Crawling in 'C' with the 7MT

[Herbie]

Quick question for the crowd on here that have 7 speed MT and that take their vehicle offroad. For those that have taken their ride offroad and probably more specifically done some rock crawling whether it was major or minor (open for interpretation I guess) are you mainly using the crawler gear for that? I know that is largely its purpose I was just curious if people find it helpful and/or are just as successful with first gear.
Thank you in advance!

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[jasonkosi]

Yes, crawl gear gives you far greater control than first. It gives you the torque to get over obstacles while keeping your speed low. In 4L+C the clutch basically acts like an on/off switch.

 

[BroncoAZ]

C and 4lo with the advanced transfer case’s 3.06:1 reduction and 4.70:1 gearing with 33.9” tires gets me about 1 mph at idle, the right speed for crawling. My 87 Bronco had a T-18 trans with 6.32:1 first gear, it was slightly higher than the 2021 Bronco’s C gear at 6.588:1, but felt lower even with the 2.69:1 transfer case and 4.10:1 axles on 35” tires. I think the V8 was the difference, although the 2.3L bests the old 5.0L in both HP and torque.

I sometimes use C in stop and go traffic to inch forward, or even starting on a particularly steep hill. C in 2hi is good for 0-10 mph.

 

[Aut-Lin]

I use the crawler gear all the time off road, it's nice for just cruising slowly (and smoothly) up rougher roads or steeper pitches where you don't feel like mashing the throttle and bouncing around to get up it.

Also stop and go or slow traffic using crawler gear is a dream!

 

[Blackcat]

I like using C in traffic.

 

[L8apex]

On the trail between obstacles I'm usually in 4L + 2nd gear. Once I get to an obstacle then I drop it into C for the refinement.

 

[AlpineDescent]

I use it in traffic, as others have said, but I also drove in a homecoming parade with a couple teenagers standing in the back. Crawler gear in 2WD was the perfect pace for the parade, and very smooth to engage and disengage (didn’t need to worry about knocking over the kids).

 

[midwesterpioneer]

4L and C gear make steep and rocky climbs easy. I also use it on the streets for slow and technical maneuvers.

 

[kodiakisland]

C is just a low gear. I use it all the time. It’s not new or unique to have a very low first gear on a MT.

In short, yes, it’s useful.

 

[Tricky Dick]

Trail riding in 4L, I'll be in 1st-3rd frequently. C really comes into play when you get into the technical stuff, it's a bit too slow for everything else.

 

[kodiakisland]

Trail riding in 4L, I'll be in 1st-3rd frequently. C really comes into play when you get into the technical stuff, it's a bit too slow for everything else.

Yeah, if I’m in 4L, 1-3 is my normal range, but in 2H or 4H, most trails are C or 1. Even on steep hills in town, a C-2 shift is quick and easy. C also comes in handy in stop and go traffic. 6th gear is what I scratch my head at.

 

[DaveInSA]

My traffic is definitely different evidently.
It goes from 0 to 20mph to 0 to 20 to 0 to 20...

I never use C, just 1 and 2 for that.

But yeah, crawling is a slow process. C is incredible.

 

[Herbie]

Thank you everyone for all of the feedback. I am finally hitting some trails tomorrow and have been looking forward to trying out some of the vehicles potential.

 

[Visitor]

6th gear is what I scratch my head at.

6th gear is the real granny gear. (Because it's for 70 and up!)

 

[kodiakisland]

6th gear is the real granny gear. (Because it's for 70 and up!)

If I used 6th gear at 70mph, I’d be in full boost just to maintain speed. Maybe the range should be extra granny, 80 and up

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