TRAIL RATINGS – A GENERAL GUIDE
Rating Description
1 Graded dirt road. Dry, or less than 3" water crossing depth.
Gentle grades. 2WD under all conditions except snow. No width problems.
2 Dirt road. Dry, or less than 3" water crossing depth. Some ruts. Slight grades, up to 10 degrees.
2WD under most conditions. Rain or snow may make 4WD necessary.
3 Dirt road. Rutted, washes, or gulches. Water crossings up to 6" depth. Passable mud. Grades up to 10 degrees. Small rocks or holes. 4WD recommended but 2WD possible under good conditions and with adequate ground clearance and skill. No width problems for any normal vehicle.
4 Rutted and/or rocky road. No shelves but rocks to 9". Water crossings usually less than hub deep.
Passable mud. Grades moderate, up to 15 degrees. Side hill moderate up to 15 degrees. 4WD under most conditions.
5 Rutted and/or rocky road. No shelves. Rocks up to 12" and water crossings up to 12" with possible currents. Passable mud. Moderate grades to 15 degrees. 6" holes. Side hill to 20 degrees. 4WD required.
6 Quite rocky or deep ruts. Rocks to 12" and frequent. Water crossings may exceed hub depth with strong currents. Shelves to 6". Mud may require checking before proceeding. Moderate grades to 20 degrees. Sidehill may approach 30 degrees. 4WD necessary and second attempts may be required with stock vehicles. Caution may be required with wider vehicles.
7 Rocks frequent and large, 12" and may exceed hub height. Holes frequent or deep (12"). Shelves to 9".
Mud 8" deep and may be present on uphill sections. Grades to 25 degrees and sidehill to 30 degrees.
Water crossings to 18" and may have strong currents. 4WD required. Driver experience helpful.
8 Heavy rock and/or severe ruts. Rocks exceeding hub height frequent. Shelves to 12". Deep mud or uphill mud sections. Steep grades to 25 degrees and can be loose or rocky. Water crossings may exceed 30" in depth. Side hill to 30 degrees. One vehicle wide. Body damage possible. Experience needed. Vehicle Modifications helpful.
9 Severe rock over 15". Frequent deep holes over 15". Shelves over 15". Mud bog conditions (long, deep, no form bottom). Over 30" water crossings with strong currents. Steep grades over 30 degrees. Sidehill over 30 degrees. Experience essential. Body damage, mechanical breakdown, rollover probable. Extreme caution required.
10 Severe conditions. Extreme caution recommended. Impassable by stock vehicles. Winching required.
Trail building necessary. May be impassable. Impassable under anything but ideal conditions. Vehicle damage probable. Personal injury possible. Extreme caution necessary.
NOTEWORTHY INFORMATION
At Meeting Spot:
Upon arrival check with the trail leader for tire air down and swaybar disconnection information. CB channel 4 is standard unless noted otherwise at the pre-run meeting. You will be asked to sign the trail roster after a check of your Jeep for proper trail and safety equipment.
Ratings are based on a scale of 1-10 With a low number being the easiest and a High number being more difficult - weather and other factors may effect trail conditions and increase the rating.
We need to be aware of our actions and how what we do as individuals affects our sport as a whole.
TreadLightly! is about low impact recreation and respect for the environment. Rules and courtesy on the trail include:
o Drive only where permitted
o Don't cut new trails, stay on established road or trail
o Keep noise and dust down
o Take out more than you brought in. Carry a litter bag.
o Respect private land - get permission
Remember - if we abuse it, we will lose it (and we are losing more trails every year). Common sense and consideration will help insure the future of our sport.
Always respect the trail leader' s decisions concerning safety and trail etiquette. Contact the trail leader with any concerns.
At obstacles, please observe the "three tries" limit to help keep things moving.
****Remember - always keep the Jeep behind you in the rear view mirror *****
Required Equipment
Please Note:
Club rules require that all vehicles have the following:
1. Front and Rear tow points (securely attached)
2. First Aid Kit
3. Properly charged Fire Extinguisher
4. Full size Spare Tire
5. Properly working CB
6. Tow Strap 20,000 lb min (no metal hooks)
Trail Etiquette
(Guidelines governing socially acceptable behavior while 'froadin'.)
Written by: Hoosier Daddy from Quadratec bulletin board aka Todd from JP Frog Off-Roaders (Indianapolis, IN)
Some trail rides just aren't as much fun as others. Tempers were running high and everyone seemed edgy. Was it just a bad day, or could the trouble have been avoided?
This article is not about how to be prepared for a run or “safety practices”. While these are very important, they could each be an article by themselves, so it will be a given that all drivers are well equipped and safety-minded. The intent here is to establish some guidelines to insure that everyone has a good time. And that is the point of going off road, right?
So with that in mind, read on...
Be on time If it has been agreed to meet at a certain time, don't be late! The last thing
everybody wants to do is wait "just a little bit longer" while you sign in, air down and get
disconnected. We all know that it is sometimes unavoidable, but don't make everyone wait. Just because you decided at the last minute to stop at McDonald's for breakfast!
Driver's meeting It is always a good idea to make sure that all drivers are well informed. Everyone should know what to expect on the trail, what CB channel to be on, who they will be driving with, etc... Besides, it's a good way to kill time while you're all waiting on the knucklehead who's late!
Communication Everyone likes to joke around on the CB once in a while, but there is a time and place for it. While a group is attempting an obstacle, is NOT the right time! Just because you finished it already, doesn't mean that the person a few vehicles back isn't waiting to hear "all clear". And it's hard to warn someone of potential danger while some moron has decided that everyone on the channel just MUST hear the song that he's listening to!
Watch your back Always, always, always keep the vehicle behind you in your sight! If you don't see the person behind you... STOP! This way no one gets lost. It is very easy for a group to get separated out in the woods and it's not a good feeling to come up over an obstacle and find that your friends have left you. If you are about to round a corner or cross a hill, take a few seconds to make sure the person behind you knows where you're going. If you stop to wait for them, the driver in front of you will stop, and so on up the line.
Be patient We all know that this is not a fast paced hobby. Be prepared to wait! Wait on that newbie to struggle with a mud pit. Wait on the "big dogs" who want to take a few minutes and climb on those boulders. Give the newbie some advice if you can, and watch those big dogs for a while. You might just learn something!
Give everybody some room Don't follow too closely to the vehicle in front of you. It is to your advantage to stay far enough back that you can see under the vehicle in front of you. Watch the tires and diffs. It will help you decide what line to take over the obstacles. (And what lines NOT to take!) You will also avoid being splattered by mud and a possible cracked windshield!
If you have already passed an obstacle and want to get out and help others through (or just laugh when they get stuck), make sure that you park far enough ahead that ALL the vehicles in the group will have a room to park. It really sucks to finally make it to the top of that steep hill (or whatever) and find that you have nowhere to go!
Getting strapped Everyone gets stuck sometime. If you haven't, you're not trying hard enough! When it happens, it is common courtesy that YOUR towstrap should be the one to get muddy while pulling you out. Also, if possible, get out and hook it up yourself. If not, you owe the person with the muddy shoes a beer after the run!
Only one spotter please Sometimes when a crowd is gathered around to watch someone attempt an obstacle, it is tempting to yell out advice. Unfortunately, it can be very confusing to the driver to have several people yelling out at once! Select just ONE (experienced) person to be the spotter. The rest of the crowd can handle the "oohs" and "ahs". (and take pictures. )
Tread lightly Respect the environment! For most of us, part of going off road is experiencing nature. Take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but tracks. If you bring food and drinks in with you, make sure that it all comes out with you. (including your cigarette butts!) And if you see trash on the trail, take a minute to pick it up. Trashing the environment reflects poorly on all of us!