"Is it safe to drive with my hubs locked in 2WD?" is a regular question from 'part-time 4WD' vehicle owners. The short answer is "yes", but, there are important points worth understanding before locking your hubs and forgetting them forever.
Modern 4x4 winches boast some big load ratings from small packages; winches with a capacity of 12,000lbs or more can be plucked off the shelf cheaply at just about any 4x4 store. Given that your average four-wheel-drive weighs less than two-thirds of this, a 12,000lb winch should be more than enough for any 4x4, right? Not really.
99% of the time when you see a recovery hitch installed it is done horizontally, with the bow shackle hanging down. When putting your recovery hitch to work, though, this creates unnecessary stress and wear on your both your shackle and recovery strap eyelets. Here's why:
A lot of big numbers get quoted on off-road recovery gear, but sometimes these might not mean what you think, and all too often they're just outright useless.
They say "There are no solutions, only trade-offs", and this is certainly true of tires. No tire can be the best on-road and off, in the dry and wet, softest for the most grip and the most durable, and so on... So are MT or AT tires the best option for your four-wheel-drive?
Many recovery points aren't rated for single-point recoveries, and are designed to be used with a bridle across two points to distribute the load. Improper use of bridles can still result in damaging your recovery points or vehicle though.
As you start off-roading further afield, and into more complex terrain, tire pressure becomes a critical component of your off-road capability and safety. Loose services, rock-crawling, mud, or sand driving all require dramatically different pressures compared to tire pressure for the road.
The "wide vs skinny" tire debate between off-roaders has been going forever, largely based on personal circumstance and anecdotal evidence. In this excellent video by Tinkerer's Adventure, the myths are put to the test, proven, and busted, with real work testing to demonstrate the practical performance differences.
In high load recoveries, e.g. deep mud creating suction, inclines, etc. the forces on winch cables, extension straps, kinetic ropes and recovery can be in excess of 2 tonnes (4,500lbs). If one of these breaks, the recoiling line can become a deadly projectile.
Locking hubs are often a point of confusion for new wheelers. Hubs and front diff-lockers can sound a bit like the same thing if not explained properly, but they are very different pieces of equipment.
There are plenty of ways to get stuck off-roading, and you don't want to be relying on the kindness of strangers to get you out; especially in remote areas. So what gear do you need?
I threw ChatGPT a few soft-ball four-wheel-driving questions for fun to see what it suggested, asking the questions repeatedly for different takes. Here's what it had to say for winching.
Snatch recoveries are perhaps the most common recovery technique employed off-roading. When done correctly they're relatively simple, safe and quick, but, there is a right way, and many dangerous ways to do one.
Winching incorrectly can quickly lead to broken equipment, failed recoveries, damaged vehicles, or serious injury. Here are a few things you should know.
A lot of first-time buyers are disappointed after using their new Hi-Lift jack for the first time to find that after one use, and just a few days, the bar of their shiny new jack is already rusted. Here's what you can do to help stop it.
If you're new to off-roading, the first thing you should do is get your head around tire pressures, and the role they play in off-roading and successfully crossing different surfaces.
In this breakdown we're going to compare objective differences between the two as much as is possible, specifically in off-roading scenarios; not comparisons of fuel economy, not high-way towing, not 0-100km times.
"Part-time" 4x4s can be a bit confusing for new off-roaders. Between 2wd and 4wd, high and low range, locking hubs, and cross-axle diff lockers, there are more than a dozen different driveline configurations your vehicle can potentially engage.
