Unless you daily drive a cab-over dump truck, I doubt many of you reading DirtRoadTrip use your left foot to brake your vehicle. That doesn't mean that there isn't a time and place to do it. In off-road driving there are situations while navigating obstacles in 4-low where using left foot braking techniques can actually help you maintain better control of your acceleration, … [Read more...]
Mid-Atlantic I4WDTA Certified Trainers
Most of the people we meet out on the trail usually have a winch, shackles, recovery ropes, and all sorts of other fancy recovery equipment. The total dollar amount of all this equipment starts in the hundreds and can easily reach into the thousands, but most people don't even read the instruction manual that comes with all their fancy gear. Off-road driving is inherently … [Read more...]
GW National Forest – Long Run Road
With the DirtRoadTrip Winter Camp Out right around the corner, we gathered up the crew to do a quick scouting run around George Washington National Forest. The previous Summer Camp Out was hosted at an excellent site directly off of Long Run Road, and we were looking for a change of scenery. In the past we had covered a lot of the trail in the same vicinity, but we'd never … [Read more...]
Ten Things Running a 4×4 Club Has Taught Me
Several years ago I inherited being president of a medium sized 4x4 club. It was a situation where no one else was going to do it, so I volunteered. It was overwhelming at first, but the reality of it was that our club is easy to manage, and there was no shortage of people willing to help. Without them, it would have sunk long ago. I learned some lessons, and was reminded of … [Read more...]
I4WDTA – TFC Day 3
The previous 2 days of the International 4-Wheel Drive Trainers Association (I4WDTA), Training for Certification (TFC) had been nothing short of a whirlwind. The periods of classroom instruction covered dozens of topics at a breakneck pace, and the practical portion had pushed all of the candidates far outside of their comfort zone. Needless to say, everyone was ready for the … [Read more...]
