Looks dumb

the driver was rag-dolling...hope he at least had a seatbelt on
 
Going up hill isn't much problem, pick your line, commit. Downhill is where things get sketchy.

Braking bias is always front axle, often 80/20 or 70/30 (generally speaking, ymmv)
Weight bias is almost always front axle, due to engine weight (obviously)
Now add in the grade, tipping your COG forward, adding more bias to the front axle.

Stab the breaks in that senario, and most jeeps will lift a rear tire like a dog peeing. That means driver panic, typically, and more brake pressure, further exasperating the issue.

Slow and steady wins the race! Drive your jeep like its a jeep and enjoy. It is not King of the Hammers, it is not Formula Off Road. Getthereitis will get you hurt.

@davidwyby Can back me up here, i know he's a fellow trail rat. Anyone else here into wheelin?
 
Not by choice.
But during a long life of driving in forests, I've done quite a bit.
 
Engine braking, don’t lock up the brakes, keep the front in front of the back…but I’ve never done it with logs pushing me
Hauling out is a bit of a different animal, I was referring to jeeps and light trucks lolz.

A log load, especially on a pickup, can be well and truly beyond sketch.
 
I know zero about skidding. Has anyone ever anchored a big machine higher onthe slope with winch to lower the logs while a skiddder helps drag them down? Probably too slow for normal but if it’s really sketchy? Or is that the place for helicopter or yarder?
 
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  • #36
A log load, especially on a pickup, can be well and truly beyond sketch.
Just yesterday I was hauling a huge load of wood into my backyard in a 3500 mason body. While en route there I was deciding which would be better- driving in forward ( a bit simpler) or backing in (less turning and driving on lawn). It's been somewhat wet here lately and to get to the woodpile means going downhill between trees so I decided driving forward would definitely be best should things get slippery. Proceeded slowly off end of driveway into backyard and when ground started to get steeper I touched the brakes and instantly started sliding as the front wheels locked up (probably because there was so much weight on the back wheels. I let off the brakes but that built speed. Twas sketchy for sure. When I got further, the slope leveled out and I was able to stop before hitting trees in front of me. Smh, brought this thread to mind :|:
 
Point in fact, from the angle of that pic, I'd say it looks fine as snake fur. Most all the load well between the axles, and that rear axle is a long way back.

That said, two facts have to be kept in mind...

1, most pickups have the contact patch of a size 11 shoe. By square inch, I have more meat on the ground than my truck.

2, pickups have pickup suspension. Seems obvious, but that thing was built to a compromise, it has to do the speed limit without knocking your kidneys out of your ass, and it has to take some kind of payload. Guess which thing most trucks do, and therefore which side of the compromise did they weight.

Grass is slick! So are pine needles...

I'm just glad you were reminded of this thread, not pissed because you crunched your fairly nice truck.
 
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  • #39
I'm just glad you were reminded of this thread, not pissed because you crunched your fairly nice truck.
Hell yeah. For a few milliseconds there I thought it was gonna get ugly
 
I know zero about skidding. Has anyone ever anchored a big machine higher onthe slope with winch to lower the logs while a skiddder helps drag them down? Probably too slow for normal but if it’s really sketchy? Or is that the place for helicopter or yarder?
Winch lines are only so long.
 
I started sliding down a driveway with my chipper after hitting some mud. Had to use a lowering line and porty. Just add a little resistance.

More than one tree along that driveway is damaged.

I only take my chipper down there in dry conditions after blowing off the long and steep driveway.
 
That got me thinking how best to get an old heavily loaded chip truck down a very steep hill without ruining the brakes (I don't know how much stress brakes can take before they fail). I wonder if shifting it in reverse and using the gas pedal to slow it would be best? Keep in mind this has a non locking torque converter, so it may be possible. Otherwise all the stopping power would be on the brakes and engine.
 
Double-team or triple-team trucks.

Recently, I double-teamed my loaded f450 service body (mini- hauler and 5 yard chip box) with my f350 up a gravel driveway with a lot of loose rock at the steepest, rutted part.
 
I've "lowered" my F350 and the Vermeer 1250 with a large porty and some 5/8ths rope down a steep gravel access road from our little "logging" camp back in the day. Lost the brakes on the chipper and had to change the anchor a couple times to get around hairpin turns. My crew just scratched their heads. But I was going home son! Been a long week!
 
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