2019-05-01 Wilderness

62
MAY 2019

TREAD LIGHTLY

Techniqueandcarefuldrivingcan

makea bigdifferencetotheimpact

a vehiclecanhaveontheback-

country,writesMarkWilson

Formanytrampers,themaxim‘Take

onlyphotos,leaveonlyfootprints’says

itallforhowtheyrelatetothegreat

outdoors.Forresponsible4WDenthu-

siasts,theequivalentis‘Treadlightly’,a

collectionofrulesandoff-roaddriving

techniquesthatminimisetrackwear

andenvironmentaldamage.Ifyournext

outdooradventurerequiresdrivingup

a rivervalleyoralonganaccesstrack,

youcanlessenyourenvironmental

treadprintbyfollowingthese tips:

Sticktothetrack

Despitethego-anywhereimage

depictedinadvertisements,4WD

vehiclesgenerallydoneeda trackto

follow.Itmaybeindistinctattimes,

particularlyina riverbed,anditmay

haveanobstacleortwoalongitsway,

butitisstillthetrack,soyoushould

sticktoit.Drivingaroundobstaclesjust

leadstothetrackgettingwider.The

terraineithersideofthetrackalsomay

besensitivetodamagefroma vehi-

cle.Thisisparticularlythecaseifyou

cometoa waterhole– theholeislikely

to havea firmbottomandofferthe

bestwaythrough,whereastheterrain

eithersideofthetrackislikelytobe

a sensitiveareaofbogorwetland.Of

course,youshouldcheckhowdeep the

waterhole is before plunging in.

Use4WD

Ina vehiclewith4WD,thepower

fromtheenginegoestoallfour

wheels.With2WD,thepowergoes

onlytoeitherthefrontorrear

wheels.Ifthegoingisslippery,steep

oruneven,thefrontwheelsofa

4WDwill‘pull’thebackoneswhile

thebackoneswill‘push’thefront

ones,meaningmuchlesschanceof

anyofthewheelsspinninganddam-

agingthetrack.A4WDdrivenwith

carewillcausemuchlessdamageto

a trackthan a slipping, sliding 2WD

vehicle.

Loweryourtyrepressure

Anothertechniqueforlessening

damagetoa trackistolowertyre

pressures.Thisincreasesthesurface

areaofeachtyrebyallowingitto

spreadacrosstheground,making

itlesslikelythetyrewilllosegrip

andallowthewheeltostartspin-

ning.Tyrepressurecanbereduced

byabout 20 percentwithoutany

issues,buttheywillneedtobe

re-inflatedas soonas possible once

back on tarseal.

Carryit out

It’sonethingtolessenthe

impactofyourvehicleonthe

environment;it’sevenbetterif

youcanuseyourvehicletohelp

cleanitup.Ifyour4WDhasa

rear-mountedsparewheel,con-

sidergettinga gearbagto fit it

• theyarea greatplacetostash
  thestraybitsofotherpeople’s
  rubbishyouwillinevitablycome
  acrossasyoudrive through the
  backcountry.
  
  
  • MarkWilsonistheauthor
    of4WDSouth: 115 OffRoad
    Adventures in NZ’s South Island.
  
  
  
  

Avoiddamageto sensitiveland

bystickingto thetrack,even

if there'sa waterholeorother

obstacle in the way

MARK WILSON

A 4WDDRIVEN

WITH CARE WILL

CAUSEMUCH LESS

DAMAGEtoa track

than a slipping,

SLIDING 2WD