Crawler Gear ('C') performance off-road

[ultima785]

Sorry I couldn't find this specific topic on the forum so made a new thread--

Anyone had experience yet? As a novice off-roader still, I'm specifically curious/apprehensive about tackling an obstacle (esp descent) when I'm engaging the 'C' gear because I've noticed that in 'C' more than 1st gear, that even when you gradually come off the clutch (no gas), there seems to be a bit of a jump for me (almost like an increased 'launch' speed) to the initial gear engagement, in contrast to the post-engagement where the truck seems to move much slower. And I'm no noob to MT (on-road at least) btw.

I've only tested this in 2H so far (only had my bronco a few weeks) and was wondering if anyone has been off-road in 4L in the crawler gear yet and what are your thoughts on this?

I've noticed a similar highly undesirable jump from 1st gear in 4L in my previous Jeep Sahara JL, which is why I'm feeling like I may need to get real good at left-foot braking, or switch to an automatic if I don't want to break things off-road. Thanks in advance for insight/advice.

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[JakeC]

It works really well! It definitely takes some practice getting used to it, but I’m new to off-roading in a manual myself.

Using it in 4L gives you a lot of slow-movement control.

 

[mike8675309]

The jump is because you're giving it too much throttle and in that gear, it has tremendous torque. Next time try not touching the throttle but letting off the clutch. The engine management system will give it sufficient rpm to keep it running in the gear you select. I generally have been pulling up to my garage, putting it in reverse to get the camera on, then slip it into C to pull into the garage watching for when I'm in far enough to clear the door. I only get a "jump" if I try to apply the throttle. If I let the truck do it, the start is smoother.
If you are on a course where you are thinking about C you likely will be in low range, and C in low range is even more touchy due to the torque.

 

[zuke]

I use the Crawler gear all the time off road (And even on road in I-95 traffic when it's at a "crawl"

In 2H taking off, don't even touch the gas pedal, just release the clutch.

Off road in 4l, It's the same, unless you are right up against a rock, then you might have to give it a bit of gas...

If you had a problem with it in a Sahara (Crawl Ratio in the 40's vs in the 90's on the Badlands), It's going to be a lot worse in a Bronco Badlands, but practice will get you used to it

 

[kodiakisland]

I use it all the time. Pretty natural in use. For in town driving on steep hills a C-2 shift is quick and easy as well.

 

[ultima785]

The jump is because you're giving it too much throttle and in that gear, it has tremendous torque. Next time try not touching the throttle but letting off the clutch. The engine management system will give it sufficient rpm to keep it running in the gear you select. I generally have been pulling up to my garage, putting it in reverse to get the camera on, then slip it into C to pull into the garage watching for when I'm in far enough to clear the door. I only get a "jump" if I try to apply the throttle. If I let the truck do it, the start is smoother.
If you are on a course where you are thinking about C you likely will be in low range, and C in low range is even more touchy due to the torque.

Sry for the lack of detail - I'm actually referring to apply ZERO throttle.

 

[Boreal]

As others have mentioned, the gearing is so deep that it is very torque and throttle responsive! I’ve found No Throttle and a very slow - almost a two second - painfully slow clutch dragging release will get you rolling… it’ll feel as if you are about to lug and stall, but it crawls on through. Best of luck finding the sweet spot

 

[mike8675309]

Sry for the lack of detail - I'm actually referring to apply ZERO throttle.

Ok. then it may be a learned thing. Going from idle to load, to running in gear means the system is running across at least 3 different areas. The engine management system is trying to maintain idle, then it's trying to simulate throttle input for an expected load. It's possible it learned something that works but is resulting to an overshoot. If happening to me I would be tempted to disconnect the battery for 10 minutes, then reconnect and test a few times to see if it is any better.

 

[jasonkosi]

Crawl and 4L blows my mind. You can cruise over seemingly any obstacle and the truck stays at a constant slow speed ~2kph. You can use the brakes without depressing the clutch if you need to slow down even more. At one point the speedo said 0 but the engine was still at idle speed.
I also like using it in 4H when going up steeper portions of rough logging roads, keeps the engine speed higher without needing to engage 4L

 

[kodiakisland]

Some of you are just over thinking it. Do what the vehicle wants. It's different for every vehicle, but the Bronco is easy.

Most of my offroading is low speed on tight trails, so I just keep it in 4L and use anything from C to 3rd depending on terrain and need. The Bronco will tell you what it wants if you listen.

Even in 2H though, C works great and is very useful.

 

[annieVonBebop]

So you should have the clutch in when you've got the brake applied and you're at a full stop, right?

Next you gently let up off the clutch until you see your RPMs tick up just a little bit. The computer is actually giving some bonus throttle juice in the background and compensating. This is the sweet spot.

Once you're there, start letting off the brake and you shouldn't feel the jolt forward and it should be way smoother.

I've taken Bebop off road 5 or 6 times now and my biggest takeaway is that in 4L you want to be doing the most counter intuitive things. If I need to shift from 1st to 2nd, more often than not I'm giving it a bit of brake versus throttle input because the thing just wants to go forward. Did Devil's Canyon in CO over the weekend and never got into a higher gear than 2nd because we were going up or down a decent amount of relatively steep obstacles and had 0 issues, and got some compliments on how well my rig handled out there from an FJ and Rubi owner

Edit: forgot to add that it's insanely crucial, when off road, that you don't "free wheel" where you're driving around with the clutch depressed, which was a bad habit I personally developed at some point when I had my Jetta over 10 years ago. You want the transmission to be engaged as much as possible when you're doing an obstacle and want the engine braking or go juice available in a pinch, so once you're off that clutch, stay off it

 

[ultima785]

So you should have the clutch in when you've got the brake applied and you're at a full stop, right?

Next you gently let up off the clutch until you see your RPMs tick up just a little bit. The computer is actually giving some bonus throttle juice in the background and compensating. This is the sweet spot.

Once you're there, start letting off the brake and you shouldn't feel the jolt forward and it should be way smoother.

I've taken Bebop off road 5 or 6 times now and my biggest takeaway is that in 4L you want to be doing the most counter intuitive things. If I need to shift from 1st to 2nd, more often than not I'm giving it a bit of brake versus throttle input because the thing just wants to go forward. Did Devil's Canyon in CO over the weekend and never got into a higher gear than 2nd because we were going up or down a decent amount of relatively steep obstacles and had 0 issues, and got some compliments on how well my rig handled out there from an FJ and Rubi owner

Edit: forgot to add that it's insanely crucial, when off road, that you don't "free wheel" where you're driving around with the clutch depressed, which was a bad habit I personally developed at some point when I had my Jetta over 10 years ago. You want the transmission to be engaged as much as possible when you're doing an obstacle and want the engine braking or go juice available in a pinch, so once you're off that clutch, stay off it

didn't think to modulate brake to help with the jolt, good advice!

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