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"I live in Chicago and I went 4 - wheeling at a place called The Badlands Off-Road Park in Attica, Indiana yesterday. What a blast!"
TOMCRO |
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Who's this book for | About
the Author | Summary
The Book’s Pluses (and Minuses)
On first glance, upon receiving this book, I got a good feeling from the thought that someone had written an introductory book for those just beginning to explore the sport of 4-wheeling. My presumption was that the simplified, to-the-point, brief chapters (with even briefer paragraphs), would be much appreciated by those truly interested in learning the art of 4-wheeling – from scratch.
Fortunately, or unfortunately – depending on how you look at it, the book starts and ends with safety and survival tactics. In fact, the first 3 chapters (and the last one, too!) are all about safety precautions and how to prepare for your trip off-road. As uninteresting as that may sound, we all (beginners and experts alike) need to be reminded of such basics on occasion, and chances are you will find at least one great tip that you haven’t tried before, so I encourage you to keep reading. You won’t be sorry. Once you make it past the first 3 chapters that are filled with highly elementary material (including seatbelt safety and how to select the right ice chest for your ride), then you’re sure to find a number of useful ideas to make your 4WD experience even more enjoyable.
The “good stuff” begins in Chapter 4. From there on, it’s a fun ride, so buckle your seatbelt and read on. The pages are FILLED with literally hundreds of off-road tips. They provide the perfect launching pad for beginner 4-wheelers.
Some topics not typically given much attention elsewhere, but covered here in full in Chapters 4 through 9 include:
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Compression braking
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Lockers
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Hubs
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Manual transmission maneuvers
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T-case options
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ABS brakes
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Auto vs manual transmission
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Gearing issues & gear selection tips
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What will and won’t kill your motor
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Airing up & down tires
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How & when to go into 4WD
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The mechanics behind switching into 4WD
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Tips for getting unstuck & recovery methods
The chapter entitled “Terrain and Obstacles” is my favorite. Here is where Lewellyn includes some of the most useful insider secrets and little-known tricks for maneuvering through a variety of terrain and off-road situations (like losing traction, backing down hills, etc.). He goes above and beyond the call of duty in describing things such as how to maneuver your way out of some lesser-known off-road conditions such as “deep vees”, “washboards”, and other types of bumps, dips and inclines, including how to “shark” the road and “dither” in sand.
And the best part: He perfectly explains many of the lesser-known terms used in 4-wheeling today, and describes in step-by-step format how to perform many different 4WD maneuvers while using easy-to-understand terminology, and even graphics.
He has an environmentally conscious attitude about 4-wheeling, and goes to great lengths to note the importance of preserving the lands that we ride on.
Despite the fact that the Lewellyn goes to great lengths to explain such elementary things ice chests (seven pages on how to pick one, how to pack one, types of ice to use, and other oddities associated with coolers and hot/cold issues), proper seating position (how to sit in your vehicle, how to grip the steering wheel), changing a tire (8 pages worth!), and the proper mental attitude inside a 4WD (summarized by his advice to “disconnect your ego from the gas pedal”)… I was reminded of the fact that this is a book for beginners. And it can be helpful to learn how other 4-wheelers mentally and physically prepare for the trip off-road. While some might feel they are being “preached to,” the majority of readers will likely glean enough excellent tips from this read that will make it worthwhile.
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