Taking a 2WD off-road

[97Chevyguy]

Has anyone been able to take a 2WD pickup off-road?  When I say off-road I mean rough, uneven terrain, possibly some mud...not to much though, and little hills(nothing steep or rock crawling).  Any tips you can pass down?  I know weigh down the back but thats all I can think of.

[97Z71]

I would not reccomend this.

Althogh I am no 4 Wheel expert, I have been in some pretty harry situations where I am glad I had a 4X4.

I think it really depends on what type of off-roading you want to do and what the conditions are like. We have done alot of the season roads here in Colorado and although some are rated for 2 wheel vehicles, the road has been dmaged or washed out.... and instead of backing down the mountain, 4 wheel has kept us moving.

 

So check out the area BEFORE you go, and don't go alone.

[MarkD]

Yes,

 

Momentum can be your best friend or your worst enemy.  keep it in the front of your mind all of the time.

 

Try to match your tire speed to 5-10 mph faster than your truck in slippery conditions (heavy mud will need faster tires to clean the tread).

[ekonk]

I never did any serious off roading when I had a 2wd, but I did go for some fairly rough trails.  The main pointers I can give besides adding weight in the bed (use stuff you could use to get unstuck with for weight)  is to choose your path carefully, avoid any mud that goes beyond "puddle" status, and try not to go too fast (it only gets you stuck further in  ;) )  Also try not to be the only vehicle around, you might need help if you get stuck.

 

Sometimes I think off roading can be more fun in a 2wd.  Those are the times right before I get stuck.

[HillHound]

Two things:

 

1)  Make sure you have proper tires.

2)  Don't get yourself into a low-traction situation involving a hill where it's to steep to turn around.   In other words, stay off of long steep hills altogether.

 

As far as driving through mud/creeks-the worse you can do is get stuck!  Make sure you have another truck/tractor nearby to pull you out   !

[carguru]

Yes, you can do some light off roading in a 2wd.  However, you would have to use a lot of common sense when you do it.  Don't do stuff like go through deep mud or try to climb logs.  It won't do this very well.  Since before my current '02, all of my previous trucks were 2wd.  I had them set up with a receiver hitch in the front.  With the hitches in front and rear and my 9000lb Warn winch, I could go most places with no problems.

[SilveradoWV]

Would letting some air outta the tires help in a 2wd???

[vortec4800]

Letting the air out of the tires in any vehicle, 4wd or 2, would be beneficial...

 

As for off-roading in a 2wd, remember the only advantage you have over a sedan say, is the ground clearance. I wouldn't reccomend doing any off-road trails, and would stick to dirt roads (some light or maybe moderate mud would be ok too), but make sure you have a backup plan incase things go wrong.

 

Dont' go so fast you can't control it and so you can still see what's coming fairly easy, but don't go so slow that it would be easy to stop and get stuck. Try not to stop, and if you do stop, be very light on the accelerator - easy acceleration from a stop or slow moving (like 5mph) is important.

 

It is possible to off-road in a 2wd, just harder.

 

Good Luck!