What Trail Condition Do You Fear The Most?

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Tyler.W

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Spring Hill, TN
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Being the trail leader across unknown ice thickness over unknown water depths. I've gone through the ice in a vehicle once, i hope to never experience that again. Crossing puddles, ponds, lakes and rivers on the ice is always spooky, being the first truck across, especially with fresh snow, is extra spooky.
Yeah that wins I think. That gave me the shivers just thinking about it.
 
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tsteb112

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1,212
Greenville
Off camber at night for me. I'm used to climbing rocks and offroading and I've been stuck in mud at night but its not to big a deal. Rock crawling at night is a whole different ball game though. Also where we wheel the dirt is clay so if it rains, the trails are almost treacherous at best.
 
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Smokey_Bear_JLUR

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Oakville, MO, USA
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Cliff edge driving....which is odd from a guy who loves steep skiing and rock climbing....I guess I both love and fear it all at once!
 

David C Gibbs

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To understand that I'm 75 miles from civilization and have to double-back, due to a landslide, or snow closure. Trip foiled. I hate backtracking, or having to turn around, especially on tight narrow trails.
 

SwampcatJeep

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this would get me wet or dry
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, but this photo is most likely not genuine. The photo posted is a cropped version of a vintage WARN advertisement circa mid 70's. It's never been 100% confirmed that I know of, but there's heavy speculation that this image was 'photoshopped' using common techniques of the time (double exposure, composite, etc). The prevailing theory is that the Jeep, the trail in front of it, and the cliff to the left are all genuine, but the drop off to the right and the trees are a different photo that was "photoshopped" in by some method.

As for the topic of the thread, the conditions I fear most are uncertainty, inexperience, and being alone in a sticky situation. In the Navy we had a strategy for performing a given task. Successful completion of the task depended on an ever-changing combination of three things... training/experience, procedure, and supervision. They are like three sides of a triangle whose lengths and angles can be manipulated, but never broken. Slack in one area is compensated for by the other two. In the offroading community, this holds true, but we call two of them by different names... training/experience is still applicable. 'Procedure' goes by many names... "the best line is.." or "the rule of thumb" or "what works for most people is...". 'Supervision' is more commonly called a spotter or a trail leader.

My biggest fear is being in a situation I have no training for or experience in, with no 'procedure', and nobody around to help. That's the trifecta that sends you to destination screwed.
 

HEYElliott

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I vote mud. The number one thing I need on trail is traction and mud throws it out the window...

Not to mention it can play tricks on your vehicle and make things break or stop working correctly.
 
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MazeVX

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Gießen Germany
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I dont like mud, but need to deal with it it`s everywhere here...
What realy scares me are icy conditions in the mountains.
 

Kyle & Kari Frink

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I think the one that really unsettles me personally is coming down the otherside of a mountain range on a gravel/dirt trail with many switchbacks that have steep drop offs while the road is covered with ice. My family and I were in a situation where we were coming around a bend in a switchback. The Jeep was in 4 High at the time, should have been in 4 Low for part of the reason the Jeep swung/slide sideways around the bend because the Traction control kicked in and tried to maintain vehicle slippage but just made things worse and slung us completely sideways for a good 20 yards with a downwards slope. I really was upset with myself because I knew that in 4 low for a 2007-2012 JKU in 4 Low it disables Traction Control and could have possibly prevented this but however with that being said driving on hard ice even covered with snow is really tricky even with the most experience but taking it slow and tapping the brakes never fully compressing them and letting the low range gears do the work will help drastically in this kind of situation.
 
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MOAK

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I think the one that really unsettles me personally is coming down the otherside of a mountain range on a gravel/dirt trail with many switchbacks that have steep drop offs while the road is covered with ice. My family and I were in a situation where we were coming around a bend in a switchback. The Jeep was in 4 High at the time, should have been in 4 Low for part of the reason the Jeep swung/slide sideways around the bend because the Traction control kicked in and tried to maintain vehicle slippage but just made things worse and slung us completely sideways for a good 20 yards with a downwards slope. I really was upset with myself because I knew that in 4 low for a 2007-2012 JKU in 4 Low it disables Traction Control and could have possibly prevented this but however with that being said driving on hard ice even covered with snow is really tricky even with the most experience but taking it slow and tapping the brakes never fully compressing them and letting the low range gears do the work will help drastically in this kind of situation.
You have comfirmed my old fashioned belief that a good driver is 10xs better than any computer controlled traction devices on modern vehicles. Yes, I'm old school. Yes, if I had the extra money to convert my automatic transmission to a manual transmission complete with lock out hubs on my front axle, I would do it in a heartbeat. What you experienced is a very scary situation that most of us hope to never experience. Good luck -- peace out !!
 
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Kyle & Kari Frink

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You have comfirmed my old fashioned belief that a good driver is 10xs better than any computer controlled traction devices on modern vehicles. Yes, I'm old school. Yes, if I had the extra money to convert my automatic transmission to a manual transmission complete with lock out hubs on my front axle, I would do it in a heartbeat. What you experienced is a very scary situation that most of us hope to never experience. Good luck -- peace out !!
Yup! I enjoy the old school as well myself, our first Jeep has a Chevy 350 small block in it from a 69 corvette all with the old school carb and manual choke lol so I hear ya. But there are those who would argue in other situations modern technology is better but that's for another time lol. Thanks though!
 

jeepsnstuff

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Mud for me even best case scenario you still have to clean your rig after. And even then its the gift that keeps on giving for months to come. Get under there to check/replace something and dirt falls from spots you did not know existed.
 

rooftentoverland

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Contributor II

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Munich, Germany
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I havent done too much offroading, but recently I must say on wet mud and in deep tracks, it was the feeling of not being able to steer. The car basically did what gravity told it, steering had no effect, braking very little.
Felt worse than in winter, but similar.
We did get down safely though.
 

SubeeBen

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I own a Jeep jku so really not concerned with any trail I cannot pass. If I come across that trail I faith in my rig & equipment & myself to overcome that obstacle & move on. Knock on wood haven’t been stuck yet. Just my 2 cents
 

Daryl 32

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With our rig being a full size 99 F250, I have to say being right On The Edge- If I move 3" over I'll roll 1000' down the face of this mountain - and not seeing this till we are well along the track and it keeps getting narrower and narrower with no place to turn back.

7,900 lbs on the side of a drop off is eye opening!

This does not look bad but around the corner are more rocks on the right at road level and wash outs on the left. The pinch is coming.

A trip 24.jpg
 
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Kyle & Kari Frink

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I own a Jeep jku so really not concerned with any trail I cannot pass. If I come across that trail I faith in my rig & equipment & myself to overcome that obstacle & move on. Knock on wood haven’t been stuck yet. Just my 2 cents
That's what I'm talking about! It's good to have confidence in yourself, it's better to pair it with common sense as well experience, but that comes with time. Keep that attitude up and you will for sure find epic spots!
 

SubeeBen

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That's what I'm talking about! It's good to have confidence in yourself, it's better to pair it with common sense as well experience, but that comes with time. Keep that attitude up and you will for sure find epic spots!
I think that’s the biggest problem in these days people have more money to buy there confidence (gear) than to have common sense ! Just my 2 cents & do not mean to sound negative or judgmental
 
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