One to watch out for....

[slowzuki]

Twice recently I have been in a position where my rear locker has almost tipped me over. It happens when you are in a situation where the front of the vehicle is higher than the rear and the rear falls into a deep hole. If the truck is still getting forward momentum from the wheel in the hole there is a tendency for the vehicle to rotate about its axis. This will spin the front of your fourby around until you either back off, hit something or fall over. Apart from that, you just can't imagine life without lockers!

[Twisty]

I know how you feel.....fun aint it ;D

http://www.4wdlinks.com.au/albums/album542/DSCF1489.sized.jpg

[baby_troupe]

Yup.
I have done that once or twice.

When I didn't have the lockers, once the rear wheel came off the ground, the vehicle would stop lifting the other one.
Now it will happily keep on driving ;)

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

Funny, I would've said the Detroit's do the exact opposite!! When one rear tyre falls into a hole, as it goes down and in, it loses drive 'cos it moves further at the tread than the one still on top, and the front can lift up 'cos the top tyre continues to drive and starts the pivot you talk about. BUT once the tyre in the hole starts to drive up and out, it's the one that is travelling the least distance and the one up high looses drive, reversing the pivot and bringing the front tyre in the air SLAMMING down as you keep on surging up the hill!! It can be quite a slam too!!

The only time I've felt it occur any other way was when the act of falling into the hole ripped the bead off the rim!! That lets the holed rim just turn inside the tyre (flat) at exactly the same speed as the one still up above, and the pivot sets in!! Very recognisable though, and the flat is enough to excercise the shincter reaction, so you stop VERY quickly!! Check out the photo in the Post up pics of your 4WD disasters thread!

http://www.4wdmonthly.com.au/forum/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=14516&st art=34

(OK, how do you make it go straight to Reply #34??)

That's the only time I've ever got the feeling that I think you guys are talking about!! I guess it's just another one of the differences between Detroits and Air Lockers! No wonder I LIKE them!

[mike_fnq]

I don't believe that there is a significant "twisting" moment here at all. There is of course a twisting moment assosiated with torque in the drive shafts - noticable by always being in the same direction. In most cases, it's simply that you are still maintaining drive and the front is still lifting. You don't notice this when your unlocked because you stop going forward!
message= just because you CAN, doesn't always mean you SHOULD go forward!

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

I take your (first) point mike, but it is the 'twist' imparted from the still driving wheels that can keep the front lifting!! ;) 'Cos the wheel on top of the hole still has drive, it is trying to turn, or 'twist' the car around its 'centre of turn' until the wheel in the hole regains traction or the driving foot lifts off!! In the normal course with the Detroit, the wheel in the hole regains the drive as soon as it starts climbing out of the hole, and creating the 'slam' that I metioned! ;D So it makes your second point less of an issue for Detroit equipped vehicles! Not only CAN they keep going forward, there is NO REASON NOT TO!! ;D ;D

You are absolutely right in that you don't notice it anywhere so much in an unlocked vehicle, 'cos the drive ceases instantly, and in the Detroit Locked vehicle it usually becomes a non event 'cos the downside wheel takes over the drive almost instantly! But that doesn't detract from the potential embarrassment that slowzuki sought to highlight!! It is probably compounded somewhat by the SWB and light nature of the 'zuki too!! :o

AND unlocked vehicles can get caught the same way too, only usually when going downhill, and the front wheel on the lowest side falls in a hole!! :o If the driver attempts to turn up hill, the HIGHER front wheel will climb higher, and cause the whole thing to tumble!! :-X The correct response there (and almost always when going downhill) is to turn hard DOWNHILL, but the nature of people is that they will try and stop falling over by turning harder UPHILL!! :o Many downhill rolls are the result of that inate reaction!!

So that distorts, (or even 'twists') your message further!! Just because you CAN go forward, doesn't always mean you SHOULD go foward, UNLESS it's HARD DOWNHILL!! So we've all got it wrong!! :o :o We shouldn't be trying hard to get UP hills, we should be building cars that will go DOWNHILL - HARD!! ;D ;D

Is that why Scruby hates 4WD's so much!! ??? ::)
Have Downhill Skiers had it right all along?? ::) ::)

OK, maybe the message should be corrected to...












We should all devote our time and effort to

GOING DOWN!!' ;D ;D ;D

Who am I to argue??!! :D ;D :D

[Anthony]

Hi Slow Z, The twisting rolling motion that you describe happens and causes more injury than most of us realise , on the old fashioned farm tractor, and if you arn't expecting it to happen it can be very dangerous, it's probably from not backing off soon enough. I'm sure this is one of the reasons the Roll Bar was made compulsory on all four wheel tractors. The modern big tractor of course with dual wheels back and front are a different story. I'm sure small Suzy cars with oversized wheels, and in the wrong place at the right time, would go over backwards real quickly ... what ever the reason . AJ.

[Nitzan_GU]

Using a locker to push your vehicle up a ramp can also result in a rollover as was pointed out to me by Bad_Religion_au at the quarry the other day.

We located a log and used it as a ramp to test for articulation and as I was driving up I had the rear difflock engaged! had I kept driving forward (as was possible, because I coud) I would of eventually tipped the truck over ... Lucky escape I think..

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g121/Nitzan_GU/Colin.jpg

[crankycruiser]

Using a locker to push your vehicle up a ramp can also result in a rollover as was pointed out to me by Bad_Religion_au at the quarry the other day.

We located a log and used it as a ramp to test for articulation and as I was driving up I had the rear difflock engaged! had I kept driving forward (as was possible, because I coud) I would of eventually tipped the truck over ... Lucky escape I think..

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g121/Nitzan_GU/Colin.jpg


Commonsense should stop u b4 u get to the point of roll over i woulda thought :-\

[BushTuckerNed]

Using a locker to push your vehicle up a ramp can also result in a rollover as was pointed out to me by Bad_Religion_au at the quarry the other day.

We located a log and used it as a ramp to test for articulation and as I was driving up I had the rear difflock engaged! had I kept driving forward (as was possible, because I coud) I would of eventually tipped the truck over ... Lucky escape I think..

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g121/Nitzan_GU/Colin.jpg

hehe

i did this one night with the locker but the front wheel rolled into the gutter a bit quicker than i expected. The car was teetering and the uhf mic fell into the passnger side foot well. so i slowly dragged it up and yelled out to the winch bitch in toms car to come and pull be back down.

Tom thought i was in a hurry to get a pic lol

http://www.4wdlinks.com.au/albums/bushtuckerned/aeo.sized.jpg

it was like that, but the guy who stood next to it is about 6 foot and the bottom of my tub was eye level :-\ :-X

[Nitzan_GU]

Commonsense should stop u b4 u get to the point of roll over i woulda thought :-\


You'd like to think so, but stranger things have happened...