Insoft sand Wlnthingvehltle

-FloormalIe::' ~. ' 1Ti!" "~ 1(RI' '''~f«:r ",:T'. ~ .. . . " ,-'-----'JII..------ .( -" ., .. :' I l· ..: ..... ~~ f! ,

......... ... - .. .. I . ! • •

'-- . (1) WI"" (2)

.- .

44 What to dowhen you get stuck

30 seconds and then stop for a 10 second break , during whichyou sho uld ensure [hac the cable is winding evenly onto th edrum, and nor bunching up . Repeat rhe sequence until vehicl eone is rec overed and back on firm gro und, wh er euponwinching can stop.

H the distance to be winch ed o ut is as lon g as or longer thanth e winch cable, vehicle o ne should come nose to nose withvehicle two as far as possible. and the proc ess should beinterrupted to allow vehicle two to reverse back for a secondsession of pulling.

~ Vehicle one uses vehicle two as the anchor point

Winchrecoveryslblallon:vehlcle one(wllh I wInch)usuvehlcle twoastheanchorpoint

Stuckvehlcle usIngIts own winch

noormal

AIlthorvehicle

(2)

Winch recoveryslluatlo n: seu­fll!covery bywinch(a) Manuallyunreel lhe winchcable(b) Placetheprotector str aparound Ihe tree;tie Ihe end 1001'$(hroul h ashadle

Thi s procedure is very similar to that described above, exceptthat the driver of vehicl e one now has to ope ra te th e winchhimself, as well as driv ing his vehicle out of th e problem.Vehicle two still has to be posi tio ned in a good place and withwhee l chocks if necessa ry.

.... Vehicle one is s tuck and th ere is no veh icle two

The occasion s when self-recovery by winch is required sho uldbe very rare indeed, sinc e you should never venture off-road onyour own! In the absence of a sup po rting veh icle, some otherform of anch or po int is required on which to attach rhe winchcable. Wooded a reas will have handy trees, or rocks or some

(a) (b)

What todowhenyou gat stuck 45

(e)

(el Opent hepulley bloc:kOl ndfeedIhe winchcable aroundthepulley(d) Attachtheprotector strapto Ihe pulleyblockusingthe

· shackle(e) Attachthewlnmablehooklo iI (owInchcckunder thebumper(il Start lheengineandselect nrsl gfar ;lhe wtnch lsoperatedandtheqWD'st ransmtssten Isengaged tori!coverllto apoIntwhereItc.an moveunderIls ownpower

(f)

other natural item. In the desert, there are fewer trees and evenfewer rocks, bur if you happen to be stuck where there aretrees, we sho w here the sequence fo r self-recovery using a tree.T here are also a number of other different pieces o f equipmenrthat could be used as an anchor:

~ Spare wheel. Dig a trench and bury the wheel upright, wi ththe winch rope attached to the wh eel's lo wer part andthreaded through its centre. Once the wheel has bedd ed inand taken the stra in, engage Low range and start slowlyw inch ing and driving simultaneously.

~ Sand anchor (or 'Pull Pal ' ). An easily assembled collapsibletool, w hich, w hen it digs itself in, pro vides a solid anchorpoi nt in san d.

~ Danforth anchor. A sma ll boat anchor, with hinged flukeswhi ch dig into the ground as pull-pressure is exerted on theancho r.

... Carro ll anchor. A solid aluminium anchor, weigh ing lessthan 10 kg, which works very ef fectively once it has s tartedto dig itself into the ground.

46 What to do when you get stuck

~ T-stake . An 80 ern-long angle-iron stake with aT-bar at thetop , which is driven into the ground leaning away from the4WD at a 3D"angle. In soft ground, a second and third stakeare driven into the ground and lashed from their base to thetop of the stake in front , providing resistance for the pull.

~ Auger post. A 1.3 m-long anchor, this has a screw-shapedblade to enable it to be screwed into the ground. Once firmlyembedded, the winch rope is attached to the hole in the topof the post. It works well in soil and gravel, bur is lesseffective in soft sand.

Rigging thewinch and using thesnatch pulley

There will be occasions (if it is badly positioned or deeplyburied ) when the straight pulls previously described will beinsufficient to recover the stuck vehicle. This is where the

Basic rules of winching

ALWAYS• Wearleather/industrial gloves when handling winch cables• Keep your hands away from thefairlead asthecable reelsln• Double-check theattachments before starting• Keep everyone at least 20 mfrom the cable• Place a matorblanket over thecable midway between thetwovehicles• Make sure thattheattachment points arestrong enough• Winch Inintervals of30seconds toprevent themotor overheating• Check thecable and hook fordamage prlorto winching• Stand behind thedoor orsitInthecabin when operating thewinch• Pull outthecable byhand tosave battery power• Check thecable frequently during winching.

NEVER• Stand beside awinch cable when It Isunder strain• Step over awinch cable thatIsunder strain• Use atowing ball asanattachment point• Start winching withless than three wraps on thedrum• Continue winching ifthe motor starts smoking• Use frayed ordamaged ropes orstraps• Hook thewinch cable back onto itself• Attach thecable orstraps tosteering parts• Allow thecable topileupat one end ofthe drum• Stand orwalk behind avehiclebeingwinched uphill• Use avehicle winch forhoisting.

What to do when yo!' g~t stuck 47

snatch pulley comes into its own . Thepulling power of a winch doubles if thecable hook is connected to the sruckvehicle via a pulley - which is attachedby a chain to an anchor point. Thefigure shows how pulling powe r canincrease relative to the angle createdby rhe winch cable's ancho r point. Itwill be a much slower process to extractthe sruck vehicle, but rhar is a smallprice to pay.

In cases when the cable hoo k isatta ched to someth ing other than thewinching vehicle, a secondanchorpoinris needed- one anchorpoint for thepulley block and the second for thecable hook.

\X'hen using trees or other naturalobjects as an anchor,always use a nylon scrap or tree-protectorto encircle the anchor point, and then connect the loose ends to

the pu lley block or cable hook. The panel figure shows thethree ways to rig the winch.

If you everneed to anchor the winching vehicle to prevent itfrom sliding forward, do not attach the line to the back of rhevehicle's chassis. The strains of winching areenormous and

Pullryblock

\.k-----fRirl

.>.";' .

Intfeuln!pullins-powerwith I pulleyblock:as therope Inglll!Increases, soIhep ulllnB'poweroflh ewinch Increases

(a)

Three ways torigthe wInch:(a) Single-line straightpull: wind

- thenylonstrap around theanchorpolnt-a straight lineensures apowerfulpull.(b) Double-line pullusing pulley

~- - , block: byuslnglhe pulley blockat

• • 1 •~ theanchorpolntandroutelngthe=== ) winch cableback tothewinch~ (b) vehicle, the effective pull Isdoubled.

(c) Double-linepullwithspreaderstrap: thecable hook Isattached to

~- --- aspreader strap which Isattached

) i ;=:=_.c::::a tothetowIngbrackets onthewinch~ (e) vehicle, spreadingtheload fora

morestable and straight pull.

I

48 Whatto dowhanynu gatstuck

Anchorlngthe

wInchvehicle:attach therestraInIngrope10sclld points atIhewlnchmountlngplale,then feed back

underneath thevehicleto thepulleyblock

Thecorrectway10righta rolledvehicle

could easily distort or bend the chassis. The above figure showshow the testraining line should be passed under the vehicle andattached to the winch mounting plate.

Never attach the cable hook back on to the cable itself.The strains involved will cause the hook to dig into the cableand produce a permanent kink at that point, thus weakening it.Never attach a winch cable to any part of the front axle tube, ­steering and suspension components or bumpers or bull bars- they will break or become distorted. Only use themanufacturer's towing hooks or brackets which are welded to

the chassis.

Othertips for recovery

Righting a rolledvehicle

There is a right and a wrongway to put a rolled vehicle

.. back on its wheels. It shouldbe done as soon as possibleafter the vehicle has rolled, to

minimise any leakage ofengine oil, petrol or otheressential fluids. Mostimportantly, the whole

process must be carried out slowly and gently to avoid anymore damage.

If there is a vehicle in the group with a winch, then that isthe first choice of pulling power. If no winch is available, selecrthe strongest vehicle present and engage it in Low range whenthe pulling starts. The best recovery line to use is a widewebbing strap, as this will spread the load and cause lessdamage to the vehicle's bodywork.

My LandRoverwas wedgedinrocksonthecentre cross

member.Twowheels wereInmld-alr and therewasnotractren.Wehad to lackItupand placestones and rocks

under the wheels

forenoughground clearanceto get moving.Wedid not evenconslderpullJngthe vehicleoff

W!!e'!l lo t!!J ,!!h~!, YQU, ge! slue]< 49

Righting a rolled vehicle: withthe winching vehIcle at least 15-20 maway, the recovery strap must be passed overthe top ofthe rolledvehicle and threaded betweenthe vehicleand the ground.Ideally, Itshould beattached to the chassis frameorwrappedaroundthecentre doorpillar ifthevehIcle 15 a four-doormodeL Once thestraphas beensecurelyattached, the pullingvehiclecaneitherstartwinching or start moving slowlyforward. Dig shallowholesby thefrontand rearwheels forthem to fallintoand prcvlde a pointofleverageforthe bodyto be righted.

Once the rolled vehicle is back on its wheels, check the fluidlevels, including battery acid and engine oil , before trying tostart the engine, as it is likely that some of the oil will haveleaked into the combustion chambers. You should thereforeremove all the spark plugs and then turn the engine over to expelany oil or other fluids from the combustion chambers. Standback when this happens, or you will be covered in oil spray!

Stuckon,or in, rocksResist the temptation to put on a rope and pull a vehicle that isstuck on a rock or in rocks, as it will land with its wheels

wedged among other rocks,and you could damage a diffcasing or engine sump. Thebest way to free a stuck vehicleis to lift it with an air bag orhi-lift jack and fill in the holewith stones before lowering itagain. If the vehicle is restingon a diff or transmissioncasing, great care is needed toprevent serious damage to theunderside.

50 What to dowhen you gel stuck

Stuck in mud

StuckInmudIntheAberdares:If this happens,youcan get outbyusIngan airbag,hi-liftJackor a KERR, whichwedldn" have!

I once got stuck in wet blackcotton soil in the Aberdares,Kenya, for seven hours beforebeing rescued by the parkrangers. Foolishly, I thoughrwe would be able to ploughthrough the mud, but due to

its treacle-like consistency, welost traction within metresand sank up to the chassis. Noamount of pushing wouldmove the vehicle.

We got stuck at 4 pm, and help arrived at 11 pm in the formof three rangers and a very old Land Rover. \Y./e had spent sevenvery uncomfortable hours with only a packet of biscuits and abottle of water, but thankfully, plenty of cigarettes! 1shall neverforget being woken from a restless sleep bya Kikuyu Rangerstanding in the pouring rain: "Jumbo, Bwana, we are here torescue you!" Never was anyone so welcome!

The force of the suction was so great, it took the combinedefforts of the three rangers and me - digging, pushing andpulling - over two hours to get out of the mud hole. The bestway to break the tremendous suction of mud is to lift thevehicle vertically with an air bag or hi-lift jack - sadly, we hadneither of these items with us. The other essential piece ofequipment for mud recovery is a KERR - we didn't have oneof these either!

Using a flat piece of wood as a base platform, lift the vehiclewith either the air bag or the hi-lift jack to break the suction,then fill in the holes made by the wheels with solid materialbefore lowering it. Then try to drive out.

Alternatively, attach the KERR and start pulling the vehicleat walking pace until maximum stretch is achieved. Thecontraction of the KERR is usually sufficient to break the forceof the suction, and move the vehicle, even if it is only for ametre or two. The pull is then repeated until the strandedvehicle is eventually recovered. Bear in mind that anotherproblem with mud is that it clogs up the tyre tread, and youfinish up with slicks.

What to dowhen you get stuck 51

Grounded on tap

of a sand rIdge:the pullingvehlcle engagesLowreverseandslowlV movesoff

Grounded on top of a sand ridge

It happens to the best of us! You are driving up the windwardside of a dune and misjudge the point at which to stop andcheck what is 011 the other side - the result is grounding ourwith the front wheels on one side of the ridge, the rear wheelson the other side and the vehicle stuck on top.

The quickest and easiest way to recover is to ask a friendto pull you off the ridge. Th e correct way to do this is to

attach the rope with the towing vehicle facing up the slope (ifpossible, for better visual control of th e situation ) and to taketh e strain on the rope. Engaging Low reverse, the towingvehicle gentl y moves off; the weight of the towing vehicle andthe traction of its wheel s should be sufficient to move the stuckvehicle that metre or so forward, from where it can proceedunder its own power.

Using the handbrake

A judicious use of the handbrake when tryin g to drive off froma stationary position in soft sand is a good idea. Even with avery ligh t depression of the accelerator, you may stillexp erience wheel spin. Sometimes it is possible to sto p it by afew quick pulls on the handbrake lever. Thi s acts only on therear wheels - by stopping them momentarily and thenreleasing them yo u may be successful in getting a grip on therear wheels and moving the vehicle forward . This degree ofvehicle control is not possible on American SUVs (sports utilityvehicles), which use a foot-o perated parking brake.

I

52 Equipmentfor when you get stuck

Equipment farwhen yau get stuck

n-board equipment is essential for safety and survival whenventuring off-road. This chapter gives details of the things

you need to take with you for when you get stuck, plus all theother 'nice to have' bits and pieces.

Recovery ropes

You need a strong rope which has a breaking strain of severaltimes the GVW of your vehicle. So, if your vehicle has a GVWof 3,000 kg, your rope should have a capacity of between5-7 tonnes. Lifting straps are extremely strong, but lack theelasticity found in specially made recovery ropes. Modernpolypropylene ropes are better than webbing lifting straps asthey have more 'give' in them to absorb some of the initialshock from 'snatch' pulls. Do not confuse a recovery rope withan ordinary tow-rope as the latter will break under the strain ofan off-road recovery situation. Never use wire tow-ropes forrecovery work. \Vire ropes are fine for winching because thestrain is slow and progressive, bur if you use a wire rope forheavy snatch pulls, it will easily break.

The rope should ideally have a loop at each end. Neverattach either of these loops directly onto towing hooks orbrackets on either the towing or towed vehicle, since suchcontinuous unprotected use will tend to fray the edges andweaken the rope. Always use a shackle at each end of the rope.

The longer the rope the better as a long rope allows thetowing vehicle to remain on firm ground well away from thestuck vehicle. If the recovery rope is too short, the rowingvehicle may be in the same mess as the stuck one and

AstrongrecoveryropeIsessential(or off-road lise;the longerthebetter!

Equipment for when you get stuck 53

consequently unable to getgood traction. The ropeshould be at least 25-35 mlong. Serious off-readers

,'I often carry two ropes: a long-.; one of 15-20 m and a shorter

one of 8-10 m. If the stuckvehicle needs a very seriouspull, use a yoke system. Inthis, a separate short length ofrope is attached to both frontrowing eyes of the stuckvehicle and passed throughthe loop of the recovery rope.This lessens the impact on the

towing hooks of the stuck vehicle when the pull takes place.The best type of rope is a kinetic energy recovery rope

(KERR). This is a loosely woven rope whose plaitedconstruction allows it to stretch to about 150 per cent of itsnormallengrh. It works like this: when the towing vehicleaccelerates away, the rope will stretch; as it contracts, theenergy stored in the rope will pull the stranded vehicle our. Itshould have a greater breaking strain than a conventional rope.As KERRs are bulky, it is better to have one that is only 8-10 mlong for ease of stowage. A second conventional rope canalways be linked to the KERR if a longer rope is required.

Shackles

Shaped like the letter 'D', these are made of galvanised steel (toprevent rusting), and are used to connect the recovery rope tothe towing brackets or pintle hooks found on 4WD vehicles.It is important to select one with a pin that is long enough toaccept the full width of the tow-rape's end loop. You must alsoensure that the ends of the curved section (with the holes) willpass through the towing eyes or brackets on your vehicle.Shackles are subjected to a tremendous strain when towing, soit is important to ensure that they are correctly aligned. The pinof the shackle should be in contact with the rope, and thecurved piece of the 'D' in contact with the towing eye or

54 Equipment lor whenyou get stuck

TowJngslrapsandccnventlnnalshackles

bracket. The pin can becomedistorted or damaged if itcomes in contact with thetowing hook.

Tow-bars

Some row-bars are built in asan integral part of a 4WD'sconstruction, particularlyvehicles with a ladder-frame

chassis. Monocoque body 4WDs may need to have a suitabletow-bar fitted as an extra. These tow-bars should be fittedprofessionally as they must be attached to the chassis frame orto the main members of a monacoque body. When the tow-baris fitted, you must decide what type of connection with whichto attach the towed object. The usual choices are a ball hitch ora pintle hook.

... Ball hitch. The standard size is a 50 rom diameter ball.Never attach a rowing rope to the ball hitch when recoveringa stuck vehicle. It is not designed to absorb the extremeshocks and strains associated with this type of activity, andwill break under the excess force of a snatch pull.

.... Pintle hook. This uses a jaw to take a towing ring attached to

the towed object. It is a very safe item, and can also be usedto take the shackle ofthe towing rope for recovery activity.The spring-loaded, hinged upper jaw creates a solid bracketwhen it is in the closed position.

Shovels

These are not just the cheapest and most basic of the essentialequipment you must buy, they are also the most important!As the shovel is used to clear sand, earth or mud from under thevehicle, it needs to be of a handy size. Short handles arepreferable to long handles when trying to scrape the sand awayfrom under the front axle. The folding shovel (as used by themilitary) is an excellent piece of equipment: it is light in weight,

Equipmentfor when you get stuck 55

takes up minimal space when folded, and can be used in eitherthe fully extended mode or with the blade at tight angles to theshaft. The blade can also act as a good base fat a jack if youhave to usc it on soft ground.

Air jack

This is a simple bur very effective device to lift a stuck orbogged-down vehicle. Its popularity lies in its large contactarea with the ground (thus spreading the load) and its lightweight and user friendliness. An inflatable bag roughly 30 emin diameter, the air jack is made of plastic-coated fabric, whichexpands to give a lift of approximately 25 inches. This allowsyou to fill in the holes made by the wheels, or even change awheel in the event of a puncture - especially useful if thepuncture occurs on soft ground or sand where it would bedifficult to use a mechanical jack. DO NOT get under thevehicle yourself unless you have placed an axle stand orsomething solid under the vehicle to take its weight if the bagloses pressure. Care should be taken to keep the bag away fromhot parts of the engine and exhaust pipe.

The three major

ccmpunents in

the hi-liftJack:theheledupright column;the ratchet Itselfand a handlewlthwhkhtomove the ratchet

upthe column

Hi-lift jack

The hi-lift (aka 'ratchet') jackdoes exactly what the air jackdoes -lifts up the vehicle- but it does so in a rathermore macho style! Althoughslim, it is tall (height variesfrom 4-5 fr), and heavy due toits cast-iron construction. Itwill lift your vehicle higherthan the air jack, and caneasily lift weights in excess of3 ronnes. It is a fairly unstablepiece: of equipment, though,and requi res a fabricatedrecessed plate for the foot at

I

58 Equipmentfor when you get stuck

the base of the column to sit in. The base also acts to spread theload in soft ground. The hi-lift can be used for wheel changingin an emergency, but if there are other more stable means oflifting the vehicle they should be used as first option. It can alsobe used to 'lift and fill' if you have the proper jacking pointsfitted ro the vehicle. Although unstable, the advantage of usingthis jack is that once the front and then the rear of the vehicle isclear of the holes, you can collapse the jack sideways so thewheels land on level sand.

Trolley jack

A common sight in garage workshops, even a medium-sizetrolley jack can lift 5 or 6 tonnes. (There are also lighter minitrolley jacks measuring less than 45 cm.l You need a base platebig enough for all the wheels to stand on ro spread the weightand to keep the jack stable. The handle is removable, and isusually in two pieces for ease of storage. The mini trolley jack isdefinitely the best choice for wheel changing in the field.

Impact spanner

If you have ever had trouble removing wheel nuts whenchanging a wheel, you will appreciate the usefulness and speedof this 12V electric impact spanner, which plugs into thevehicle's cigarette lighter. There is a choice of socket sizes to fitall currently used wheel nuts, but you may need to use a socketextension to clear the centre hub found on some vehicles. Thisis definitely a worthwhile investment.

Wheel-nut spider

Most manufacturers provide a very basic type of wheel-nutspanner, which is usually quite short, making it an impossiblejob to loosen tight nuts. The 'spider' (a cross with differentsized sockets at each of the four ends of the spanner) overcomesthis problem as you can get two hands on it and exert a lotmore pressure.

Equipment forwhenyougetstuck 57

Recovery equipment

Backrow(l to r): Rug, foldingspade, tool klt, ia vwheel-nutspanner/Jack,lampstool,airpump. wooden base plate.Centrerow(l to r): '0 ' shackle.spade, funnel. KERR rope, toilet roll,WD40, two-tonne trolleyjack, towingstraps andshackles, jump-leads.Front row(l to r): Winchaccessorykitand gloves, strobe light, axe,fan belt, wheel-nut spanner,lump hammer. two lyre gauges, socketextension, lyre repair kit, sIphonpump, screwd rive r,survival kit,wheel-nutspider, '0' shackle. flrst-ald box.

Base plate

You should always carry a (preferably) wooden base plate ofat least 30 ern', and strong enough to support the jack withwhich the vehicle is lifted. The special foot recess base plateused for a hi-lift jack can also double up for general use.

Tool kit

The kit supplied by most manufacturers is very basic and is oflittle value to serious off-readers, whilst the cheap kits fromthe Far East are a total waste of money. You will need sets ofopen-ended and ring spanners (check if your vehicle uses metrichardware or the older SAE); a 1/, inch drive socket set anddriver and extension drive; adjustable spanners; a Mole

58 E~pmentl~rWhen~

w rench; pliers of different types; screwdrivers with flat andcross end s of dif ferent sizes; insu lating tape; duct tape; aSta nley kn ife and blade s; a Swiss Army knife; a Leathermantoo l; nu ts, holts and screws; Allen keys; WD40 and brak eand clutch hyd raul ic fluids at least. (Do n't fo rget tha t otherall-impo rta nt item: a pair of jump -leads t]

Glass breaker/beltcutter

A quick ex it from the vehicle if there is a serious accident canbe difficult if it ha s rolle d over and the doo rs are da maged andw ill not open. Holl yw ood films sho w Bruce Willis punch ing his _wa y throu gh g lass windows, bur in reali ty even an axe w ill notbreak a door w indow. T he gla ss break er has 3 very sharp po intto it, w hich can be used to break the roughened glass doo rwi ndo ws o r rear w indscreen to provi de a quick ex it. Th e rool3 150 has a very sharp edge for cuttin g through seat belt s.

Hardware

T here are three pieces o f hardw are I always carry that haveproved inva luab le on several oc casion s. The first is a jem my;the second is a small 3 kg lump hammer for re-shaping anydented w ings; the third is a small hand ax e for removingbranches blocking your wa y, or for so urcing firewood fromdead trees (refrain from attacking Jiving trees and bushes! ).A sma ll folding saw is also usefu l for this type of work.

Winch accessory kit

In addition to the w inch, you wi ll need an accessor y kit, w hichshould include the fo llowing:

~ High-tensile cha in (3 rn Iong) with a hook at eac h end .... Tree-protector strap (never w rap a w ire rope aro und a tree!).~ D-ring shackle.~ Pair of heavy-du ty gloves.~ Snatch pulley block.

When your vehicle lets YDU down 59

5When your vehiclelets you down

We have now discussed the mechanics of your 4WD; whatit will do and what options are available to you when

driving off-road. The next important thing to deal with is: howto prevent anything from going wrong and what to do if it does.

Preventive maintenance

For the average weekend off-reader, following themanufacturer's recommended schedule of service andmaintenance is sufficient to ensure your 4\X!D is maintained ingood condition. More frequent usage, especially in hot anddusty conditions, requires extra tender loving care.

Ordering parts from yourdealer

The parts counter salesman will welcome you if yOll have allthe information he needs to supply you with the right parts.You need to be able to tell him the following.

~ Vehicle model and chassis number: this is found on thevehicle ID plate fitted bythe manufacturer - if in doubt, askthe salesman where this plate is located .

.... Model year: this may not always be the same as the year inwhich the vehicle is registered; for example, the 19 99 modelyear will be available from September 1998 onwards.

~ Part number (if known) ..... Brief description of the part required .~ Whether it is a left-handed part or a right-handed part (if the

part is 'handed').

'1

60 When your vehicle lets you down

Vital information for dealership

Informalloncontainedonthevehicle's IDplat e. thisexample Is roraNlesen Patrol

short wheelbase(manual

transmission)

Type: KY60Chassis: KY6o-304817Model number: KY60FRHsJRColour/ tr Im: 0 0 2 KEngine number: TB42 4169Transaxle: FS SRsoA HG41

Alwa ys double-check the parts before you leave to mak e sureyou have the correct items. There is nothing more ann oyingthan to return home and find you have the wrong part!

Air filter

Frequent use in hot and dusty conditions quickly clogs up thepores of the air filter. Thi s restricts the nor mal air flow to thecarburerror and engine, which affects the air/fuel mixture ratio.The resultant loss of power may cau se you to misjud ge theengine's capability an d get stuck in the most innocuous places.Change the air filter more frequently th an the standa rd serviceschedule suggests, or have it regula rly cleaned at the servicestation. Engines fitted with electronic fuel injection (EFII ar enot so badly affec ted.

Checking tyres

Before setting off for an off-road excursion, always check thecondition of the ryres. Th e tread is not a pro blem as th at isvery visible; it is the sidewalls that require inspection ,particularl y on the inside to ensure there are no cuts or bulgesin the walls. Don't forget to check the spare wheel for damageand tyre pressure.

Fluids

A qu ick check under the bonnet will confirm tha t the engineoil is fine, and that the clutch and brake fluid cylinders aretopped up. Don't forget the engine coolant and th e washer

When your vehicle lets you down 61

General work tips

Most4WDvehiclesaretallerthancarsandsometimes it isnot aseasytoaccessmechanicalcomponents intheenginecompartmentwhenleaning across the (oftenhot) fron t bumpers. Usethe sparewheel.orveer coot-box (If It Is astrong onel) to standon for easier accessto thoseelusiveparts.

Most toolsaremadeof steel or aluminiumand ifexposed to thesunwillquickly becometoo hot to handle. Keep the tools inthe shade andwearprotective gloveswhenworkingon the vehicle.

bottle. If you have an automaric 4W D, check rhe fluid level inthe gearbox. When you check the bat tery fluid level, alsoensure the mountings are secure - the battery is a very heavyitem and bumping aro und off-road may loosen the bracketshold ing it in place .

Maintainingyourwinch rope

If you have had to use the winch, it is a good idea to unwindit from the drum, check for damage or fraying, and thenrewind it evenly across the full width of the drum when youget home. If the rope is dirty, clean it but not with oil, as [hisleaves a sticky residue on the wire rope, attracting din andsand to form a grinding paste, which will accelerate wear.Instead, use a wa ter hose or petrol-soaked rag to clean off anydirt and grit on the rope.

Once off-road

Overheating

In the summer month s, it does not take long for an engine to

overheat , especially if you have been doi ng a lo t of slow drivingin Low range. As soon as the temperature gauge sta rts toclimb into the danger/red section you must take precautions to

reduce the temperatur e. Th e first thing to do is switch off [heair-conditioning. If this has no effect, turn on the heater fan to

the ' full hot' setting . This reduces the temperature of rhe enginecoolant by taking heat away fro m it and into the hearing

62 When your vehicle lets you down .

system. Turn the vehicle and drive into the wind for addedairflow through the radiator. It is a good idea to carry a full20 litre water container as a precaution against severe loss ofengine coolant.

Remember that the most important element of the enginecoolant in hot countries is the rust inhibitor; therefore, youshould go to your garage and get them to drain and refill theradiator and engine with the correct amount of coolantmixture as soon as possible.

Broken fan or drive beLts

The story about replacing a broken fan belt with thegirlfriend's nylon stockings is a familiar one, but these daysthere are more appropriate alternatives! Some 4WDs can haveas many as three or four drive belts, which are all worked bypulleys from the crankshaft. The most important of these is thealternator belt as it drives the vehicle's electrics. It is a goodidea to carry a spare one of these or a multi-purpose emergencybelt that can be Cllt to the required length and screwed together.As a very temporary measure, a piece of rope can be used toreplace the broken belt.

Leaking radiator or hoses

For a temporary radiator sealant, you can use raw egg white ifthe hole is small enough! A more reliable method, however, isto use special powder in the radiator which seals holes from the

Boilingover!

Whilst waitingforthe vehicleto cooldown,neverswitchoffthe engine- alwaysleaveit tickingoverto ensure circulation of the water.Switching offthe enginecauses the temperature to rise quickly, and theradiatormayboilover. Ifthis happens,you just haveto waitforItto cooldown,oryou can gentlypourwateroverthe radiator. Never try toremove the radiatorcap whensteam is escaping.Wait untilthe bubblingstops, and, usinga rag,gentlyundo the radiatorcap to let the steamescape. Try not to let anycoolantescape. With the enginestill running,slowlytop up the radiator. pausingto allowthe waterpumpto circulateit fully roundthe engine blockand the coolingsystem.

When your vehicle lets you down 63

inside. Hoses usually leak becau se the y ar e o ld and perished,and thi s occurs most frequently around the hose clips wherethey cut into the rubber. Generous wrappings of duct tape willtempo rarily dea l with th is.

Coo ling systems are designed to operate und er pressure, burthis degree of pressu re will quickly find any weak points,crea ting leaks in the cooling system. If tem porary repairs havebeen ca rried our [Q the radia tor o r hoses, it is wise to relieve thebuild-up of press ure by nor fully replacing rhe radia tor cap .The problem with this is that the water in the system will nowboil at a low er temperature (at 100" C), so care is need ed if youarc still driving off-road a fter the temporary repairs, espec iallyin hot weather,

Starting with a flat battery

An automat ic vehicle cann ot be push- or tow-start ed. Borhmanua l and au to matic ca n, however, be starred with a set ofjump- leads. You ca n also sta rr a vehicle by using a piece of ropewrapped around one of the rear wheels that has been jackedup. With the gear lever in fourrh or fifth gear and the ignitionturned on, a colleague pu lls th e rope to spin the whe el - thiswill tu rn the engine and hopefull y starr it.

Refuelling in the fieldA20 ·lItrerapacity meta l

-jerrycan withseparatepour ing spoul ;the spoulhasafine mesh filler10 prevent d irtfromgeltlng Intothe lank

Metal ierrycan s are the bestand strongest fuel containers,and are easy to handle. Whenfilling them, always leavesufficienr space for the fuel to

expand in the hea r.Never fill to overflow ing

- the fuel can spray out whenrhe cap is Iifred due to rhebuild-up of pressure, soakingyour shoe s. Before opening a[errycan, it is advisa ble todischarge any sta tic electr icitythat ma y have bui lt up bytou ching the ca n o n a ba re

64 When yeur vehicle lets ynu dewn

metal parr of the vehicle. Where you store the jerrycan is yourpersonal choice, bur it must be securely fastened if inside thevehicle and when driving off-road. Some vehicles carry theirspare fuel on a roof-rack, where the fuel can be decanted withoutremoving the jerrycan by using a hand-operated siphon pump.

There are two potential problem areas with the jerrycan,though. Firstly, the rubber seal on the fillet cap may perish,allowing fuel to leak our . Secondly, the ted paint lining theinside of the can may start peeling off; if this gets into the fueltank it can cause a blockage in the fuel tank filter.

Broken Leafsprings

On one occasion, the main leaf in the left rear spring of my jeep"Wrangler snapped, miles from anywhere. Luckily, we were ableto wedge a Dvshackle under the chassis that held the brokensections in place long enough to get home. Broken springs arelike broken limbs - they usually need a splint to hold themfirmly in place. Remember that with a leaf spring set up, it isthe spring that locates the axle, so it is important to try ro makea very rigid temporary repair.

Broken throttle cabLes

Some of the more advanced 4WDs no longer have throttlecables as the butterfly in the inlet manifold is moror-poweredand receives signals from an ECU (electronic control unit).However, there are many vehicles that still use the familiarthrottle cable, and sometimes it can break under the strain. Thesimplest temporary repair is to connect the throttle lever to apiece of string or thin rope, then run the string out from underthe bonnet and in through the driver's door window. The drivercan then use it as a hand-operated throttle.

Broken driveshafts

If one of the front driveshafts breaks, you can continue in 2WDif you are driving a part-time 4WD vehicle. If it is a full-time4WD, you would need ro remove the fron t prop shaft to isolatethe drive from the front axle. If a rear driveshaft breaks, afterremoving the rear prop shaft, you can continue by engaging

When your vehielelets you down 65,

4WD mode, and drive with only rhe fro nt wheel s pu lling rheveh icle along.

Repairing the winch rope

If it breaks, the winch rope can be repaired in the field by usingsmall cable clamps until a replacement cable ca n be obta ined.The clamps must be fitted correctly with the IU' bearing on the'dead ' end of the cable and the bar bearing on rhe ' live' parr ofrhe ca ble, If yo ur o ff-roa d activit ies deman d freq uent use of rhewinch, it is advisable to car ry four sma ll clamps of the cor rectsize. Remember that the diameter of the winch cable is 5/ )(, inch,o r 8 mm . A winch cable repaired with clamps wi ll lose at least40 per cenr of its pulling ca pac ity, ho wever, and sho uld on ly beused in an emergency.

Repalringlhe winch rope

;:f,W.~tRe~l~d a ble onlyoffers60~ U1padty

• Dead end / ; .: .

1~(alStandardcable8 mmdiameter.(b)Correct. 'U' mustbearondeadend.(c) Incorrect: very unsafe.

66 Talkabouttyres

Talk aboullyres

s the majority of off-readers use their 4WD vehicles foreveryday things and only head off for the wilderness at the

weekend, the choice of ryre fitted to the vehicle has to be acompromise; not solely for either tarmac or off-road use . Tyresfitted by manufacturers are also a compromise, rending to be ­those which will cater for the GVW and maximum road speedwith little to spare.

Tyres for sand driving

Tyres are designed with many factors and applications in mind:speed, load capacity, grip, traction, durability, road noise, costand so on. Tyres designed specifically for desert driving will notwork well in mud or on the highway - and vice versa. Sandryres are the best for sand driving as they have circumferentialgrooves and no cross tread patterns. They have roundedshoulders that arc designed for 'flotation' on the surface of thesand, with no sharp edges to cut through the crust to the softersand beneath. They have no tread pattern, however, and theirlife expectancy on tarmac will be only half that of a treadedtyre. Using them on the highway can be dangerous as they havelittle grip and no handling capability when braking andcornering on a wet road. The best on-/off-road ryres to opt forare: Bridgestone Desert Duellers, Toyo Open Country, DunlopGrandtrek, Michelin XS, BF Goodrich, Pirelli Scorpion orYokohama Super Diggers.

When on sand, the tyres must be used at reduced pressuresfor most of their life and this puts great stress on the sidewalls.The off-reader will need a tyre with a strong and flexiblesidewall, so check its 'speed rating'. The higher the rating is, thestronger the sidewall. Also look for reinforcing ridges built

Talkabout lyres 87

Tyrespecifications

Every tyre hasItsspecification moulded into thesidewall;understanding whatthesemarkings mean isuseful when selectinga replacement tvre.

K 68 110

L 75 120

Internationally used speedcategorysymbols

Symbol mph kph

J 62 100

210

160

200

150

180

170R 105

Q 10 0

H 130

5 113

T 118

U 124

M 81

N 87

P 93

Alyplcal4WD lyre may bedescribed asl27S/ 70 R16 114H'

275 = section width orthe tyreInmillimetres

70 = the 'aspectratio':theheight of the tyreexpressed asapercentage of itswidth

R - radial-plyconstruction

16 - diameter ofthe wheelrlm.In inches

114 = load index showingmaximum load thetyrecancarry forthecorrespondingspeed categorysymbol

H = speed categorysymbol

TYRE SIZEOESIGNAn ON

PRODUCTIONCCDE MARKINGS

PATIERNtl AP~e

MANUFACTURER'SNAME OR

BRAt~D NAME

LOADINDEX

SPEEDSYMBOL

68 Talk about tyres

into the sidewall to give added protection against rocks andcamel-thorn punctures.

I had great trouble a few years ago with a set of tyrcs Ipurchased, suffering nine punctures in only four months, whenin the previous two years I could only recall three punctures intotal. It was only after some detailed analysis that I realised Ihad bought a tyre with a soft sidewall ('5' speed rated) when Ishonld have had the harder sidewall version ('1-1' speed rated)- but nobody told me at the time!

Tubed or tubeless?

There are advantages and disadvantages with both options for ­the off-reader. For the average weekend off-reader; tubelesstyres will be satisfactory. Punctures from camel-thorns will beslow compared to the sudden deflation when an inner tube ispierced. For more frequent off-readers, tubed tyres are a betteroption because there can be problems with tubeless tyres whenoperating at low pressures: there is a risk of the bead comingloose on the rim, or losing a good seal when sand gets betweenthe tyre and the rim, or when a wheel gets damaged on rocks.The disadvantage with tubed tyres is the vulnerability of theinner tube and the need to fit the spare because of a puncture.

Reduced pressures

As we have seen , 'flotation' is a term used by off-readers to

describe the concept of the vehicle floating on the surface ofthe sand. The nature and consistency of the sand will change

General guidelInes fortyre pressures

Conditions

Drysand In summer

Wintersand

Emergency cases

psi18

20

15*

Maximum speed (kph)

50

7020

*only ifusing tubed tyres, NOTfor tubeless

Talk about lyres 69

Tyre-related tips

• Everyoff·roadershould always carrya lyrepressure gaugeortwa inhisor her vehicle. The standard pocket clip pressure gauge is notoriouslyinaccurate; the better types are those that have a dialfacewith a needlepointing to the scale. Make sure it has a little pip on it to use fordepressing the lyre valve. The clip-on dial typewithshort length of hoseand a pistol-gripwithtriggerfordeflatingis also worth having.

• An air-pump is an essential pieceofequipment.With a 12V heavy-dutypump operated via a plug in the cigarette lighter. you will find that15 minutes invested in inflation timecan save damagetoyour lyres fromdrivingon tarmacat lowpressures.

• Avery simple yet often ignored precaution: always fit valve caps toeach wheel, includingthe spare.These smallcaps prevent grainsofsandor dirt from getting into the valve, thus possibly losing air pressure.Another wise investment is a tyre valve tool to tighten the valves fromtimeto time. It can also be used fordeflation and for cleaning dirt fromthe valvebody.

• Tubeless tyre repair kits are cheap and easy to use in an emergency.Theyallow youto insert a temporaryplug into the tyre, whicheffectivelyseals the leak when the lyre is inflated. Theyareuseful incases whenthetyre does not have to be removed fromthe wheel.There are also aerosolcans available which contain a liquid that can be inserted Into a flat tyreviathevalve.

Puncture repair kits for inner tubes are more sophisticated, andrequirethe tyretobe partiallyremovedfromthe wheelandthe innert ubeto be takenout; youwillalso need three lB·inchgood-quality tyre levers.

on a seasonal basis depending on the amo unt of rainfall,moisture from morning fog or hum idity levels. In the summer,the sand will be at its dr iest, o ffering the minimum amount oftrac tion, so tyre pressures will ha ve to be at rhe lowe r end ofrhe scale. In rhe winter months, ryrc pressures can beincreased slightly.

Don't fo rget that the handling of the vehicle will be totallydifferent when driving at these low pressures. It will roll 1110rewhen cornering, an d steering respo nse will be vague and slow;the bra king will also be affected . When dr iving in rock y wadisan d on mountain tracks, ret urn your ryres to norma l tarmacpressure o r even a litt le hard er for maximum protect ion agai nstsidewall da mage from sharp Sto nes and rocks.

I

70 A place for everything . ••

A place for everything ...

any off-waders tend to give pride of place to theircool-box and ignore the need for the safe stowage of and

easy accessibility to equipment and tools. It is important thateverything is firmly secured and there is nothing loose lyingaround to hit you on the head when you go over a bump! Mostmodern 4WD vehicles have tie-down hooks in the rear luggagecompartment, which should be used with bungies or a rope totie down your equipment (and cool-) box . If you are a regularoff-roader, you may consider permanently bolting yourequipment box to the vehicle's floor. Apart from a customequipment box, many of the small items that will be in regularuse can be scored in the glove box, centre console and doorpockets etc. Here is a suggested layout of what should go where ,followed by a closer look at those all-important odds and ends .

'I

.... Fascia-mounted items:GPSdistance recorderwithremotecontrol unit

mini distance recorder

.... Driver's sidewindscreen pillar:wireholders fortwo pencils

~ Driver's door pocket:three tyre pressure gaugesextensionbar and socket for

wheel-nutspannermultiple typescrewdrivercleaningclothswindscreen washer fluid

~ Front passenger footwell:fire extinguisher

~ Passenger door pocket:tubeless tyre repairkitsurvival kitcapwindscreen squeegee

.... Bagon reardoor:toilet papersmallfirst-aid kitstroboscopicsignalling lightSwissArmy knifefolding knife/fork/spoonset

~ Glove box:vehicle handbookremotecontrolforwinchbinocularspairofheavy-duty glovesGPS manualstownmaps

Aplace lor everything.. . 71

~ Closed box in rear:winch accessorybag

(chain, pulleyblock,tree-protector strap, etc)

battery jump-leadswheel-nut spiderextending shaftwheel-nut spanner

10 Ib lump hammerhandaxecrowbar12V air compressor200,000 candle power

12V lampplastic tube/bulb siphon kitjerrycanspoutplastic funnelfoldingshovelbag ofspare batteriesbag ofspare ropes and strapsrollof duct tapecleaning brushemergency fan belt kitcan ofWD40spare recoverystrap

~ Rearshelf(left side of vehicle):large first-aid kitsmall toot boxbag of plastic tiesboxwithspare hardwarespare bunglessheath knife

... Driver's sun visor:list of important telephonenumbers on reverse side

... Separate Inrear:shovelextension tube forwheel-nut spider

10titre water container (full)carton of 24 half-litre

water bottlesbag containing KERRfoldingchairfoldingstool.

.... Centre consolemini torchpenknifeAllen keyvehicle registration cardspare fusestyrevalvetooldisposable cigarette lighterspare pencilscopyof insurance certificatetube ofSuperglueold toothbrushtriple powersockets

.... Open boxinrear:12V electricwheel-nutspanner kit

tool kit1.5 tonne mini trolley jackwooden baseboardrecoverystrap and shacklesair jackkit

'AplaceforeverythIng':facia stowage •••

...".,.-----,.".~<J" ""- ~.O!". _~_- ---'-"'- - '. I - ~

- t

...rearcompartmentstowage

72 Aplace for everything .. •

Useful odds and ends

... 12V fluorescent strip light. Useful for night-time illumination .The wires have a lligator clips for attaching to battery cables,and there is also a small hook for convenient attachment.

.... Insect repellent. Flies are present in their millions in the Gulfwinter; a small spray of insect repellent solves this irritation .

... Groundsheet. If working with small parts, put a groundsheeton the ground so yOll will not lose anything. It is also usefu lwhen crawling under the vehicle on din, stones or hot sand .

... Goggles. If you have ever been caught in a shama l in thedesert, yOll will appreciate the value of a pa ir of goggles !

.... Lamps and torches. Have at least two types in your vehicle- a small pen light for close at hand use and a large one witha beam of '100111 or more. A head lamp with elastic straps isbest when working with both hands.

.. Swiss Army kn ife. T here are many versions of this essentialoff-reader's tool. Basic items have three or four tools, whi lethe top of the range model has no less than 31 tools!

.. Lea therman tool. A slightly more serious type of tool than aSwiss Army knife, although with fewer gadgets, this isextremely practical and very useful.

... Driving gloves. If you arc driving for long stretches, the wearand tear on your hands can be reduced by wearing a pair ofsoft leather driv ing gloves. They also provide some protectionwhen handling the wire winch cable.

... Binoculars. The idea l specification is a combination ofcompact size and lar ge magnification. A sma ll pair that willfit snugly into the glove box is the best choice.

... Camera. Always take your camera with you as you neverknow what you may find to photograph! In a situation wherean accident has to be reported to the police, it is a good ideato have a pictorial record to show the police and yourinsurance company.

... Walkie-talkie set . You can use walkie-talkie sets with a radiusof 1 kill without contravening the law. They are very usefu l ifone member of the group is scouting ahead on foot for a routethrough dunes and directing the convoy.

.. H at. Always take a cap or a hat (ideally, one with a rear neckflap) with you to wear when out of the vehicle.

;- ~~~~~. / l"~]T ·~!~l ..~"=fA-r i: :: :: ~r:/,, '" , " ": : : :, :: : '

, i i ii ': i"" " ':: :: " :" " ,ii ' i

Hew contour

lines reveal thegeography ofthe land

~DO­

350 ­

3 00 ­

~ 50 -

2 0 0-

,.-

NavigatiDn 73

8Navigation

Navigat ion is more than just finding yo ur way from A to B.It is also bein g able to go to B again, and to appreciate the

terrain and nature by int erpreting maps or photographs, andeven the data from a Global Positioning System (C PS) screen.To me, maps are as entertaining as a good book. 1 will sit and' read ' a map for hours on end, whilst visualising the terrain andwhat is on it. Unfortunately, it is not easy to find up-to-datemaps in man y Middle Eastern countries for reasons of nationalsecurity, but I have a selection of OS maps of some of theremote parts of UAE that are now 30 years old. Amazin gly, theBedouin tracks marked in red lines on these old maps arc stillused to this day, and on basically the same alignment. Inconjunction with modern GPS instruments, such maps can stillbe used to find your way around the desert and back again.

Maps

The maps we are concerned with are not the same as roadmaps, which just show the road network and help us to get

from A to B. These arc usuallywhite and lack any form oftopographical features. Asoff-readers, we are interestedin full relief maps that showlots of detail to help the driverunderstand what the area orregion is like. Maps usesymbo ls to indicate certainpoints of reference. such asroads, rivers, masts and so on.Maps also use contour lines to

74 Na~gatiDn,

Scales

Maps are produced at different scales. Ascale relates to the distance onthe groundrepresentedby 1 em onthe map. Forexample:

1:25.000 - 1emon the map represents 250 mon the ground1:50 ,0 0 0 - 1 emon themap represents 500 mon theground

1: 100,000 - 1 em on themap represents1 kmonthe ground1:250 ,000 - 1 em onthe map represents 2.5 krn on the ground1:5°0,000 - 1em onthe map represents 5 kmon the ground.

indicate the vert ical variances in height of the earth's surface.For a map-maker all heights are declare d as being 'above sealevel' , Depending on the scale of the ma p, contour lines canoccur at height intervals of 10 m and 50 m. Larger scale mapsoften use different colours to indicate height differences abovesea level, either with or witho ut contour lines. Interpreting thestory told by contour lines can often prove interesting. Thecontour lines in the figure on the previous page clearly showwhere the steep and not so steep parts are.

Spot heights are also useful things to idenrify on rhe map asthey will assist you in position ing yourself. A spot height on amap indicates the height of the highest po int in rhe area be thisa hill or a du ne. If you can relate what you see on the ground tothe markings on the map, you can orientate yourselfaccordingly.

Grids and co-ordinates

All military and most commercial maps will have one or twosets of gr id lines superimp osed on the map. A grid system is aseries of pa rallel vertica l and horizontal lines which arenumbered so that you can obtain a grid reference for any placeon the map . This Universal Tran sverse Mercator (UTM) is aninternationally used system. Additionally, you will find aseparate system that indicates the latitude and longitud e of thearea covered by the map. However, since the earth is round (ornearly so), rhe lines of longitude will not app ear as parallellines on your map when compared to the UT~[ grid. Somecountries use their own grid system and that might also app earon your map.

Na~gation 75

o••74

The most important thingabout grids is that they give youa reference forany specific pointon a map. If you want to givea grid reference for Point H,the saying 'along the corridorand up the stairs' is useful [Q

help remind you where to

start. Take the east-westreading first, then thenorth-south reading. Anotherhelpful aid is 'Easrings­Norrhings'. The example hereis taken from a 1:100,000scale map (l em = 1 km).

Grid references are usually given in six figures forgreater accuracy. The grid reference for Point H will thereforebe 207214.

3

4

6

•

20

.~........220, ....-.-r- -----;

Basic grIdandgridreferencing

Latitude and longitude

Lines of latitude and longitude on a map are determined on ageometric basis in that they are so many degrees from 0 degreeslatitude (the Equator) and 0 degrees longitude (the Greenwichmeridian). Latitude is measured as being north or south of theEquator, the North Pole being 90 degrees N and the South Polebeing 90 degrees 5, with a maximum angle of 90 degrees ineither direction. Longitude is measured as being east or west ofthe Greenwich meridian, with a maximum angle of 180 degreesin either direction.

When using latitude and longitude to define a position on amap, remember that the order of stating the co-ordinate isdifferent to that used in stating a grid reference. The first parrof any co -ordinate will be the latitude reference (north or south)and the second parr of the co-ordinate will be the longitudereference (east or west). Because we are using degrees for thevalue of the relevant angles, remember that each degree ismade up of 60 minutes and each minute has 60 seconds. Aco-ordinate might be thus stated: N 24' 37' 30" (24 degrees,37 minutes and 30 seconds). The most common method ofquoting co-ordinates is to state the 'seconds' as a decimal fraction

76 Navigation

of a ' rninurc ', so the above exam ple becomes: N 24 37 500.T his is especia lly importa nt when using GPS systems.

Measuring distances on a map

You ca n rake 'as the cro w flies' d istances by using a ruler andcon vening the d istance between the two points according to

the scale o f the map. However, this is nor the best method fordese rt driving as in the desert it is rarely possible to tra vel instraight lines on the gro und. It is usefu l to add a factor of15-20 per cenr to the straight line measurement to give a betterind ication of the groun d distance. T here is an inex pensiveinst ru ment ow ned by most serious map users called a' Roamer" which has a small wheel that you ca n wheel alongth e route on the map that you wish to rake. It the n uses apointer to indicate, on fixed scales pr inted on each side, thedista nce you plan to tra vel.

Bearings

Compassbearings

T hese represent the directionfrom one point (0 ano ther an dar c expressed in degrees. T hefull circle of the co mpass is360 0

, with due north as 0°,east as 90°, sout h as 1800 andwest as 270 °. When usingbearings for navigation , it isso metimes necessary to uscrecip rocal bear ings. Areciprocal bear ing will beeither 180 0 more or less tha nthe direct bearing, cg:

.. T he direct bear ing from A to B is 30 0; to get the reciproca l

bear ing yo u wo uld add 180 ° for a reciprocal of 2 10°... T he d irect bea ring from C to 0 is 260 0

; to get the reciprocalbearing, you would subtract 1800 for a reciprocal of 80 0

•

Th e figure shows how rhe above bea rings appea r o ppos ite eachot her on the full corupnss card.

Na~gatiDn 77,

Magneticvariation

You are at Point Aand youwish totake a bearingon Point Btotransfer to the map.You knowthat the localmagneticvariationis10 0 west.Your compass reads145°; therefore the bearingyouuse on the mapwill be135°.

Using the compass

Compasses arc magn etic and alwa ys show magne tic north,different by some degrees to tru e north. The amount ofvariation diffe rs from place to place in the wo rld. Go od-qualityma ps sta re the magnetic variation; al rernarivc ly, yo ur GPS willsto re this information. It needs to be accou nted for whenrakin g a bearing. Compasses are very useful [0 ensure that youarc ma intaining a planned direction in area s wh ere there islimited line of sight to maj or landmarks. T hey are also used forta king bearings on distant fixed objects that you ha ve alreadyident ified on the map to help you determine your exact position.

Types of compass

There are two types of hand held magn etic compass that arc ofinterest to off-roa ders. Th e or ienteering type is a lightweight .usually plast ic, unit that Can be held whil st walking along forquick reference to ensure you are going in the pla nneddirection. T his type of compass is not, however, ideal for rakingaccurate bearings. The second type is a pr isma tic compass,which is used for sigh ting at distant obje cts and taking theresultant bearing. When using any magnetic compass, walk atleast 10 In from your vehicle to avoid any interference frommetal components on board.

....

APYlON

~ HIGH DUNE

", Reclprccet bearlngs~

.....~...'. --:...., / /...... 1?~~....<>

" ,, '

78 Na~gation

Finding your place by triangulation

You have a map and you have located two prominentlandmarks on the ground and on the map. To fix your position

you need to take a compassbearing on each of thelandmarks and then convertthe bearings into a reciprocalbearing. Plot a point startinga t each landmark and, using aprotractor, draw a line on theangle of the reciprocalbearing. \'XIhere the two linescross is where you arc, burdon't forget to makeadjustments for magneticnorth variations.

Flndlngyourplace bytrlangulatfomwhere thereciprocalbearIng plotsCrDSS 15 the

location ofthevehltletoberead cjfthe grId

Headings

This refers to the direction in which you and your con voy are'heading'. In practice, it would be degre es of differencebetween your route and north. If you said your heading was90°, I would thus know you were heading due east.

Making maps by dead reckoning

Dead reckoning (DR) describes the act o f travelling in onespecific direction for a certain distance, then moving to a newdire ction for another distance, and so on. Many off-re adersmake their own maps using the DR technique. It is importantto have a compass and a good distance recorder-the tripmeter on most modern 4WDs is fine for desert use.

From a given starting point on an existing map, keep a logof every change of direction and the kilometres at which itoccurs. The best way to make a log is by using Tulip diagramsat each change of direction, junction or bea ring. The black spotat the bottom of the diagram indicates the vehicle and the linewith the arrow head tells you which way to proceed. There is awealth of symbolic information used as a form of shorthand.

Navigation 79

Atypica l route navigatio n log

Route: Al Madamto AI Faqah Date : 25/12/98 Page: 1

Party members: Bill/All/

km/ lnlerval Direction Information

0 .0 0 4 Start at Al Madam rIb08.45 hr0 .00 CAP,80

0 7·00,..

Turn Roff tarmac onto GT7.0 0 K;:- CAP 245

°7·9° ~-r Followtrack Into dunes0·90 ~~ CAP260

08 .30 ~~ Take Rfork0 ·40 ~ 7' CAP 260

12·5 0 " ~:: J ~ . ~ SOat x-tracks Inbushy plain4·20

: . .CAP235. . ~.... :. .... .... .

so = straight on; CAP= compasspoint; GT= graded (or gravel) road.

Sabkha orgravel

High dunes

low dunes withvegetation

J( )( )(

~Bush

Globa l Positioning System (GPS)

GPS is the single mo st important advance in terrestri alnavigati on in recent years and, for the off-rea der; a veritabl eboon! Th e average GPS unit needs only to receive signals fromthree o r four orbiting satellites to tell yo u your position (to anon-the-gro und accu rac y of between 30-100 m) on the ea rth'ssurface using a pair of latitude and longitude co -ordi nates. Sucha co-ordinate rea ding is known as a 'waypoint ' an d it is a verysimp le ta sk to store this in the GPS com puter's mem or y. Most

SO Na~gatiDn

GPS units have enough memory to srore between 250 and 500waypninrs, from which you can create and develop your ownroutes by selecting specific waypoinrs in the correct sequence.

WhichGPS?

There are many very good handheld GPS units available fromGarmin, Magellan, Eagle, Silva and so 00. They are battery­powered, but can operate from the vehicle's 12V system whenfitted in a 4WD. [have a Trimble Nav'Irac 100 fitted in myLand Cruiser, which has a nice big screen so I don't have to puton my reading glasses to ensure I am taking accurate readings!

Other tips for off-road navigation

Findingyour direction

UsIng yourwatch tn findyour dhectlcn

It is extremely easy to lose your direction when driving infeatureless regions or after sandstorms, when visibility is stillrestricted. (After a sandstorm, to help identify your owntracks, it is a good idea to tie your shovel, or a blanket, to apiece of rope and tow it along behind you to create a distinctivemarking of your passage. An alternative to this would be to doa 360 0 turn every 2-3 km , so you can say 'W hoops- that wasus!' should you come across it again.) You have to assume thatyou know the general direction in which you should betravelling, but how do you know if you are on it?

One way in which you can tell is by the action of theprevailing wind. If, for example, you know the prevailing winddirection is from the north-west (as it is in the UAE) then you

should study the prnfiles of

_

nearby dunes. The slip facewill always be facing a SE

• direction. so from this you... ............'" should be able to orientate

your direction of travel, and,by using your compass andDR, maintain a straight lineof travel. The sun always risesin the east and sets in the

Navigation B1

Stickandmovingshadowtechnique

s~

"?

:•r

..-..-'. ...........

•r ....• N

Placea 1-1.5m-lcngstickorshovelInthe ground.Mark theplacewherethe end of theshadow falls.Walt 15minutesand markagain. Connect the twomarks. Thisrepresents thewest-east line, with the first markbeingthe morewesterly. Drawanother lineat rightangles forthe north-southIIne.

E

west, so in rhe northern hemisphere, if you stood facing the arcof the sun's travel you would be facing south. The opposite istrue for the southern hemisphere. The nearer you get to theEquator, the more difficult this is as the sun is virtuallyoverhead, and you have to use the 'stick and moving shadow'technique. A further method is to use an analogue watch. Holdthe watch flat in your hand, and point the hour hand at the sun.To find out where north is, you have to bisect the angle betweenthe hour hand and 12 o'clock on your watch face.

The sky at night

•

"CASSIOPEIA

NORTH POLESTAR

4X~ ......~•...... .............•

The easiest constellation to identify that tells you the positionof the North Star is the Great Bear ('The Big Dipper' in theUSA). Another is Cassiopeia, which looks like a slightly

flattened 'M', both will bepresent through the night. Toidentify the Pole Star, run animaginary line along the axisof the two lowest of the sevenstars of the Great Bear forfour times the distancebetween them and you will hitthe Pole Star. Alternatively, thecentre star of Cassiopeiapoints straight at the Pole Star.

A

••

"GREAT BEAR

Thepositionofconstellations Inthe Northernhemlspherewilltell youwhere the PoleStartles

r

, 82 Lookingalter yourself

Looking after yourself

ot all areas of the Middle East are reachable by mobilephone, and the off-reader may find themselves hours away

from medical assistance when disaster strikes. Although mostthings mentioned in this chapter are of a common-sense natureand well within the capabilities of the ordinary layman, ifsomething major should happen, you will be ill-prepared tohandle it. For an extended trip into a remote area, the least ofyour medical requirements would be the presence of anemergency trained doctor, and suitable emergency equipment.

If your vehicle has broken down or become stuck, and youare on your own with no back -up vehicle(s), do not be temptedto walk off to find help. Stay with the vehicle - in hot weatheryou need the shade it offers, and a vehicle is easier to spot fromthe air than people. If all the other fail-safe arrangements youhave made are activated, you will be rescued.

First aid off-road

Animal and insect injuriesAnimalbites

Disinfect the wound and cover it with a bandage. Give anantibiotic immediately if you have some. Seek medical attentionas anti-tetanus and anti-rabies injections may be needed.

Beestings

~ Remove the stinger without squeezing it (as this will injectmore venom into the wound).

Dr Chari Laubscher works as an emergency room medical officer at a hospital ill the lIAF.. In thiscapacity, he has served as a volunteer doctor in the 1997 llAE Desert Challenge , and, ill 199H,asits medical director.

Lookingafter yourself 83

Be prepared

Properpreparationis essential forlookingafteryourselfoff-road.

• Have well-thought out contingency plansforallpossiblescenarios.• Never goalone:the moreremotethe area, the morevehicles needed.• Be awareofthe composition and state ofhealthofyourparty.• Alwaysinform someoneof the regionyou arevisiting andwhat the

cut-offtimefora search callshould be.• Alwaystakeenoughwatersupplies C3-slitresperpersonperday).• Knowthe geographyofthe area that youare visitingand from

wherelikely assistance couldbesought.• Consider the timeofyear inwhich yourtriptakes place

(excessive heat, sandstorms, flashfloods etc).• Ensure youhavea meansofcommunication: don't forgetto take

yourphone'S cigarettelighterattachment.• Don'tforget routinemedications; youmayhaveto repeat the

difficult namesofthese medications to a doctor.• Have the necessaryemergency telephone numbersat hand.

~ Apply a local anti-inflammarory gel (diclofenac) ro rrearagainst swelling.

~ Give somerhing for the pain (ideally, Ibuprofen), and anantihistamine tablet for the swelling .

.... In multiple stings, seek immediate medical help .

.... Stings in the eye or eyelid, or inside the mouth, need medicalattention as swelling could lead to breathing obstruction .

.... Someone who is allergic to bees could also be allergic towasps and ants as they are all from the same family.

.... Allergic reactions can be life-threatening: watch for a skinrash that spreads beyond the area of the sting within minutesof the incident.

~ Allergic individuals should always carry a pre-filledadrenaline syringe and know how to use it. If this is notavailable, give an antihistamine by mouth. Seck medical help.

Scorpion stings

Scorpion stings are painful , but are seldom dangerous: themore poisonous types have small pinchers and thick tails. Checkfor scorpions before putting your shoes on, and wear gloveswhen collecting firewood. If stung, treat as for a bee sting.Children should receive medical attention as soon as possible.

'I

II

84 Lookin" after yourseU

Contentsofyour first-aid kit

Discuss withyourfamily practitionerthe contentsofa flrst-ald kit.Itisbest toknow whatto have andhow to use It,ratherthanto rely onanunfamiliar boughtkit.Thislistprovides a suggestionofitems to takewithYOu:

• emergencytelephone numbers,taped to the Insideofthe lid• space blanket(forwarmth. and to attract the attentionofaircraft)• thermometer• a few pairs of non-sterue latex gloves• a cleantowelpackedindust-proofplasticbag (toact as a clean

workingsurface)

• scissors• needleand pair of tweezers(forthorn removal)• 500mlintravenous salinesolution (toirrigatea dirtywound,

orcleanse the eye offoreign material)• antlsepticsolution• smallplasticdish (to holdsolution)• packof yo mmx go mmgauzesquares• iodineorother antisepticointment,and/or paraffin gauze• assorted plasters• varioussizes ofcrepe bandage (50,100,and150mm)• rollsofmedicalelasticadhesiveplaster (t x50 mm and1X 100mm)• triangularbandages (to makean armslingfrom, andcanalso

be used to tie a brokenlimbtoa makeshift splint)• cervical collar(optional, and onlyto be used bytrainedpersons)• Codeine/Paracetamol ccmblnatlon tablets (formoresevere pain)• antihistamineeyedrops• antihistaminetablets (forallergic reactionsandinsectstings)• antibiotic eyeointment• anti-nausea tablets• anti-inflammatory tablets (e.g.Ibuprofen - see note)• tube ofdic!ofenac gel and oneofone percent hydrocortisone

ointment- mix 50:50to coversunburntareas(inc!udlngfirst-degree burns)

• UV filtersun cream• anti-diarrhoeatablets• antacidtablets• a broadspectrumantibiotic(consultyourfamily practitioner).

Note: a person allergicto bee stings should alwayscarrya pre-filledadrenalinesyringe.Theanti-Inflammatory agent Ibuprofen providesboth pain reliefand anti-fever action; it is ccntra-lndlcated in thosewithstomach acidityproblemsand/or asthma. Itshould onlybe takenafter meals.

Lookingafter yourseU 85

Snake bite

Most snakes are non-poisonous and will avoid people ifpossible, bur it is a good idea ro know which snakes areprevalent in the area you are visiting. Snakes are more commonnear water and vegetation.

Treatment:... The victim should remain calm, and keep physical movement

to a minimum to help contain venom distribution... Remove the victim from a still -attached snake.... Do not try to capture the snake and risk a repeat bite or a

second victim.... Immobilise the affected limb in a position below the level of

the heart ..... Take the victim to the nearest medical facility.... Apply a wide constrictive bandage - wind down towards

the wound, pushing the venom back to its source. It should notbe tight, and should not be applied for more than two hours.

Prevention of bites and stings:

.... Be on the lookout for hee nests around the campsite.

.... Light attracts insects - pitch the tent away from the fire .

.... Avoid going barefoot or wearing sandals, especially at night.

.... Wear light colours and try ro wear long sleeves and trousers .

.... Avoid floppy clothing that an irate sti nging insect could getcaught in, and bright jewellery that could attract one.

.... Suede and leather articles both attract a nd irri tate bees .

.... Ifconfronted by wasps or bees, stay calm; never swat or movehastily, but retreat as slowly as possible. Ifthis is impossible,lie on the ground and cover your head with your arms.

Asthma

.... Individuals should be on optimal preventative treatment.

.... Severe air hunger, fast breathing rate , and visible retractionsof the skin of the chest need urgent attention.

Treatment:.... Two puffs of the snlbutamol inhaler shou ld be used, and

repea ted every 15 to 30 minutes. Seek urgent medical advice.

;

86 Lookingafter yourself

Burns

The size of the burn and the depth of heat penetration isimportant in the treatment of burns: with a first-degree burn(e.g. sunburn), there is redness of the skin , bur no blisterformation, whilst second-degree and third-degree need moreintensive care. The palm of the victim's hand represents one percent of the total body surface: the number of patient-handsrepresenting the total burn area indicates the extent of the burn.

Treatment:... Treat a small burn like an abrasion, or, if first-degree,

like sunburn.... Cover with water-soaked gauze for a cooling effect,

but not if the patient has more than 10 per cent burns.... For bigger areas, cover the burnt area with clean sheets,

towels, or cling film.... If the burnt area is less than 10 per cent, give an

anti -inflammatory (Ibuprofen)."" Take the patient to hospital.

A second-degree burn (only mild blistering) is treatable at thecampsite if it is smaller than two or three per cent of the bodysurface; does not affect the face, hands, feet, groin or buttocks;docs not affect the full circumference of an arm or a leg.

Chest pain (heart related)

Applydlrectpressure to stepIhe bleedIng

"" Pain is usually on the left and radiates co the left shoulderand arm or to the neck; there may be nausea.

"" Make the patient as comfortable as possible, give somethingfor the pain, and seek urgent medical assistance.

Cuts, wounds andabrasions

A small cut or abrasionshould be cleaned anddressed. If the cut is deeper,apply direct pressure to thewound (use a towel or a shirt,etc) to stop the bleeding. Do

LookinlJ alter your.eU 87,

thi s imm ediately, maintaining the pressure if the bleeding startsagain. It is best nor to apply a to urniquet, as this ma y lead toother complications. Phone fo r help and get the pa tient to ahospi tal, as an anti -tetanus vacc ina tion may be necessary.

Dehydration and the effects of heatHeat cramps

These arc caused by fluid and sa lt depletio n, usua lly affectingthe shoulde r, thigh or ca lf mu scles in those who are unfit andengage in phy sical activity in the hear. Prevention andtr eatment is byad equate rehydration with isotonic beverages.A cra mp itself In;]Y be relieved by appl ying counter-traction; bypushi ng the foot upward s for a calf spasm, and so a ll.

Heat exha usti on/ dehydration

Causes:~ Ph ysical ac tivi ty in high temperatures (above 30° C) Ot

excessive hum idity.~ lnappropria re clo thing: loose cotton fabric that protects

aga inst the sun but also allows swea t evap oration is ideal.... Exces sive swea ting: sweat evaporation and consequ ent

cooling will be less if the humidity is high.... Accelerated de hydration due to alcohol.... Inad equate fluid intake: dr ink at regu lar intervals, even if

yo u arc not thirsty. Take betwe en 25 0 ml and 1,000 ml(and more) per hour (for an adu lt) .

... Vom iting and diarrhoea ar e othe r, an d more common,reasons for dehydration.

Recognising heat exha us tio n/ de hydra tion:... Ind icated by dizz iness, fainting, sweating, hot sk in, weakn ess,

fatigue, nausea , vomiting, headache, and muscle pain.... T he body tempera tu re can ra nge from normal to 40° C.

Treatment :... Lie the patient down an d elevate the legs.... Give him an isotonic sports beverage, or a mixture of a

hal f teaspoon of sa lt and eight teaspoons of suga rinto one litre of water.

~ Get medical help .

BB Looking after yourself

Therecoverypnsltlon

Heatstroke

Any person with heatexhaustion (see the abovecrireria) who displays signsof drowsiness, fainting,epileptic seizure, irritability,bizarre behaviour,combativeness, ha llucinationsor walks unsteadily, should

be considered to have heatstroke. This is a potentiallyIife-rhrearening condirion and irn rnediare medical help shouldbe sought.

Trea tment:... Take the patient out of the heat.... Place in the recovery position .... If awake, give the patient water or an isotonic beverage..... Remove all clothes, and cool the patient down by sponging

or spraying with water. The inside of a car with the air­conditioning on is a good place for this in the open desert .

... Telephone a doctor who can give advice and organise thetransport and reception of the patient at the hospital.

Diarrhoea and vomit ing

This lasts from one to three days, and is usually caused byeating contaminated food. Treatment is to give fluids after eachloose motion; these can be fruit juice or a carbonated drink.An anri-diarrhoea tablet, and something for nausea, could alsobe given .

When preparing and consuming food in an off-roadenvironment, the following must be adhered to:

.... Wash hands before preparing and eating food .

.... People with stomach disorders or open wounds should notprepare food .

~ Keep perishable foodstuffs in a cool-box.~ Do nor re-hea t cooked food ..... Avoid pre-cooked foods ..... Keep lavatory areas away from kitchen areas, and provide

hand-washing facilit ies.

Spllntlng anInjured IlngertaIts healthyneighbour

SplinUngabrokenleg wItha makeshiftsplint

Lookingafter yourself 89

Dislocations, fracturesand sprains

Dislocations

These should be splinted asthey arc , and the patient takento a hospital. A dislocated

finger can be pulled back into position if this is done soonenough, and with the necessary skill.

Fractures

... Refer to the section on major incidents.~ Stabilise the affected limb with a splint - this could be with

a piece of wood or a thickish newspaper; the limb could alsobe splinted to the body (a thigh bound to the orher leg with apillow between; a fractured finger strapped to a normal one).

~ Slightly elevate the affecred limb.... Gentle traction 011 the limb ma y be necessary to regain

normal alignment.... \X'here the splintered bone is protruding through the skin,

splint it in a normal position, but cover the wound withantiseptic cream and a sterile bandage - this is a 'compound

fracture', and will need urgentmedical care. Give anantibiotic by mouth as soonas possible.

\. -~~

Sprains

These will need medicalattention because of thepossibility of hidden fractures

or rorn tendons. Splint as before with a slight elevation.Apply icc or a wet rag.

Eye injuries

These could be from a dust particle or other foreign body,including a chemical.

.. The eye should be irrigated with inrravenous saline solution(for 20 minutes if a chemical); the upper eyelid can be

90 Looking after yourself

Evertlng lheuppereyelidwllh amatchstick

t -(

t "'" _" - -,

f

held back with a marchsrickto aid in the search for theparticle.

.. Wipe the particle o ut withgauze.

.. App ly anrihioric eyeointment and seek medicalattent ion.

.... Ant ihista mine eye drops canhelp again st any irrita tion .

Direc t blu nt or sharp in jury:)II> Apply antibio tic eye ointment.Ii>' Cover the eye with om purring pressure o n it... Seek medical help.

Major incidents

T his could be a hea d-on co llision, fall fro m a heigh I, suspectedheart attack, epileptic fit, or near drow ning. Beaware thatmoving an in jured perso n with the wrong techniques co uldca use further injury, or even dea th as th e patient may have abro ken neck.

... Try to remain calm.

... Do not move the victim if he is not threatened by further injury.

... Consult a docto r by mob ile telephone from the scene.

Poisonous plants

T here are very few know n poison ou s pla nts in the M iddle East ,bur traditionally those that have a milky sap can be conside redto be poison ou s. All cases of poison ing, wheth er rea l orsuspected, sho uld be seen by a docto r.

Sunburn

\X!ea r sun creams with inbuilt ultraviolet protection factors; thehigherrhe numberrhe bcrrer - op t fora faCIO I 15 at least. Tot reat mino r sunburn, give Ibuprofen tablet s three times a day,and apply a mix o f anti-inflamma to ry gel and a hydroco rt isonecream. Severe sunburn (where the skin is breached ) sho uld be

Looking after yourself 91

Recognised air rescue signals

Medlcalsupplies needed

Food and water needed

Everythlngnow 0.1t

~~ Haveganethlsway

>CA.·· ,~:~ or . -lJ./.. Yes

'· ·N· ..'.'." :;:{ .} . ,

N,

treated like an ordinary burn. Medical attention may be neededif sunburn affects over 30 per cent of the body's surface.

Organised rescue searches

Air searches

You may be the subject of an air search if you have brokendown in a remote area or have an injured person with you. Ithelps if you have been able to convey your exact location to thesearchers with a GPS co-ordinate. You can assist by arranginginternationally recognised signals on the ground (usingwhatever materials arc at hand) that will identify your group.

Day searches

To assist your rescue team, place a bright piece of clothing ontop of a nearby dune. Occasional blowing of the vehicle's hornalso attracts attention, while a blast from your whistle will beheard at a greater distance than you can shout. Smoke cans andflares are other means of attracting attention, but these are notalways easy to find and are quite expensive. A heliograph ischeap and very effective when attracting the attention ofcircling aircraft; good specification Swiss Army knives have one

82 Lookingafter yourseU

Recognised hand and body signa ls

Plck usup liInd here Don"ll ry lo land here We can proceed shortly,R.

y" No AII ls well

in the carry-case. A piece of metal wit h a reflective surface oneac h side and with a ho le in the middle, it enables you to reflectsun light to the plane. Light ing a fire using petro l fro m your fueltank and a rag soaked in o il from YOUt dipstick should producea nasty black smo ke emission th at will att ract a ttenti on.

Night searches

Searches at night are only carried our in extreme emergencies.The assistance you ca n offer inclu des shining powe rful lightsstraight up into the sky, such as a 500,000 or one millioncandle-power lamp, which gives o ut a tremendous beam, o r asmall stroboscopi c light. It ca n be seen for at least 5 km ifplaced on n nearby high point.

Hand and body signals

T he pa nel shows the hand and body signa ls th at will a lso beunderstood by milit ar y and commercial airmen . \Vhen makingthem, do so in a very exaggera ted manner to ensure they areclearly und erstood.

Note: Alrhough cxrrcmc ca rc has been ta ken to ensure 1111: accuracy of this chapt er, rhe Aut hor s and rhePublisher hereby dismncc Ihcmsel\'cs from any i n jllr~· or insult uf any kind resulting from actions takenl-ased nn th is infor mation.

,

. .' ._.. ~'pP!!!!!!f:x ~';lk _ .';'... _. _ . . ~'.. "'-

Appendix

Conversion tables

Power outputbhp kW

1 0·7457

1·34°5 1

TorqueNm kgjm ftjlb

1 0.1019 0.7376

0.9 807 7-233

'-3559 0.1382

Tyre pressuresIb/in2 16

kgjcm2 1.12

18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32

1.26 1.41 1.55 1.69 1.83 1.97 2.11 2.25

Temperature (degrees)

Fahrenheit 79 82 86 89 93 97 98 100 102 104 106 108 109 111 113

Celsius 26 28 30 32 34 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45

Speedskph 30mph 19

40 50 60 70 80

25 31.5 37·5 43·7 509°56

100 120

62·5 75

140 150 160

87.5 93.7 100

Distancesi kilometre = 0.62137 miles

1mile = 1.609 kilometres

To convert kilometres to miles = divide by 8, then multiply by 5

To convert miles to kilometres = divide by5. then multiplybyB

I.

I

-- -------94 Appendix

- --

Areas

1 hectare = 2.46 acres

1 acre = 0.405 hecta res

Weights1 kilogram (kg) = 2.2 pounds (Ib)

lib = 0.454 kg

Fuel consumption1 km/li tre = 2.3519 miles/US gallon = 2.8244 miles/imperial gallon

Htresj roo km 5 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22

rnpg 56 35.2 28 23.5 20.1 17.6 15.6 14.1 12.8

Volumes1 imperialgallon= 4.4 litres = 1.2 US gallons

1USgallon = 3.78 litres = 0.835 imperia l ga llons

t litre = 0 ,22 imper ial ga llons = 0.26 42 US gallons

Route-planning information

Distance planningWeoften overestimate the distanceswe aregoing to drive when planning an

off-road trip.n is surp rising how many interrupti ons you will experience and

howtime-consuming it is to recovera vehicleonce it is stuckin the sand.The table gives some useful guidelineswhen planning trips.

Guidelines for distance/timeplanning

Type of terrain

Flatsand andsabkhas

low dunes and sand tracks

Wadisand rocky terrain

High dunes, few tracks

Overall route planning

Ave. distance/ho ur

30 -35 km

25-30 km

15 - 20 km

10-15 km

25 km

Fuel requirementsNormal tarmac fuel consumption will bevery different once you start driving

off-road. Whenplanning longer trips, prepare a reasonably accurate fuel

requirement estimate to seeif extra supplies in jerrycans are required. Adjust

your normal fuel consumption bVthe factor shown for each type of terrain.

·Appendix 95--_.

FuelconsumptionFor normal on-road overall consumption ofgo kmjgal (adjust downwards)

Typeof terrain

Flat s and and sabkhas

low dunes andsand tracksWadis and rocky terrain

High dunes, few tracks

Adjustment (per cent)

minus 25 == 22 kmjgal

minus 3 0 = 2 0 km/ gal

minus 40 = 18 km/ gal

minus 65 = 10 kmjgal

Gear ratios ofthe 4WD

Gear ratios of1998 Land Cruiser Station Wagon (manual)

Gear High range X Transfer ratio = low range

1St 4·08:1 x 2·49 10.15:1

2nd 2.29:1 X 2·49 5.68:1

j rd 1.49:1 x 2·49 3·71:1

4t h 1. 00 :1 X 2·4 9 2·49 :1gth 0.88 :1 x 2·49 2. 19:1

Reverse 4.31:1 x 2·49 10·73 :1

Note: the ratios of the High range /normal gears are reduced by multiplying

by the transfer ratio to give the Low range ratios.

Ratios in ascending order from lowestto highest

SR Range/gear Ratio

Low reverse 10·73:1

2 Low 1St 10.15:1

3 Low and 5.68:1

4 High reverse 4·31:1

5 High ist 4·08 :1

6 t.ow j rd 3·71:1

7 loweth 2·49:1

8 Hi gh and 2.29:1

9 low 5th 2.19:1

10 High jrd 1.49:1

11 High qth 1.00 :1

12 High 5th 0.88:1

The Kanoo Group

The AuthorA local authority on off-road driving, jehanbaz (Jum ) AliKhan, has spent a lifetime in the automotive industry andmororsport. From active rallydriving in the UK and UAE, he

C- C--~ has now moved to mororsporrct\\ I/fC/ ';,... organisation, and is the route~~~ director of the UAE Deserr~. .~ Challenge. Invited by the FIA

to be their Official Observer on~ several Paris-Dakar, Atlas and

-.,~ Y~.~ Tunis rallies, he has also been. ~ll ro ute planner for the Gulf

-, .. News Fun Drive on six

occasions . During his time inthe army, Jehanbaz was a map­reading instructor.

He is curreorly based in the UAE and teaches off-road skillsto Toyota sales executives. These assignments exemplify hisexpertise in terms of knowledge of terrain, off-road drivingtechniques, navigational matters and the precautions necessaryto enjoy the great outdoors in safety. He draws much of hisexperience from drives in parts of North \Vest Canada, Northand East Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Thailand and, for thepast 13 years , in the UAE.

•AcknowledgementsMy siocere thanks are due to Dr Chari Laubscher (for hiscontribution of sound medical advice in Chapter 9) , RogerWhalley, Khalid Siddiqui and Shusei Yamada (photographs),Jonathan Ali Khan (for his superb illustrations), Gary Wheeler(Land Cruiser care and attention) , Mark Llewellyn-j ones(loan of vehicles), Belinda Ali Khan (support and-ncouragernent), and Fraser Marrin

.bo first introduced me to theert in 198 6!). Lasr but not leasr,

hanks go to the Kanoo Group,ur whose sponsorship support'vlicatio n of this book woulde been possible.

Motivate BOOKS

OfTRoaden Manual

\\\\~I\\t\\\\~\\~II~9781860630934

PRiCE: 55.00 AED