Tried to climb for the first time

[jabroni619]

Remember the 34 degree side angle at Raptor Assault is controlled with a very "sticky" surface. When I was there the instructor said in trail conditions you will likely slip before you can get to that angle and could potentially flip if the tires got caught while you slip. I don't have much off road experience...just relaying what they told our group.

We did ours in the wet, so quite a bit less sticky. Granted, I believe the steepest angle we got was 32 IIRC

 

[Kaz109]

I think my biggest mistake was trying to climb at full tire pressure. Seeing how so many guys on here said 28 was no issue for them my 21 would be done easily

 

[Jace21583]

Imo youll lose traction before going head over heels, that's not to say you'll slide sideways and roll over sideways. Best advise for new truck owners is drive to your ability and you should be fine

 

[sixshooter_45]

It's very important to try and keep a straight line going up or down as one poster mentioned and is one reason why it has drive control. It allows you to focus more on your line.

Many folks that don't have a lot of experience will get off their line to much backing down and they roll.

Also very important on a real steep hill know when to ease off of the accelerator if the front starts to come up and if you start going back down in reverse on a real steep hill whatever you do don't slam on the brakes.

It's a good idea to watch several 4x4 videos of folks that know what they're talking about especially if you're new to off-roading.

It can be a lot of fun but one must exercise caution and common sense.

With experience comes knowledge, with knowledge comes confidence, with confidence comes success.

 

[GordoJay]

With experience comes knowledge, with knowledge comes confidence, with confidence comes success.

And experience is what you get right after you needed it.

 

[jabroni619]

I think my biggest mistake was trying to climb at full tire pressure. Seeing how so many guys on here said 28 was no issue for them my 21 would be done easily

What exactly happened when you tried to climb the hill? Did you not make it? Were you slipping or did you just get scared and called it quits? If there's a lot of uneven pavement and loose rocks, airing down helps. If it's a reasonably level and solid surface, just a bit steep, you don't even need to air down. Flipping end-over-end would be quite difficult to do in a Raptor. My little Teryx 4 SxS will go places the Raptor won't and do so more confidently EXCEPT when it comes to the steep stuff. The long wheel base and wide stance really make it one of the most stable off-road vehicles out there. I've done the same hill I posted the video of earlier with my SxS and it's a white knuckle event. In my Raptor I worry about a scrape. In my SxS I worry about my life.

 

[Kaz109]

What exactly happened when you tried to climb the hill? Did you not make it? Were you slipping or did you just get scared and called it quits? If there's a lot of uneven pavement and loose rocks, airing down helps. If it's a reasonably level and solid surface, just a bit steep, you don't even need to air down. Flipping end-over-end would be quite difficult to do in a Raptor. My little Teryx 4 SxS will go places the Raptor won't and do so more confidently EXCEPT when it comes to the steep stuff. The long wheel base and wide stance really make it one of the most stable off-road vehicles out there. I've done the same hill I posted the video of earlier with my SxS and it's a white knuckle event. In my Raptor I worry about a scrape. In my SxS I worry about my life.

I started to slip slightly and I called it quits because as I stated I am VERY new to off roading and with this being my first truck I didn't want to flip it without the first couple months of owning it, then being YouTube famous and gives all the raptor owners a bad name .....all because I'm a noob lol

So I thought I would come here , get some info and try again this weekend

 

[Raptor 2014]

The problem in traversing steep angles is the terrane and tire. If you loose forward traction you start to side backwards. Sometimes it is extremely difficult to keep it straight while sliding backwards especially on slick dirt. This is common leading to the vehicle turning sideways and rolling to the bottom of the hill.

 

[GordoJay]

The problem in traversing steep angles is the terrane and tire. If you loose forward traction you start to side backwards. Sometimes it is extremely difficult to keep it straight while sliding backwards especially on slick dirt. This is common leading to the vehicle turning sideways and rolling to the bottom of the hill.

If you're sliding backwards, you need to get off the brakes a bit. If you can't brake near the edge of traction while going backwards in full control, you shouldn't be up there. Go practice backing. Go practice braking. Then try both together on a hill that is non life threatening. Typically what happens is that you lose traction and come to a stop. Then you sit there for a while thinking "now what?". Then you back down, slowly and carefully. It shouldn't be a big deal, you had enough traction to get up there, so you have enough traction to come down under control if you're careful.

Tip: when you stop moving forward, get off the damn gas and get on the brakes. Wheels spinning going backwards isn't going to end well.

 

[jzweedyk]

I do a lot of rock crawling, (Jeeps, RZR and Raptor) and going up (straight) you will be limited by traction. You will never flip if you are straight. Where people get into trouble is they start to slip and stay on the gas. As you slip you will slide sideways and then you would roll. If you watch videos of people rolling, they are always sliding sideways.

But you did the right thing, you were alone, and you should never do something you are not comfortable with. You will learn the truck and how it behaves.

The more you air down, the more traction you have. I have gone down to 12 in the Raptor (no bead locks) and it was OK, but usually I don't go below 15 or so. Also airing down will make the rocks more comfortable. If you are aired down, don't go over about 45 mph on a paved road.