____________________________TABLE OF CONTENTS  i

Contents

PREFACE AND DEDICATION . . . . . . . . . . 1

INTRODUCTION, CHAPTER 1 . . . . . . . . . . . 3

THE COYOTE’S WORLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

COYOTE BACKGROUND 4

REALITY CHECK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

BOGEYMEN! 5

LOST LOUIE 5

BART BUSTYAUP 6

SEÑOR STUCK 6

PUFFIN’ ’N PERFORMIN’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

OLD HUSBANDS’ TALES 7

WHAT’S TA KNOW? 8

LEARN VERSUS TEACH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

LET’S TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

EARLY 4WD HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

FEATURES ABOUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

TWO ENDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

USING THIS HANDBOOK . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

SAFETY 13

CAUTION 13

TIP 14

WAR STORY 14

TECH STUFF 14

SAFETY, CHAPTER 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17     Back to Top

STATE OF MIND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

TOO MUCH SAFETY 18

ATTITUDE 18

IN THE 4X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

EMERGENCY BRAKE CAUTION 19

TRANSFER CASE NEUTRAL 20

SEAT BELTS ARE IMPORTANT! 21

SECURE EVERYTHING 22

WARNING LABELS 23

INSPECTION IMPORTANT 23

FIRE EXTINGUISHER 24

GASOLINE SAFETY 25

FIRST AID KIT 26

PERSONAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

LEARN YOUR LIMITATIONS 26

PLANNING 26

WATER 27

4WD COCKTAIL NO, NO! 29

LISTS 29

STICK BY YOUR 4X 30

ON THE TRAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS 31

SPREAD OUT ON HILLS 32

TRAVEL WITH OTHERS 32

TELL OTHERS WHEN YOU GO 32

KEEP TRACK OF OTHERS 32

LOOK OUT FOR OTHERS 33

OBEY ROAD CLOSURES 34

WEATHER 34

DRIVE SLOWLY 35

INVESTIGATE 36

CHOOSE THE EASY WAY 36

THE COYOTE SAYS... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

RULES, RULES, FUN RULES! 37

CONFIDENCE 3

GETTING READY, CHAPTER 3 . . . . . . . . 41              Back to Top

PRE-TRIP CHECK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

DRINKING WATER 42

TRASH BAG 42

TP AND POTTY TROWEL 44

CLEAR, CLEAN WINDSHIELD 44

FIRE EXTINGUISHER 44

FIRST AID KIT 45

SEAT BELTS 45

ROLL BAR 46

SPARE TIRE 46

TIRES AND WHEELS 47

RUNNING BOARDS 48

BUMPER OVERHANG 48

CB RADIO 48

SPARE KEYS 49

FLUID TOP-OFFS 50

LUBE JOB 50

TOW HOOKS 50

TOWLINE 51

DOOR MIRRORS 51

ANTENNA 52

RAIN GUTTERS 53

4WD 53

AUXILIARY LIGHTS 54

TOOLS 55

SUSPENSION MODIFICATIONS 55

INSPECT THE UNDERSIDE 55

PACKING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

LOW AND LEVEL 56

ADD D-RINGS 56

LOADS FIGHT 56

HEAVY VERSUS LIGHT 57

SOFT ITEM HINTS 57

ICE CHEST HINTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

USING ICE CHESTS 59

ICE CHEST PREP 59

CONTENT PREP 59

ICE CHEST NO-NOS 60

BLOCK ICE 61

TO DRAIN OR NOT TO DRAIN? 61

DRY ICE 61

ICE SUBSTITUTES 62

ICE CHEST FEATURES 63

SPARE GASOLINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

GASOLINE HAZARDS 65

STAYING CLEAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

FOLLOW BACK 66

WINDOWS 68

USE A/C MAX 70

HOW IT WORKS, CHAPTER 4 . . . . . . . . . 73         Back to Top

4WD VARIETY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

AUTOMOTIVE TERMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

4WD — HOW IT WORKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

HUBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

PERMANENT HUBS 76

MANUAL HUBS 77

AUTOMATIC HUBS 78

NO-MOVE HUBS 79

CATCH-22 HUBS 79

CENTRAL DISCONNECT 80

TRANSFER CASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

T-CASE OPTIONS 82

PART-TIME T-CASE 82

FULL-TIME T-CASE 83

T-CASE TEST #1 83

AUTOMATIC SYSTEMS 84

ALL-WHEEL DRIVE 84

SHIFT-ON-THE-FLY 84

LOW RANGE 84

T-CASE TEST #2 85

VISCOUS COUPLINGS 88

DIFFERENTIALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

DRIVE WHEEL 92

OPEN DIFFERENTIAL 93

CLOSED DIFFERENTIALS 94

DIFFERENTIAL TEST 94

LIMITED SLIPS 95

LOCKERS 96

NO-CHOICE 96

CHOICE 97

TIRES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

TIRE SIZE 98

TIRES: FAT VERSUS SKINNY 98

TRY ’EM ON 99

TREAD 100

TRANSMISSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

AUTO VERSUS MANUAL 101

GROUND CLEARANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

SOLID AXLES 102

INDEPENDENT SUSPENSION 103

THE BIG NUMBERS MYTH 104

SPECSMANSHIP 104

OTHER 4WD OPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

COMBOS 105

HORSEPOWER 105

KNOW YOUR 4X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

STEERING WHEEL SPOKES 107

GAUGES 107

MAINTENANCE 108

SNOOP FOR POTENTIAL FAILURES 109

BASICS, CHAPTER 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111      Back to Top

SUPER SECRET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

THE BOSS 112

GUIDELINES  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

IMITATE MOTHER NATURE 113

INSTANT 4WD 114

ANY FOOL KNOWS THAT! 114

UNCOMMON SENSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

WHERE’S SAFE? 115

CHOOSE STUCK VERSUS ROLLED 116

LOOK AHEAD 116

ACTION VERSUS REACTION 116

WHAT IFS 117

DRIVING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

MACHOMAN 118

DAINTYLADY 118

GENDER INDEPENDENCE 119

PAVEMENT MINDSET 120

DIRT MINDSET 120

WHEEL GRIP 120

DIRT IS DIFFERENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

ABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

BRAKES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

SHEET METAL BRAKE 125

CHANGE SOMETHING . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

4WD HANDLING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

POWER MANAGEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

DON’T SPIN TIRES 130

GAS PEDAL 131

POWERED STEERING 132

POWERED CORNERING 132

AUTO TRANS FINESSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

TIRE PLACEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

OLIVE SEEDING 134

AXLE ANGULATION 135

GROUND CLEARANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

TO 4WD OR NOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

HOW TO GO INTO 4WD 138

TRANSFER CASE MANAGEMENT . . . . 139

ENGAGE HUBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

AUTOMATIC HUBS 142

MANUAL HUBS 143

DISENGAGE HUBS 145

WHEEL CHEAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

3-POINT TURN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

TRAIL ETIQUETTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

STAY ON THE TRAILS 149

RESPECT ANIMALS 150

RESPECT WATER 150

LIMIT NOISE 150

REPORT POACHERS 150

REPORT ABUSERS 151

RESPECT PROPERTY 151

RESPECT FIRE REQUIREMENTS 151

RESPECT HISTORY 151

PACK IT OUT 151

SHARE THE AREA 152

RESOURCE CONSERVATION 152

BE ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE 153

PREVENT FIRES 153

HELP OTHERS 154

HALF ROAD RULE 154

ROAD SHARING 155

ROADS FROM HELL 155

IMPASSE 156

TRAIL RIGHT OF WAY 156

GIVE ‘EM THE FINGERS! 156

FAST WHEEL DROP OFF . . . . . . . . . . . 157

APPROACH ANGLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

DEPARTURE ANGLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

PILOT INDUCED OSCILLATION . . . . . . 158

TWIST GAS PEDAL FOOT 159

ISOLATE YOUR BODY 159

SIDE SLOPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

APF 160

SIDE HILL 161

ROLL CONTINGENCIES 162

TERRAIN & OBSTACLES, CHAP. 6 . . .  165         Back to Top

ROADS AND TRAILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

FAST IS DANGEROUS 165

IRREGULAR CURVES 166

WASHBOARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

SHARK THE ROAD 169

LOWER TIRE PRESSURE 169

ADJUST THE SHOCKS 170

WHOOP-DE-DOOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

POTHOLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

DEEP VEES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

CROSS DIAGONALLY 172

SUBURBAN TRAP 173

STRADDLE WITH CARE! 174

DRIVE IN IT 174

HIGH CENTERING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

BUSHES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

SCRATCH REMOVAL 177

TREES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

ROCKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

ADJUST THE SHOCKS 179

GET OUT AND LOOK 179

ROCK STRATEGIES 180

ADJUST YOUR DOOR MIRRORS 181

ROAD RECONSTRUCTION 181

ROCK THROWERS 181

DON’T STEER STOPPED 182

SAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

AIR DOWN 183

TINY SAND MOUNTAINS 184

DRIVING SAND 185

SAND VARIES 186

SLOPE ADVANTAGE 186

“BRAKING” HILLS 186

CHANGE SOMETHING 187

STEERING SAND 187

MUD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

AVOID MUD 188

TEST THE DEPTH 188

SLING MUD 189

GUMBO SUCKS 190

AVOID EXISTING TRACKS 191

DITHERING 191

SKINNY VERSUS FAT TIRES 192

2WD ADVANTAGE 193

MUD MECHANICS 193

WATER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

EVALUATE FIRST 194

DON’T SPEED 195

SPLASH GUARD 195

DON’T REMOVE THE FAN BELT 196

EXHAUST IS NO CONCERN 197

IGNITION CONCERNS 198

INTAKE CONCERNS 198

DON’T HYDRAULIC THE MOTOR 198

MODERN ELECTRONICS 199

THE EARLY A.M. DRIPS 199

POST-TRIP INSPECTION 199

THERMAL PUMPING 200

WATER AND BRAKES 200

SALTWATER 201

SNOW AND ICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

BULLYING SNOW 202

PUDGY TIRES WORK IN SNOW 202

SNOW CHANGES 203

HILLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203

INVESTIGATE 204

SELECT A SPECIFIC GEAR 204

HILL POSITIONS 205

LET OTHERS DRIVE 206

BACKING DOWN HILLS 206

REVERSE STEERING HINT 209

BACK DOWN GEAR SELECTION 210

HILL TRACTION 212

MOMENTUM 212

STICK SHIFT OCTOPUS 213

START IN GEAR 214

LONG DOWNHILLS 215

RECOVERY, CHAPTER 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . 219          Back to Top

SAFETY FIRST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

CONSIDER OTHERS 221

RESOURCE CONSERVATION 221

HAND SIGNALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

LEFT AND RIGHT 222

ONE SPOTTER ONLY 222

HAND SIGNALS 223

STOP EVERYTHING! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

ALMOST STUCK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

REALLY STUCK? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

IN 4WD? 225

DIAGONAL TEETER-TOTTER 226

CENTER DIFF-LOCK 227

CHECK FOR BROKEN PARTS 227

4WD RESET 227

HUBS LOCKED? 227

PROPER RANGE? 228

ROCK IT 228

WHAT’S STUCK 229

CHECK TIRE PRESSURE 229

CORRECT GEAR? 230

THREE BASICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

DOWNHILL 231

STRAIGHT 232

DIG OUT 233

ALTERNATE ROUTES? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

REBUILD ROAD 235

ELEVATE THE ROAD 237

AIR DOWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

75% RULE 239

DRIVER REQUIRED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

MANPOWER CONSIDERATIONS . . . . . 241

PROTECT THE PUSHERS 241

TEETER-TOTTER 242

MECHANIZED ASSISTANCE . . . . . . . . . 242

YANKER SPECS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

HORROR STORIES 244

ATTACH POINTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

ATTACH POINT RULE 245

DOT HOLES 246

COYOTE CHAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

MOUSE THE HOOK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

LONG TOWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

PARACHUTE THE TUG LINE . . . . . . . . . 249

DEFINE THE DANGER ZONE . . . . . . . . 250

AVOID THE TOWLINE 251

RECOVERY EQUIPMENT LIST 251

WINCHING AND MORE 252

REPAIRS, CHAPTER 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255      Back to Top

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY  . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

SAFETY FIRST  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

ATTITUDE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

PROFESSIONAL MINDSET . . . . . . . . . . 257

HANDEDNESS 258

TIGHTENING AND TORQUING . . . . . . . 258

INVESTIGATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

SHOP MANUAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

CREATIVITY 261

PART VERSUS FUNCTION . . . . . . . . . . 262

KITCHEN CURES - BEWARE! . . . . . . . . 263

GETCHABACK BOX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

CATEGORIZE 264

SPARE PARTS AND RESOURCES 264

SPARE PARTS AND RESOURCES LIST 265

SPARE FLUIDS LIST 265

OTHER STUFF 266

LEAVE THE HEAVY STUFF HOME 266

GETCHABACK TOOLS AND GOODIES . 267

MECHANIC’S TOOLS 267

TRY IT AT HOME 268

PORTABLE DRILL 269

SPECIALTY ITEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

NAVIGATIONAL TOOLS 271

CB RADIO SPARE PARTS 271

WHERE TO STORE IT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

TRIP INFO SHEET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

WHAT FAILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

TIRES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

ROLLING INSPECTION 275

EARLY FLAT DETECTION 275

VULNERABLE HARD TIRES 275

WHY FLATS 276

HOW AND WHERE FLATS OCCUR 276

INSPECT FREQUENTLY 277

CANNED SEALANTS 278

FLAT FIX ALTERNATIVES 278

PLUGGING TIRES 279

TIRE SIZE PROBLEMS 280

CHANGING TIRES 281

LOOSEN LUG NUTS 282

JACKING TIPS 285

IMPROVISE A SAFETY STAND 287

MOUNTING THE SPARE 287

SPARE LUG NUTS 287

STORE THE FLAT 288

WHEEL SWAPS 288

TIRE PRESSURE MEASUREMENT 288

AIR COMPRESSORS 288

TIRE REPAIR TOOLS AND SPARES . . . 289

TIRE REPAIR TOOLS AND SPARES 289

FIXING HOSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

RADIATOR CAP REMOVAL 290

CAUTIOUSLY INSPECT 290

CUT AND MOVE 290

SPLICE IT 291

PLUG IT 292

RADIATOR LEAKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

REFILLING 293

ELECTRICAL FAILURES . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

ELECTRIC SHOCK 294

PRACTICE SAFETY 295

BATTERY PACKS 295

BATTERY PACK USES 296

COMPUTER RESET 296

BATTERY TEST 297

HOLY WATER 299

STARTING PROBLEMS 299

JUMP STARTING 300

BATTERY CONNECTIONS 301

BAD BATTERY ADVICE 302

DON’T REVERSE THE BATTERY! 302

STARTER PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

BUMP START — STICK 303

BUMP START — AUTO 303

IGNITION SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

FUEL SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

FUEL FILTER 305

FUEL TANK LEAK 305

AIR FILTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

HEAVY METAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

MOTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

DRIVE TRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

SURVIVAL, CHAPTER 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309       Back to Top

FIVE BASIC RULES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

CARRY WATER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

HUMAN WATER NEEDS 310

FLUID LOSS 310

WATER NEEDS VARY 311

DRINK WHEN THIRSTY 311

CARRY WATER 312

PURIFICATION LIMITATIONS 312

IMPORTANCE OF SALTS AND MINERALS 313

GO PREPARED 314

FINDING WATER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

DESERT STILL 315

STAY BY YOUR 4X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

STAY ON THE ROADS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

SURVIVAL SKILLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

SURVIVAL PHILOSOPHY . . . . . . . . . . . 316

SURVIVAL ITEMS 317

PERSONAL SURVIVAL TOOL . . . . . . . . 317

BEWARE OF GROUND TEMPS . . . . . . .317

SHELTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

RADIO MAYDAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

CONSERVE THE BATTERY 321

SIGNALING FOR HELP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

WALKING OUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

BEING RESCUED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324     Back to Top

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