Irresponsible Practical Jokers
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 1:57 pm
Have any of you guys ever contemplated unlocking somebody else's front wheel hubs while on a trail? I mean like as a practical joke? And if you did, what happened? Were you ever on the receiving side of such a practical joke?
Well, if you ever thought of it, or you have ever done it before, stop right there, and put it out of your mind and dont ever ever do it again. That can turn out to be a very dangerous little prank. See the driver of the "unlocked" vehicle (usually) is not aware that he is effectively driving in 2wd, and not in 4x4 as he expects. There are also other ways of tampering with a vehicle that could lead to disastrous consequences. Over deflating tyres, or the stone in the valve trick where the tyre slowly deflates, is but one of them. This in itself is just as dangerous, as it also makes the vehicle behave in unexpected ways.
Therefore a lot of unexpected things are going to happen. Here are a few examples of what could happen...
1) Brake distribution is not equal to all 4 wheels
2) Traction is only on the rear wheels
3) With a powerful engine, more braking force is needed to stall the engine
4) Going down a hill in reverse the front wheels WILL lock up and the vehicle WILL swing around
5) Wheelspin on cross-axles can break sideshafts as all the power is transfered to the rear wheels, effectively leaving the vehicle in 4x0.
This prank was played on me recently on a very rocky trail by some irresponsible (ignorant, jealous, childish) 4x4'ers who wanted to "even out the odds" because Kaspaas effortlessly climbed even the toughest obstacles. So they unlocked the left front hub, effectively relegating Kaspaas to 4x2, expecting a good laugh when we struggled to get over the next obstacle.
All went well, as the first section after the hubs were unlocked, was pretty smooth for about 500m. Then another tricky rocky section started. The rest of the field was quite some way ahead when I came around a hairpin, leading into a steepish downhill, with some loose rocks. As I came around the hairpin, I realised I didnt have the turning circle to complete the turn without pushing back, and I pushed down the footbrake to stall the engine, so as stabilise the vehicle, and to give me time to assess the situation. The engine refused to stall, as the rear was light, and also the rear brakes on an SFA Hilux is pretty much non existent, well in our case, not strong enough to stall the 7MGE... Things happened very quickly from then on.... Kaspaas was sliding downhill, no traction underfoot, I am doing my best to get the beast under control and cannot understand why the front wheels are locked, but the engine does not want to stall... Mean time the camber is towards the outside of the turn, where the track disappears over the side. That side being a rock strewn steep drop off of about 150m to the bottom. There is nothing to stop Kaspaas from going over the edge, and I started pretensioning my seatbelt, and pushed down harder on the brakes to stall the motor. Remember, I am still firmly under the impression that we are in 4x4 and I cannot understand why the vehicle is not responding to my input the way I am expecting it to do. Luckily the right front wheel collided sideways with a rock, about 600mm long, and about 400mm high, and the engine stalled. That rock, the only one around for 50m either way, is what saved us from going over the edge that day.
Needless to say, once everything calmed down, and I had time to clean my seat, I walked around the vehicle to assess our close call. Only then did I realise how lucky we were to still me on all 4 wheels! Then somebody shouted from the front "Check your hubs". And all of a sudden it is not so funny any more.... and it all made sense. Damn those jokers, I was ever so slightly pee'd off!!
So if you ever think of doing this, DON'T! Not only is it extremely dangerous, it is also irresponsible, and you could be putting people's lives at risk. Should it happen that the consequences of your actions leads to somebody getting seriously injured and even killed, you can be held responsible.
Whenever you do a pre-trail driver's briefing, please bring this under the attention of those in your convoy, so that the wannabe pranksters out there are aware of the dangers of tampering with other people's vehicles.
Lets keep it all safe!!
Well, if you ever thought of it, or you have ever done it before, stop right there, and put it out of your mind and dont ever ever do it again. That can turn out to be a very dangerous little prank. See the driver of the "unlocked" vehicle (usually) is not aware that he is effectively driving in 2wd, and not in 4x4 as he expects. There are also other ways of tampering with a vehicle that could lead to disastrous consequences. Over deflating tyres, or the stone in the valve trick where the tyre slowly deflates, is but one of them. This in itself is just as dangerous, as it also makes the vehicle behave in unexpected ways.
Therefore a lot of unexpected things are going to happen. Here are a few examples of what could happen...
1) Brake distribution is not equal to all 4 wheels
2) Traction is only on the rear wheels
3) With a powerful engine, more braking force is needed to stall the engine
4) Going down a hill in reverse the front wheels WILL lock up and the vehicle WILL swing around
5) Wheelspin on cross-axles can break sideshafts as all the power is transfered to the rear wheels, effectively leaving the vehicle in 4x0.
This prank was played on me recently on a very rocky trail by some irresponsible (ignorant, jealous, childish) 4x4'ers who wanted to "even out the odds" because Kaspaas effortlessly climbed even the toughest obstacles. So they unlocked the left front hub, effectively relegating Kaspaas to 4x2, expecting a good laugh when we struggled to get over the next obstacle.
All went well, as the first section after the hubs were unlocked, was pretty smooth for about 500m. Then another tricky rocky section started. The rest of the field was quite some way ahead when I came around a hairpin, leading into a steepish downhill, with some loose rocks. As I came around the hairpin, I realised I didnt have the turning circle to complete the turn without pushing back, and I pushed down the footbrake to stall the engine, so as stabilise the vehicle, and to give me time to assess the situation. The engine refused to stall, as the rear was light, and also the rear brakes on an SFA Hilux is pretty much non existent, well in our case, not strong enough to stall the 7MGE... Things happened very quickly from then on.... Kaspaas was sliding downhill, no traction underfoot, I am doing my best to get the beast under control and cannot understand why the front wheels are locked, but the engine does not want to stall... Mean time the camber is towards the outside of the turn, where the track disappears over the side. That side being a rock strewn steep drop off of about 150m to the bottom. There is nothing to stop Kaspaas from going over the edge, and I started pretensioning my seatbelt, and pushed down harder on the brakes to stall the motor. Remember, I am still firmly under the impression that we are in 4x4 and I cannot understand why the vehicle is not responding to my input the way I am expecting it to do. Luckily the right front wheel collided sideways with a rock, about 600mm long, and about 400mm high, and the engine stalled. That rock, the only one around for 50m either way, is what saved us from going over the edge that day.
Needless to say, once everything calmed down, and I had time to clean my seat, I walked around the vehicle to assess our close call. Only then did I realise how lucky we were to still me on all 4 wheels! Then somebody shouted from the front "Check your hubs". And all of a sudden it is not so funny any more.... and it all made sense. Damn those jokers, I was ever so slightly pee'd off!!
So if you ever think of doing this, DON'T! Not only is it extremely dangerous, it is also irresponsible, and you could be putting people's lives at risk. Should it happen that the consequences of your actions leads to somebody getting seriously injured and even killed, you can be held responsible.
Whenever you do a pre-trail driver's briefing, please bring this under the attention of those in your convoy, so that the wannabe pranksters out there are aware of the dangers of tampering with other people's vehicles.
Lets keep it all safe!!