Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with 4wd

How to get a heavy truck out of the mud?

csd — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 19:27:08 -0800

Let's say your 35,000lb 4x4 is stuck axle-deep in mud.... How do you get it out?

Assumptions: The mud is the consistency of pudding. You have a winch, but the cable is strong enough to tow on level ground and not much more. You are far more concerned with safety and speed of recovery than you are with environmental impact, so whatever you use can be left behind. You've got 800lbft of torque, but it's pushing 17 tons. Your tires are 13in wide. You're most likely going to want to back up onto known terrain.

I plan to test a few possible solutions in a controlled situation, here's what I'm thinking (and, mind you, I don't really expect any of this to work, but I've got to do something): dig out a mud ramp, 15 degrees or so slope, ending as close to the bottom of the rear tires as possible. Place 2'x8' sheets of plywood along the mud ramp. Back out.

Plywood won't work, you say? How about laying down Hesco barriers? Steel diamond-deck?

Could you quickly turn the pudding-mud solid? Some kind of super-quickset concrete? Freeze it?

What am I not thinking of?

Find me an inexpensive, reliable, good mileage 4wd hiking vehicle

dithered — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:22:14 -0800

As an avid hiker, I'm looking for a (much) more capable trailhead vehicle than my current 98 Ford Escort. Requirements are inexpensive, good mpg, 4wd (preferably on demand and with 4low), good clearance, reliable and inexpensive to maintain. For reasons I can't fathom, I've been thinking about importing a Suzuki Jimny from Japan and have some questions about that too. I live in Canada (Vancouver). I use my car almost exclusively as a trailhead vehicle. Almost every weekend from April to November, I will drive 2-4hrs on well-maintained highway followed by 0.5-2hrs on logging roads. These roads range from decent gravel roads thru potholed and washboard-y dirt roads to decommissioned roads plagued by washouts, waterbars, ruts, fords, etc. The road surface can range from hard-packed conglomerate to dust which turns into a sticky gumbo after a rain.

What I need is a true 4wd with clearance and torque. Pure power isn't as necessary as far as I can see. I don't drive fast and can deal with something that isn't going to be able to maintain 70mph up a steep hill. Vast amounts of storage are also not required. I want something that I know I can trust and maintain economically for at least a decade (preferably a few). Manual or automatic doesn't matter (I can learn manual if I have to). And I know nothing about vehicle maintenance so that can't be too specialized and / or expensive. Good mileage is important - I'd rather not go below 25mpg highway and would prefer something comfortably in the 30s. Finally, I will be buying used so let me know if there is a particular model year of a given car I should look at.

Living in Canada, I can import a car from Japan if it is older than 15 years old. This isn't bad because most used cars in Japan have low mileage (it isn't hard to find a car with <60K miles on it) and are in good condition. This would cost me between $9-12K CDN. The Suzuki Jimny appeals to me. Something about it's off-road reputation and small size (I'm a sucker for small). But I can't find out much else about it. Specifically:
1. What type of mileage should I expect? I've seen quotes of 45mpg for a 1990 era 660cc engine but don't know if I can trust that.
2. How reliable are they and can I get parts easily for it in Canada?
3. How much space is behind those rear seats? I usually go hiking by myself or with 1 or 2 others. How many 60 liter packs would fit back there? Would fitting 4 people with packs be out of the question for a short while (bearing in mind that I've fit 7 people with packs and snowshoes in a Jeep Wrangler before)?
4. Are there particular options / models I would need to avoid and why?
5. I'm a slender 6ft tall. Will I fit?
6. Or is this just a bad idea and there are alternatives that are less expensive in the long run and just as capable?

Renting a 4wd

nat — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:22:49 -0800

How do I rent a 4wd car (in Santa Barbara, CA)? I plan on driving to San Francisco and then Tahoe over MLK weekend.

Because part of the point is to get up skiing in Tahoe with a friend, I would really like to have 4wd so I don't have to worry about chains (I no longer own a car so I don't have a pair, and I wouldn't want to put em on a rental anyways). But, since there will only be 2 passengers, and it's a lot of flat miles from here to SF, I really don't need a full SUV-- what I want is the smallest, cheapest car I can find, which I can drive in snow as-is.

I can't figure out how to search rental agency offerings for 4wd cars; I can ask for an SUV but they are pricey and more car than I really need (esp. because the roads might not be snowy that weekend anyhow!) Do any of the other common designations mean 4wd and I just don't know?

Extra fun: I actually don't care how I get to SF, but flying from SBA is too expensive (c. 500$), flying through LAX would take as long as just driving up, and the Amtrak is *so* slow. If you have other methods of getting up there feel free to share!

EPIC JOURNEYfilter - I want to make a drive from Alaska to Chile.

robdon — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 16:57:36 -0800

I'd like to make a drive down the entire western coast of the Americas, starting in Alaska, and ending in Chile. I need advice on how to go about this using the least amount of money, and in the safest way manageable. Background: I am an 18 year old college student on a limited budget living in D.C.

What I'd like to do: Fly up to Alaska, obtain a cheap, sturdy, small 4-wheel drive vehicle, and drive south until I run out of land. I also need a way to transport the car back up to the states (container ship?), as I plan on flying back from Buenos Aires or Santiago

Pressing Questions:

What would be the best vehicle to use?

- I would want a smaller, rugged SUV that has proper off-roading capability, the ability to carry a large amount of fuel (and run on the kind of fuel one might come across in South America), and is easily servicable. Something along the lines of a Range Rover Defender would be nice, but in the under $4,000 USD range

What sort of International Driver's License would I need?

Driving through some more unstable parts of the world seems unavoidable (ahem, Colombia)... Is there a way I can circumnavigate the unsavory parts? Is there a real risk that I might be robbed, killed, or kidnapped on this journey?
- I would be driving this with a fluent Spanish speaker (I don't speak a word of it), but we are both small, skinny white kids, so we couldn't do much more than talk our way out of a bind

Is there a service available to ship the vehicle back to the East Coast of the U.S.A. once I make it south?

I dont really have a set goal in mind other than to simply make the journey, but visiting a coffee plantation and some ruins along the way might be nice.

Any glaring faults in my plan that I haven't thought of?

Best economical 4WD car?

lalochezia — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:36:22 -0800

What's the best 1-2 yr old 4WD-capable car? Best for us means: fuel economy, reliability, non-behemoth-SUV-ness, aesthetic and reasonable cost (<$25k). Also: any knowledge about Subaru Outbacks and SoCal 4WD dealers. We're interested in getting a 4WD car to go to the mountains in winter and some minor desert-offroading in summer, but can also act as a daily driver in southern california. We don't need a huge (or medium!) SUV, and would like something that is economical and reliable as possible. I would think that having a selectable 2WD vs 4WD would improve fuel economy, yes?

Current frontrunner is a Subaru Outback: if you know anything about pros/cons/what to look for in these cars, please comment. If you have suggestions for other alternatives, those are welcome too. Things to look out for in general in 4WD welcome.

Suggestions for places to buy/avoid in SoCal a bonus....