4 Wheel Driving & Towing for girls - The Basics

  4 Wheel Driving & Towing for Girls

Being married to my own personal camping and 4WDriving  pro (in the sense  he has done it all his life not the 'I went and did a course' kinda way) has its benefits. One of them being I have learnt through the years how to 4wd without really knowing it and anything I have not picked up The Man Child knows.

I used my newly realised skills yesterday. My sister who, I shall call Sezzy, went furniture shopping down the coast. She hired a Trailer and brought home couches and footstools gorgeous free standing kitchen bench and bookcases.She arrived home late and got herself bogged trying to get the trailer in to a prime' carrying in furniture' position. I was roped into going and getting Sezzy out of the muck.

  I was scared. I hadn't towed anyone out before, thats what my husband is for. A million things ran through my head. Is the snatch rope in the car? How exactly do you lock the hubs in? Do you in fact lock the hubs in or is that for non 4wd? What happens if the snatch rope flies off the back of my car flinging into the windscreen of Sezzy's killing her on impact? Hey better safe than sorry! 

The hubs are 'in'. The arrow on the top is
pointing to Lock.

The hubs need to be locked. On the front of the wheel you see (once all the dirt has been wiped away) a 'twisty turny thing' right in the middle. Which is in fact the hub itself. There is an arrow on one end and as long as the arrow is pointed at 'lock' and not 'free' the hubs are now in and you can 4WD. You change it back to 'free' when you have finished your 4WD fun.

The snatch rope. One end
hooks over the tow hitch
the other end on the tow
bar of the car pulling you
out. It all seems so easy.

What I call the tow hitch of
my Nissan Patrol. However
your car may be different (as
long as it is sturdy it is fine).

It turns out there really is nothing to it. Yes a snatch rope helps, but a rope of any kind is sufficient. You must hook said rope onto something sturdy like the tow hitch (a U shaped bit of metal under the front and possibly the back of the car) You should use a special knot if using rope so the tension does not tighten it to the point you cant get it off. I don't know any knots apart from the granny knot. See link on how to make the knot needed. It is called a Bowline knot

http://www.wikihow.com/Tie-a-Bowline-Knot

Do Not I repeat Do Not hook or tie on to things like the plastic of the car (like the bumper) or radiator etc. After attaching the other end to your tow bar you are good to go. You must drive forwards slowly allowing the rope between you both to become taught THEN you tow them out the initial jerk or tug you feel is a good sign. You are starting to pull them out so keep going. Keep the revs of the engine steady. Don't go too fast and don't stop until they are out of the boggy bit.

A slightly related Story:

It is common with the men in my husbands family to take each others hubs 'out' when 4WDriving. Everyone is in on it except the person driving that particular car. When the said person gets bogged, usually the one who has been bragging about how great their car brand is compared to the others, everyone else proceeds to laugh and comment on how terrible the car is. It usually takes a few minuets for the person to figure it out. I have seen the victim of this 4WD joke be left to dig their tyres out and then get towed out of the spot before someone has walked up to the front wheels and put the hubs 'in' allowing them to also call into question their 4WDriving skills and mental capacity.