Ive very little experiance offroading other than experiance days which are good but not the best. The area I take the dog has started to get a bit churned up over the last few weeks so getting more of a test. What's the best procedure for tackling mud and wet grass? I've an 04 so the technical selectable options are limited compared to the newer beasts. I know it's more than capable but if the knob driving doesn't know what to do anything will get stuck! [img]http://www.fuelly.com/driver/rob2529/range-rover[img/]
04, 4.4V8, Vogue Oslo Blue with LPG.
"You can sleep in your car, BUT you can't race your house!!!!"

If something can't be fixed with a hammer....... You have yourself an electrical fault!

Go slow, but not so slow as to stop or get bogged down quickly, 5-10mph or whatever you fell comfortable with in mud is good.

Tyres are important here but also be very slow if there are ditches either side.

If its rutted a higher speed can be better as it keeps you going forward when the mud gets real sloppy or thick for a long distance.

I also turn the DSC OFF as i find when you hit mud its not much help by the time it starts to slide and being able to plough plenty of power on can save the car more than DSC grabbing the wheels trying to slow it..

agree with the DSC being turned off ...we come across quite a bit of wet grass on the salisbury plain trip and we ended up sliding sideways even with the DSC off but going through mud it helped alot...
the trouble with wet grass is once you start sliding theres not a lot that will stop you , its a bit like ice so you need to transverse it very slowly.... ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

for grass, if its got the tiniest bit of moisture don't traverse it at any angle, hit it straight at the incline with a decent momentum but not a stupid amount as you will need it to keep going up and not start going sideways...

Tyres tyres tyres is all i can say if the mud/grass has any depth to it as normal road tyres, even M+S ones will not have the tread depth and pattern for it and will be useless after their first rotation and are clogged...

Stick Range Rover wet grass into You Tube... Its worth a look, if a little bit of a shock as to how bad they can be...


Craig

I've seen that one Craig. Bit of a shock but that's road tyres for you. [img]http://www.fuelly.com/driver/rob2529/range-rover[img/]
04, 4.4V8, Vogue Oslo Blue with LPG.
"You can sleep in your car, BUT you can't race your house!!!!"

If something can't be fixed with a hammer....... You have yourself an electrical fault!

http://www.fullfatrr.com/gallery/albums/us...811%29.JPG  2012 5.0L S/C
Previous:
3.6 TDV8
4.4 HSE
P38 4.6 HSE
Classic 3.9
90 County
Series3 Lightweight

Remember it well Steve...


Craig

....also a youtube vid of greg going through some mud but look at his range right at the end..


&feature=youtu.be ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

Tyres tyres tyres

And trying to change ruts mid journey bit of a no no but we all do it to learn the hard way!!

tyres do make a difference, however on our trip to salisbury plain the disco 3 leading our group and some nice mud terrian tyres with plenty of grip. He was still slipping around with the rest of us that had road tyres on. FFRR TD6 HSE
Adriatic Blue with Parchment leather.

Whilst tyres will make a difference it is all about control. I first met, and was instructed by, Roger Crathorne in the mid eighties at a RR Classic dealer day. His mantra "as slow as possible as fast as necessary" has stood me in good stead every month since then. The original post was about the sort of terrain experienced on a regular dog walking trip so unlikely to be extreme.

However a few notes from my experience

1. Wet grass. Treat it like ice. Remember once a tyre is spinning it has no grip and that means sideways as well as in a straight line. If it is that slippery to get going it will take a long time to stop too. Good advice (From elsewhere in the post) approach slopes, both up and down, in the same way only drive at right angles to the slope. If ascending be prepared to execute a failed hill climb technique (including reversing back down the way you came at the earliest sign of the vehicle sliding). Descending be prepared to feed throttle in to keep the wheels turning. [The latest FFRR cars do this on hill descent and its really scary to have a car accelerating down the hill despite you standing on the brake]. See the You Tube video of an L322 on its side on a flat field for a demonstration of how to get it wrong.

2. Mud and Ruts. Once again tread lightly. Raise the suspension to 'off road'. If really gloopy then low range is not a bad idea. If possible drive outside the ruts so that you do not make them deeper. If that is not possible, and if you use too much right foot you will slide into the rut anyway, keep the speed down and let the ruts do the steering (the steering wheel will writhe in your hands and at slow speeds you can go hands free). Do not try and steer out of the ruts as you will quickly lose track of which way the wheels are pointing so that when they do find the grip you can do a rapid 90 degree turn into the ditch or fence. Once again the latest cars show you which way the wheels are facing on the central (or dashboard). Getting out the ruts will involve not letting wheels spin and picking the right spot. If the ruts get a bit deeper and you start to feel some drag then "as fast as necessary" comes into play. But remember that if you go for the full bore approach. especially on road tyres, and get bogged down you will be further in and probably need a tow - embarrassing if you are alone walking the dogs (been there). If your tyres have a bit more aggressive tread (AT & MT)and self clean then keeping a bit of power in to allow/make the traction control to brake the spinning wheel/s may inch you forward and out. But at this point you will be starting to mark alloys etc if the mud is particularly abrasive and it is not really treading lightly.

The terrain response is good as it desensitises the throttle which gives you a clue on how you should be driving.

The FFRR is a very capable machine and the fact that LR experience cars are not usually seen on anything other than standard rubber is an indication of that capability.

Going quick into the mud will give you a great muddy looking vehicle but whilst everything external like wheel arches can be pressure washed off depression will really set in when you open the bonnet. I read the reports about the Salisbury Plain trip in which a couple of owners have vowed 'never again' which is a shame as there is a lot of the plain to explore without scratching the paint.

Hope that helps.

Nick 2019 D5 HSE Lux SDV6 Indus
55 D3 SE
98 MX5 1.8 RS
gone 17 older variants of FFRR