Off-Road Sequence

What trails have you been to? My husband & I live near Humble & you're right we don't have anything. I go to Hidden Falls mostly but im wanting to try Barnwell, TX. Where they had the Toyota Jamboree

 

tried shifting out of 4lo before moving truck. Able to engage once I moved the truck

 

What do yall think about the crawl control feature?
In my opinion...the noise drives me nuts! I think its a cool feature but kinda useless.

 

Yes, living in Texas we do not deal with snow or freezing temps...this past winter we did have a pretty good freeze & some snow...mine got stuck & thats exactly what I did. Just let her reset i guess?!? But it worked

 

Exactly my wheeling mode! I do engage my lockers and occasionally a-trac on some parts of trails depends on what sticky spot i got myself in lol!!!

 

Selling my SCS Ray 10's includes the KO2's. I hate to do it but I am going to keep the icons im currently wheeling on & also saving for a rear bumper.
Never even hit a curb & still has the protective film on the scs logo LOL!!! There are some minor scratches from the flippin tire shop i used to go to...but not noticeable unless right up on them & starring.

 

Hey hey PJAC,

Not really too much around here indeed, and mine is dying to get out... Haven't done anything around here except off road on open muddy pieces of land, as in, when they cut the trees down to build new communities. Hahaha, you can see, we really need something. I've driven on the beach in Galveston as well countless times. I wish I had something more exciting.

Cheers,

Sean

 

Question about number 7 - Why would you use Atrac and Crawl Control at the same time? I thought Crawl Control was already Atrac, but adding brakes and throttle control?

 

Good point!

Also, I would put the diff-lock at the highest level of difficulty. It gas gotten me out of jams when nothing else would.

 

I tend to agree. This is my (respectfully) edited order of operations:

(1) 2H
(2) 4H
(3) 4L
(4) 4L + ATRAC
(5) 4L + Multi-Terrain Select

a) Mud, Sand, Dirt (Works in 4H)
b) Loose Rock
c) Mogul
d) Rock ​

(6) 4L + Crawl Control
(7) Engage Rear Locker and start over at Step (4), progressing through to Step (6), with Rear Locker engaged.


That's just my humble opinion. And it is also highly dependent on conditions. For example, if I'm stuck in sand, I would just engage crawl control immediately and let the truck go to work. No need to progress through the various steps or engage the rear locker.

 

^ if you can't get out in 2WD then you don't know what you're doing! JKJKJK
joke
Got stuck this weekend NOTHING WORKED not even the winch
Turns out there was a boulder betweenthe trans case skid and gas skid and digging in on both wheels that had traction
(Stack rocks and a little tug)
Now where's the nearest alignment shop!? LMMFAO
Also tore a sidewall and an ABS (maybe)
Wish I had pic yall sorry
Should of asked the guy if he took pictures...maybe I'll see him out there again

 

No, Atrack is an independent mode that works well in slippery conditions on loose small rocks, atrack does not slow down your rig, Crawl control takes care of braking and power and does this on each wheel individually where needed, as well balances the behavior of the 4R better in relationship and difficulty of the road.

The problem, you don't know exactly when Crawl control is going to disengage, yes, more or less 10-12 minutes, which means coming down a long difficult trail, Rose garden hill, Kane creek canyon, top of the world to name some, you’re in for a surprise, the vehicle shoots forwards and if you are breaking to late or to hard you might skid into something or worse. In case Atrack is engaged as well, you will be able to control the vehicle better.

I don't like crawl control too much, it’s good for certain situations.

There is a guy on YouTube using his Pro, Atrack + crawl control engaged in a frozen riverbed using it as an icebreaker, showing more grip and get it done.

In most of my off-road situations, I air down and engage my rear locker, did not use Crawl Control much at all.

 

Simplified:

If you do not engage A-TRACK and use Crawl Control only; Crawl Control will automatically shut down around 10/12 minutes of use.

If you engage both and Crawl Control shuts off, you will be happy that A-TRACK is engaged.

A-TRACK doesn’t have a shut off time – Crawl Control does.

 

Apologies, my question about ATRAC and Crawl Control is a bit more technical than that.

ATRAC simulates a locking differential by using the ABS system to brake the spinning (low-traction) tire and send power to the opposite side of the truck (presumably with more traction).

Multi-Terrain Select is the same concept as ATRAC, but allows adjustability of the amount of slippage to match the terrain.

Crawl Control is essentially off-road low speed cruise control. The truck takes over the braking and throttle systems, and the driver simply steers the truck.

My question is, does Crawl Control also incorporate a simulated locking differential (ATRAC)? In addition to controlling the trucks speed through the braking/throttle system, is Crawl also acting as a simulated differential? In other words, is Crawl Control basically ATRAC + Off Road Cruise Control?

In the video below, this 2015 TRD Pro T4R engages ATRAC to overcome this obstacle on Hell's Revenge. Could the driver have simply engaged Crawl Control instead, and conquered the obstacle?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50HzDfO0134

 

So essentially, Crawl Control does everything ATRAC does (and more), but has a time limit. Is that correct?

 

Yes, that is correct.

Sometimes It's a little confusing to explain because of which trail you're driving and the degree of difficulty and weather. Sometimes 4mph in crawl control might be to fast of an approach, hence, hitting the brake pedal will override the mode, negotiating a difficult and dangerous spot is for sure not advisable. That's why I prefer to control the vehicle myself.

The Off-Road system on the 4R is outstanding, nevertheless for a lot of people confusing. For me the correct tires for your application and Lockers in front & rear is still the ticket.

 

Being an SR5 driver, my options stop at step 4. But in three years of ownership and yes, including actual off road, I have never needed to go beyond step 2.

I have used 4L with the transmission in first gear during steep hill decents to utilize engine braking to control speed, which worked perfectly for me. On that note I've used down hill decent mode a couple of times which works well too, but sounds terrible.

I'd be willing to bet that over 90% of the people on this forum would never need to go past step 2, (4H). But it's unlikely they would admit it on a public forum.

 

Roger that. Thank you so much for the intel.

Yessir, I agree, the majority of what you need to do can be done simply in 4 Low. But I'm childish and like to engage all the gizmos at any opportunity!

 

I get that

Tires are the number one improvement for our Toys.

 

I too engage the gizmos at any opportunity lol.

I am a noob at all this (so I welcome correction or advice). I have taken my runner on a few off road excursions. I didnt get stuck at all, but I did tend towards pre-emptively engaging everything I thought might be needed, with the idea that not getting stuck at all is preferable to “calling in firepower” and progressing through a list of aids when I do get stuck.

The way I’m thinking about this is that there is very little to no cost to engaging 4lo, lockers, and a-trac if there is a remote possibility that it will help me across an obstacle. Conversely, getting stuck, spinning tires, and trying to get through with the most minimal aids, can cause wear and tear on tires, transmission, etc.

Another reason I go in “loaded for bear”, is that I want to exercise all the mechanicals anyways, and not just for a few hundred yards on a straight road, once monthly, on a regular commute. I bought a locker on purpose dag nabbit…If that mole hill looks threatening, Im locking it up! Lol

 

I agree with that and the 90%. hence, I have seen a percentage of people in serious trouble on trails they shouldn't have gone, not knowing the equipment well enough and going in a state of total panic which is the worse if you want to help them on a dangerous spot.

I have been on a lot of trails with steep descents where 4L and first gear won't cut it, and I didn't want to use the crawl mode to dangerous. Just saying.

 

I am curious what you're driving through that requires crawl control for such extended periods of time? Any time I've attempted anything complicated it's usually 4lo and sometimes locking the diff.

Also, if crawl control shuts itself off, wouldn't you just roll to a stop? Then you could turn it back on or engage A-trac at that point.

Chances are, with good tires and judgement you may never need any other options. But, those extra features can make certain situations much easier.

This reminds me of the conversation this past weekend where some were saying they prefer to get into 4WD as soon as the tires leave pavement.

This was my method at first as well. Lately, I've tried to get as far as possible in 2wd, and then switch when I need to. But, after hearing some good points, I think the "overkill" method makes a lot of sense. Especially on unfamiliar trails.

A good example where this philosophy would have benefited me was when I got stuck in June. I was in 2wd and went through an innocent looking dip in the road, which turned out to be a crusted over mud hole.

Had I been in 4wd, I probably could have gotten through if I gave it some throttle as soon as it started to bog down. But, since I was in 2wd, I wound up sitting on my frame in the mud.

Fortunately, I have plenty of recovery gear and it ended up being just an inconvenience. But, without that equipment, I was a sitting duck.

 

That's exactly what I'm trying to say, crawl control is fine when you get stuck, for all else I like to control the vehicle myself.

"Also, if crawl control shuts itself off, wouldn't you just roll to a stop? " Yes, driving a flat muddy trail; in a rocky steep long decent you can get killed using crawl.

People are confused and use crawl control to go down a steep descent which is dangerous, that's why it's important to know the features your vehicle provides.

 

Good points, so what's your method of handling steep decents that engine braking or crawl would be insufficient?

My guess is applying brake as needed.

While we're on that subject, I remember when I was using Hill decent mode and I tapped the brakes and nearly got thrown through the front windshield. It was as if the brakes had become hyper sensitive? Weird?

 

Engine braking and applying the brake as needed is the correct way. Just me.

 

Me too.

 

Re-gear is another option, 4.56 gears, will give you way more throttle control off-roading. Hill descents will be slower and much more controlled when in first gear.

 

That's one of my favorite demonstration videos. I love that orange.

It's been said before, that the crawl control is basically an off road cruise control. I've heard nothing but good things about it.

 

I totally agree. I don't trust a computer to handle throttle and brakes, especially in rocks. The few times I've engaged crawl control it seems way too fast for my preference.

So, I was confused why you're concerned about it cutting out after 10-12 minutes? Anything where I could see that being an issue, I'd be driving myself.

Same as @Roland . 4LO, S1, brakes and throttle as needed.